Double-Cross (9 page)

‘Two more jailers?’ I said.

Avery frowned. ‘You’re not prisoners here, Nico. You’re free to leave whenever you like. But I know you have more questions and I’m happy to answer them.’ He paused. ‘Now, please won’t you sit and eat? We can carry on talking, but you all look half-dead from exhaustion.’

‘Er . . . would you let me mind-read you first?’ Ed asked.

I nodded. That was a good idea. Ed would be able to see whatever was truly inside Avery’s mind.

Avery’s grey eyes widened with delight. For a second, I saw a strong resemblance to Cal. Was it possible he was Cal’s father?

‘It would be my very great pleasure to have you mind-read me, Edward.’ Avery sat forward in his sofa. ‘Go ahead.’

Ed perched awkwardly next to Avery and looked into his eyes. Silence fell on the room. I eyed the platter of sandwiches. It looked tempting and I was starving. Dylan edged closer to the lemonade.

‘Find out if the drink’s poisoned, Ed,’ she ordered.

The door to the porch slammed back on itself. I jumped. Spun round. Cal was in the doorway, thankfully now wearing his T-shirt and panting after his run.

His white-blond hair fell over his face as he grinned at Ketty.

‘Hey, Ketts,’ he said. ‘I’m gonna take a shower. Catch you later.’ He disappeared through another door.

Ketts?

I moved closer to Ketty, my irritation rising. Across the room Dylan was examining the gigantic elephant. Avery and Ed were entirely focused on each other.

‘Why is he calling you Ketts?’ I hissed. ‘That’s what
I
call you.’

Ketty looked up at me, a confused frown creasing her forehead.

‘I don’t know,’ she whispered. ‘He abbreviates lots of words. I didn’t
tell
him to call me that, he just did.’

‘Yeah, I noticed the two of you were getting all
bessie
mates up there in outer space.’

Ketty’s frown deepened. ‘Is that why you’re in this horrible mood? Because you’re jealous of me and
Cal?’

‘Course I’m not jealous.’ I glanced over at Dylan. She was studiously ignoring us, peering at an elegant gold ornament on the sideboard across the room. ‘I just thought it was a bit odd that—’

‘Well, what did you see, Ed?’ Avery asked.

I looked around. Avery was sitting back in the sofa, arms folded, an amused expression on his face.

Ed turned to me and Ketty ‘Everything Avery’s told us is true. He wants to help us because he knows about the Medusa gene killing our mothers and he knows how powerful and dangerous Geri is.’

Dylan walked towards us. ‘What about the lemonade?’

‘It’s fine – and, apparently, delicious,’ Ed said.

‘Good.’ Dylan poured herself a huge glass.

Avery sat forward and poured four more. I looked at Ketty. She had tucked her hair behind her ears and had gone to sit on a sofa across the room from me, her mouth set in a grim line.

I sank into the nearest seat and accepted the glass of lemonade Avery offered me. He was right – it was delicious. But I barely tasted it and, suddenly, I wasn’t really hungry for sandwiches any more either.

Everything was usually so easy with Ketty – what was going wrong?

Why couldn’t she see that her rushing off with Cal without saying anything was bound to make me feel annoyed? And it wasn’t just Cal . . . it was this whole set-up. Maybe Avery Jones
did
want to help us, but he’d still tricked us into coming here.

Dylan and Ed munched on hunks of bread. Ketty nibbled at a carrot stick. Without warning, Ed appeared in my head.

You okay, Nico?

I’m great, thanks
, I thought-spoke, knowing Ed would be able to see I was absolutely not great.

I just wanted to say it’s true, Avery seems on the level. There’s just one thing . . .

What?

D’you remember that guy, Foster, from a few months back . . . the one I had to mind-read so we could find out where he was holding Ketty’s brother hostage?

Yes.
I remembered it well. Ed had actually vomited after that mind-reading session, claiming that Foster had ‘held’ his mind in a way Ed had never experienced before.

Well, I got the sense that Avery could do what Foster did to me back then. He just chose not to.
Ed hesitated.
It’s hard to explain, but he has a very ordered mind. It’s not chaotic like most people’s and . . . I can’t be sure because he’s so controlled, but I think there might be stuff he’s hiding . . . er, like . . . er . . . behind mental walls.

Okay, thanks for the warning.

Ed broke the connection and I looked up – to find Avery staring at me. He looked away immediately, a strange expression on his face. He fixed his gaze on the lemonade glass I’d been drinking from, seemingly lost in thought.

A shiver snaked down my back. Whatever anyone said, I wasn’t going to trust Avery Jones without a lot more proof that he truly had our best interests at heart.

Avery shook himself and looked up.

‘I hope, now that Ed has used his amazing gift to see inside my mind, that you will begin to trust me. I only want to help you. I’m offering you the chance to stay here – where Geri Paterson will never find you – while you work out what to do next. I have plenty of money and there’s plenty of space. I ask only that you let me talk to you about your gifts. As a psychologist, I was always convinced that the Medusa gene would work differently in different people. The four of you, with your varying abilities, seem to prove me right.’

‘Can we call our parents?’ Ketty asked. ‘I mean, without the phone calls being traced?’

‘Of course,’ Avery said. ‘I’ll sort out some safe phones to be secretly delivered to your parents. You can use the secure line here to call them.’

‘Wait a minute,’ Dylan said. ‘If Geri didn’t sell you the Medusa gene, how d’you explain Cal? Why is he here? How come he’s able to fly, for Pete’s sake?’

‘Ah, yes . . . Cal . . .’ Avery hesitated. ‘I wanted to give you some background first, but . . . well . . . yes, I have a child with the Medusa gene.’

‘Cal is your
son
?’ Ketty said. She was open-mouthed, clearly completely fascinated.

‘I thought so,’ I said, trying to sound knowing. The others looked at me.

‘Yeah, we forgot.’ Dylan rolled her eyes. ‘You know everything, Nico.’

‘Yes, Cal is my son,’ Avery said lightly. ‘And, before you ask, he’s the only one with the Medusa gene. I’ll tell you the full story later . . . For now I hope you will let me show you to your rooms. Everyone has their own en suite and—’

‘Excuse me for butting into the invite to the freakin’ spa weekend,’ Dylan said, looking around at everybody. ‘But we can’t
stay.
We came here to get evidence against Geri, remember? So we can clear our names of Bookman’s murder and get her sent to jail for what she did to my parents.’ She turned on Avery. ‘You don’t have any proof that she killed my dad, do you?’

‘No,’ Avery said. ‘I don’t.’

There was a short pause.

‘We can stay for a bit,’ Ketty said, her tone calm and reasonable. ‘Don’t you think, Ed?’

Why was she asking him? It struck me that she hadn’t so much as looked in my direction since our earlier argument.

Ed glanced nervously at Dylan. ‘It makes sense to stay for a day or two,’ he said. ‘I mean, I’m certain Professor Jones doesn’t want to hurt us. And we’re going to need some time to work out what to do next so that we can prove Geri’s a murderer and get back home, so . . .’

‘You’re all missing the point,’ I said, standing up. Ed’s words about Avery’s powerful, hidden thoughts suddenly made sense. ‘Avery might not want to hurt us, but he’s definitely planning on using us.’

Avery gazed up at me, eyebrows raised. There was a steely quality in his expression, but when he spoke, his voice was smooth and good-humoured.

‘And how am I planning on using you, Nico?’ he said.

‘I don’t know yet,’ I said. ‘But I don’t believe you went to all the trouble of bringing us here just out of the goodness of your heart.’

The tension in the room rose. I could feel the others looking intently at me, but I kept my gaze on Avery.

He gave a low chuckle. ‘You’re quite right, Nico. I didn’t bring you here just as an act of charity. I thought this could wait a day or two, but evidently it needs to come out now.’ He paused. ‘There
is
something I want – but it’s something you want, too. In fact, it’s something you need.’

The room was now so silent I could hear the low hum of the air conditioner.

‘And what’s that?’ I said.

Avery looked at Dylan. ‘I told you just now that I had no concrete evidence that Geri killed your parents?’

Dylan nodded. Avery’s hard, grey eyes flickered from her across the others, coming to rest on me.

‘Well, that was true,’ he said. ‘I don’t have any proof. But I know where you can get it.’

9: Thefts

Avery refused to tell us any more about the evidence on Geri until we had showered and rested. He took us through a series of cool, shady corridors and up a small flight of stairs to what he referred to as the east wing of the house. With a wave of his hand, he indicated four rooms, two on either side of a long landing that led to a balcony overlooking the swimming pool.

The rooms were identical. Spacious and minimalist, with soft brown covers and cushions on the beds and glass-topped bedside tables. Each room had a small wardrobe with hanging space and drawers and an en suite bathroom. A huge, flat-screen TV stood in the corner, complete with a cupboard full of computer games and DVDs.

‘You can use the internet in here . . . download movies . . . music . . . whatever you like . . .’ Avery said, smiling at our amazement.

‘It’s like a freakin’ hotel,’ said Dylan.

‘Yes, and you are my guests,’ Avery said smoothly. ‘So please ask for anything you need.’ He checked his watch – large and gold and the only piece of jewellery he wore.

‘I realise you must be disoriented because of the time difference with England, but it’s now almost six p.m. Why don’t you relax for an hour, then I’ll send Cal to take you on a tour of the ranch? After that, I’ll join you for dinner.’

‘Thank you,’ said Ed politely. Ketty and Dylan nodded.

I leaned against the wall of the bedroom we were standing in. Was I the only one who felt that something was massively off here? It just all felt too good to be true.

I looked up. Avery was staring at me again. His eyes flickered away immediately and he cleared his throat.

‘If you’d like to take a shower, there are towels in the bathrooms,’ he said. ‘I’ll send Philly with a change of clothes.’

‘What, you just happen to have a load of clothes that’ll fit us in the house?’ I said suspiciously.

Avery smiled. ‘I can’t promise the fit will be exact, or that the garments will be to your taste, but I have eight children, ranging in age from three to twenty-three – so, yes, there’re plenty of clothes in the house!’

‘Eight children?’ Ketty said faintly.

‘And you said
none
of them apart from Cal are Medusa?’ Dylan asked.

‘That’s right,’ said Avery.

‘Are they all here?’ Ed asked.

‘No.’ Avery explained. ‘The three eldest are away at college or work. The others are here. You’ll see them later – the younger ones are mine and Philly’s children. The older ones belong to my late first and second wives.’

‘Three wives and eight children?’ I glared at Avery. ‘Are you trying to set some kind of record?’

Avery’s gaze hardened for a second, then he pursed his lips. ‘As I said, both my first and second wives died. It is to Philly’s great credit that she treats all my children as her own,’ he said, an edge creeping into his voice. ‘Please don’t judge the way I live my life, Nico. We do the best we can.’

He took his leave and disappeared along the corridor. As soon as he’d gone, the others rounded on me.

‘Why were you so rude?’ Ketty demanded.

‘Yeah,’ Dylan agreed. ‘The guy’s a weirdo, for sure, but we don’t want to get him mad until we’ve found out about the evidence he’s got on Geri.’

I stomped across the bedroom to the window. This room looked out over a patch of grass surrounded by rose bushes. I couldn’t imagine the effort it must take in this dust bowl to keep anything green alive. I could just make out the edge of the swimming pool outside. The water shimmered in the sunlight.

It was all too perfect . . . too beautiful . . .

‘I don’t believe he knows anything about any evidence against Geri,’ I snarled. ‘I think he’s making it up. Did you see the way he keeps looking at me? Like I’m a bug under a microscope.’

Ketty rolled her eyes. ‘You are such an egotist, Nico. You’re imagining the looks – and I think you’re being paranoid about Avery. Why shouldn’t he want to help us expose Geri?’

‘What’s in it for him?’ I demanded.

‘Maybe he wants revenge, too,’ Dylan said. ‘If Cal’s his son, then he must have had a relationship with Cal’s mother – who must have been killed by the Medusa gene, like our moms were.’

‘She’d be one of his late wives.’ Ketty nodded. ‘What do you think, Ed?’

‘Er . . . I don’t think Avery was lying about either the evidence on Geri or about looking after us here for a while,’ Ed said slowly. ‘Though I agree with Nico that there’s something he’s not telling us.’