“I sent one of the Secret Service men at the gate to an all-night bookstore in D.C. They were very obliging as long as I didn’t leave the property. I spent several hours scanning them.” He smiled. “And since I didn’t get any sleep, I wasn’t going to take my usual morning run.”
“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”
“Heaven forbid. You have enough problems.”
Her gaze narrowed on his face. “Then I assume you found what you wanted in those books?”
“I overheard what you told your sister in the bedroom last night. That was enough to pique my interest. So I hit the Internet and then hunkered down with a few books.”
“And you found out I was a freak.”
“But not the only one. Not even the first one.”
“What?”
“Did you think you were the only case who came back with a little baggage on the side? Professor Hans Dedrick discovered four cases similar to your own. One in Greece, one in Switzerland, and two in China.”
“Dedrick?”
“Trauma, Memory, and the Way Back. It was written in 1999. You didn’t read it?”
She shook her head in bewilderment. “And I even combed through the libraries trying to find something, anything . . .”
“It was published by a university press in Great Britain. As you’ve noted, I’m an expert at retrieving information. I’ll let you borrow it if you like.”
“I’ll get my own copy as soon as I get back to school. Did Jessica mention anything about me?”
“Not a syllable. It’s natural that she’d be very protective. She’s spent a good many years caring for you. Your talent is somewhat ‘unusual,’ and she wouldn’t want you to be misunderstood.”
Jesus, he was clever. He had watched and listened and put the puzzle pieces of their lives and relationship together. “And do you understand?”
“Do you mean believe? Perhaps. I spent a lot of my early years in the East, and I’ve seen stranger things. It certainly doesn’t make me uneasy.”
Melissa studied him. “No, it only interests you. Jessica told me you dealt in information, and I can see how you’d be good at that. You gather and dig and analyze. . . . You find it exciting, don’t you?”
“Yes. Since I’ve been cursed with boundless curiosity, it’s definitely an addiction.”
“And dealing with Cassie is a quick fix for a few weeks of boredom?”
“I’m not quite so callous. I wouldn’t use that nice kid just to relieve the monotony. I help her, she helps me.” He chuckled. “Though I didn’t realize until you appeared on the scene how intriguing the next few weeks may prove to be. When did you realize you had this bizarre talent? Your sister didn’t mention anything about it in her book.”
“She didn’t know about it. She was so happy she’d brought me back that I didn’t want to spoil anything for her. I wouldn’t have told her about it if we hadn’t run into this problem with Cassie. She’s not like you. It makes her damn uneasy.”
“I can see why. She impressed me as being a very solemn, pragmatic lady.”
“She’s had to be pragmatic. It’s not as if she doesn’t have a great sense of humor. She didn’t have much chance to—”
“Okay, okay. I didn’t mean to insult her. She seems to be a very caring woman.” He changed the subject. “You didn’t answer me. When did you realize you were broadcasting on a different wavelength?”
“About five months after I came back. It scared the hell out of me.” She stood up. “Now, take your curiosity and stuff it. That’s all you’re going to get out of me.”
“You can never tell. I haven’t even started yet.” He got to his feet. “Let’s be perfectly clear. You’re warning me to stay away from your sister and Cassie?”
“Where did you get that idea? Cassie needs you.”
“And do you need me, Melissa?” he asked softly.
“Yes, but I’m working on it.” She bent down and retied her left running shoe. “So don’t get used to the idea. You’re going to be replaced.” She straightened. “Jessica is the most decent human being on the face of the earth. I won’t have her hurt.” She held up a hand as he started to speak. “I don’t care that you don’t intend to do it. Right now the most important thing in her life is getting Cassie well. If Cassie dies, she’ll be devastated. So you’re going to make sure she doesn’t die. You’re not going to walk away if you see something more interesting on the horizon. You’re going to stay until Cassie’s on the road to recovery if it takes years.”
“Are you quite finished telling me what I’m going to do?”
“No, you have to promise to protect Jessica. The President put you here because you needed to be kept safe. I don’t want any of the flak surrounding you to impact her.”
“Is that all?”
“For now.”
“Good. Then I’ll race you back to the gatehouse.” He looked back over his shoulder. “And this time you won’t win, Melissa.”
He hadn’t promised anything, but she hadn’t really counted on it. It was enough that he knew what she expected of him. “It won’t bother me.” She started after him. “I’ll just work on it.”
I’ll just work on it.
Travis stood in the doorway and watched Melissa race up the drive. That single sentence seemed to sum up Melissa Riley. Courage in adversity and a determination to have her own way no matter what it took. On the other hand, maybe that sentence didn’t encompass her entire personality. He’d never seen anyone with such glowing vitality. In her book Jessica had talked about the first months after Melissa had come back. Not only had her sister displayed a superior intelligence, she had also shown an insatiable thirst for life, which Jessica had attributed to the desire to make up for lost time. She’d said she expected the effect to dwindle after a few years.
Well, those few years had passed and he had an idea Jessica had been wrong. Melissa Riley was a firecracker and more complex than any of them might be able to imagine. Jessica had bargained and handled him with reason and maturity. Melissa hadn’t tried to bargain. She’d analyzed his character and then thrown down a challenge . . . and a threat.
How phenomenally well she’d read him in such a brief encounter.
Interesting . . .
“What were you doing down by the pond with Travis?” Jessica’s voice was disapproving. “Not a good idea, Mellie.”
“He’s not off limits anymore.” Melissa grinned over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. “And he’s more interesting than I first thought. He’s very bright, and intelligence is mega-sexy.”
“The President may have said he’s not off limits, but I didn’t. For God’s sake, he’s a criminal.”
“And you want me to find a lawyer or a doctor or maybe a computer executive. What about a banker?”
“Sounds good to me.”
Melissa smiled. “Okay, I’ll look for one the minute I go back to school.”
“I’m not joking, Mellie.”
“I know you’re not. You think I need a stabilizing influence. You’re probably right. Stop worrying, I didn’t ask him to go to bed with me. We just took a little run together.”
Jessica moistened her lips. “I didn’t think you— I wouldn’t ask you to tell—”
“But I’ll tell you anyway.” Her smile faded. “I’d never do anything to cause you concern. If you don’t want me to go running with Travis, it stops right here.”
“And you think I’m a nosy bitch.”
“I think you love and care about me. And not running with him is no great loss. Our little jog couldn’t have been more casual.”
“It didn’t look casual. It looked damned intense.”
And it had felt intense. For the few minutes they were running together, Melissa had been aware of a weird sense of intimacy. And when they had been talking at the pond, she had almost felt the sparks, the undercurrent, that lay beneath every word. It had been . . . exciting. He had been exciting.
Well, danger w
as always exciting, but Travis could become an enemy in a heartbeat.
So? Playing games with the enemy was stimulating too.
Still, that didn’t make it the best option to choose in this circumstance. She started back up the stairs. “Nah, it’s definitely the banker for me, Jessica.”
Amsterdam
“Something very interesting is happening,” Provlif told Deschamps over the phone.
“You found Cassie Andreas?”
“No, but while my CIA contact was nosing around trying to locate her, he stumbled on another bit of information. Andreas sent Air Force One on a hush-hush trip to Amsterdam a few weeks ago.”
“Carrying his daughter?”
“No, it was a retrieval. They picked up Michael Travis and brought him to Andrews Air Force Base.”
“Travis?” Deschamps was puzzled. It didn’t fit with the information he’d gathered. “The CIA captured him?”
“They picked him up and delivered him to the President. They left together for an unknown destination.”
“You’re sure?”
“My source in the CIA is impeccable.”
“Then why can’t they tell you where the girl is?”
“The CIA and the Secret Service seldom confide in each other.”
“Find them.”
“Whatever you say. As you know, I’ve been concentrating on finding Cassie Andreas only since you told me that’s what you wanted me to do.”
“I wanted you to do what was needed. Get the child. Find Travis.”
A pause. “And kill him?”
“No. I want to do it myself. Besides, he’s going to prove more valuable alive for a while.” He hung up.
Travis and Andreas. Travis was not being held against his will. What in hell was happening? Since he had been here, he had stumbled on intriguing and profitable possibilities he hadn’t expected. But now the picture was becoming more puzzling.
Also more promising?
He’d always believed a clever man was one who let others win the prize and then plucked it from their grasp. Travis was moving, manipulating, and obviously shifting into high gear with Andreas. . . .
A gift for me, Travis?
7
“Get up here,” Jessica said when Travis picked up the phone two nights later. “Now.”
“I’ll be right there.”
She was waiting on the porch when Travis arrived a short time later. “How long has it been going on?” he asked.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Why didn’t you call me sooner?”
“I wanted to give her a chance to come out of it by herself.”
He followed her into the house. “And eliminate the need for my services.”
“Of course.”
“I understand. But that fifteen-minute delay might not be healthy for Cassie.”
“And are you healthy for her?”
“I’m the best game in town.” They climbed the stairs, and Travis nodded at Fike as they reached Cassie’s room. “Good evening. Same drill?”
“Sorry.”
“I didn’t expect anything else.” He leaned against the wall while Fike searched him. “At this rate, we’re going to become very intimate friends.” He opened the door. “Has she been screaming like that since it started?”
Fike nodded. “Poor kid. I’ve never heard anything like this before. Sometimes she scares me to death.”
“Stop talking and go help her, Travis,” Jessica said curtly. “If you can.”
Travis sat down on the bed. “I’ll do my best.” He gathered Cassie’s hands in his. “Listen to me, Cassie. It’s Michael. I’m here and nothing’s going to harm you. You don’t have to run away.”
Cassie screamed.
“I stopped them before. I can do it again. Just let me help you and we’ll find a way. . . .”
Thank God.
Michael was there in the darkness of the tunnel. Melissa couldn’t see him, but she could feel him. Which meant Cassie could feel him too.
Or maybe she could see him. Melissa was so frightened, she couldn’t tell.
The monsters. Sweet Jesus, the monsters. They were going to catch us and blow our heads to bits.
Run.
Run.
Run.
Find it.
Run.
Find it before they got close enough to—
Run.
It hurt to breathe. Their hearts were going to burst.
No, slow down.
Michael was here. The monsters couldn’t touch them as long as he stood between.
What was he saying?
It didn’t matter.
He was here.
Cassie’s grip on Melissa was loosening. She was floating free. . . .
She could feel Cassie’s desperation. “Come back. Miss you,” the little girl told her.
The call was as alluring as a siren’s song. Don’t yield. Stay clear.
“You’re part of me,” Cassie said.
“No.”
“Lonely.”
“Then come back with me.”
She felt Cassie’s ripple of fear. “Bad.”
“Not anymore.”
“Lonely. Safe now. No monsters. Together we’ll find it. Come back.”
Melissa was lonely too. Why not stay and let herself be— She was drifting closer to Cassie. She made a tremendous effort and jerked herself free. “No, I’m going away. Good-bye, Cassie.”
“Lonely . . .”
“Melissa.”
She opened her eyes to see Jessica’s face above her. She was so tired, she could barely speak. “Hi. It’s . . . okay, isn’t it?”
Jessica nodded. “Cassie’s sleeping?”
“Not yet. But she will be soon. The nightmare’s over.” She reached out and took Jessica’s hand. “Don’t look so worried. We’re both fine. Where’s Travis?”
“Outside in the hall.” She paused. “He . . . helped?”
“I know you’d like me to say no, but we couldn’t have made it without him.” Her eyes closed. “And you didn’t have to leave him out in the hall. He . . . knows about me.”
Jessica stiffened. “What does he know?”
“That I’m a freak.”
“You told him?”
“He figured it out for himself. He’s very comfortable with it. Not like you. Poor Jessica . . .”
“Poor Mellie.”
“No, I’m learning. . . . It’s not like I thought. There’s so much more going on with Cassie. I had a weird feeling she’s hiding something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, but things may not be what I thought. And she’s so lonely, Jessica. It hurts me that she’s so lonely.”
“You said Donny was lonely.”
“Not like this.”
“Weren’t you lonely when you were in your forest?”
“No, I had you, I knew you were there. Maybe out of sight, but you never left me.”
“Cassie has people who love her.”
“But she’s afraid to let them in. She’s afraid if she lets anyone into her tunnel, the monsters will get in.” Her grip tightened. “The monsters are terrible, terrible creatures. We can’t let them in.”
“Cassie can’t let them in.”
Melissa tried to smile. “I did it again? The monsters frighten me as much as they do her, and it kind of throws me back.”
“We have to get Cassie to let us in so we can bring her back.”
Melissa nodded. “It’s just that . . .”
“The monsters?”
“Think of your worst childhood nightmare and multiply it a hundred times and you’ll realize how Cassie feels.” She closed her eyes. “Good night, Jessica. I don’t want to talk anymore. Go hash this out with Travis. He’s probably listening at the door. I’ll see you in the morning.” She heard a chuckle from the other side of the door and called, “Good night, Travis. You did very well tonight.”
“Eavesdropping is exceptionally rude,” Jessica told
Travis.
“She didn’t mind.”
“But I did. If I’d wanted you in the room, I’d have invited you.”
“And if I’d waited for invitations in my line of work, I’d be a pauper. You don’t gather information by standing politely to one side. I wanted to know what was happening with Melissa, so I listened.” He took her elbow. “Come on. I’ll make you coffee.”
“I don’t want coffee.” She bit her lip. “I want to talk about Mellie. I’m sure what’s happening is only temporary. She’s not really . . .”
“You want me to promise I won’t call the local funny farm and tell them to bring the straitjacket for your sister?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her.”
“I believe that.” He looked at her. “Do you?”
“Of course I do.” She rubbed her temple. “I’m not taking this very well. This psychic stuff’s not my cup of tea.”
“Then let me handle it.”
“The hell I will. Mellie’s my sister. All I want from you is for you to not hurt her.”
“That sounds very familiar,” he murmured. “You two aren’t as different as I first thought. Never fear. I’m not going to use anything I hear in this house to hurt Melissa.”
She gazed at him suspiciously.
“Why should I? It’s nothing to me.”
She nodded slowly. “That’s right, none of us is important to you.”
“I can’t let you be important.” He smiled. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t admire you both. I think I’m even starting to like you.”
“Amazing.”
“Yes, it is. So can I make you coffee? We can both use it, and since I’m going to be around, we might as well call a truce.”
She stared at him without speaking. His principles were questionable and he was different from anyone she’d ever known. There was a blunt honesty about him she found oddly comforting. “You have truces only when there’s war. If you keep helping Cassie, there’s no war.” She started down the stairs. “One cup of coffee.”
Go to sleep, Melissa told herself. It was all right now. Cassie had drifted off.
It had gone better than the last time. After Travis had come, she had been able to step out of Cassie and see her with a little detachment. Not much, but she’d take anything she could get.
And Cassie had been forced to recognize Melissa as a separate entity, which was real progress. But the impression of something that wasn’t quite right, that wasn’t as it seemed to be, still bothered her.