Jayne Castle - Deception Cove

Houdini chortled again, as if going up the stairs was a game. He bounced up each step, keeping pace with Alice. And then, because she evidently moved too slowly, he bounced down a couple of steps, turned around, and scampered back to meet her.

Drake followed, allowing himself to enjoy the rear view of Alice in her snug black jeans.

“What is it with Rainshadow?” Alice paused at the second-floor landing, gripped the railing, and looked down at Drake. “That island has always had a weird psi-vibe from what I’ve been able to find out.”

“Based on what we learned recently, it looks like Rainshadow was at one time a giant bioengineering lab for the Aliens.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “Okay, that’s a chilling thought.”

“My brother and his fiancée recently found the ruins of an ancient aquarium filled with the results of some of the Aliens’ genetic experiments on marine animals.”

Alice started up the next flight of stairs. “Fossils, you mean?”

“Not fossils,” Drake said. He rounded the landing. “Living fish. Really, really bizarre fish. Sea monsters.”

“In an aquarium ?”

“A giant, crystal-walled aquarium in a huge cavern. The aquarium was still operational and so were the creatures inside. They were bioengineered to survive in high-psi environments like Rainshadow. There was an explosion inside the cavern triggered by one of the three crystals. A lot of the creatures escaped into the flooded caves on the island.”

Alice paused on the third-floor landing to catch her breath. “Are we talking the kind of marine animals that snack on seaweed?”

“No. We’re talking the kind of monsters that would eat any human unlucky enough to fall into one of the cave pools.”

Alice started up the last flight of stairs. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it’s not good.”

“But I still don’t see what I can do to help.”

“Neither do I, but my brother is convinced that we need you, and Harry is never wrong when it comes to this kind of stuff.”

“What kind of stuff, exactly, is he never wrong about?”

“Harry is in the security business. Specifically, he’s the head of Sebastian, Inc. security, which has responsibility for Rainshadow Foundation Security. When he’s working a case his intuition is off the charts.”

“Your brother has never even met me.”

“No, but now I have met you and I think he’s right,” Drake said. “We need you on the island. My intuition is pretty good, too.”

She glanced back over her shoulder. “You said your brother handles security for Sebastian, Inc. and the Foundation. But according to the business press, you’re in line to take over as CEO of the family empire.”

“You read the business press?”

“I became somewhat obsessed with it after Ethel Whitcomb started hounding me. It’s the only way I can keep track of her. As the head of Whitcomb Industries, she appears in the papers a lot.”

“Smart,” he said, appreciative of the tactic. “In answer to your question, my grandfather runs Sebastian, Inc. now. He intends to retire soon. No one else in the family, except me, wants to take over the job.”

She paused again and looked back, studying him. “But you want the job?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I’ve wanted that job from the cradle.”

“Must be nice to know what you’re supposed to be doing in life,” she said. There was a wistful note in her words.

She arrived on the fourth floor and started toward the end of the hall, Houdini scampering along at her heels. Drake followed with the suitcase and pondered his strategy. He was pretty sure that Alice would go to Rainshadow with him, but it was by no means a done deal. She was still leery. He could not blame her. It was starting to look like he would be spending the night in the car, keeping watch on the Dead City Suites to make sure Alice did not pull another vanishing act.

He had told her nothing less than the truth. They needed all the help they could get on Rainshadow. The fact that Alice had been able to decipher Nick North’s psi-code map was important, so was her high-rez light-talent. But he was also increasingly certain that whatever had gone down before, during, and after the disastrous honeymoon on Rainshadow with Whitcomb was the real key to unlocking the mystery.

Someone was convinced that there was something worth killing for on the island.

Alice stopped in front of Number Three and took out a key. When she got the door open, a draft of fresh night air flowed out. Drake knew from her startled reaction that she had not left a window open inside the apartment.

In that instant Houdini growled and sleeked out, showing a lot of eyes and teeth.

“Oh, crap,” Alice whispered. “Not again.”

She stepped swiftly back into the hallway and promptly vanished, taking Houdini with her. Evidently she did not have enough energy left to shield the cobalt-blue tote bag because it was left hanging in midair.

Drake jacked up his senses so that he could see Alice. She reappeared a short distance away, Houdini crouched tensely on her shoulder.

“Stay clear of the door,” Drake said.

He had already let go of the suitcase and was on his way into the apartment, the light spear in his hand.

There was a lot of frantic movement somewhere inside. A hard object crashed to the floor.

The interior of the apartment was illuminated by the green psi-light streaming in through the windows. A man in a stocking mask rushed across the room, heading toward the sliding glass door that opened onto a minuscule balcony.

The intruder was fast, but Drake aimed the spear, got a fix, and rezzed the weapon. He used considerably less energy for the shot than he had used on the thugs in the alley. This time he wanted to have a conversation with the target.

Dark lightning flashed, striking the intruder.

The fleeing man gave a hoarse, panic-stricken cry. He staggered, flailing wildly as he lost his sense of balance. He went to his knees, tried to scramble back to his feet, and finally collapsed on the floor.

“Don’t move,” Drake said, “or I’ll use a higher setting.”

The intruder lay still, breathing hard. He stared at Drake through the holes in the stocking mask.

“Who the freaking hell are you?” he gasped.

“Enough about me,” Drake said. “Let’s talk about you.”

“Shit. I’m a private investigator. Jerry McCarson. License is in my wallet. What did you do to me?”

Drake ignored the question while he conducted a quick search for a weapon. He did not find one, but he did find a wallet.

The room lights came on just as he took out the license.

“I heard him say he’s a PI.” Alice sounded grimly resigned. She pulled the suitcase into the apartment and closed the door. “That means he’s working for Ethel Whitcomb. Looks like this is just not my night.”

Houdini was fully fluffed again. But he still had all four eyes open. He growled at McCarson.

Drake glanced at Alice. “You know this guy?”

“No, but he’s not the first snoop Ethel has sent after me,” Alice said. “She uses them to find out where I’m living, what name I’m using, and where I’m working. Then she systematically goes about getting me evicted and fired. It’s her idea of revenge.”

McCarson sat up nervously. “I was told you were blackmailing the Whitcomb family. They sent me to find out whatever I could so that they could send the cops after you.”

“Is that the story Ethel used this time?” Alice dropped her tote on a small table. “The last PI they hired to track me down thought he was looking for a long-lost daughter of the Whitcomb clan.”

“Look, I can explain this,” McCarson said. “It was just a job.”