by Anise Eden
“Yeah. They like to take shortcuts, and they don’t fight fair,” Pete said. “Put that together with the rest of it, and I’m not likin’ what I’m hearin’.”
“Pete and I will work on an action plan,” Ben said. “I’ll call my mother, as well, and get her take on the Skeet aspect of this. We’ll reconvene when Eve and Asa get here.”
“You got it, Big Dog,” Pete said.
Kai jumped up, smiling brightly. “Cate, that means we have a few minutes of down time! Which is perfect, because I need to run some wedding stuff by you. Let’s leave these boys to it and go to your room.”
All I wanted to do was lie down for a few minutes in peace and solitude and try to pull my thoughts together. “I don’t know, I’m really tired—”
“We’re all tired, but I’m only getting married once.” Kai snapped his fingers and grabbed a large leather tote. “Now, let’s go. No arguing.”
Pete stood and offered me his hand and a crooked smile. “Come on, sis, we all got jobs to do.”
As we headed for the door, I cast a pleading glance over my shoulder at Ben, but he just smiled and waved. Evidently he only felt the need to protect me from certain things, and wedding planning wasn’t one of them.
Chapter Twelve
“So we’re going to do the whole thing on New Year’s Eve at the American Visionary Arts Museum—you know, the AVAM, down by the Inner Harbor. I know a druid who can do the ceremony in the museum itself, followed by a dinner reception in their top floor restaurant, which is divine. We can also watch the fireworks from there. Afterwards, we’ll send both sets of parents home and have an off-the-hook after-party on the Spirit of Baltimore. You’re not afraid of boats, are you?”
“No…”
Delighted, Kai clapped his hands. “So what do you think?”
I shook my head slowly. “I think it sounds amazing, honestly. I’m just stunned! When did you plan all of that?”
“Well, if you must know…” He pursed his lips and glanced at the ceiling. “I sort of knew we would get engaged; it was just a matter of when. I have friends who work at the AVAM, and I know the guy in charge of booking the Spirit, so I put them on standby a while back. Then it was just a matter of making a few phone calls over the weekend, and voilà! The machine was set in motion.”
“Wow, I’m impressed!” I wondered if Pete had been as surprised as I was by Kai’s efficiency. “And the plan sounds beautiful. I mean it.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I wanted to ask—” he grabbed my hands— “would you be in our wedding party?”
“Really? Are you sure?” Then, not wanting to offend, I added quickly, “I only ask because we all haven’t known each other that long…”
Kai dramatically rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve known each other through many lifetimes. We only just met in this one.”
I knew he meant the “many lifetimes” thing literally. “Well in that case, of course, I’d be honored!”
“Excellent!” He gave my hands a squeeze. “We haven’t had a chance to ask Ben yet, but it’s not like he has a choice. We’re counting on him to keep an eye on the Marines at the reception. Lord knows we don’t need a repeat of the Fried Turkey Limousine Catastrophe of ’09. But I digress.” Kai grinned. “Oh, you two are going to look so delicious together! And I have a special job for you, too, if you’re willing. I need someone to act as a buffer between my cousins Alexys and Petra. Otherwise, there will be a full-on catfight. And you have such a peaceful energy…”
I had to smile. People often said my presence was calming, but beneath the surface, I was usually a churning sea of anxiety. “No problem.”
“Oh, thank you. I’m so happy!” He clapped again, and then pulled a notebook out of his tote. “Okay, here’s your next job. I need your opinion. I’ve got my eye on this stunning Vera Wang gown—column-style, off the shoulder. But it might be a little much for the parents’ generation if I wore white-white, given that Pete and I have been living together for years. So fortunately, it also comes in ecru, champagne, and ivory. What do you think?”
I stared hard at the collected swatches, but they all appeared to be the same color to me. “Um…” As I marveled at Kai’s unique take on blending the traditional and the unconventional, I struggled to come up with an answer that would show I was treating his gown dilemma with the appropriate gravitas. “I guess…I’d have to see them on you?”
Kai nodded and, with a flourish, closed the notebook. “You are so right. It’s all about what goes with my skin tone, and that is just too hard to judge in the abstract. I’ll make an appointment to try these on. And we’ll have you try on some potential dresses, of course.” Then he added dryly, “As much as I’d like to force Alexys to wear something hideous, I would never do that to you, so don’t worry. It’ll be tasteful.”
I smiled hesitantly. “Thank you.”
Once those major decisions were made, Kai folded his long, lean frame onto the couch. “All right, give me the scoop. Did someone really drug Ben?”
“Oh god, yes—and it was awful!” I proceeded to fill Kai on everything that had happened over the past few days. Apparently, Ben and Pete had left out quite a few details. Kai said the two of them told stories “like they’re reporting on a mission—just the facts, ma’am.”
When I’d told him everything I could think of, Kai leaned back, his face a mask of cold anger. “So in other words, we’re dealing with a rare class of bastards, here.”
“Yeah.” I sighed heavily. “So it would seem. You didn’t have to come, you know.”
“Please, as though I’d be anywhere else. Pete had to threaten to call off the wedding to keep me from coming down here with him the other night.” Kai gave me a gentle smile. “We’ll figure all of this out, don’t you worry. In the meantime, though, you want to tell me how you’re handling all of this?”
If he was referring to the chaos of emotions I was feeling about my father, my mother, Skeet, and everything that was going on at Mercier—and I was fairly sure that he was—then the answer was definitely no. “I’d really rather not talk about it—at least not right now.”
Kai sighed and shook his head. “Ben said you would say that. Okay, honey. But whenever you’re ready, I’m right here. Right across the hall. And it doesn’t have to be me, but don’t wait too long to talk to somebody. We don’t want you to start having random anxiety attacks or something.”
My indignation stirred. “Ben told you to talk to me?”
“Oh for goodness’ sake, no. I asked if he’d talked to you about how you were coping, and he said he’d tried but you didn’t want to talk about it, so I said I wondered if you’d talk to me about it, and he said, ‘good luck with that.’ So in this one unusual case, Ben is not to blame. I am, for being nosy. And I’m going to continue to be nosy, because I care about you. So deal with it.” He punctuated his speech with a huff.
“Kai, I’m sorry…” The last thing I wanted was for Kai to be upset with me, but I was in no mood to open up, either. I closed my eyes and turned inward, commanding myself to appear calm and in control. Emotion had no place in figuring out what was going on at Mercier, who my father really was, and what had happened to him. “Thank you for caring so much, Kai. I care about you, too, and I will talk through everything, I promise. It’s just that now’s not the time.”
“All right, fine. But I believe it’s you therapists who are always saying, ‘what you resist, persists.’ It’s not good to suppress your emotions—especially for an empath.”
Vani had said the same thing. I was going to work on opening my heart chakra back up as soon as I got the opportunity, but we’d been a bit busy. “I agree. I’ll try.”
“Okay,” he said, clearly doubtful. “As long as you know I’ve got your back. I need my wedding party to be in tip-top shape.”
I started to laugh, but then covered it quickly by clearing my throat when I realized that Kai wasn’t joking. I decided it was a good time to ask h
im for the one favor I really did need from him. “Listen, I don’t know if this is appropriate to ask—I mean, maybe you just do it during rituals—but I was wondering, anyway…”
“Let me guess.” He made a sweeping gesture towards my head. “Either you want me to finally help you put some shape on that mess of hair, or you want me to make a person-to-person call to your late parents.”
I knew that my long, curly hair was always a bit rebellious, but I hadn’t realized Kai thought it needed an intervention. That would have to wait, though. “The latter.”
He slapped his thigh. “Just as I suspected. Well, your mother has been really reliable about coming through strongly in the past, and I felt her presence constantly for a while, but she’s pulled back over the last couple of days. As for your father, I don’t know. We’ll have see what happens. But just so you know, the afterlife is a busy place. I don’t know what they do up there exactly, but I can tell you that they’re not sitting around on clouds playing harps and eating bonbons. So I can reach out to them, but I can’t guarantee that they’ll come through. Sometimes I try to open a connection to one person, and someone else entirely answers; you never know who it’s going to be. Also, we’d need to find a place where we won’t be interrupted.”
Something electric snapped through me; I couldn’t tell if it was excitement or fear. All I knew was that Kai had said yes. “Okay, I totally get that,” I said, trying to downplay my sense of urgency. “It might not work, and that’s fine. But I really appreciate your willingness to try.”
“Of course.” Kai smiled and patted my knee. “Let’s run it by Ben and Pete when they get back and ask them to find us an appropriate venue.”
“Umm, about that.” I felt a strange possessiveness about my potential conversation with my parents. I didn’t want to share it with anyone. “Can we keep this just between you and me? For now, I mean.” I hoped my request wouldn’t sound too strange.
He eyed me carefully. “You know I don’t remember much of what’s said when I’m talking to the other side. Are you sure you don’t want someone else there as a witness? You’ll probably be emotional; you might forget some things, or hear something wrong.”
I considered. “Can I record it?”
Kai smirked. “No, dear. Whatever a spirit has to say to you is very personal. They have no desire to have their visits turned into podcasts. Except in very special circumstances, they won’t come through if you’ve got a recording device. But I’m sure any one of us would be willing to be there with you—that is, if you don’t want Ben for some reason that I couldn’t possibly begin to understand, since that would make the most sense, hello.”
I couldn’t help smiling a little. “I’ll think about it.”
“Very good.”
He held up his arm and adjusted the silver cuff around his wrist. I realized for the first time that Kai wasn’t wearing a leather bracelet like the rest of us. “Hey, thank you for the telepath-blocking jewelry, by the way! Why aren’t you wearing any?”
“Oh, but I am,” he said, holding out the cuff, which was embedded with small rocks and crystals. “I made this a long time ago, so it’s a little bit fancier than y’all’s, which I had to throw together in a hurry.” His eyebrow pulsed upward. “You never know when you might have to guard your thoughts from intruders.”
“Very wise. And the cuff is gorgeous.”
We heard Pete’s boots clomping down the hallway.
“Oh, well, playtime’s over,” Kai said, rising from the couch. “Let’s see what the boys came up with.”
It was all about to begin—ready or not.
• • •
Ben stood toward the bow of the boat. “Everybody ready to get started?”
The entire MacGregor Group was together again. Eve and Asa had arrived mid-morning. We were all crowded onto the skiff, sitting on the small benches that lined it, and we were twice our usual sizes thanks to the puffy life jackets Ben and Pete had insisted we wear. Kai gave Asa and Eve their telepath-blocking bracelets. Asa put his around the wrist opposite his hemp band. Then he held up his arms in an “X” formation, noting cheerfully that now, he could “block thoughts coming and going.”
Pete manned the outboard motor in the back of the boat while Ben sat on a crate in the front. Having left Mercier Cove, we were slowly humming down Broad Creek. The boat had been scanned for listening devices, and there wasn’t a building or another boat in sight, which was how Ben wanted it—total privacy for our meeting.
We started out by catching each other up on personal things, mainly on Kai’s wedding planning and Asa and Eve’s midterms. Asa’s shaved head was covered with a fluorescent orange cap—evidence that he was much more aware of hunting zone safety than I was. He and Eve were kidding around as usual, taking advantage of opportunities to splash water onto each other, and I felt a surge of gratitude that they had come. Their playfulness added a bit of cheer to an otherwise grim situation.
Then Ben launched into the briefing, filling the group in on everything we knew so far. Some of the information was even new to me. Ben said that after examining Mercier’s past tax records, Danielle had noticed some discrepancies that weren’t adding up. Multiple accounts in the Caribbean suggested possible money laundering, but she needed more time to figure out the details.
Pretending to be a novice hunter looking for experienced partners, Kai had turned to Owen for suggestions, and eventually got the names of the two hunters I’d nearly encountered that morning. Ben suspected that Mercier might be monitoring our phone and Internet activity, so to avoid being caught snooping around, he had asked his friend Max to research those two men first, then the other owners. Max learned that the man with the New Jersey accent was Paul Tucker, a long-time congressman from New York, and the Southerner was Bertie Hencock. He was from Northern Virginia and worked as a lobbyist for the country’s largest defense contractors.
That news hit me harder than I expected. I clutched at the shoulder pads on my life jacket. “Are you telling me that I could have been shot by a congressman?”
Asa and Eve exchanged an alarmed look. “Who almost shot you?” Asa demanded.
“Wait a minute,” Eve said, “I heard you were just running around naked in a field. Which, I mean, if that’s your thing, that’s cool. But there were guns involved?”
I lurched up to stand, but sat back down quickly when the boat rocked and everyone grasped at the sides. “I was not naked!” I lanced Pete with a sharp look, but he just shrugged.
“Well, you may as well have been naked, for all the protection you were wearing,” Kai said. “Naked as the day you were born. And if a congressman shot you, you know they’d find a way to cover it up. The truth would go with you to the grave.”
“Oh, for the love…” I threw my hands up. “Just forget I said anything. Ben, please proceed.”
“Wait a minute, Cate,” Ben said, prompting me to imagine pushing him overboard. “It is worth noting that we’re dealing with formidable individuals. If the rest of your co-owners are heavy hitters like Tucker and Hencock, we need to find out who they are. If there’s a congressman involved, that opens up a lot of new possibilities in terms of what these people could be into.”
Ben had also spoken to his mother. Dr. MacGregor was shocked to learn that Skeet was giving his research subjects psychedelic drugs and that he might be involved in illegal financial dealings. She wanted to call and confront him, but Ben convinced her it would be counterproductive. He argued that she would be better off doing a little digging of her own—with great care, so as not to raise any suspicions. After all, we still didn’t know yet what exactly was going on at Mercier or how deeply Skeet was involved. There was nothing to be gained by Dr. MacGregor damaging her friendship with Skeet and possibly losing his trust.
“All right, enough about Mercier,” Kai said. “What about these sensitives of Skeet’s? What are their names, again?”
“Michael and Liv,” Vani said.
“Persona
lly,” Kai said, “I think whatever they’re up to is much more interesting than money laundering. And they’ve alluded to some pretty juicy stuff they want to show us this week. I think we should get right on that, not let the grass grow.”
“Agreed,” Ben said. “I think it’s best if the five of you are seen as mainly interested in learning what you can from Michael, Liv, and Skeet about their research and whatever they’re doing here at the lodge—as well as getting in some R&R, which is why Skeet allegedly invited us in the first place. Make a point of taking part in some of the recreational activities around here. Just don’t go too far afield, and don’t do anything involving firearms or take any unnecessary risks.”
“The spa is nice,” Vani contributed.
“And Vani did yoga with Skeet’s subjects this morning, which was a great idea,” Ben said. “As for the rest of today, Skeet has invited us to have lunch with him so everyone can meet Michael and Liv. Then our group will convene for a conference call with my mother and the research team at the Smithsonian.”
“Cool!” Asa exclaimed. “What about?”
“They have an update for us regarding our meeting last Saturday. Tomorrow, Skeet and his subjects want to give us the demonstration they’ve been talking about. Until then, have some fun, get to know everyone, try to pick up whatever you can. We’ll likely need to bring all of your abilities into play at some point, but right now we’re just in information-gathering mode. Got it?”
We all nodded. Ben paused and rubbed his jaw.
“What is it?” Pete asked.
“I don’t know,” Ben said, “I just have a feeling… My gut is telling me we should all be ready to pick up and leave at a moment’s notice, so don’t unpack completely. Which brings me to security.”
All of us would carry the panic buttons that were connected to Ben and Pete’s cell phones, and we were also to use the buddy system whenever we stepped outside of the lodge. If we went anywhere alone inside of the lodge, we were supposed to make sure another member of our group knew exactly where we were going, for what purpose, and for how long we’d be gone. Any suspicious activity we observed was to be immediately reported to Ben or Pete.