Iris Johansen - Final Target

"She didn't hurt my feelings." He leaned back. "Have you ever considered going back to Vasaro and re-creating the scene there?"

"Not if there's any other way. Too traumatic. The cure could be worse than the illness."

"But you've considered it?"

"I've considered every step imaginable. Even if I wanted to take Cassie to Vasaro, her father absolutely refuses to allow it."

"Oh, that could be a problem." He thought for a moment. "What about the Wind Dancer? That's part of the picture."

"Andreas lent it to the Museum d'Andreas in Paris."

"I'm checking to see if the statue is going on tour anytime in the near future."

"You are?" She looked at him in surprise. "Then you do believe there's a connection."

"I don't know. I'm grabbing at straws, but if we could take her to Paris and arrange for her to-"

"The President is not going to permit her to go anywhere until the people who attacked Vasaro are found." She stared meaningfully at him." Isn't that your job?"

"I'm working on it." He smiled as he recalled that that was the phrase Melissa had used. "Maybe we can ask Melissa to broach the subject of the Wind Dancer during the next episode with Cassie."

"After that reaction?"

"Persuade her." He stood up. "The clock's ticking. If we don't make a breakthrough soon, we may be forced to take radical action."

"Radical? Things are going just fine. I don't intend to rock the boat."

He gave her a sober glance. "Rock it, Jessica."

She was going to throw up.

No, she could stop it, Melissa told herself It wasn't as if it hadn't happened before. Just don't think about it and do the usual things. She bent over the washbasin and splashed cold water in her face.

But it hadn't happened before. Not like this. Dreams were dreams. This was reality.

Damn him. She should have known Travis would dig and probe until he came up with a lead. It wouldn't do him any good. She would stop him and it would go no further.

Emerald eyes staring …

Sweet Jesus…

She rushed to the toilet and threw up.

"You look pale." Jessica frowned worriedly as she watched Melissa come down the stairs. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Melissa smiled. "I've probably been hitting the books too hard. I've been cooped up in that room all day. If you're feeling sorry for me, you could get me a lemonade and come and keep me company on the porch. I need some air before I go back to the grind."

"I could use a glass myself." She headed for the kitchen. "Go on out. I'll be with you in a minute."

Melissa settled on the swing and sent it moving gently. It was a hot, muggy night, and she could hear the frogs croaking in the pond behind the house. Summer sounds. Life sounds. Wonderful…

"Daydreaming?" Jessica handed her a glass and sat down beside her. "You look a lot better."

Melissa laughed. "I'm not sure that's a compliment. It's dark out here."

"There's moonlight."

Melissa looked up at the sky. "Yes, there is."

Silence.

"Mellie, why did you blow up this afternoon?" Jessica asked hesitantly.

"I was waiting for that question. I worried you, didn't I? You thought I was irrational, and considering the fact that you're not sure how well balanced I am anyway, it-"

"That's not true. I know there's nothing wrong with you. I just wondered why you got so upset."

" I'm sure you gave Travis all kinds of excuses for my lapse."

"Of course I did. Maybe a couple of them might even have merit." She sipped her lemonade. "We never kept secrets from each other. Talk to me, Mellie."

It wasn't true. She had kept so many secrets from Jessica since she had come back from the other place, but she was glad Jessica had never been aware of that lack of trust. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you I was really-" She shook her head. "Okay, I don't want Travis to get too interested in the Wind Dancer."

"Why not?"

"He's like a steamroller. Once he sets his sights on something, he won't stop."

"That's not always a bad trait."

"It can be. Sometimes people get swept along into places they shouldn't be in. All it takes is one push and it sets things toppling…like dominoes."

"And what does that have to do with the Wind Dancer?"

"That's what Cassie is trying to find in the tunnel."

Jessica went still. "You're sure?"

"Oh, yes."

"But that's a good thing to know. We can build on that. Maybe Travis's idea about using the Wind Dancer isn't too bad if we can figure out a way to-"

"No." Melissa tried to temper the sharpness of her tone. "You don't understand. It's not…it's a bad…feeling. Delving into it might hurt Cassie."

"She's afraid of it?"

She didn't answer directly. "You don't want to open that can of worms."

"I know you're concerned for Cassie, but you don't understand all the psychological ramifications of her condition. You'll have to trust me to work it out."

"Forget about the statue."

"I can't forget anything that might help Cassie. You can't either, Mellie. We have to work together."

"Half the time you don't even believe what I tell you about Cassie's nightmares."

"So I have a few problems in that area. But I do believe what you say about Cassie trying to find the Wind Dancer, because when I showed her the photograph, she-"

"You told me you didn't actually see a reaction." She smiled sardonically. "What are you? Some kind of spook like me?"

"Not fair. I've never called you a spook." She paused. "The Wind Dancer is the only lead we have. We have to pursue it, Mellie. I want you to promise me that you won't reject Cassie if she opens up the subject."

Melissa was silent.

"Please." Jessica sighed. "We have to help Cassie, and I don't know which way to turn."

What difference did it make? Melissa thought wearily. The dominoes were falling and she couldn't stop them by pretending they didn't exist. "I won't encourage it, but I won't reject it. Is that enough?"

"That's enough." Jessica leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Thank you." She stood up. "Now I've got to check on Cassie and then go to bed. Are you coming in?"

"Pretty soon."

"Don't study too late."

" I won't." She leaned back on the swing. "Have a good night."

"Let's hope we all do." Jessica went into the house.

The conversation had been a complete bust, Melissa thought in despair. She had hoped that if she introduced a hint of a threat to Cassie, Jessica would veer away from the Wind Dancer. She hadn't counted on Jessica's total obsession with bringing Cassie back. If Melissa had just left the subject alone, maybe Jessica's interest would not have been piqued.

Or maybe it wouldn't have mattered. Fate?

To hell with fate. That was defeatist thinking. Travis certainly wouldn't rely on a whim to shape his destiny. He was already trying to find a way to have his cake and eat it too. Now, thanks to Melissa's own clumsiness, she might have driven Jessica into his camp. In her heart Jessica would always consider Melissa the dependent child she had been all those years ago.

The lights were on at the gatehouse. They often stayed on most of the night. She had learned in the past several days that Travis seldom got more than four hours' sleep a night and that he was a great reader. Was he delving into that pile of books she'd seen delivered yesterday afternoon? Insatiable curiosity and a thirst for knowledge could be dangerous qualities in an enemy.

It was the first time she had acknowledged to herself that Travis could be an adversary. She had been wary of him, but she hadn't believed he offered any challenge she couldn't meet. In a weird way, she had felt a kind of bond with him. Crazy. It was probably a carryover of Cassie's trust in him and view of him as a savior. But she had enjoyed their battles of wits and admired his sharpness and intuitiveness.