“Joining us now, after her blockbuster reporting of the House speaker’s death, is Washington Post reporter Tomi Lehane.” He turned toward her. “Thank you for joining us.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Tomi responded.
“Walk me through this,” Wallace began. “You were the first to identify the woman seen in all the photographs from the Hay-Adams as being a Ms. Abrianna Parker. Tell our audience how is it that you personally know Ms. Parker.”
“Uh, certainly.” Tomi smiled, but then when she opened her mouth again, she quickly closed it as she suddenly saw the trap—that she had personally laid and walked right into. They were going to make her a part of the story. Her and Avery.
“Ms. Lehane?”
“Uh, yes. Well.” She blinked several times. “Ms. Parker and I unfortunately shared a horrible nightmare. We were both abducted as teenagers by the same madman.”
“And that madman was Dr. Craig Avery. Am I right?” Wallace pressed.
Tomi reddened and then belatedly remembered that she needed to speak. “Yes.”
“Can you recount some of the horrors you and Ms. Parker endured?”
“Certainly,” she said, still smiling but now bouncing her right leg nervously under the table. Quickly, she summarized the experience.
“Did you ladies ever find out what kind of crazy stuff that nut job was injecting you with?”
“No clue,” she said, the leg bouncing faster. “All I know is that it . . . made me very sick and that it killed others.”
“Let me ask you.” Wallace put on his contemplating face and leaned in close. “Did you follow any of the reporting of what happened to another rescued victim, Shalisa Young?”
Tomi’s heartbeat jumped off rhythm.
“Did you hear about the tragedy that had befallen her?”
“Yes. Yes. I, uh, read about it the papers.”
Wallace nodded. “For our audience, Shalisa Young was charged with murder a few years ago. She allegedly killed her mother and was later found not mentally stable to stand trial. She was sent to St. Elizabeths federal mental hospital, where just last week she committed suicide by jumping off the building.”
Tomi nodded.
“Now we have another situation, with another Avery survivor wanted for questioning in Speaker Reynolds’s murder case. Coincidence?”
“I’m not sure that I follow you,” Tomi lied.
“Well, I guess the plainest way I can put it is: Is there some kind of link between what Avery did to you ladies down in that basement and the madness that at least two of three survivors have exhibited?”
Tomi’s temples throbbed.
Wallace’s earpiece emitted a piercing sound—so loud that he reflexively snatched it out of his ear. “Whoa!” He laughed, facing the camera. “Sorry about that, folks.”
Camera one’s red light went out, to the puzzlement of the cameraman.
Wallace quickly turned to camera two. “It looks like we’re experiencing camera difficulty. We’ll take a break and return with Ms. Lehane right after commercials.” He pushed up a plastic smile for the two seconds it took to clear for commercial.
“What the hell was that?” Wallace roared, his television charm gone.
Tomi snatched off her microphone, bounced out of her chair, and rushed off the set.
“Hey, where are you going?” Wallace hollered. “The interview isn’t over.”
“Oh, yes it,” she mumbled under her breath, marching past Jayson.
“What’s the matter?” Jayson asked, rushing to keep up. “What happened?”
Tomi kept moving, handing her temporary building pass off to the receptionist before heading out the glass doors. She couldn’t explain even to herself why she was on the verge of tears. Castillo had warned her before she’d outed Abrianna, but the stars in her eyes had got in the way.
“Will you slow down?” Jayson asked.
She didn’t.
And eventually, he stopped chasing her. But then a black Mercedes rolled up next to her as she raced down the sidewalk.
Tomi glanced over just as the back window rolled down.
“Ms. Lehane?” an older African-American man inquired.
She frowned but kept walking.
“Ms. Lehane, I know that this is rather odd, but I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time.”
“For what?” she asked, marching.
“Just to talk,” he said, smiling.
“Talk about what?”
“Well . . . it’s sort of a personal nature. It’s not an appropriate topic of conversation to be shouting out of a window.”
She stopped and so did the car. “I don’t get into strange cars with men I don’t know. Tell me what you want or get lost.”
The man’s smile widened while he spoke without moving his mouth. I want to talk to you about the powers I believe that you and Abrianna Parker have developed over the past six years.
She stared at him, heart racing. “Well?” she asked. “Aren’t you going to tell me what you want?”
Finally, the man’s cocky smile dropped. “Can you not hear me?” he tried again.
“Look, buddy. I don’t have all day.”
“No. Of course not.” His frown deepened. “There must’ve been some sort of mistake. I apologize for the inconvenience.” The window rolled up and the Mercedes pulled away.
Tomi watched and didn’t relax until the car disappeared around the corner.
“Who the fuck was that?” Jayson asked, finally catching up with her.
“I have no idea,” she said, but suspected that it wouldn’t be the last time she’d see the man.
Abrianna opened her eyes, shocked that she’d been able to do so. The blurred images made it impossible for her to identify any of the images surrounding her. Still, she didn’t panic. She didn’t have the energy. Suddenly something moved on her left, and Abrianna used all of her willpower to focus on it.
It was a face.
Kadir smiled. “Hey, sleepyhead. Welcome back.”
She smiled. “Hey, you.”
He chuckled. “Is that your slick way of saying that you don’t remember my name?”
Her face heated with embarrassment before she joined him, laughing. “Busted.”
“I thought so.” His smile stretched wider. “It usually takes people a while to retain my name. It’s Kadir, by the way.”
“Kadir,” she repeated, chuckling. “Now I remember.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a Mack truck.”
“I’m not surprised. You looked like you were really going through it. Even got in an argument with my buddy Ghost on whether or not we should get you to a hospital.”
She frowned. “That really would have been a risk for you.”
“At the same time, if you had died on me . . .” Kadir shook his head.
“Then lucky for you, I came back,” she joked.
Kadir chuckled, nodding. “Extremely lucky.”
Abrianna liked his laugh—and found herself taking another look at him. He was handsome—almost beautiful, really. With skin the color of golden honey and eyes a rich brown. Even his lips were full, the way she liked them, and his pearl-white smile was fresh and blinding. Suddenly, she could barely take her eyes off of him. Maybe this was the Nightingale effect in reverse.
It occurred to her that Kadir was gazing at her with the same intensity. His eyes were locked on to her lips with such naked desire that Abrianna’s body started tingling.
“Is there anything that I can do for you?” he asked innocently enough.
Abrianna shook her head, but then felt pressure along her bladder. “Um. Is there a bathroom in this place? I really have to go.”
“You’re in luck. There’s one down the hall. Do you think that you can sit up?”
“Yeah. I think . . .” She attempted to sit up, but was stunned by how much effort it took.
“Here. Let me help you.” Kadir gently t
ook her by the shoulders and helped sit her up.
When the bed’s top sheet fell from her chest, Abrianna was surprised to see that she’d been stripped down to her underwear.
“Sorry,” Kadir said, reading her expression. “You sort of sweated through your other clothes. I had them washed though.” He gestured to the neatly stacked clothes on top of the small television. When she still didn’t say anything, he added, “If it gives you any comfort, I did try my best not to look while undressing you.”
She cocked her head. “Your best, huh?”
To her surprise, he blushed.
“Let’s just wrap this around you,” Kadir said, taking the lead in draping the sheet around her body and knotting it underneath her right arm. Once that was done, they focused on getting Abrianna to her feet.
However, she was embarrassed by how rubbery her legs were and how they threatened to drop her flat on her ass every third step.
“Don’t worry. I got you,” Kadir assured her.
Taking him at his word, she clung to him. The effort wasn’t easy.
Exiting the cot room, Abrianna experienced a low buzzing inside her head.
Kadir caught her pained expression. “Are you all right?”
Ghost rounded out of the break room, holding a mug of coffee. “Well. Sleeping Beauty is finally up.”
Kadir nodded. “Yep. Ye of little faith.”
Good. Then you can get her out of here.
Abrianna frowned, confused. She could’ve sworn that she’d clearly heard Ghost’s voice inside of her head, but she would also swear on a stack of Bibles that his lips hadn’t moved.
Ghost noticed her hard stare. “What?”
She didn’t respond, but instead cut her gaze away from him.
Kadir looked up and assumed Ghost was talking to him. “What?”
“Nothing.” Ghost shrugged. “I thought your girl had something to say.”
“Me?” Abrianna said. “You’re the one that seems to have a lot on his mind.”
Ghost frowned. What the hell is this bitch talking about?”
Her heart skipped. This time, Abrianna was positive she’d heard Ghost without his lips moving. That realization caused her to miss taking the next two steps.
Kadir grunted as he strained to keep her upright while they moved past Ghost. “Don’t worry. We’re almost there.”
The bathroom turned out to be another closet-sized room. Concrete floors and walls were all painted the same dull gray color. Apparently the bathroom also doubled as some sort of storage room as there were a few industrial-size metal shelves cram packed with cleaning supplies and toiletries. There were also two large yellow mop buckets, completed with drying mops jammed into the corners.
“Sorry,” Kadir said, sheepishly looking around. “I know that this isn’t the Ritz . . . or even the Hay-Adams . . . but at least it’s clean and functional.”
“Beggars can’t be choosy,” she joked.
“Yeah. I guess.” He smiled.
Abrianna noticed the lone dimple he had on the right side of his cheek and smiled along with him.
“All right. Here we go,” Kadir said when they arrived at the sink that stood next to the toilet. “Should I—”
“I got it,” Abrianna said, sliding her arms from around his neck. She quickly propped herself up by grasping the sides of the sink.
Kadir noticed her trembling. “Are you sure? If you want, I can close my eyes again and help you on—”
“No. That won’t be necessary,” she said, shutting him down. Her embarrassment was shifting into mortification.
“Oookay.” He crept backward with his hands still extended. Apparently, he was prepared to dart back to her if she started to fall. Once he was outside the door, he looked reluctant to close it.
“I’ll be all right,” she assured him, finding his continued concern sort of endearing. A first for her.
“Okay. I’ll just be on the other side of the door.” Kadir took hold of the doorknob and slowly closed it. “Riiight out here,” he repeated.
“Got it.”
“Call me if you need me,” he added, the door still slowly closing.
“I will.” Abrianna hung on to her smile until the door finally snapped shut. Alone, she finally took a look at herself in the mirror. It was difficult to even recognize the woman who stared back at her. From all the intense sweating, her hair’s natural curl had returned near the roots of her hair. Her face looked dull, and were those bags under her eyes?
“Oh God.” She lowered her gaze to the sink and took time to focus on moving from the sink to the toilet, which was only two feet away, before she made things worse by peeing on herself.
No. What would be worse is to let go and face-plant on this concrete floor. She shrugged. She would lose a couple of teeth that way. Wouldn’t that just complete the picture? Against her better judgment, she took another look at herself in the mirror.
“Okay. You can do this.” Despite saying the words, Abrianna didn’t let go of the sink. She locked eyes with her reflection and tried to will strength into the fragile image. “You. Can. Do. This.”
As the seconds ticked, her gaze grew more intense and her grip on the sink tightened. “You. Can. Do. This,” she growled.
Crack!
Abrianna gasped and then stared in shock at the cracked mirror. At first it was just a single line straight down the center, but as she looked at it, more cracks appeared and spider-webbed across the entire thing. Then, unexplainably, large shards fell off of the wall.
“Abrianna, are you all right in there?”
Jerking her head toward the door, she spotted the knob already twisting. “NO! Don’t come in here!”
At her command, the door slammed shut and the lock above the knob engaged.
Kadir rattled the doorknob when it wouldn’t open. “Hey, are you sure you’re all right?”
She stared at the door, stunned.
“Abrianna?” He knocked.
“I—I’m fine,” she finally managed to respond. “Everything is . . . all right. I’ll be out in a second.”
“What was that noise?”
“Just . . . the mirror,” she said. “I guess I scared it.”
He didn’t laugh, but she knew that he lingered by the door.
However, she dismissed him to look at the broken glass strewn around her. Did I do that? The rational side of her quickly denied it, explained that it was just some kind of freak accident. But what about the lock on the door? She’d clearly seen it lock itself practically at her command.
That’s not what happened, the rational side spoke up again, but it didn’t offer a logical explanation to what she’d seen. It just denied, denied, denied.
And it didn’t work.
47
After a brief but much-needed shower, Abrianna had only one thing on her mind: to get to Madam Nevaeh. Through her connections, she was sure to have some kind of exit plan. Clearly, she knew people in high places. It stood to reason that she could help her.
“Are you sure that you want to go tonight?” Kadir asked, watching her slip her foot back into her Timberland.
She shrugged. “The sooner, the better.”
“It’s just that . . . well, two hours ago, I wasn’t sure that you’d even wake up. And now you’re feeling well enough to try and evade every law enforcement agency out there looking for us to get across town to this . . . person.”
“Look. I’ve never been one to try and wear out my welcome.” She grabbed her jacket.
“What? Ghost?” He waved off her concern. “His bark is worse than his bite. Trust me.”
Abrianna laughed. “I trust no one—but myself.”
Kadir sighed.
“Look. If you’re afraid of getting caught, you don’t have to come. I know that you have your own situation. I don’t need you to hold my hand.”
Slapped by her words, Kadir reared back. “I’m not afraid. I’m concerned. A little while ago you couldn’t even stand up on y
our own. Now . . . now look at you.”
“Well—that was then and this is now. As you can see, I’m fine.” She looked around. “I could use a weapon though.”
Ghost appeared at the door. “Talk any sense into her yet?”
The buzzing returned.
“Not yet. She wants a gun.”
“Ah. Of course. Once you get a taste of the Wild Wild West, it’s hard going back.” He elbowed Kadir. “Why don’t you give her your gun? You’re not supposed to have one anyway. A violation of your parole.”
“Really? That’s what you’re concerned about? Not that the world has been given a carte blanche check to shoot me on sight for being a terrorist?”
“Well—on the off-chance that you’re not killed and are able to explain your side of events—it would help not to be packing.”
“Yeah—because law enforcement never shoots unarmed people of color.” Abrianna laughed.
Ghost bobbed his head. “She has a point. Maybe you should keep the gun.”
Kadir tucked the gun back into his waistband. “Funny.”
“C’mon. If we’re going to do this thing, we better get a move on it,” Ghost said.
Abrianna stopped. “Wait. Hold up. You’re coming too?”
“Damn right. If I give you my van, I may never see it again,” Ghost said.
“We could jack another car,” Abrianna said.
“Sure. Why not? They’re going to throw the book at you anyway, right?” Crazy broad.
“Who in the hell are you calling crazy?” she snapped.
“What? I didn’t call you crazy.” Not out loud.
Kadir frowned. “No one used the word crazy.”
Abrianna glared at Ghost. “I don’t need your help.”
Ghost tossed up his hands. “Fine. Get caught. Why the fuck should I care?”
Kadir grabbed Ghost’s arm. “Wait. We can definitely use your help.”
“No, we can’t,” Abrianna countered stubbornly.
Ghost’s hands went up again. “Fine.”
“No. Just . . . give me a few minutes to talk to her,” Kadir said, nodding toward the door.
Ghost rolled his eyes and marched out of the room.
When Kadir closed the door behind Ghost, Abrianna noticed that the buzzing stopped. “What’s with you?” Kadir asked. “Of course we need his help. The city is damn crawling with every agency of law enforcement. If we jack a car, we risk the owner reporting it stolen before we get to wherever we need to go. On foot or public transport is a certifiable way to get caught too because there are cameras with face-recognition everywhere. Ghost has a van. We hide in the back. Wham bam. Smooth sailing.”
Conspiracy Page 24