by Jayne Castle
Burt studied her with a worried expression. “You okay, Alice?”
She pulled herself together. “Yes, I’m fine.” She picked up two of the newly filled ketchup bottles and positioned them on nearby tables. “I was just thinking about the culinary possibilities of canned beans.”
Burt snorted. “Personally, I’m praying that Drake shuts down that damn fog machine before we have to start feeding beans to the entire population of Shadow Bay.”
She winced. “I take your point. I vote we move to canned soup and peanut butter crackers first. Keep the beans as a last resort.”
“That’ll work. The kids will eat anything with peanut butter on it.” He looked out at the bay again. “That fog isn’t just coming in earlier this afternoon, it’s darker, too. I swear you can feel the damn stuff.”
He’s right, Alice thought. She could sense the eerie whispers of energy that always preceded the incoming tide of fog. She went to stand beside Burt. Together they looked out the window. The seething mist that was crouched just a short distance offshore did seem closer and darker than it should have at that hour.
“This is not good,” she said quietly.
“No.” Burt turned away from the window. “But there’s nothing we can do except hope that Drake is making progress. Meanwhile, you and I had better get ready for an early dinner rush.”
“I’ll make up the peanut butter crackers,” she said.
She started to turn away from the window, but a flicker of movement at the edge of her vision made her pause for a closer look. As she watched, two young boys dashed across the street and ran toward the entrance of the marina warehouse. She recognized the youngsters.
“I thought all of the kids were down at the library this afternoon,” she said.
“Last I heard, that was the baby-sitting plan for today,” Burt said.
“Well, it looks like Billy Walters and Mark Snyder snuck away to play a game inside the warehouse. I’d better go get them.”
“Good idea. If they get caught in the fog, they’ll panic and so will their parents and everyone else.”
Alice hurried through the maze of tables to the door and let herself out onto the street. The amber lantern in front of the tavern burned steadily, but the glow could not stave off the disturbing currents of darkness that emanated from the fog. The water in the bay was eerily quiet.
Night was going to fall fast and hard this evening.
She went quickly along the empty sidewalk and crossed to the entrance of the warehouse. The boys had left the door ajar. She looked through a grimy window, but the interior was heavily shadowed. Egan was out somewhere, walking his lonely patrol on the outskirts of Shadow Bay.
A loud chortling stopped her just as she gripped the door handle. She turned to see Houdini rushing excitedly toward her. All four of his eyes were open. She scooped him up and tucked him under her arm.
“You’re still playing hide-and-seek with Billy and Mark, aren’t you?” She opened the door and stepped into the gloom. “I’m surprised you and the kids haven’t grown tired of that game.”
Houdini made encouraging noises and wriggled madly. She put him down on the floor. He took off and promptly disappeared into a canyon created by two rows of wooden crates.
“Billy, Mark, the game is over,” she called into the stillness. “The fog is coming in early today. Your parents will be worried.”
Houdini chortled madly somewhere in the shadows. Two small figures popped up.
“He found us,” Mark said. “I told you he could, even this far away.”
“We’re over here, Ms. North,” Billy said. “We were testing Houdini. We think the cops should use dust bunnies for tracking criminals.”
“Not a bad idea,” she said. She went toward the boys, her sense of anxiety intensifying. “You can talk about that with the chief when he returns.”
“If he returns,” Billy said.
There was a new note in his voice now. He was no longer a happy-go-lucky kid playing a game. He was a scared kid playing a game, hoping that game would distract him from his fears.
“Chief Attridge will return soon, and so will Mr. Sebastian,” she said firmly.
“I heard Dad talking to Mom last night,” Mark said. “Dad told her that if Drake Sebastian can’t stop whatever is causing the fog, we’re going to have to make a run for it in our boat. I could tell Mom was really scared. But Dad said we may not have any choice.”
Alice thought about the treacherous currents and the impenetrable fog that formed a paranormal moat around Rainshadow. She and Drake had barely made it through. The forces in the mist and the water had only grown stronger in the intervening time.
She looked down at the boys and remembered what it had been like to be young and scared of things over which you had no control. The terrifying part about growing up was the dawning realization that the adults who were responsible for protecting you did not always have control over the scary stuff, either. She knew that Billy and Mark did not want more soothing platitudes from her. They needed to be reassured that someone over the voting age knew what he or she was doing about the problem.
“I know you’re scared,” she said. She crouched down in front of the boys. “We all are. But I can promise you that Mr. Sebastian and the chief are still safe out there in the Preserve. They are both professionals. They know what they are doing.”
“But how do you know they’re safe?” Billy asked.
“I know they’re safe because Charlotte and Rachel know they’re safe.”
“But how can they know that?” Mark demanded.
“Because Charlotte has a psychic link with the chief. And Rachel has a similar connection with Harry Sebastian. Trust me on this, Charlotte and Rachel would know if something terrible happened to the men.”
“Huh.” Billy looked dubious. “Sounds kind of weird.”
“I dunno,” Mark said. “Mom says both the Sebastians and the chief have unusual para . . . para . . .”
“Unusual para-psych profiles?” Alice asked.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Mark said. He studied Alice. “She says you’re different, too. She says those tricks you do—making things disappear—aren’t like the tricks that real magicians do.”
“Your mother is a very wise woman,” Alice said. “She’s right. And because Harry and Drake Sebastian and Chief Attridge are a little different, they are going to take care of the bad guys. Meanwhile, we need to get you back to your parents. It’s almost time for dinner.”
“Ah, just one more game with Houdini,” Mark wheedled.
“Nope. Houdini will be wanting dinner, too. He never misses a meal or a snack.” Aware of an unusual silence, she looked around. “Where is he?”
“Hey, I’ll bet he’s figured out that he can reverse the game and hide from us,” Billy said. “He wants us to find him.”
“Houdini,” Alice called. “Game over. Seriously.” She clapped her hands lightly together in the signal they used on stage. “Come on out. Dinner time.”
There was a brief, muffled chortle in response to the word “dinner,” but Houdini did not dash out of the gloom. Alice walked through the crowded space, her unease spiking.
“Houdini,” she said. “Please, come out.”
There was a scratching noise. Houdini appeared on top of a nearby crate. He chortled at her and then scampered down off the crate and disappeared back into the gloom.
“Oh, for pity’s sake.” Alice marched toward the spot where she had last seen him. “I really do not have time for this. We need to get Billy and Mark back to their parents.”
She made her way cautiously through the warehouse, Billy and Mark at her heels. She rounded the far end of a row of neatly stacked kayaks and stopped when she saw Houdini. He was on the concrete floor and all four eyes were wide open. He was not sleeked out but he was definitely in alert mode. There was just enough of the failing gray light filtering through a dingy window to enable her to make out what had captured his interest: a bedr
oll composed of several ragged blankets and a well-worn khaki backpack that bore the faded emblem of the Resonance City Ghost Hunters Guild.
“That’s Egan’s stuff,” Mark said. “This is where he sleeps. We shouldn’t touch it. Everyone says he’s crazy.”
“Yeah, Dad says Egan must have got burned real bad by a ghost down in the tunnels,” Billy said. “Mom says that’s why I can’t be a ghost hunter when I grow up.”
“I agree, we are not going to touch Egan’s things,” Alice said. “But not because he might be psi-burned. We’re not going to touch them because they are his personal property. Everyone has a right to his privacy. Come on, it’s past time to leave.”
She bent down to collect Houdini. He rumbled as though in warning but he did not try to evade her. He dropped the object he had been playing with. It landed on the concrete floor with a small clink. Alice straightened, Houdini in her arms, and glanced down.
When she saw the object at her feet, everything inside her went cold.
“Oh, crap,” she whispered. “Houdini, where did you find that?”
But of course there was no answer. Nor did she need one. It didn’t matter now. The only thing that mattered was getting Billy and Mark out of the warehouse.
She picked up the object that Houdini had found, straightened, and looked at the boys.
“We’re leaving,” she said. She spoke very quietly. “Come with me. We’ll go out the back door, it’s closer.”
Something in her tone must have gotten through to Mark and Billy. They followed her out the rear door of the warehouse without asking any questions. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were safely outside and hurried them around the corner of the building.
A moment later they were on the sidewalk and no longer alone. Lanterns bobbed in the gathering dusk. They passed several people who were on their way to various places of refuge for the night.
Billy’s parents and Mark’s father appeared out of the fog.
“There you are,” Mrs. Walters said. “I was starting to worry.”
Mr. Snyder glared sternly at Mark, but his relief was palpable. “Didn’t I tell you not to wander off alone?”
“I wasn’t alone,” Mark said quickly. “Billy and I were playing with Houdini. And then Ms. North found us.”
Mrs. Walters looked at Alice, gratitude in her worried eyes. “Thanks for rounding them up.”
“No problem,” Alice said. “Almost time for dinner. I’ll see you at the tavern in a few minutes.”
“Where are you going?” Billy asked.
“To find Drake,” Alice said. “Is he still at the Kane Gallery?”
“No,” Mr. Snyder said. “I saw him a while ago. He was heading down to the police station.”
“Thanks,” Alice said.
With Houdini under one arm, the object he had discovered in her other hand, she hurried along the empty sidewalk. The windows of the unlit shops glittered darkly in the gathering dusk.
Her intuition was screaming at her now. She focused on finding Drake. The first tendrils of the mist wreathed around her like the tentacles of some monstrous sea creature rising from the depths to hunt on the shore.
She did not sense the dark shadow in the narrow alley until Houdini hissed a warning and went into full combat mode. Instinctively she pulled hard on her talent, trying to go invisible and take Houdini with her.
But it was too late. Neither she nor Houdini could move fast enough to evade the chilling radiation from the Alien weapon. Houdini went limp in her arm.
“Houdini,” she whispered. “No.”
She tried to run but she could not move. Instead the icy psi-light forced her to her knees. Her heart was pounding. Consciousness was slipping away. She managed to put Houdini on the ground. His paws twitched. His hunting eyes were closed but his baby blue eyes were still partially open. She dropped the object in her other hand on the ground next to him.
“Drake.” She did not know if she said the name aloud or not. “Get Drake.”
Drake would come to this place eventually, she thought. He would retrace her steps from the warehouse and find the object. He would understand why it was important.
Egan took no notice of the small object. Perhaps he never even saw it. He was too busy focusing energy through the Alien weapon.
For a terrible moment Alice locked eyes with him. But he was already pocketing the weapon and reaching down to catch hold of her. She tried to scream but she could not manage so much as a whisper.
She plummeted into the abyss. Egan’s hands and the terrible fog closed around her.
Chapter 32
“TUCKER’S CONNECTION HERE IN TOWN IS EGAN,” DRAKE said. He tossed the notes that he and the others had made down onto Myrna’s desk. “None of the other suspects even come close.”
“Crazy Egan?” Myrna frowned at the handwritten notes in front of her. “But that makes no sense.”
“Not so sure about that,” Kirk said, his expression tightening. “When you think about it, he’s the one person who can move around town at any time, day or night, without drawing more than a passing glance. Hell, none of us even sees him after dark because he sleeps in the warehouse.”
“The kids have seen him at night,” Drake said.
Myrna raised her brows. “What do you mean?”
“They’ve been talking about the ghost in the graveyard,” Drake said. “I saw one the other night, too. Pretty sure now that was Egan.”
“Get real,” Kirk said, looking uneasy. “No such thing as ghosts.”
“No, but there are ghost hunters,” Drake said. “Egan is one. He must be the person I saw prowling around the old cemetery last night. I tried to find him, but by the time I got downstairs to the street he had disappeared.”
“Why would he go to the graveyard?” Myrna asked.
“I don’t know,” Drake said. “What can you tell me about him?”
“Nothing that you don’t already know,” Myrna said. “He arrived on the ferry a few days ago with the rest of the Glorious Dawn crowd. According to you, Zara Tucker has been running her operation inside the Preserve for nearly a year. If Egan is her spy and he’s been in Shadow Bay all this time, where’s he been hiding?”
“I don’t know,” Drake said again. “What I can tell you is that Rachel and Charlotte and Fletch and Jasper have taken a close look at every man in Shadow Bay who fits the profile I drew up. Egan is a perfect match.”
“Except that he just arrived on the island,” Kirk pointed out.
“Look, I admit there are a lot of questions that need answering here, but I’m convinced that Egan has the answers,” Drake said. “Whether he knows it or not.”
Kirk frowned. “You think maybe he doesn’t know what he’s doing? Maybe he’s an innocent victim who Tucker is manipulating?”
“Maybe,” Drake said. “Regardless, I need your help. We’ve got to bring him in.”
Kirk and Myrna exchanged brief glances. Drake could see that the decision had been made.
“You got it,” Myrna said. “Not like we have any better ideas.”
Kirk came away from the desk. “Let’s pick him up.”
“What charges?” Jasper asked dryly.
“Hell, I don’t know,” Kirk said. “We’ll call him a person of interest for now.”
Drake glanced out the window, trying to suppress the rising sense of urgency that was eating at him. A moment ago he’d gotten the gut-wrenching feeling that something had happened to Alice, but there was nothing going on out in the street that indicated trouble. He was on edge like everyone else. He had to control his imagination. Stick to the facts, Sebastian.
The fog was coming in earlier that afternoon and people were reacting accordingly. The amber lanterns in windows and over doorways had been lit even though it was not yet dark. Parents had already hauled kids off the swings in the small park. The softball game had ended. In the town square the door of the library opened. Those who had spent most of the day inside trooped out.
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Everyone headed toward the B&Bs or the Marina Inn. By now Alice would be fully occupied with the evening dinner rush. She was safe indoors. So why was his intuition waving red flags of warning?
Because something bad had happened, of course. When you were born with a psychic talent, you learned to pay attention to your intuition. He headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Rachel asked.
“I need to find Alice,” he said.
“She’ll be at the tavern,” Jasper called after him.
Drake ignored him and went out onto the front porch of the station. He jacked up his senses a little, looking deeper into the gathering shadows. One of the shadows, a small one with four eyes, rushed toward him down the middle of the empty street.
Houdini’s fur was plastered against his small frame. He was running on his four hind legs and clutching a small object in one front paw. Drake’s blood turned to ice.
“Houdini.” Drake went down the steps and crouched on the pavement. “What’s wrong?”
Houdini vaulted up onto his shoulder, yammering madly. He waved the object in his paw. Drake rose and took the object.
The door of the police station slammed open. Jasper and Fletcher emerged and Myrna and Kirk followed.
“What is it?” Fletcher asked.
Charlotte came down the steps, peering through the gloom. “Looks like eye makeup.” She took the flat plastic box and looked at the label. “It’s not a standard cosmetic counter brand. This is stage makeup, the kind actors wear.”
Drake looked at Houdini. “Where did you find this?”
Houdini rumbled in agitation.
“I saw Houdini playing with some kids a short time ago,” Kirk said. “Maybe they can tell us where he found the stage makeup. The families will all be down at the tavern by now.”
* * *
TEN MINUTES LATER DRAKE STOOD IN THE GLOOM-filled warehouse, looking at Egan’s ragged bedroll and the “Prepare for the Glorious Dawn” sign. He found the rest of the stage makeup and some fake eyebrows stashed in a nearby crate.