Forbidden Touch

by Paula Graves

  She read through the brochure, looking for more information about the organization, but most of the text inside outlined the conference schedule and speaker bios. There was almost nothing about the Cassandra Society itself.

  She sat on the edge of the bed, wishing she'd brought her laptop computer from home. If there'd ever been a time for a Web search, it was now. There had to be more detailed information about the Cassandra Society on the Internet than she was finding in this oh- so-uninformative brochure.

  She finger-combed her damp hair away from her face and crossed to the closet where she'd deposited her luggage without unpacking yesterday afternoon. The second luggage rack in the closet sat conspicuously empty, reminding her that wherever Sandrine had gone, she'd taken her bags with her.

  Pushing away a wave of despair. Iris unzipped the garment bag that contained the two dressy outfits she'd brought with her. The cinnamon-red silk dress was a little longer than the natural linen sheath and would hide her skinned knees. She pulled it from the bag and smoothed the sleek skirt. It would work for the cocktail party. Meanwhile, she had just a few hours to research the Cassandra Society before the party.

  Maddox started undressing as soon as he stepped inside his squat little bungalow nestled at the outer edge of the rain forest north of Sebastian. The house wasn't much to look at. But the view from his back veranda was worth every penny he'd spent on the place.

  Mount Stanley, the dormant volcano that had formed the island of Mariposa centuries ago, had long since transformed to a lush, blue-green peak towering over the tiny Caribbean island. Its southwestern face filled his panoramic view of the rain forest that spread, thick and teeming with wildlife, as far as he could see.

  He didn't let many people in town know about this place. It would raise too many questions about where he got the money to buy a decent-sized house with a spectacular view on an island where land and housing were at a premium. Even inland places such as his cost a small fortune, a fortune a jack-of-all-trades beach bum like Maddox Heller shouldn't have at his disposal.

  He'd created his life from scratch on the island. Well, from scratch and occasional dips into a massive trust fund that had sat in a bank accruing interest from when his father had died and left him his fortune eight years ago.

  The old man hadn't bothered to acknowledge him before that. Married, rich and successful, he probably would never have admitted paternity if he hadn't gotten sick of his legitimate kids and their profligate spending and left Maddox half his fortune to spite them.

  The money was still there, for the most part. Maddox had spent some of it, early on, taking care of his mother. But she'd died two years after his father, and he'd left the money mostly untouched since then.

  When he decided to make the move to Mariposa, he'd brought nothing but the clothes on his back and the ancient Steinway upright piano that had been his mother's.

  He showered quickly, taking time to shave the shadowy thatch of beard darkening his jaw line. Toweling dry his hair, he booted up his laptop computer and typed in a search for "Celia Shore."

  Scores of hits came up immediately. The first link read Celia Shore-Official Web site. He clicked it and the Web site loaded a splash of vibrant pinks and teals. Across the top of the page was a photo of a beautiful blonde in her thirties. A radiant glow of pearl pink edged the image.

  To her right, her name was written in looping cursive, with a line of narrow, straight type below: Psychic Healer

  Well, well.

  Chapter Three

  "Are you calling from Mariposa? Is something wrong?"

  Tears stung Iris's eyes at the sound of her sister's concern. "Yeah, Lily, there is."

  She told her older sister, Lily McBride, what she knew about Sandrine's disappearance, including the Cassandra Society. "Ever heard of it?"

  "No, I haven't."

  "I need to find out more about who they are and if they're somehow connected to what's happened to Sandrine. You got a minute to do an Internet search for me?"

  "Don't start playing Nancy Drew with this. Iris. Take the next flight home and let the police handle it."

  "They're not handling it, and I don't think they will unless there's someone here to push them into it, I have to stay, at least a few more days. I'll be careful, I promise."

  "No, you won't. You never are."

  Iris couldn't blame Lily for thinking so, she'd always had an impetuous streak to go along with her insatiable curiosity. But the last couple of years had taken a toll on her impulsive tendencies. She couldn't afford to take too many chances; her body wouldn't hold up.

  But Lily didn't know that. Iris hadn't told either of her sisters just how bad the pain had become. Her younger sister. Rose, was still a newlywed who deserved a little uninterrupted happiness, and Lily was eight and a half months pregnant with her first child and didn't need any added stress. Iris couldn't burden either of them yet. Not until she figured out how to stop the pain from rendering her an invalid.

  "Lily, please. I just need you to do a quick Web search."

  Lily exhaled audibly. "Cassandra Society, you said?"

  "Thanks. I'll call you back in ten minutes."

  TEN minutes later, Lily told Iris all she'd found, which was next to nothing. "It's mentioned on a few paranormal Web sites, but none of them really say much about the society and what it's about. Do you want me to read what the pages say?"

  "No, thanks." Iris said, hearing weariness in Lily's voice. "How's Mc Bride Junior?" The baby Lily was carrying was a boy.

  "Playing soccer with my bladder as we speak."

  The joy in her sister's voice brought tears to Iris's eyes. She didn't begrudge Lily a minute's happiness-God knew, she'd earned it-but she couldn't help feeling sorry for herself at the same time. Her sisters had found something she'd begun to fear she could never have in her own life.

  She cleared her throat. "Lily, I'd better go-"

  "Please reconsider catching the next flight out of there."

  "Just a few more days. Lily."

  Lily sighed. "All right. I'll see if McBride has ever heard of the Cassandra Society, Okay?'

  "Okay."

  Her brother-in-law was a policeman. If the Cassandra Society wasn't legit, he might know about it.

  "Just stay safe, okay?" Lily said, "It's bad enough that Rose has gone all crime fighter on us-"

  "Love you, Lily. Talk to you soon."

  Iris rang off, tucked her phone in her purse and slumped on her bed, glancing at her travel alarm clock. Almost two. Still plenty of daylight left if she felt like venturing out for another round of "Have you seen this woman?" Or maybe she could start looking for an Internet cafe and look up more on the Cassandra Society herself.

  Maddox slumped back against his desk chair, his eyes narrowing as he read through Celia Shore's bio and a rundown of her claim to psychic fame. She listed several mid-tier actors as satisfied clients, and her photo page included images from television and red carpet appearances.

  What the hell did a woman like that want from him?

  He glanced at the clock over the piano. Just after two. He'd been in Mariposa long enough to adjust to living on island time, but somehow, he didn't think the same could be said of Mr. Charles Kipler. If he wanted to reach the hospital by two-thirty, he had to get moving.

  He was tempted to call back and blow it off. But he couldn't shake the feeling that meeting Celia Shore was important. He'd learned long ago not to ignore his instincts.

  Iris never imagined she'd have reason to contact "Maddox" again. But her search for an Internet cafe with computer terminals was proving fruitless. Half the people she asked gave her blank stares, and the others had no clue where she could find such a place.

  At her next stop, a chocolate-skinned waitress with a Dutch accent couldn't help with her search for an Internet cafe, but her interest perked up at the mention of Maddox's name.

  "You want to find Maddox. Go talk to that crazy Claudell at the Beachcomber. He knows every
thing. But don't fall for his lines. Maddox's, either." The waitress gave Iris directions to the bar.

  Outside, the sun had dropped lower, shadows lengthening across the busy streets of Sebastian's commercial district. The day's heat was fading, cooled by the fragrant ocean breeze.

  A sudden gnawing sensation fluttered through Iris's chest. Emptiness, as if someone had scooped out her insides and left her body hollow. She tried to sense what direction the feeling was coming from, but it was faint and fleeting.

  She looked around her, keeping her movements slow and calm. There were pedestrians moving all around her, tourists and locals alike, alone or in pairs or groups. Black faces, brown faces, people with tropical tans, people with bright pink sunburns and people with milky-white skin dotted with freckles.

  A tall redhead wearing a straw hat to hide her pale complexion approached, deep in conversation with a shorter woman with mousy brown hair tucked up under a baseball cap. They passed Iris, leaving a cloud of jasmine in their wake. A broad-shouldered man with sandy hair and a goatee lounged against a building nearby, talking on a cell phone. The emptiness nibbling at her insides could be from any of them.

  She ignored the sensation and headed for the Beachcomber, where the waitress said she could find Claudell. By the time she reached the Beachcomber, her feet were beginning to hurt and the sunscreen she'd applied before leaving the hotel was nearly melted off by perspiration.

  Her head was pounding, her knees stinging beneath the Band-Aids, and the full spectrum of human misery surrounding her here in the throbbing heart of paradise had weighted down her aching shoulders with an invisible rucksack.

  The bartender looked up when she entered the mostly empty bar. He started to look back down at the shot of whiskey he was pouring but did a comical double take at her approach.

  Without looking, he slid the shot glass down the bar to a dread locked man sitting at the end and wiped his hands on his apron.

  "What can I get you?" he asked.

  "A bottle of water and some information." she answered.

  For his trip to the hospital, Maddox had donned a pair of khaki chinos and a navy golf shirt picked upon his last trip to Miami, his concession to civilization, and tied his shoulder-length mop of sandy hair into a ponytail at the base of his neck.

  It had taken him five minutes to reach St. lgnacio Hospital and another five to find a parking space within sight of the tiny security kiosk. The Harley-Davidson Road King was his baby, and he didn't like leaving it out in a public parking lot where anyone could jack it.

  But a twenty passed to the guard in the kiosk would ensure the Harley would be sitting there waiting for him when he got back. Money well spent.

  A dark-haired man in an Italian silk suit far too heavy for the tropics stood in the hospital lobby when Maddox entered, his arm lifted in the act of checking his watch. Had to be Charles Kipler, Maddox thought. He had lackey written all over him.

  He stepped forward as Maddox approached. "Maddox Heller?"

  "Charles Kipler?" Maddox mimicked Kipler's imperious tone.

  Kipler's lips flattened into a thin line. "Follow me "

  "You might want to add a pretty please to that."

  Kipler, who'd already moved toward the elevators, turned to look at Maddox. "Do you have an issue with me?"

  An issue? Maddox stared at the man. Did people really talk like that?

  "I'm here for me. Not for you or for your psychic friend."

  Kipler's expression shifted at his use of the word psychic. "I suppose this is your way of saying you want some sort of compensation."

  Maddox bit back a laugh. "No. This is my way of saying I'd like to know what your client wants with me."

  Kipler sighed."I don't know. She asked me to track you down and bring you here, so that's what I'm doing."

  "Don't worry. Chuck. I'm sure you'll get some sort of compensation." Maddox clapped the agent on his shoulder and crossed to the elevators.

  Kipler joined him as he waited for the car to reach the lobby. Maddox slanted a look toward the manager, whose face had reddened. Most of Maddox's irritation faded into pity for the man.

  It was hard, catering to the whims of someone who held your livelihood in her hands. He'd seen a lot of men and women play that role in his so-called father's life-including his mother. There were always people willing to linger around the perimeter, waiting for crumbs to drop. But it wore on a fellow.

  "How's she doing?" Maddox asked as they stepped into the elevator and began the ascent.

  "Well enough. She has a concussion and some abrasions."

  Maddox could tell by Kipler's tone that something else was wrong. "Did she tell you what happened to her?"

  Kipler eyed him warily. "That's still being investigated."

  The elevator stopped on the third floor. The door opened and Kipler stepped out, turning right.

  Maddox caught up with him, falling into step. 'What aren't you telling me. Chuck?"

  "The name is Charles."

  "What aren't you telling me. Charles?"

  Kipler stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to look at him. "She doesn't remember what happened. She doesn't even remember arriving here on Mariposa. Her last memory is of the airport in Miami."

  "Because of the bump on her head?"

  Kipler didn't answer right away, gazing down the hall. "The doctor doesn't think the injury should have been enough to cause amnesia." he finally admitted in a hushed voice.

  "Which means what?"

  Kipler's gaze swung around to clash with his, "Are you a reporter?"

  Maddox frowned. "No."

  "You certainly ask a lot of questions."

  "I like to be prepared." Maddox lowered his voice as well. "I"m here out of the kindness of my heart, because your client wants to talk to me. And because right now, I don't have a good reason to say no. But it won't take much to change that."

  Kipler glanced down the hall again, "Promise me you won't upset her."

  "I don't plan to."

  Kipler's mouth tightened again, but he didn't respond except to motion Maddox to follow him down the corridor. They stopped in front of a closed door with the number 312. "She said to send you in alone."

  Kipler looked queasy, obviously not happy about that directive.

  Maddox entered the hospital room. It was a semiprivate room, all the hospital offered, but the bed nearest the door was empty. He crossed to the second bed, where Celia Shore lay propped on pillows, bandages wrapped around her head and wrists. The bed sheets hid her ankles but he guessed they were probably bandaged, as well. Her eyes were closed, her expression placid, but Maddox was pretty sure she wasn't asleep.

  "Trying to read my mind?' he murmured.

  Her eyes opened slowly. "Just resting"

  And trying to present a pretty picture to the grubby islander, Maddox added silently. He hid his cynicism and pulled up the armchair stashed in the corner of the room. "Your cabana boy said you wanted to see me."

  Her lips quirked. "I take it Charles didn't make a good impression?"

  He ignored the question, "I hear you can't remember how you ended up on the beach."

  "I remember nothing since transferring planes in Miami."

  "Mr. Kipler traveled with you?" He tried not to imply anything with the question.

  "We had business to discuss."

  And a phone conference just wouldn't do, Maddox supposed, getting a little clearer picture of the kind of woman he was dealing with. "What would you have done if Chuck out there hadn't been able to make it?" Maddox asked.

  "That wasn't a possibility."

  Maddox felt sorry for Charles Kipler all over again.

  "What I came here to do was business-related. I wanted Charles nearby if I needed him. That's what he's paid for." Celia gave him a pointed look, "You don't have to approve."

  The woman might or might not be psychic, but she was perceptive. He'd been trying hard not to show his distaste for her attitude.

&
nbsp; "Fair enough. Unlike Chuck, I don't have to be here, though. So tell me what you wanted to tell me and we can be done."

  "I saw you leaving with a woman this morning at the beach. I need to know how to contact her."

  Maddox sat back in the chair, surprised. "Why?"

  "I wanted to thank her for her aid this morning"

  Maddox wasn't quite buying that excuse, but he played along. "I don't know her that well. She's a tourist."

  "You normally put your arm around tourists you don't know well?" Celia arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

  "The heat got to her. I helped her get somewhere cool."

  "Aren't you the Good Samaritan?" The other well-shaped eyebrow rose to join the first. "Where'd you take her?'

  "I'm not at liberty to supply you with that information."

  "I can make it worth your while."

  He chuckled. "Lady, I'm not for sale. Tell you what I'll do, though. I'll try to find her for you and tell her you want to see her. Then it'll be up to her. That work for you?"

  He could tell she wasn't entirely pleased. Probably wasn't used to being at the mercy of other people's whims. But she finally nodded her assent. "I'll be released from the hospital tomorow. If I don't hear from you or your tourist friend by then, I'll have Charles contact you with our location."

  "So you're staying on the island?" he asked, surprised.

  "Yes. I came here for business, I intend to keep to my schedule as much as possible."

  Maddox stood. "Well, I really am glad you're feeling better. I hope the police can find out what happened to you."

  "Thank you. And despite what you seem to think, I am grateful for your help this morning." She turned her head toward the window and closed her eyes, ending the conversation. He took the hint and left the hospital room.

  Outside, Charles Kipler was pacing in front of the door. "Everything okay?"