"So we"re talking about evil spirits again?"Joe asked.
"Again, I"m not sure. Maybe just one spirit. But I do know this is no ordinary murder."
"Anything else?"Carla asked.
"Yes."The color suddenly drained from her face. "Whoever-or whatever-it is, they can sense me reaching out for them."
"Like in your dream?"Carla asked.
She nodded."They know I"m trying to find them. I wish I could be more specific, but I can"t understand what I"m sensing. It"s clear as day in front of me, but I just don"t know what it is. Kind of like trying to read a foreign language."Her teeth sank into her lower lip. "I"ve never ...experienced anything like this before."
Howe threw the tarp back over Murphy"s corpse. "Ms. Gaines, we"re looking for a solid, living, three-dimensional murderer. We appreciate your efforts here, but you"re not giving us anything to work with."
"I know that. When we get back to the car, I"ll see if sketching helps. And maybe it"ll be more clear after we visit the other murder scenes."
"We"d planned to take you to see them today,"Carla said.
"Good."She shuddered. "The sooner I finish, the better. I don"t mind telling you, this is scaring the h.e.l.l out of me."
Derek Haddenfield focused the electronic binoculars and peered through the van"s tinted side window. He and the team had found a hilly section of Red Run Avenue that gave them a distant view of the recording studio"s rear parking lot. His sound expert, Paul Doyle, aimed a high-sensitivity parabolic microphone toward Monica Gaines and the cops.
"What are you getting, Paul?"
Paul adjusted his headphones."Right now, a whole lot of nothing."
"Don"t lose her. We need this."
"Then we should be closer. We"re four football-field lengths away in the middle of a city in the morning rush hour."
Haddenfield shot him an icy look."Make it work."
"Remember who you"re talking to here. It"ll work. But you have to tell me what the h.e.l.l "nothing but the stars"means."
"Your job is data collection. Others will handle the a.n.a.lysis."
"Others including you, right?"
"Never mind that. Just make sure you get everything you can."
Haddenfield glanced toward the front of the van, where Gary juggled his still camera with the 3-D digital video camera. Donna sat in the driver"s seat, drumming her blue nails on the wheel to the rhythm of a song only she could hear.
Donna"s heavily made-up eyes flicked to Hadden-field in the rearview mirror. "You want atmospheric readings?"
"No,"he said."We"ll get them later, when it"s safe to move closer."
"Gotcha."
"Looks like they"re on the move,"Gary said, squinting through his long zoom lens. "Are we following Gaines or staying on the site?"
"We"re staying here for a bit,"Haddenfield said.
"Good,"Paul said. "You can entertain us by letting us know what the h.e.l.l we"re doing."
"You know the drill. Strictly need-to-know."
Donna stared at Haddenfield in the rearview mirror. "Does Monica Gaines know about us?"
"Let"s just say she"s a partic.i.p.ant in this project."
Paul shook his head. "Why would we hide our project from the police?"
"You knew that was a condition of this project. In case you"ve forgotten, you"re being very well paid."
Gary leaned back."Verywell paid. Don"t rock the boat, Paul. I kind of like the cloak-and-dagger stuff."
"I just wish we had a little more information,"Paul said.
Haddenfield turned away. "Just know that this is a very sensitive project."
"Sensitive how? how?"
Haddenfield picked up a pair of binoculars and inspected the studio parking lot."There are people out there who wouldn"t hesitate to kill all of us for the answers to your questions. Shall we get going?"
Joe, Howe, and Carla escorted Monica to the five remaining murder scenes, and each time her impressions matched those at the first two locations. She made sketches at each site, and they all featured the same wispy, cloaked spirits. The readings were vague yet disturbing, and Monica still insisted that dark supernatural ent.i.ties were responsible for the killings.
They broke for an early dinner at Houston"s, across from the Lenox Square shopping center.
"I"m sorry I wasn"t more help,"Monica said after they"d placed their orders. "I"ve been places where I came up with absolutely nothing, but I"ve never had an experience like this."
"Neither have we, I a.s.sure you,"Howe said.
Carla shrugged. "Well, it made things interesting. Good material for your TV show, huh?"
"I"ll discuss it, of course."Monica pulled her sweater tightly around her, even though it was warm in the restaurant. "Something"s out there that senses me every bit as powerfully as I sense it. I"m not sure if it feels threatened by me, or just ..."Her voice trailed off.
"What?"Joe asked.
"Amused."
"You think you"re being laughed at?"
"I don"t know. I suppose that would be better than having it angry at me."
"Listen, I"m curious,"Carla said. "You"ve been working with us for a couple of days now. Did you pick up impressions on any of us?"
"Of course."
"Anything you"d care to share?"
"Other than the fact that you"re in a romantic relationship that you"re trying to keep secret?"
Carla swallowed hard. "What-what do you mean?"
"You have strong feelings for someone, don"t you? But you and this person aren"t ready to share it with the world."
Carla"s face reddened.
Howe roared with laughter. "It"s true, isn"t it? Come on, Carla. Tell us about him. If it is isa him."
"Shut up, Howe."
Howe was enjoying himself. "Is there something you want to tell us about yourself, Carla? Come on, "fess up."
"No."Carla clasped her hands in front of her. "I don"t want to discuss it."
Monica smiled. "Don"t worry. Your secret"s safe with me."She turned to Howe. "Congratulations, by the way."
"For what?"
"Didn"t you recently get engaged?"
Howe coughed for a good ten seconds before taking a drink of water. "No."
She frowned. "Hmmm. I guess we"ll have to chalk that one up as a miss."
"Not exactly."Howe turned to Joe and Carla. "I"m planning to propose to Regina this weekend. I haven"t told anybody."He faced Monica. "You"re freakin"me out, lady."
She smiled."That"s what I do best."
Howe motioned toward Joe. "What about the Spirit Basher here? What kind of vibes do you get from him?"
"Well, I know that his daughter is angry with him."
Joe put on a poker face, trying not to give her the nonverbal cues that encouraged phony psychics to pursue a particular line of guesswork. "What makes you think that?"
"She wanted to go somewhere with her friends, and you wouldn"t let her. A concert, I think."
"Go on."
"She thinks that if her mother were still alive, she would have let her go."
Carla nudged him."Come on, Bailey, is she right or not?"
"I"ll tell you when she"s finished."He glanced at Monica."Anything else?"
"Only that a disaster has been averted for you in the last couple of weeks. You could have had a serious traffic accident, but you changed your course somehow. Did you get a new car, or change something about the vehicle you drive?"
Joe stared at her, expressionless.
She smiled. "Fine, don"t tell me. You ...you repaired repairedyour car. That"s what you did, and I think you may have saved your life."
"Is that all?"
"For now."
Joe nodded. "Well, I did have words with my daughter. She wants to see some band with her friends in Midtown this weekend, and I told her no way. I know she"s still upset about it. And I did have new brake shoes put on my 4-Runner a couple weeks ago."
Monica used her napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth. "Of course, you still don"t believe I have any special abilities. You think I"m spying on you, or maybe bugging your house?"
Joe shrugged."Maybe."
"Do you have any proof of that?"
"No, and I probably won"t, since I"m not doing a full-fledged investigation of you. Our focus is on the murders."
Howe was still dazed."Jesus, I didn"t tell anybody anybodyI was going to propose to Regina."He c.o.c.ked an eye at Monica. "I don"t suppose you can tell me if she"s gonna accept, can you?"
"I hope you impressed them, Monica."
Monica turned from the sidewalk newsstand and glared at Derek Haddenfield. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d. She"d left her hotel room to avoid another visit from him, but he"d found her anyway. There was no getting away from this guy; it was now a quarter past nine and, for all she knew, he"d been watching her all day.
"They were plenty impressed, Haddenfield. Are you doubting me now?"
"Of course not. I have the utmost faith in you and your abilities."
"Then why are you here?"
"Just checking in on you, making sure that you haven"t lost sight of the objective."
"I haven"t lost sight of anything. You don"t need to worry about me."
"I am amworried. I thought you"d be on a plane back to Vancouver by now."
"I"m not ready yet. You can"t rush psychic abilities, you know."
He sighed."Oh Lord."
"If you don"t like it, just leave. I"ll take care of things here."
"No, I understand. You must follow your instincts. As long as you remember why we"re here."He c.o.c.ked his head toward the hotel behind her. "You can invite me up, you know."
"I"ll pa.s.s on that."She turned and walked toward the hotel"s main entrance. "Lay off on the unannounced visits to my room. If you want to talk to me, my telephone works just fine."
"It"s not as secure."
"Good night, Haddenfield."
Monica felt his eyes on her as she entered her hotel and walked across the s.p.a.cious lobby. d.a.m.n him. And d.a.m.n her for agreeing to this crazy scheme.