Deadly Intentions

by Leighann Dobbs

  Everything was happening in slow motion. It seemed like it took several minutes for her to slide down to the ground. Her eyes fluttered, trying to stay open. She watched as the men came toward her, one of them holding out the strange geode she’d seen the other day.

  They reached for her and she tried to struggle, to kick out, to fight them off with her hands, but she was too weak.

  She felt a pin prick in her neck. Then nothing.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Is that the necklace Cal couldn’t stop talking about all the way home?” Celeste asked Morgan and Fiona who were bent over the kitchen island studying something.

  “Yep.” Morgan said without even looking up.

  Celeste walked to the opposite side of the island and put her forearms on the cold granite so she could lean over to get a better look at this magical locket. She was disappointed to discover it didn’t look like much.

  “That’s it?” Celeste scrunched up her face. “It’s kind of ugly.”

  “Maybe, but it’s pretty special.” Fiona slid it toward Celeste. “Touch it.”

  Celeste gave her sister a funny look, then reached out toward the locket, placing her fingertips gently on top. The tingly sensation was unusual, but not altogether unpleasant. Celeste felt a rush of energy. She pulled her hand back, her cheeks flushed.

  “Wow. What was that?”

  “We’re not sure,” Morgan said. “It seems to play off our gifts or something. Cal didn’t feel it so I think it only affects people with paranormal abilities.”

  “I bet it has something to do with the stone,” Fiona added. “It’s like some kind of an amplifier, but I don’t know if all meteorites do it or if this one is special.”

  “Have either of you ever held a meteorite?” Cal asked.

  The three of them shook their heads. “Not that I know of. But I think we should get one and see how it reacts,” Morgan said.

  Celeste tilted her head to study the design and workmanship of the locket. “It does look pretty old. Did the owner know anything about it?”

  “When she dropped it off, she said it was her grandmothers,” Fiona said. “When we found out it was more than just a piece of jewelry, we tried to call her but the phone number she gave us was disconnected. We’ve been asking around town, but no one seems to know her.”

  Cal’s forehead creased. “Where’s Jolene? I’m sure she can dig something up about either the owner or the locket.”

  Morgan waved her hand distractedly. “She’s not here. She must have gone out with Eliza or something because her car is gone and neither of them are here.”

  Celeste’s brows knit together. “She’s not here? She was supposed to come straight home after she dropped me off and that was hours ago.”

  Morgan and Fiona looked up. The three sisters’ eyes met and a seed of doubt started to take root in Celeste’s stomach.

  “She might have come home, but her car wasn’t here when we got here,” Fiona said. “I’m sure she and Eliza just went out shopping or something. It’s probably nothing to worry about.”

  “I guess you’re right. We were talking about how we should do more things with Eliza just this morning, so maybe she was acting on that.” Celeste glanced around at the counters. “It would have been nice if she had left a note.”

  “Well, it looks like someone was here, because someone fed Belladonna.” Morgan pointed to Belladonna’s dish in the middle of the floor. The girls usually kept it in the corner, but the finicky cat always pushed it out into the room little by little as she picked at her food.

  “Yeah, I guess you guys are right.”

  “So, you can’t figure out how to open it?” Celeste asked, pointing to the locket.

  Fiona shook her head. “We’re afraid to try it inside.”

  A tap at the kitchen door pulled their attention from the locket and they looked up to see Jake Cooper standing outside. Fiona got up, let him in and greeted him with a peck on the lips.

  “Hi, everyone,” Jake smiled at them, then his smile faltered. “Where’s Jolene?”

  “Out with Eliza, I guess,” Fiona answered.

  “What do you mean? She was supposed to stay at home.” Jake’s jaw hardened, his mouth set in a firm line.

  “When have you ever known Jolene to do what she’s supposed to do?” Morgan asked.

  Jake nodded. “Good point.”

  “Besides, if she’s with Eliza, she’s probably safe, right?” Celeste asked hopefully.

  “I guess so.” Jake looked down at the locket on the island. “What’s so interesting?”

  “Someone brought this old locket to the shop for me to fix,” Fiona explained. “But it seems to be much more than just a piece of jewelry. It seems to be some sort of paranormal power amplifier.”

  “Huh?” Jake scrunched his face at her. Even though he’d seen the girls ‘gifts’ in action, he still had a hard time accepting their paranormal abilities.

  Fiona simply shrugged. “You’ll see.”

  They went back to studying the locket when they were interrupted again, this time by the front door slamming and the pounding of footsteps running down the hall toward the kitchen.

  Celeste tensed, jerking her head toward the door where Luke came practically skidding into the room.

  “Sorry, I came as soon as I heard,” he said.

  Five pairs of eyes narrowed in his direction.

  “Heard what?” Morgan asked.

  “Don’t you know?”

  “No. What?” Her voice turned impatient.

  “I just got off the phone with Dorian Hall. Jolene’s been taken.”

  ***

  “Taken?” Celeste’s heart twisted painfully. “What do you mean?”

  The room was silent, everyone’s attention riveted on Luke.

  “Dorian had someone following Jolene, but her guy couldn’t stop them. They grabbed her at the junior college.”

  “What was she doing there?” Morgan looked at the group. “How did they grab her in broad daylight?”

  “That’s a good question. Just this morning, she thought someone was following us on a job and she practically set the town on fire with an energy ball. It would be pretty hard to grab her.”

  “Unless they got her by surprise, or counteracted the energy …” Fiona looked down at the locket. “If this stone can amplify energy, maybe other stones can absorb it.”

  Celeste looked around the room. “Wait a minute. If someone grabbed Jolene, then where is Eliza? I thought they were together.”

  “Maybe she got grabbed too,” Morgan answered.

  “Or maybe she is one of the ‘grabbers’,” Cal suggested.

  “I’m sorry I don’t know much more about it. I feel like we’ve been kept in the dark,” Luke said. “Dorian is coming over to explain.”

  “Yeah, well, she better.” Morgan grabbed the locket. “I think I’ll just put this in the drawer. We’re not sure we want this Dorian person knowing about it.”

  “Why not?” Luke looked at her strangely.

  “We’ll tell you later—”

  A knock at the door interrupted them and Luke and Morgan went to see who it was. They returned a few seconds later with a tall, shorthaired woman.

  “Everyone, this is my boss, Dorian Hall,” Luke went around the room introducing the three sisters, Jake and Cal.

  Celeste studied the woman as she shook hands with each of them. Her short hair was stylish but not overly done. She wore black slacks, a black cotton shirt and a gray linen blazer. She would almost be bland—nondescript—but there was something about her that made her stand out—an air of power or authority, which was accentuated by keen intelligence in her large, dark eyes.

  “I’m sorry about Jolene. We haven’t had time to put enough people in place and there wasn’t enough of a force to stop them from grabbing her. We didn’t expect her to be out alone.” She cocked an eyebrow at Luke.

  “She’s strong willed,” he said.

  “Well, anyway, no
w we know the threat against you girls is very serious.”

  “What threat?” Morgan demanded. “Who are these people and where did they take my sister.”

  Dorian sighed. “We’re not positive, but it seems she’s been abducted by people under the control of Dr. Mortimer Bly.”

  Morgan’s brows snapped into an angry ‘V’. “Mortimer Bly? Who the hell is that? He sounds like something from a comic book.”

  “He’s one of the world’s foremost researchers for alternative energy.”

  Fiona snorted. “Seriously? What would an alternative energy researcher want with Jolene?”

  Dorian and Luke exchanged a glance and Luke gave a half shrug.

  “He’s not just a researcher,” Dorian continued. “That’s a front for his real purpose.”

  “Which is?” Cal prompted.

  “Tapping into paranormal energy for his personal gain.” Dorian nodded toward Morgan, Fiona and Celeste. “Imagine what you could do if you had an army of people with your powers.”

  Uneasiness bloomed in Celeste’s chest. “Do?”

  “If you wanted to use your powers to influence others or gain something, you probably could, right?”

  “I never actually thought about it.” Celeste looked at her sisters who shook their heads. “We’ve always just used them to defend ourselves.”

  “Of course, but Bly wants to use those powers—or powers like yours—for more sinister reasons.”

  “Like what?” Jake asked.

  Dorian shrugged. “Money and power, of course.”

  “Wait,” Fiona cut in. “You said powers like ours. Do you mean there are others out there like us?”

  “Yes,” Dorian said. “Although we think your powers are stronger than the others we have seen.”

  “So what does all this have to do with Jolene?” Morgan asked.

  “We think Bly took Jolene as bait. To try to lure the rest of you somewhere. The four of you are a threat to him and he wants to get rid of you.”

  Celeste felt a chill run up her spine. Had Bly already ‘gotten rid of’ Jolene?

  “Get rid of us?” The look of alarm on Fiona’s face echoed Celeste’s thoughts. “But why?”

  Dorian shrugged. “I guess he feels like you could screw up the works for him.”

  “But we don’t even care about him or what he is doing,” Morgan said. “How could we be a threat?”

  Dorian shifted on her feet. “He may be under the impression that we’ve recruited you to help us thwart his efforts.”

  “Efforts?”

  “To collect key paranormal relics that will strengthen his power.”

  “Relics?” Cal’s left brow inched up and he glanced at the drawer Morgan had put the locket into. “What kind of relics?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. But the point is, if he’s successful his power will grow. With enough of it, he could overthrow entire governments.” Dorian’s eyes turned deadly serious. “Even ours.”

  “So that’s why you are interested in all this,” Morgan said. “And in us.”

  Dorian gave an apologetic shrug. “We do what we have to do. But, of course, I never said I worked for the government … and you do get paid well for helping.”

  Celeste thought back to the last job they had done for Luke’s mysterious ‘company’. It involved ferreting out a centuries-old treasure and they had been paid well. Had that had something to do with these relics she was talking about?

  “So what’s your plan for getting Jolene back?” Morgan asked.

  “Well, we need to figure out where he took her and then assemble a team to g—”

  “That sounds like it’s going to take too long,” Jake cut in. “I’ll retrace her steps and ask around town. Someone was bound to have seen something.”

  “Right, and once you get on her trail, we’ll just go and get her back. Maybe we can use some of our paranormal skills to help find her,” Morgan said, even though she didn’t actually know how to use their skills to locate someone.

  “Oh no, you girls can’t go,” Dorian said.

  “Can’t go?” Fiona scrunched her face at Dorian. “I don’t think so.”

  “No. It’s much too dangerous. If we lose the three of you, it could set all our efforts back decades. I’ll put my best people on it and I’ll let you know what we find.” Dorian glanced at a slim silver watch on her wrist. “I better get to it. I’ll be in touch. I can show myself out.”

  She nodded at them, turned on her heel and started toward the hall. Glancing over her shoulder at them, she said, “Stay put until you hear from me. And don’t forget, Dr. Bly has deadly intentions towards you.”

  The six of them stared at each other while they listened to the clicking of the screen door and the sound of Dorian’s car starting in the driveway.

  Morgan’s voice cut into the silence. “Are we really going to stay put like she asked?”

  The sisters looked at each other, then at Jake, Luke and Cal.

  “No way!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Okay, so how do we figure out where Jolene is?” Morgan asked.

  “Well, if this was a one of my cases, I’d retrace the person’s steps and go to the place they were last seen,” Jake answered.

  “Which, according to Dorian Hall, was the junior college,” Fiona added.

  Jake looked at Celeste. “Did she say anything to you about where she was going or why?”

  Celeste’s stomach sank. She must have been the last one to see Jolene before she was kidnapped. “No. As far as I know, she was coming straight home. I knew I should have rescheduled my classes and stayed with her.”

  Cal slid an arm around Celeste’s shoulders. “Don’t beat yourself up. Jolene is a grown woman. It was her own decision to go off by herself.”

  “Yeah, let’s not waste time talking about ‘what if’s’. We need to be proactive,” Luke said. “Let’s find out about this Dr. Bly and see if we get any clues as to where he might have taken Jolene.”

  Jake nodded. “And we need to get out to the college before the trail gets cold. Maybe she left us a clue … some sort of key as to who took her.”

  Key.

  The word niggled something in the back of Celeste’s mind.

  “Then once we get an idea of what direction to head in, we can come up with a plan on how to get her back.” Luke headed toward the East sitting room. “Where’s that laptop? I wan—”

  “Wait a minute!” Celeste rushed to the drawer where Morgan had put the old locket. She held it up by the chain, watching the light glint off the garnet stone in the middle as the pendant dangled in front of her. “Grandma said something strange to me the other day. She said ‘the key is in the locket’. I thought she meant the one Jolene wore that looked like Mom’s, but there was nothing in that locket.”

  “So you’re thinking maybe she meant this one?” Fiona asked.

  Celeste nodded. She captured the twirling locket in her hand. Immediately, she felt a vibration from the stone. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the energy she was getting from the locket.

  She sensed a presence to her right and opened her eyes to see a light blue swirling mist. She watched as it slowly took the form of an old woman. She was bent over with age, but her eyes glowed with youth.

  “The locket is protected … but inside is what you seek.” The voice was barely above a whisper and Celeste had to strain to make out the words. Then the apparition was gone. One small droplet of water fell to the floor as Celeste stared at the empty air.

  “What is it?” Morgan asked and Celeste realized the others had all been silently watching her.

  “A ghost. An old woman. She said what we seek is inside the locket, but it’s protected.”

  “Protected?” Fiona’s forehead wrinkled. She reached out for the locket and Celeste handed it over.

  “We need to get this thing open, protected or not.” Fiona put the locket on the counter, picked up a knife and stuck it into the opening.

&n
bsp; Celeste heard a sizzling sound and smelled the arc of electricity. Her hair prickled.

  “Ouch!” Fiona jumped back from the locket, shaking her hand.

  “I think it’s got some kind of energy that’s keeping it from being opened,” Morgan said.

  “Maybe someone who doesn’t have paranormal gifts should try it. The locket doesn’t seem to affect us regular people the same way.” Cal’s lopsided grin made Celeste’s heart swell and she couldn’t help but feel nervous for him as he picked the locket up.

  “I’m not even sure it’s worth it,” Jake said. “What could possibly be inside that would help us find Jolene?”

  “I don’t know, but if it gives us a clue on where Jolene is, it’s worth finding out.” Cal gritted his teeth together and pressed on the clasp.

  Crack!

  The sound was deafening. Celeste covered her ears just as a light blue beam of energy shot across the room, shattering a ceramic mug into a million pieces, which flew up almost to the ceiling, then rained down on the tile floor in a clatter of shards.

  “Damn it!” Morgan ran her fingers through her hair. “We need to find a way to open this! I have a feeling what we need to know is inside.”

  They were hunched over the island, staring at the locket which was sitting in the center where Cal had dropped it, each of them trying to figure out how to get it open when a cold draft pulled their attention away.

  Celeste looked up, her heart jerking when she saw a figure silhouetted in the open doorway leading to the basement.

  “I can open it.”

  ***

  Fiona’s narrowed-eyed glare made Eliza’s stomach twist.

  “You were down in the basement all this time?” It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

  Eliza glanced behind her. “I guess you could say that …”

  Eliza saw the sisters exchange an uneasy glance and she knew they were wondering what she’d been doing down there. There wasn’t much to look at. She’d probably have to tell them she’d discovered the tunnels … too bad she hadn’t found the amulet, but she’d get them to help her with that in due time.