All in Bad Time

by Yvonne Montgomery

  "It's complicated," Max began, but was stopped at a fierce outburst from Noreen.

  "Codswollop!" she snapped. "Hurry up and tell us."

  Brenna and Kerry exchanged an impressed glance.

  "Go, Noreen," murmured Andrea. Noreen cast impatient eyes at her and her smile died.

  "As I started to say," Max continued in a steely voice, "there's a certain amount of explanation required in order to answer your questions. First, do I have the promise from each of you that what you learn here will not be repeated to anyone?"

  "Who the hell would we tell?" Brenna asked in surprise.

  "Very well." Max took a breath and let it out. "It has to do with remote viewing. Have any of you heard of it?"

  The room was silent. Rose frowned and ventured, "Wasn't that a thing during the cold war? Something about using ESP to spy on the Russians? Or they on us?"

  Max nodded. "That's roughly it. It's been a subject of controversy for decades. The NATO governments researched the theory, but the Russians were far ahead of us in testing the practice."

  "Expand a bit," Andrea leaned her chin onto one hand, interested. "How did it work? Would you hand me the tea stuff?" she asked in an aside to Rose.

  "May I have some as well?" Max looked back at Andrea. "The notion was to identify certain individuals with the extra sensory perception, or ESP, to be able to view places far away from them. They'd focus on geographical coordinates and draw or describe what they saw whilst focusing their energies. From what I've read, they'd aim for a trance state for the duration of their viewing efforts."

  Brenna reached for a muffin and began to strip off the paper liner. "Did it work?"

  Max took the cup Rose offered. "Thanks. The arguments over the efficacy of the procedure are many. Some evidence indicated impressive achievements and some did not. The United States government funded several research projects, so clearly there were enough elements to arouse interest. The funding was discontinued in the nineteen eighties."

  "This is all very interesting," Noreen interjected, "but what has it to do with our current situation?"

  Max's lips tightened. "I'm getting there." He reached for the milk pitcher and splashed a bit into his cup. "Since psi or psychic ability frequently arises in regard to paranormal research, we at the Society have tried some experiments of our own, and my colleague—you can call him Charlie—has proven particularly adept at the procedure."

  He took a drink of tea. "At my behest, Charlie began surveillance on Wisdom Court earlier this year. Via remote viewing, I mean." His eyes met Rose's gaze. "It was after my car accident, when I was in hospital. I'd corresponded with Ms. Wyntham and was concerned at the delay in helping her."

  "Behest." Kerry grinned at him. "You are so cute."

  Max's ears turned red, and Aura Lee took pity on him. "Kerry, stop it."

  His rare smile flashed. "I'm happy to be appreciated."

  At Noreen's throat-clearing cough, he continued. "Charlie began to search for signals, ESP, dream messages, and the like. I'd sent him photos of Wisdom Court and the location information he needed to anchor him. What he discovered early into the process were several strong energy sources. Entities were here and Charlie was able to tap into them. Moreover, one of them was Caldicott Wyntham herself."

  "What?" Rose stared at him, thunderstruck, and the others were equally taken aback. "This was when she was still living?"

  Max nodded.

  "Cottie was an adept?" Aura Lee murmured. Her fingers tightened around her teacup and Kerry noticed the trembling her hands.

  Max eyed her with sympathy. "There's no way of knowing how aware she was of her own power. Charlie said her psi scores were among the highest he's seen. But in my earlier telephone conversations with her, she was dismissive about such things. She told me she wanted me to disprove what she termed her 'fits and starts' about ghosts and other such emanations."

  "She didn't believe in what she saw?" Aura Lee sounded so woebegone that Kerry jumped to her feet and hurried around the table to her. She wrapped her arms around the older woman and hugged her.

  "I can't believe she denied everything." Kerry rested her cheek against Aura Lee's hair. "She just didn't have the energy to face everything head-on. You better than most remember how frail she was. She probably wanted Max to come, to bring an outsider's point of view." Kerry patted the older woman on her shoulder. "She respected your abilities, I saw that she did. It drove me crazy because I was convinced you were either pretending to tune into all the otherworldly mumbo-jumbo, or you had several screws loose."

  Aura Lee had stiffened with indignation as Kerry continued. "Now you listen to me, young lady," she stated firmly.

  Kerry glanced at Andrea and winked.

  "Wisdom Court has been crawling with spirits as long as I've been here," Aura Lee continued. "Even you have come to see that."

  Rose pushed her chair back impatiently, the abrupt motion causing tea to spill over the rim of her cup. "Stop arguing. Get to the part about Eve!"

  "Eve is still here at Wisdom Court," Max said in a rush. "Charlie feels her energy quite clearly. He just doesn't know her exact location."

  "Where is Charlie, anyway?" Brenna's voice was testy.

  "Outside London." Max nodded as her jaw dropped. "It can be difficult to precisely pinpoint sites from the distances we have in this situation."

  "There are so many places she could be." Rose's frustration was edged with fear. "We have to look for her again."

  "Agreed." Max drained the rest of the tea from his cup. "I believe the best thing to do would be to return to Eve's apartment and look again."

  "But you said it was dangerous there." Noreen was losing patience fast. "Do you mean we should have been at the associate house all along, looking for her?"

  Max sighed. "Charlie alerted me because he felt a threat when you were all in Eve's rooms. He has a high rate of accuracy, and I didn't dare ignore his warnings. He hasn't been in contact for the last hour or so, and I'm certain he'd want us to check Eve's place again."

  Andrea was staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Wait a minute. How exactly is this Charlie contacting you?"

  Max looked down at his hands.

  "I haven't heard any cell phones ringing." Rose assessed him thoughtfully. "How do you stay in touch with each other?"

  "Well," Max said slowly.

  Aura Lee let out a whoop. "You're receiving his mental messages, aren't you?" She turned a bedazzled face toward Rose. "They're reading each other's minds!"

  "Is that true?" Andrea asked in a whisper.

  "I suppose you could put it that way." Max smiled thinly. "It's more a shifting of information back and forth." He caught sight of Kerry's open mouth. "It's hard to describe."

  Andrea looked around the table. "Am I the only one who's freaked out by this?" She glanced back at Max. "What if you're both wrong?"

  "We haven't been so far."

  "We are talking about some strange shit here." Brenna shook her head helplessly. "Just when you think we've seen it all at this crazy place, here comes another bombshell."

  Rose stood up and shoved her chair back into place. "Our options are limited. I say we go back to Eve's place and see what we can find. It can't do any harm."

  "You hope." Noreen shrugged at their surprised faces. "It seems to me that harm has been a big part of what's happening these days at Wisdom Court."

  Rose walked past the coat hooks on her way to the back door, snatching a hoodie and swinging it around her shoulders. "I'm going. Come with me if you want."

  "Lights, camera, action," Brenna said in a cheerful voice. "Let's go, then."

  Kerry followed behind, pausing only to pull Max out of his chair. He bent to brush a kiss on her cheek.

  "Do you know any protective spells for us to use?" Aura Lee asked Max as he held the door for her.

  "Surely that's your department." He pulled the door shut behind him and started down the stairs to the shadowed courtyard.

  "I'm ch
anting for all I'm worth," she assured him. "On the inside, just like you and Charlie."

  Chapter 9

  The rasp of heavy footsteps snapped Eve back to attention. Though she couldn't see anything, the image filling her mind was a huge, misshapen monster with glowing eyes. She realized she was shaking, a fine, steady trembling beyond her control. It made her angry. What are you going to do? she demanded of herself. Just lie here and let it eat you?

  No. She opened her eyes and rolled to her stomach as quickly as she could, dimly aware of a sharp pain in her thigh. As she braced her hands at her sides, her mind served up one lurid picture after another, of pointed teeth dripping saliva, of thick claws aiming toward her throat. Of her blood flowing from a fresh, hideous wound.

  No, she thought again. Forcing her torso up with locked arms she turned her head back and forth, seeking her enemy. There. The blazing eyes were moving from side to side, searching for her just as she sought it.

  Make yourself bigger, she thought, mind flashing on advice she'd read about confronting bears. Make noise. She pushed to her feet, growling, stunned at the fierce, rough sound coming from her throat. "Get away from me," she rasped in her meanest voice. "Get the fuck out of here. You don't belong here!" She was shouting now. "Get back to hell where you belong!"

  That's brilliant! Charlie's voice was inside her. Don't stop! Yell at it! Make it go away.

  Eve took a wobbly step forward, gaze locked with the unblinking eyes burning in front of her. She could get lost in those eyes. Those eyes could kill her. Stop it. "Get out, get out, get out!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Leave me alone, you piece of dung, you offal, you goddamned insult to the universe."

  She couldn't believe what was happening. The eyes were dimming. Was it weakening? How could that happen? Was her rage having an effect on the creature?

  She panted, gathering herself, bracing for effort. She took a deep breath and cut loose with a scream. Every shred of terror, of outrage, of the price she'd paid in this place soared out of her mouth, hurting her ears.

  That's it, that's it, you're heroic! You're defeating it. You're driving it away. She was barely aware of Charlie's voice anymore. Everything in the world had come down to the noise she made and her will driving it to fill this place.

  * * *

  "Be my guest." Rose handed her keychain to Max and he unlocked the door to Eve's apartment. He pulled it open and took a quick step back as a howling bundle of fur burst through the widening crack and ran down the hallway. "For the love of God!"

  "It's Danica," Noreen said in concern. "She's terrified." She turned and followed in the wake of the cat.

  The others crowded behind Max as he entered the room. Rose paused to jerk the key from the lock. Pillows from the sofa were on the floor, several shredded, the stuffing falling out. Further inside were torn up papers scattered across the tongue-in-groove floor.

  "What in hell's been going on in here?" Kerry sidestepped a mess on the floor outside the kitchen. "Yuck. Looks like cat throw-up." She headed for the roll of paper towels on the counter.

  "Any sign of Eve?" Andrea peered into the office. "Look. There's that book Noreen mentioned." The Punishment of the Disbeliever lay open over the computer keyboard. She looked back over her shoulder toward Brenna, standing in the doorway. "I don't even want to touch the thing."

  Brenna approached the desk. "It makes the Britannica look like a loose-leaf notebook. Can't be doing the keyboard any good." She grabbed two corners of the book and lifted it up, setting it onto the desk. "Ugh, it feels sticky."

  "I wonder where it came from." Andrea peered at it more closely. "It sure isn't the kind of thing anyone around here would bring home. Unless I'm missing serious clues about the proclivities of our happy little group."

  Brenna fought back a smile. "That might make for interesting conversation." She wandered out the door and glanced up the staircase leading to the bedroom suite. "I could check up there again."

  Andrea followed her. "Let's go together. It feels creepy in here."

  Before they got to the first step, Max came down the shadowed flight of stairs. "There's nothing unusual up there. Either Eve is unduly neat or she hasn't had time to deal with any of her possessions."

  "Thanks for cleaning that up, dear." Aura Lee passed Kerry, dealing with the cat mess, and stepped carefully into the kitchen. "I don't see any sign of Eve in here," she called to the others. "Everything looks normal. She certainly hasn't fixed any food," she muttered.

  "I don't know if normal is bad or good." Rose paused beside her and cast a measuring eye around the room. "Where in the world could she have gone?"

  Noreen appeared at the open front door, arms filled with angry cat. Her hair was even wilder than usual, her face creased in irritation. "If I didn't know this poor animal was traumatized, I'd be tempted to boot her outside. She scratched me!" When she held out one hand to show them, the cat leapt out of her arms and made a beeline for the office. "Good riddance," muttered Noreen, but she hurried to close the door.

  "Wash that thoroughly," Aura Lee ordered. "Cat scratches can become infected if you don't take proper care."

  "Why am I not surprised?" Noreen marched toward the bathroom. "Has anyone found anything of interest?"

  "No." Kerry took the soiled paper towels to the wastebasket. "Except for the mess, it doesn't look any different than it did earlier."

  From the office came a low, rumbling growl. Before they could react, the sound increased in volume and pitch. When they reached the door and yanked it open, they saw Danica clawing madly at the damaged woodwork. "Stop it," Rose snapped at the cat, and clapped her hands, but Danica scratched more deeply, snarling at her.

  "What is the matter with you?" Aura Lee moved cautiously toward the animal, but when she came within reach, the rumbling built into a fearsome scream that came from all corners, filling the room.

  "My God, is the creature in pain?" Max asked in alarm as the shriek died away.

  "That didn't come from the cat." Rose pushed past them to get closer. At the same moment, a loud click sounded near the window. A part of the floor fell away and Max grabbed Rose by one arm. The cat dropped into the hole and, before their eyes, the section snapped back into place with a thump.

  "By the Goddess," whispered Aura Lee, tottering toward the once-again smooth floor.

  "Don't get too close." Max released Rose's arm and followed Aura Lee's path across the trap door area. Kneeling, he rubbed his fingers over the wood surface, seeking cracks that would indicate the parameters of the opening.

  "Over here." Kerry had a finger against the base of the door molding and she pointed down an almost imperceptible line. "You'd never notice it."

  Max made a wide circle to get to Kerry. When he bent to check what she'd found, he nodded. "I see it. It's incredibly fine, something easily overlooked." He turned his head to check out the vertical molding. "How in hell does it open?"

  Brenna's back was plastered against the wall beside the area Danica had savaged. "It's right here." She pointed out the dull gleam of metal amidst the torn wood with a delicate touch. "What if the cat triggered it with that scratching?"

  "Wow." Kerry edged back and pushed herself to her feet. "That would explain the way she was acting. Feline remorse."

  "Let me see." Rose leaned close enough to examine the mechanism. "Stand back," she said crisply after a moment. "I'm going to try to open it."

  "But what if—" began Max, gesturing in frustration.

  "But nothing. Eve must be down there, and we know the cat is."

  Max nodded with reluctance. "Very well. But be careful."

  Rose took her keys from her jacket pocket and picked out the multi-purpose tool on the ring. She used her nail to pull down a flat head screwdriver and used it to pry at the metal piece in the molding. After a moment of digging at both sides, a steel loop lifted away from the wood, and at the same time the trapdoor fell open. Rose jammed the screwdriver blade into the loop, barring it from slipping
back into its resting place. The door hung open.

  Rose got down on the floor. "Hello?" she called into the hole. "It's dark as pitch down there. Eve, can you hear me?"

  They heard movement. "Yes. I hear you. I can hear you." Her voice was rough.

  "Is Danica with you?" Noreen asked loudly.

  After a moment they heard a shaky, "Yes."

  "Is there any way for you to get up here?"

  Again that slight delay, then, "No."

  Rose met Max's eyes. "We have to call Neal. At a bare minimum we need a ladder and maybe some rope."

  "Already on it, Rose." Andrea spoke softly into her cell phone and listened to a reply. "He's not far away and can be here in ten."

  "Good." Rose turned back to the dark space. "We'll get you out, Eve, but it'll take a while. What can we get for you now?"

  "Light." She coughed and spoke again. "Just get some light down here. I've got to be able to see what's down here with me."

  Rose looked up from the hole in the floor, meeting Max's frowning gaze. "What's down there with her?" she repeated.

  Max shook his head. "She might have hit her head."

  Kerry reached the edge of the trap door. "What do you mean?" she called to Eve.

  "Just get me out of here as fast as you can."

  Time Out of Time

  Severn picked himself up from the floor, shaking with rage. He'd spun the web to create the monster. He'd held control as he moved the creature toward her. And the burning eyes had been almost impossible. "She should have been gibbering. She should have been crushed!"

  The soft knock at the door brought him up short. "What do you want—" His voice was an animal growl. He took a step away from the fireplace, shocked at the weakness in his legs. The knock came again.

  Severn forced himself across the rug, grasping the knob when he reached the door. Turning it, he jerked the door toward himself and glared out at Simms.

  At the sight of his face the butler took a step back. "Sir, there's a message."

  The tightness in Severn's throat kept him silent.