Kathy Reichs - Virals

“And the police.” Shelton said.

“And the police,” I agreed.

I fired up the steps and along the service passage.

As I crossed into the kitchen, an arm circled my neck and a hand yanked my head back, causing me to choke. A gun barrel kissed my throat, forced my chin up.

“Going somewhere?” The raspy whisper was right at my ear. “Looks like I’ll have to do clean-up myself.”

Baravetto dragged me toward a corner, out of view of the window.

“Never send a kid to do a man’s job.”

The gun moved to the side of my head.

SNAP.

My elbow slammed into his ribs.

Air exploded from Baravetto’s mouth. His arm relaxed a hair.

I flexed a leg, kicking backward and connecting with his crotch.

Baravetto screamed and collapsed to his knees.

I yanked a rolling pin from the wall beside me.

Smack!

Baravetto went down. I whacked him a second time just to be safe.

SNUP.

My head swam. Stars danced behind my lids.

I stumbled outside, hunting for a cell signal.

Beep!

I dialed 911. The operator asked if my call was an emergency.

“Ambulance,” I panted. “Terrorists are attacking Claybourne Manor!”

Then I fainted dead away on the grass.

CHAPTER 71

“Tory!” Hi shook my shoulder. “You okay?”

Blink.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

“Whaaa?” The best I could do.

I lay beneath a mammoth Magnolia, a dozen yards from the kitchen door. Every window in the mansion was aglow. Red and blue lights pulsed from somewhere beyond the garden wall.

“We’ve been looking for you!” Hi’s face was frog-belly white. “Hold on, I’ll tell everyone you’re okay! I’ll bring a doctor.”

“Wait.” I sat up and tried to clear my thoughts. “First tell me what happened.”

“The cops are here.” Hi helped me to my feet. “We found Baravetto in the kitchen and got pretty freaked. No one knew where you were.”

“I fainted.” Everything came crashing back. “Chance! How is he?”

“He’s ... okay.” Hi frowned. “I mean, he’s alive, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“But?”

“The bullet barely grazed him. He should be fine.”

Hi trailed off.

“But?” I prodded again.

“But he won’t respond to anyone. He just stares off into space. I think the whole situation messed him up pretty bad.”

Not to mention what Hannah said , I thought. And did.

“How long have I been out?”

“Maybe thirty minutes,” Hi said. “The cops burst in not long after you went upstairs. They thought the building was under attack or something. They kept us cuffed until just minutes ago.”

“Did they arrest Hannah? Baravetto?”

Hi nodded. “When the medics revived her, she totally flipped, started cussing everyone out.” He smiled. “Especially you.”

Shocker.

“She was completely out of control,” Hi went on. “Basically admitted to everything. That’s why they let us go.”

Good. Let Hannah talk her way into prison. Fine by me.

“Baravetto was unconscious when we found him,” Hi said. “What’d you do to the guy?”

“Kicked him in the balls, then brained him with a rolling pin. Twice.”

“Punted and pinned. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. FYI, Hannah is claiming Baravetto killed Karsten. She even told the cops where to find his body.”

“My God, what was she thinking?”

“Trust me, she wasn’t thinking. Hannah is hysterical. Yelling, crying, she was offering anything that might save her own ass.” Hi whistled. “I think she’ll live to regret her loose tongue.”

“If the cops find Karsten’s body, they’ll have enough to convict her and her accomplices.”

“They took Baravetto’s gun. It’s probably the murder weapon.”

“Perfect. I wish the two of them a nice cozy cell.”

“Hollis may get that honor, too,” Hi said. “When Hannah calms down, her defense attorney will undoubtedly cut a deal. You know the police will want the bigger fish.”

“Did you turn over the evidence?”

“Everything. The eagle photos, the land sale documents, Heaton’s skeleton, the fingerprint report, Katherine’s journal. But we couldn’t find the dog tags.”

I patted my pocket. “Got them right here.”

“We told a Detective Borken the whole story.”

“What?” I sat bolt upright.

“Don’t worry,” Hi said. “We didn’t mention Karsten’s experiment, or what happened to us.”

Sudden panic.

“Did you turn over the deposit slip?”

“No, no. We don’t want anyone digging into Karsten’s secret parvo research.”

I relaxed. “Good thinking.”

I thought about Hannah’s claim, that Hollis hired Karsten to design a new virus to infect dogs. I didn’t want to believe it.

Hi read my mind. “Karsten was using Hollis’s money to research a cure for canine parvo. He wouldn’t have created a new disease. I’m sure of it.”

I nodded, hoping Hi was right.

“So everything about our powers—the lab break-in, Coop’s virus, the illness, the flares—you kept all that secret?”

Hi smiled. “Of course. No one knows about the Virals, or what we can do.”

“We need to keep it that way.”

“What about Chance and Hannah?”

“I don’t think they’ll figure it out,” I said. “Things happened way too fast down in that cellar. And if they accuse us of having magic powers, everyone will think they’re crazy.”

“I hope so,” Hi said. “I don’t relish the thought of being dissected like a lab rat. If people learn what we’re able to do—”

“We won’t tell anyone,” I said. “Ever. Even our parents.”

“Agreed.” Hi glanced back at the manor. “You ready to face the music?”

“What music?”

Hi snorted. “I forgot that you’ve been out cold. Our parents have landed. They’re at the front gate.”

My groan spoke volumes.

“Tory!” Kit ran up the driveway. “Are you okay!?” I was crushed in an unexpected bear hug.

“Fine,” I said. “But I’ve got some things to explain.”

Shelton and Ben stood nearby, talking with their parents. Ben did an eye roll over his father’s shoulder. Shelton waved, grinning from ear to ear. Everyone safe and accounted for.

“Why did you break into Claybourne Manor?” Kit asked. “Who is that man in handcuffs? What the hell is going on?”

“I’ll tell you everything, Kit, I promise.” I took a deep breath. “But you should know that Dr. Karsten was murdered.”

“Dr. Marcus Karsten? Murdered?” Kit sounded shocked. “Wait, how do you know this?”

“We were telling the truth. We found Katherine Heaton’s bones. That man”—I pointed at Baravetto, locked in a squad car—“and Chance Claybourne stole her skeleton from our dig site on Loggerhead.”

“Why?”

“Because Hollis Claybourne killed her back in 1969.”

Kit stared, dumbfounded.

I pressed forward.

“Karsten followed us to Morris a few nights ago, to confront us about the lab break-in. He still thought we’d done it.”

Kit frowned.

“But Karsten saved us,” I said quickly. “The man in that squad car tried to kill us, to bury the truth about Katherine forever. Karsten died so that we could escape.”

“Who is the young lady they arrested?” Kit asked.

“Chance’s girlfriend, Hannah Wythe,” I said. “She orchestrated the attack when Karsten was murdered. She tried to kill us tonight, but accidentally shot Chance instead. He’s okay, I’m told.”