“Yes, but it’s special. It has a mechanism that would allow me to take it over, if it came to that.” She paused a few beats. “I never considered that you would voluntarily march into Sandra’s lab.”
The doorbell rang, making me jump and interrupting my thoughts. “Who’s that?”
Alyson stood slowly. As she passed, she gently touched my arm. “It’s Seth and Mr. Williams.” I didn’t know if I should be offended by her motherly tone—since I hardly knew her as a mother—or relieved that the people I trusted far outnumbered her.
She left the room then returned with Coach Williams and Seth. Seth had a five o’clock shadow. His eyes appeared slightly bloodshot.
“Did you find them?” I had tried to block out the thought of the men who had tried to kill me. The men who had succeeded in murdering Dia and Lin.
Coach rubbed the back of his neck. His tie had been loosened. “Yes, we found them. They were just able to walk again by the time we arrived on the scene. They’re in custody. They were screaming some nonsense about some kids injecting them with a paralyzing drug.” Coach eyed me sardonically. “Most of the agents thought they were just crazy.”
I smiled, but I didn’t mean it. “And Dia and Lin?”
Coach and Seth shifted at the same time, trading uneasy looks. Jack came over and stood beside me.
“The bodies that were pulled from the gorge today have been identified as Jack DeWeese and Briana Howard.”
“What? Why?”
I turned to Jack, noting that he didn’t appear the least bit surprised. “Jack—you knew this?”
“Only because Seth texted me an hour ago. I had Jonas break it to Briana before dinner.”
Briana’s eyes were directed to the ground in front of her.
“But we’re going to set the authorities straight, right? Why would you let that happen?”
Coach pushed the lapel of his sports jacket aside to put a hand in his pants pocket. “There is no record of Dia’s or Lin’s existence. And when the authorities mistakenly identified the kids as Briana and Jack, we wondered if there was an opportunity here.”
“An opportunity for what?” I asked.
Jack grabbed my shoulders. “To verify that my mother had nothing to do with the shooting.”
“To make sure she wasn’t part of wanting me dead,” I whispered, and he nodded. “Are you sure? If she did have nothing to do with this, then believing that you’re dead… it’ll break her heart.”
“She’ll understand why we had to do it.”
True. It wasn’t like she hadn’t manipulated those around her. If we proved Roger Wellington was reckless with Jack’s life, she wouldn’t care that we’d lied to her.
“This doesn’t answer the question of why Dr. Wellington wants me dead.” I turned to Alyson. “You started to tell me earlier.”
Alyson glanced around the room, clearly uncomfortable. She spoke in a low voice, though I was sure everyone could hear. “I don’t know the extent of your inheritance. Given my residence at the time your father had his will drawn up, we thought it best to keep me out of the mix. However…”
“You’re shaking.” I grabbed my mother’s hand.
“I visited with Ms. Long shortly before her… death. I was the secondary beneficiary to your father’s will.”
“Meaning, if something happened to me, then the school and everything went to you?”
“As long as I was not still inside one of Sandra’s compounds.”
“And if you were?”
“If I was still working for Sandra, and if something happened to you, then everything would go to Roger. Your father trusted him until just before his death. But apparently he never got the chance to change the will.”
Coach stepped closer to us. “Shortly before he was killed, your father had suspicions that Roger’s intentions were no longer pure where the clones were concerned. That was why I watched Roger closely, but until today, I truly hadn’t thought he was a danger to you.”
“Dad was getting ready to move me,” I said, more to myself than to Coach. “That was what Marci had said. I always thought it was the IIA that was trying to kill me, but—it was Roger Wellington all along?”
I thought of the size of my inheritance. Roger had to have known it was enormous, even if he didn’t know the exact amount. I turned my frantic eyes back to Alyson. “That’s why you added the security around this place.”
She nodded.
Jack placed a hand on the small of my back. “Now we just have to prove my mother’s not involved in Roger’s plan.”
~~~~~
You ready to put on the performance of your life? Jonas asked as we entered the main administrative building on Wellington’s campus.
Seth had put numbing drops in my eyes to make them appear red and watery, and I had let mascara run down my cheeks.
If it means we get rid of Roger Wellington and finally prove that we can trust Cathy DeWeese—whether we like her as a person or not—then yes. I’m just sorry that if she is innocent, that we’re making her suffer the greatest loss a parent can suffer. Even if it’s only temporary. Though my voice sounded calm, my heart felt heavy and too big for my chest.
Let’s do this, then. Jonas turned the handle and pushed open the door to Dr. Wellington’s office. Trepidation weighed on me as I stepped into the room. Seth and Coach were already there with Roger and Cathy.
“Finally, you’re here,” Cathy said, rolling her eyes at me. “So, will someone please tell me what this is—” She suddenly stopped, zeroing in on my face. “What’s happened? Why are you crying?”
Coach stood behind Roger. One hand rested on his gun, tucked inside a holster on his hip, a gesture I’m sure no one noticed but me.
Seth walked toward Cathy. “Cathy, the kids were shot at today while they hiked through the Red River Gorge.”
Cathy’s eyes grew big. “What do you mean? Who shot at them? Where’s Jack?”
I turned and buried my face into Jonas’s chest. His hand rubbed my back. I can’t do this. Trying to pretend that Jack was dead was cutting right to my heart. My pulse sped up.
You’re doing fine. She’ll just assume you’re too upset to talk. Jonas gripped me tighter when my knees buckled slightly.
“Cathy, why don’t you sit down.” Seth gestured to nearby chair
“I don’t want to sit down. Tell me where Jack is. Tell me he’s okay, Seth.”
“The FBI pulled two bodies out of the forest and identified them as Jack and Briana Howard.”
Okay, that was true. I rotated my body to watch their reactions. Jonas kept a loose hold on me.
Roger paled. I was pretty sure he hadn’t meant for Jack to die. But the tears coming down my face became real when I saw Cathy’s stunned face. She stared at the floor for a few seconds before she looked up. Tears welled in her eyes. Her hands balled into fists at her side. Then, just like the transition from day to night, a dark cloud of anger fell over her face. “This is your fault, isn’t it?” she hissed at me through clenched teeth. “Everyone you touch dies!”
My spine stiffened. She was right. Everyone was dying around me. I tried to back up even more, but Jonas only squeezed harder. Be tough. She’s just angry. And heartbroken. She’s lashing out.
Cathy walked a few steps closer to me. “They were shooting at you. You know that, right?”
I started to shrug, but then nodded. She hates me. Look at her eyes.
“Cathy, the FBI is here.” Coach had stepped up beside me, his hand still on his holster. “They have no choice but to assume that this is related to Peter’s death. They’ll have questions, but I have one first. Do you know who would want Lexi or any of these kids dead?”
“Why would I know any more than you already know?” Her voice came out hoarse. “I knew I should never have let Jack come here. Sandra is toxic, which means any thing that shares her DNA is toxic, too. I’m sorry he ever met you.” Tears streamed down her face, and my heart constricted in my chest as the coldne
ss of her eyes penetrated mine.
As much as I hated to hurt anyone like this, Cathy was showing me just how much she despised me. Did she hate me simply because I was the clone of Sandra Whitmeyer, or had I earned that hatred in my own right?
Roger, who had yet to react to the news of his nephew, walked over to his sister and put an arm around her. “What is being done to search for whoever did this?”
Coach placed himself between Roger and the door. “The FBI took both shooters into custody. The agents who were first to respond believe the men were mercenaries acting on behalf of another.”
“What makes them think this?”
Coach only shrugged. “That’s privileged information.”
“Well, you can let the authorities know that I and this school will do whatever is necessary to cooperate with their investigation.” Roger squeezed Cathy close. “But for now, I’d like to get Cathy home where she can mourn and make arrangements.”
Cathy started to walk toward the door, but stopped beside me. Her eyes were already red and swollen. “You’re the reason my son is dead. This is your fault.”
At some point while those two sentences were spoken, I stopped breathing. I stared into Sandra’s eyes, then looked to Dr. Wellington. He stood over his sister’s right shoulder, his hand resting at the small of her back.
“Look at the two of you,” I finally breathed. “My father trusted you.” I looked to Dr. Wellington. “He trusted you to manage this school and watch over the clones he’d found over the years.” I met Cathy’s glare again. “And he trusted you and your pathetic excuse for a husband to take care of his only daughter. Yet you both wanted only to get your hands on my father’s money and to use the clones for your own selfish motives. You have no one to blame for what happened today but your own selfish selves.”
Dr. Wellington dropped his hand from Cathy and stepped around her to tower over me.
I hope you know what you’re doing, Jonas mindspoke.
“What are you talking about?” Cathy asked between sniffs, then turned to Dr. Wellington. “What is she talking about?”
Coach whispered something to Seth, who immediately left the room.
“She’s upset,” Dr. Wellington answered. “We’re all very upset. We need—”
“I need you to shut up!” I screamed at Dr. Wellington. “You’re a liar and a murderer!”
Dr. Wellington tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck. He took in a large breath. “Lexi, we know how much Jack meant to you. You’re tired, and you’re not making sense.”
This wasn’t the plan at all. But why stop now? Jonas asked. I think you’re making perfect sense.
Several suits filed into the office, each one appearing to make very calculated steps.
“It’s over for the two of you,” I said. “I have evidence that you put out a hit to kill me.” I only knew for sure that Dr. Wellington was involved, but I directed my statement to Cathy, too.
“A hit on you? What are you talking about?” Cathy faced Dr. Wellington. “What is this nonsense?”
“She’s crazy, Cathy. You know that. She’s just like Sandra. You said so yourself.”
“Roger Wellington, Cathy DeWeese.” One of the FBI agents approached. “You’re wanted for questioning in the deaths of Jack DeWeese and Briana Howard.”
I swallowed hard.
Suddenly Cathy turned and lunged at Dr. Wellington. Her fists beat at his chest. “What did you do? Did you kill my son?” She was crying and screaming. She clawed at his face.
Dr. Wellington said nothing, did nothing to defend himself while Cathy assaulted him. After she got in a few good licks, the agents pulled her off of him. “Mrs. DeWeese, we need you to come with us.”
Dr. Wellington and Cathy were led from the room. They weren’t cuffed. Coach followed them out. As soon as they were gone, I collapsed into Jonas’s arms.
“Shhh.” He rubbed my hair and cradled me in his arms. “It’s going to be fine.”
“Watching her react made it feel real, Jonas. I imagined what it would be like to know I would never see Jack again. And I don’t ever want to feel that. Ever.”
“I know. And you won’t.”
I raised my head and looked at him. “You don’t know that. She was right. Everyone I touch dies.”
He placed his hands on either side of my face. “No, they don’t. I’m still here. You have lots of friends around you. And Jack…” Jonas swiped a thumb across my cheek, wiping away what I was sure was black mascara and tears. “Jack is still here. And he’s not going anywhere.”
I swallowed and let Jonas hold me. I so badly wanted to see Jack, but I knew I couldn’t until we were sure about Cathy. “I’d like to go back to my room. I need to be alone. And I could really use a shower.”
“I wondered what that smell was.”
A weak laugh passed my lips.
“That’s better. Laugh a little. We won’t have to pretend that Jack and Briana are gone for long. Promise.”
Chapter Fifteen
A hot shower washed away the ickiness of camping and hiking, but it did nothing to cleanse the ache of my heart. Not only was I mourning so many lives lost, now I had to pretend that the love of my life was dead. And I knew that Cathy was right, even if she had the names of the victims wrong: it was my fault that Lin and Dia were dead.
Dani was murdered because I didn’t answer Sandra quickly enough and do exactly as she had ordered.
Dia and Lin were dead because someone had been shooting at me. Because of money? I never asked for this money.
I pulled on sweats that said “Wellington” down one pant leg and a simple cashmere sweater my dad had brought me from Europe. It was late, but I knew I would struggle to fall asleep, so I grabbed my computer and headed up to my favorite spot on the roof to clear my head. If that was even possible.
The air was cool and crisp against my face. I pushed back thoughts of Jack and tried to focus on possible locations of Sandra’s new lab. What I couldn’t figure out was, if Sandra wanted me to come to her so badly, why didn’t she just tell me the location?
I leaned against the side of the roof and looked out over campus. I saw a security guard in the distance doing a routine check, shining a flashlight along the outside of the classroom building. Otherwise, the campus was still.
You up? Jonas entered my mind.
I immediately pocketed my thoughts like Jonas had taught me to do. There was no reason to keep him up with the many things going through my head. Yes.
Georgia and Fred decided not to return to campus. They went back to our house near UK.
I don’t blame them. And I didn’t. Who would willingly get mixed up with this stuff? If I were them, I’d probably have left a long time ago and not looked back.
They’re not leaving, Lexi. They want to help. They’re just not sure what it is we’re asking them to do.
I’m not sure what I’m asking, either.
Get some sleep. There are guards outside the dorm. Roger Wellington is not getting near you tonight. Let’s meet in the morning and discuss how to go forward.
Something told me that when Jonas slipped out of my head that time, he was actually gone. Maybe he’d slipped into Briana’s head. I didn’t know. Jonas’s mental reach was greater than mine and Jack’s. I was just thankful to be alone with my thoughts on what to do about Sandra.
She wanted me with her for some reason. She had made that much clear. And she wanted me alive. Yet I didn’t think her “protection,” if you could call it that, had been extended to anyone else. Would she and John even be upset to hear that Jack might be dead?
I turned and sat with my back against the wall. After digging my laptop out of my backpack, I logged on to the internet. I typed Washington, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, and Kentucky into the search engine. The first sites that popped up were related to state laws: seat belt and smoking bans. Most of the other sites had to do with sports teams. I continued to scroll.
Then, fairly
far down on the list, I came across an article titled: “The World’s Biggest Military Bases.” I clicked on it. It turned out that five of the world’s largest military bases are located in the United States: Ft. Bragg in North Carolina, Ft. Campbell on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, Ft. Hood in Texas, Ft. Lewis in Washington, and Ft. Benning on the border of Georgia and Alabama.
I pulled up maps for each of the military bases, and compared them to the locations of each of the schools. Was it just a coincidence that military forces were stationed so close to every one of the labs where Sandra had operated a cloning operation? I remembered the video Sandra showed me at The Farm—how she cloned young boys, turned them into droids and trained them to spy on military officers. She had mentioned how the U.S. government paid her a lot of money to supply them with intelligent weapons.
“Oh my God.” I sat up and closed the laptop. The reason the military and the government hadn’t shut down her unethical and evil operation was because they needed what she was supplying. “They’re helping her,” I whispered.
But how deep did this federal involvement go? Would the FBI be privy to this? Maybe the FBI was throwing us off, the same way Alyson had worked to throw Sandra off from finding me? No, that was too farfetched. But I did believe that the IIA was capable of covering up this operation, moving it anywhere in the world they desired.
I placed my hands over my face and drilled my fingers into my forehead. Conspiracy theories threatened to make my neurons misfire. But I knew: we were all in one giant chess match. And the biggest problem was that there were too many kings and queens.
~~~~~
When I woke, I smelled a familiar scent. I couldn’t hide the smile that immediately stretched across my face. When did you break into my room?
Around two a.m. You were restless most of the night.
A lot on my mind. How did you get in?
Addison. She made me invisible and helped me get in.
I opened my eyes. The only light came from campus lighting outside my windows. Jack sat at the end of my bed with his back against the wall and his feet draped over mine. His hair was slightly tousled, as if he had run his hands through it a hundred times. I sat up to face him. “Glad you’re not dead.” My voice came out a little raspy.
Mindsurge (Mindspeak Book 3) Page 14