Blinded

by Teyla Branton

  Winter’s room. I didn’t know how I felt about my biological father sleeping in the bed of the man who’d been the best father any child could ever have, but I knew Winter wouldn’t mind. In fact, if Winter had still been alive, he would have welcomed Cody with a friendly hug and let him stay as long as he liked.

  “Uh, Cody?”

  He paused and half turned. “Yeah.” His voice was gruff, a tone I recognized. He expected rejection.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “Well, this way you don’t have to go see Easton. I can be your eyes until your ability comes back.” He nodded and shut the door behind him.

  It wouldn’t be the same, of course, because hearing about something was nowhere near experiencing it for yourself, but it could get me through this pinch. Despite my unhappiness at the whole situation, I felt marginally better.

  Even so, I still planned to go see Easton Godfrey. I wanted to learn whatever he knew about my ability, and if there were others like Cody and me. And Tawnia, of course. Her talent might be different, but she was still apparently using more of her brain than most people. I’d often wondered what it would be like to have been gifted with a musical ability, or perhaps some athletic talent, but tonight I just wanted my own “thing” back.

  The sleep had done me good, but the clock only read ten in the evening, which explained my grogginess. I must have fallen asleep at dinner and slept maybe a couple hours. I wondered how much of the Chinese food I’d actually eaten because I was hungry again.

  Pulling myself from the bed, I slowly walked to the door, my body aching worse than before my shower. Had Shannon left? I hoped so, though if he had, I knew he wouldn’t go far. He was hard to get rid of even before we started dating. Determined, some might say. I’d called him annoying, usually to his face. Why he’d tolerated it, I had no idea.

  I barely made it to the door when I heard angry male voices. I couldn’t hear what they were saying as they were trying—unsuccessfully—to keep it down, but I recognized the voices. One of them was Shannon’s. He hadn’t left. My tensioned eased.

  The bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom in my apartment all opened directly onto the living room with no hallway, so I’d be seen the minute I emerged. I paused, wondering if I should go back to bed and forget the pair of them. But with my recent nightmare still clinging to my mind, I didn’t want to turn out the lights. Not yet.

  I eased the door open.

  “I just said you can’t think like that,” Cody was saying, his voice low and angry. “I know she’s wished a hundred times that she couldn’t read imprints. So have I. But what you gotta understand is that we’re like a seeing man living with a bunch of blind people. Sure, this man feels weird and out of place, and everybody makes fun of him because he’s different and he wishes he was like them. But then suddenly—boom!—one day the guy can’t see anymore, and he understands how much he depended on his sight. It’s an entire sense lost. He can adjust—just as Autumn will if she has to—but it ain’t fun and it’s a whole lot scary.”

  Shannon paced a few steps. “I’m just saying that she shouldn’t put herself at risk! Whoever was behind this morning’s attack thought nothing of paying three thousand cash for a rug they destroyed ten minutes later—not to mention the van they torched. That means they’re serious. It was a dumb thing going to see Hamilton. She could have been taken again.”

  “I don’t like it either, but it’s her life. You can whine and complain or shut up and help her. Besides, she didn’t go in alone. You said she had that detective with her. It worked out okay, so move on. Or maybe you’d rather lock her in a jail cell till you solve your crime.”

  I appreciated Cody’s defense, but I didn’t like him mucking about in my love life. I’d better make him go to Tawnia’s so Shannon didn’t kill him.

  Whatever Shannon was about to retort was interrupted by a knock on my door; my bell was busted and I hadn’t gotten it fixed yet. I bet the neighbors were here to complain about the noise. They were mostly older folks who went to bed early, and despite having a soft spot for me after watching me grow up and lose both my parents, they needed their sleep.

  Shannon glared at Cody as if he were responsible for whoever was at the door. Cody started to limp past him to open it, but Shannon beat him to the door. I decided I’d better make an appearance or my neighbors might think something had happened to me. They’d never met Cody and hadn’t seen much of Shannon around lately.

  Shannon yanked at the door, seemingly carelessly, but I noticed his hand near his Glock. There was a moment’s hesitation that told me he was surprised at my visitor, and then, “May I help you?”

  “Yes,” said a cultured voice I recognized only too well. “I need to see Autumn Rain immediately.”

  I emerged from my room, but the newcomer was obscured by Shannon and Cody. I could see her companion, however, a man I recognized from earlier, though instead of casual clothing he’d sported at the estate sale, tonight he wore a gray suit.

  “Who are you?” Cody growled.

  “JoAnna Hamilton, and this is my cousin, Winston Drewmore. Well, actually he’s my cousin’s grandson, but we don’t bother with all the removed stuff. It’s imperative that we see Ms. Rain tonight.”

  “What is the nature of your visit?” Shannon asked.

  “Who are you?”

  I waited for Shannon to pull his cop card, but instead he said, “I’m her boyfriend.”

  “I see. Well, your romance is none of my concern, and it certainly doesn’t make you privy to my business. Now, if you’ll please get Ms. Rain.”

  Next to her, Winston put a hand on her arm, his eyes going to me. JoAnna Hamilton craned her neck to see around Shannon, then pushed her way past him. “There you are, Ms. Rain.”

  “Please, come in,” I said with a hint of irony that she ignored. “Have a seat.” I indicated my Victorian couch.

  She came forward, wearing yet another outfit, this time a purple linen skirt and matching suit coat. Her hair was freshly pinned up on her head, with no straying hair. Her eyes traveled the length of the room, pausing occasionally on some of the antiques I couldn’t bear to part with. Despite the clutter, everything I owned in my entire apartment wouldn’t adequately furnish even three of JoAnna Hamilton’s large rooms.

  Hamilton nodded at Winston, and he led the way around the couch, the back of which faced the door in an effort to divide the room into a sort of entry/living room arrangement. It mostly succeeded.

  Drewmore’s head skimmed my antique chandelier that was too big and hung too low for the room, but that I kept there anyway because I loved it so much. He cast me an apologetic grin, which I acknowledged with a nod. Hamilton sat on one end of the couch, but Drewmore remained standing near her side.

  I walked toward them, only to be joined by both Shannon and Cody. “We can make her leave,” Cody said under his breath, though his voice carried throughout the room anyway. “You need more sleep.” He eyed me uncertainly, his voice holding a question unrelated to his comment, and I shook my head almost imperceptibly.

  No. My gift hadn’t returned or I’d feel the buzzing from the strong imprints around me. Sleep, it appeared, wasn’t the cure. Or at least not just a few hours.

  My stomach rumbled, reminding me of why I’d left my room, but there wasn’t a trace of the takeout on the coffee table. I’d give Shannon points for cleanliness and good food practices if my stomach weren’t so empty.

  “Why would she want to make me go away?” Hamilton asked with crisp derision. “I was gracious to her when she came to see me this afternoon.”

  “It’s after ten,” Cody pointed out.

  Hamilton’s mouth pursed. “Who are you anyway?”

  How to explain Cody? “He’s my . . . uh . . . my—”

  “Bodyguard,” Cody stated with a scowl. “I make sure nothing happens to her.”

  Her eyes dropped to his injured leg. “I see.”

  The insinuation—if Cody couldn’t prevent himself from
being hurt, how could he help me?—wasn’t lost on anyone in the room, but I was relieved that Cody didn’t take offense. Folding his arms across his chest, he waited until I sat in Winter’s favorite chair and then positioned himself behind it. The chair was almost as old as the one in my antiques shop, and nearly as comfortable. Summer’s afghan perched on one arm, but I carefully avoided it, worried that the stress I was feeling would be enough to make me leave a negative imprint. That would make a difference once my ability returned.

  If it returned.

  I swallowed hard and brought my bare feet up under me. No need to stand on ceremony in my own house. My visitors could see very plainly how I lived.

  Shannon crossed the room and stood in front of the fireplace, farther away from me, but closer to Drewmore, which indicated that Shannon thought he was the only threat—if there was one. My bet was on Hamilton.

  “What brings you here, Ms. Hamilton?” I asked.

  “It’s my brother, Ralph Shatlock.”

  The nanotech genius. Why was I not surprised?

  “What about him?” I said, my gaze going to the coffee table where the music box she’d given me sat between an antique bowl and some figurines.

  “My brother didn’t show up for our meeting tonight,” Hamilton said, “and I can’t reach him on his cell phone. I believe he’s been taken by someone, and I want to hire you to help find him.”

  Chapter 10

  Okay, so I was surprised. Not only that she would ask me for help, but that Shatlock had gone missing in the first place.

  No one spoke for several seconds, and then Shannon said, “Is there anything besides his absence at the meeting that makes you think he might be missing?”

  “Maybe he met a pretty woman,” Cody added.

  Hamilton gave him a quailing look, which Cody met with a feisty grin.

  “What they mean,” I said hurriedly, “is that maybe your brother is so intent on his work that he forgot. I know an artist, and she sometimes forgets everything when she’s working on a project.” No need to tell Hamilton the artist was my sister.

  Hamilton nodded, indicating that her brother had also done this, but her presence still suggested that something made today different. I had the feeling it was big. JoAnna Hamilton wasn’t one to come begging—or even demanding—help so late on a near stranger’s doorstep, especially a stranger with a talent that was questionable at best. That she had come to me meant she was desperate and didn’t expect much help from the police.

  “The lab at my house was broken into this evening. Some of our software was stolen and everything else was smashed. We’ll be set back months—years if we can’t find software backups. I had a meeting with Russo, so I wasn’t home.”

  “That’s a good thing,” Drewmore said, looking down on her. “Or they might have taken you too.”

  The concern in his voice made me study him more thoroughly. Winston Drewmore appeared to be in his late twenties. He had brown hair, tanned skin, blue eyes, and a build that showed he regularly worked out, perhaps with a trainer. He was nice-looking, but there was nothing in his looks to set him apart from a crowd, except a slight forward hunching of his shoulders. I couldn’t help thinking he should be out on a date or something, and leave the real work to the big boys.

  Hamilton harrumphed, as if daring anyone to be stupid enough to kidnap her. I wondered if it had been the same arrogance that had prompted her to show Ace and me the lab this afternoon.

  “What time was this?” Shannon’s hands flexed at his sides with impatience. He wanted details so he could decide if there had been a real crime.

  “I met with Russo at seven.” Hamilton’s back was very straight, and though her voice was modulated, I had the feeling that inside she was screaming, but whether it was for love of her brother or worry about her business, I couldn’t say. “My brother was supposed to be at the meeting, but he never showed. I’d talked to him earlier, before I went to my office to get some projections I needed for the meeting, and he said he’d be there. He was heading to my house to get his plans and other information from the lab.”

  “These were to bring to the meeting?” Shannon asked.

  She nodded. “Diagrams, plans, research, back up programs—that sort of thing. Russo insisted on these as part of our arrangement. He wants to keep a set to make sure we can replicate our trials if anything were to happen to Ralph.”

  A sinking feeling grew in my stomach that had nothing to do with lack of food. “But your brother didn’t show up.”

  Hamilton hesitated before saying, “It’s only fair to tell you that we weren’t about to give that information to Russo anyway, not until we knew he was satisfied with whatever Ms. Rain might find on the contract.” Her eyes flitted to me, making me feel somehow responsible. “And even then we’d make sure it was coded so Russo couldn’t access it without our help.”

  Drewmore shook his head. “Ralph should have given Russo’s coded backup to me. I would have kept it safe.” His voice held a determination that raised him in my estimation. His gaze turned toward me, meeting my stare. “I’m really sorry to involve you in this, Ms. Rain, but as I told JoAnna, we need to find Ralph and learn where that information is. Everything at the lab, all our latest work, is missing or destroyed—including our backups. Without those, we stand to lose everything. Worse, with a bit more development, those plans can eventually create printers that will replicate virtually anything, including weapons and munitions. Given the correct building materials and programming, that could put dangerous weapons into the hands of terrorists, and on our own soil.”

  That explained Russo’s involvement. I doubted he was interested in creating a new heart for an ailing man, or a new lung for a child with severe asthma. He wanted even higher stake items. Did Hamilton and Drewmore have any idea who they were getting into bed with?

  Dismay must have shown in my face because Drewmore nodded. “I see you understand the implication.”

  “I’m thinking of Russo,” I said. “You can’t let him control this.”

  He nodded. “That’s certainly not our intention. I know it seems rather dangerous what we’re doing, but we retained control. It’s listed in the contract. Russo only participates in the proceeds.”

  “Not if you give that mobster the plans!” Cody shot.

  Drewmore flashed him a rueful smile. “As JoAnna said, the information would be coded. The backup program we intended to give him for safekeeping would erase itself if he attempted to access it, which in itself would violate our contract. He’s only supposed to hold it in the event of sabotage or . . . or something like what happened tonight. We thought it was a good idea because we could access the information if it ever became necessary.”

  My appraisal of Winston Drewmore improved further. Not only did he seem older now, but for the first time I realized he wasn’t JoAnna Hamilton’s heir solely because of blood but because he was a business man in his own right. He’d been groomed well.

  “It’s all very high tech,” Hamilton added with a glimmer of excitement in her voice. “It’s the same type of program we put on our computers in the lab. Any unauthorized access would cause vital parts to be erased. We make sure to protect ourselves.”

  “You kept no backups off-site?” Shannon looked incredulous.

  “We do keep parts of our information off-site and in use at our bigger lab, but the most important things we keep close. Besides the backup Ralph made for Russo, I have an automatic backup system in the lab. Password protected, fire safe, and impenetrable by strangers. Well, unless you take a sledge hammer to it apparently. That machine was completely destroyed and the software is now useless. I had another backup on a portable hard drive in my safe, but the safe was open when I got home—that’s why I believe my brother was there at some point. He’s the only other person besides me who knows the combination.”

  Shannon paced a few feet away. “What about your security cameras?”

  “The recordings are destroyed and there’
s no sign of a break-in. Whoever did this either waited for my brother or they knew my codes to get in.” Hamilton narrowed her eyes at Shannon. “What are you anyway, a cop?”

  When he didn’t immediately reply, she muttered a curse. “You are a cop, aren’t you?”

  “A detective, to be exact. Homicide Detail with the Portland Police Bureau. We also investigate assaults, kidnappings, and missing persons. And you should be at the police station reporting this right now.”

  “I can’t risk Russo finding out about this. He has eyes everywhere.”

  “So you came to me instead?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I trust you, young lady. You don’t like Russo any more than I do.”

  “Are you sure he wasn’t the person who ordered the break-in?” I felt compelled to say. “Maybe he decided he doesn’t need you.” Remorse flooded me as I thought about how I’d brought Ace into her house. Had he somehow managed to disable her alarm and glimpse her code? Or maybe he’d put in a code of his own? He’d been alone only for a short time, but you never knew with guys like him. Maybe Russo suspected Hamilton had no intention of allowing him to access the nanotechnology.

  Ms. Hamilton frowned. “At this point, I can’t be sure of anything. It’s possible Russo is responsible.”

  “I think it was our competition,” Drewmore put in. “This deal with Russo will push us to first in this race. We’ll have more than enough funds to develop our products, and money is always the main concern.”

  I noticed Cody had slipped over to the couch and sat beside JoAnna Hamilton, far enough away that she didn’t give him notice, but his hand rested on the seat beside him, his fingers stretching for JoAnna Hamilton’s purse. It’s what I would have done, if my gift hadn’t deserted me. After a moment of touching the purse, he nodded slightly, and I understood that everything JoAnna had told us tonight was the truth as she knew it, or that at least there was nothing imprinted on the purse to refute her testimony. Too bad he couldn’t test Drewmore in a similar way, but the man wasn’t carrying anything Cody could touch.