Extrasensory (12 page)

“Dan explained about your…visions to us,” he said.

“Yes. He told me he’d already met with you about them.”

“You have to understand how unbelievable all this is to us, Dr. Fleming, We’re pragmatic people here,” he pointed out, “so something like psychic abilities is a little beyond either our understanding or acceptance.”

“I appreciate that. This isn’t the first time I’ve had that same reaction from people.”

“I did some research on you while we were waiting,” the woman next to Chase told her.

Joy Rivers, she remembered. Chase’s fiancée.

A real bitch if I ever saw one.

“I’d be surprised if you hadn’t,” she said in a quiet voice. “I expect it of most people I become…involved with.”

“I’ve had my office doing the same thing,” Dan put in. “Why don’t we compare notes.”

Joy gave him a cold look. “Yes, let’s. I discovered Miss Fleming has been making up these stories for years.” She turned to Mia. “Since you were a child. Your parents took you to a child psychologist because they thought your behavior was outrageous. And your ‘guesses’, or whatever you call them, have been wrong as often as they’ve been right. The police refuse to let you consult anymore because you’ve made so many mistakes and you’re considered a fake by many people. I understand groups have even demonstrated outside your home before.”

Beneath the table, Mia clenched her right fist in her lap. Thank God those stories had been so hidden in the newspaper Dr. Hunter had never seen them. She had to assume they’d escaped the notice of any of the museum donors too, or she’d be out looking for a job.

“Is Joy correct?” Lucas asked. “Are your visions dismissed as so much bullshit?”
Oh, God, this wasn’t going well at all.
Well, she was used to defending herself. She might be a sparrow but she was no shrinking violet.

“I’ve certainly read some images wrongly.” She was proud of the steadiness in her voice. “This isn’t an exact science. But I’ve been right many times too. And successfully helped in some investigations.”

“You have a fifty-fifty track record, yet you want us to turn ourselves inside out because you think someone
might
steal something from the company.” Joy reached for Chase’s hand. “Chase is the most important thing in my life. I’ll do what I have to in order to see him and his project protected. And that means not letting a charlatan skew the facts or bring down unfavorable publicity. Our reputation has to be spotless.”

“I’m not asking you to do anything,” Mia protested in a quiet voice. “I just wanted to warn you. That’s all.”

Lucas leaned forward. “How do we know this isn’t some ploy to set things up so you and a partner can steal the prototype yourselves?”

“You have only my word for that.” She sipped from her water again. “But if you’ve been doing your research, as you say, you’ll know that’s never happened before.”

“There’s always a first time,” Joy said in a nasty tone.

“All right, let’s stop.” Dan held up his hands.

“You don’t need to come to my rescue,” Mia chided him. “I’m perfectly capable of holding my own.”

As long as this anesthetic doesn’t wear off my hand. I can give as good as I get from these
people.

“This is no rescue,” he told her. “This has to do with our agency’s integrity. Chase, you hired me because we’re friends and because you also know we’re the best at what we do. You know my reputation.
Our reputation.
Everyone at this table is sitting on a tack, hoping nothing happens to screw up the major announcement at the end of this week.
Dr.
Fleming took a big chance trying to send a warning to you, knowing exactly what your reaction would be. At least do her the courtesy of listening to her.”

“I’ll be happy to answer any questions about psychic abilities too,” Mark put in.

“Thank you both,” Mia told them, “but I think I can handle this myself. They’re my visions being called into question.”

“I’d like to know how you knew about our…project in the first place,” Lucas commented.

“The images I received were of a large stone bumping along on the ground,” she told them. “A stone that had special capabilities.”

“How did you know it had anything to do with Carpenter Techtronics?” Joy pursued.

Mia explained about the different visions and how she’d done a computer search to put them together. On and on it went, one question after another. She would not allow these people to rattle her, nor would she show any signs of the anger growing inside her. Instead, she was proud that through it all she never lost her composure.

Several times Dan tried to interrupt, as if to add his support, but she always shook her head at him. If these people saw her as weak, they’d never pay attention to what she had to say.

She couldn’t deny being grateful, however, when Dan at last called a halt to everything. All the stress of the weekend, the long day, the wound on her hand were taking their toll on her.

“I think that’s enough for now,” Dan announced. “Dr. Fleming has answered your questions many times over. The important thing is in
my
research I’ve discovered many instances when she was able to help the police, including the FBI. So let’s give her the benefit of the doubt here and figure out what we need to do. Maybe we’ll have to rethink our security setup. And I’m calling the office to do a complete search on anyone and everyone who has access to Oscar, as well as anyone who might have a grudge against the company.”

“When will you have all that?” Chase wanted to know.

“Tomorrow. I’ll want to meet with all of you at eight o’clock in the morning.

Meanwhile, Mark is going to take Dr. Fleming home and we’re all going to take a look at that prize package and talk to the new men who’ve arrived.” Everyone shook Mia’s hand as they moved toward the door but the hostility hadn’t dispersed in the least. And because they all shook hands in rapid succession, she was unable to determine which one—or ones—produced a sickening feeling of dread inside her. She wanted to touch each of them again but was afraid to ask. And what if she got it wrong? What if it was just the repressed anger she was feeling?

She swallowed a sigh. Would she never learn her lesson?

* * * * *

The conspirators were meeting again and their conversation was not a pleasant one.

“Someone’s bound to see us if we keep doing this.”

“Trust me. Right now I know where everyone is. But you’re right. We need to go back to the throwaways.”

“Why did you find it necessary to contact Khalid?”

Eyebrows were raised. “He called you?”

A nod. “And at a very inopportune time. I had to put him off, which along with your little bombshell, didn’t make him too happy with us.”

“I just thought he should know there may be a delay. If Carpenter decides to take this woman seriously, he may be persuaded to reschedule the big event. At least while Phoenix does their investigating. That means putting everything off and redoing the plans. Besides, surprisingly, it turns out Khalid puts more stock in this kind of stuff than we do.”

“What do you mean?”

“He says in his country people with this gift are worshiped and revered. Rulers consult them and they are sought after by both the police and the military.”

“He’s yanking your chain.”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s urging us to, as he says, neutralize her before she can create more trouble.”

“Then we may need his help.”

“To get rid of her? Yes. I agree with him. It’s too risky to keep her around. Even if Chase Carpenter writes her off as a fake, Romeo’s taking her too seriously. She’s been introduced into the equation, now. All she has to do is somehow come up with something that points them in our direction and we’re cooked. All this work, all this preparation for nothing.”

“I don’t know. She only showed up today. Let’s wait and see what happens. If they blow her off, we have no worries.”

“And if they don’t? Khalid is nervous about her and if he’s nervous, so am I.” A shake of the head. “No. I say she needs to disappear before this goes any further.”

“If we get rid of her, you don’t think that will prompt some questions? Maybe create the opposite effect to what we want? You don’t think they’ll wonder why it was important to do away with her?”

“Yes, of course. But if we do it the right way, if we just make her disappear, maybe leave a note or something, she’ll be out of our hair. They can kill themselves looking for her and we won’t have to worry that she’ll come up with any more of these crazy visions.”

“Okay. Let’s say we do this. We’d have to dispose of the body in a way it couldn’t be found. And we have a very small window of opportunity. Like tonight.”

“Like I said, Khalid can help. This is just as important to him and his friends. Or friendly enemies. He has contacts everywhere. Surely he can find us someone on the spur of the moment.”

“Fine. I’ll make the call. But it’s going to be tricky.”

“As if we haven’t done this before. Remember Belgium?”

“Belgium worked because we were very low-key. There’s too much interest and excitement developing around this whole thing. I don’t like it. I just want to do what we planned, get the robot and get our money.”

“And if they make adjustments to their security based on what she ‘sees’?”

“If that happens, we can force a different adjustment that will allow us to accomplish our task. And here’s how we’ll do it.”

Ten minutes later the two people walked out of the dingy diner, one still with misgivings, the other on the phone again but with a plan in place.

* * * * *

The moment she stepped inside the Hallorans’ home Mia felt a sense of peace, a wonderful counterbalance to the chill that had gripped her ever since leaving the Carpenter Techtronics building.

Faith Halloran was beautiful. Her rich dark chocolate hair fell in thick waves to just below her shoulders and her emerald eyes shone with mischief from a flawless, creamy complexion. Mia felt even more like a sparrow, or maybe a gray wren standing in the shadow of her brilliance. Like her husband, Faith was warm and gracious and made every effort to put her guests at ease. She stood on tiptoe to kiss Dan Romeo, who actually looked pleased at the gesture and the grim expression on his face softened.

“Too bad it’s business that brings you here,” she told him. “But you know how happy I always am to see you.” She punched his arm lightly and grinned. “Even if you do send my husband on strange trips.”

To Mark she gave an unrestrained hug and a kiss so intense and personal the others tactfully looked away. No question about the depth of love here, Mia thought.

“Whew!” She pressed her lips to his once last time. “Okay, I’ve got my fix. Why don’t you guys go pick up the takeout while I take care of Mia. She looks like you’ve been beating her with rubber hoses.”

Mark held up his hand. “I swear we only smacked her once or twice.” Faith chuckled and took Mia’s hand. “They have a weird sense of humor. You look chilled. Come into the kitchen and I’ll make you some wonderful tea. It can fix anything.” She turned back to her husband. “
Mark
.”

“We’re going, we’re going.”

Mia let herself be steered by the smiling, graceful woman into a room that radiated warmth. A charming ceramic lighthouse sat in the center of the round table and a whimsical border ran across the top of the wallpaper.

“Your home is beautiful.” She drank in the riot of colors blended so skillfully.

“Thank you. We haven’t lived here that long. When I was…trying to help Mark, the people who blew his mission also blew up our house.”

Mia’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Nope. Burned it to the ground. Thank God I wasn’t in it. But Mark and I both loved the spot, so after we got married we decided to rebuild again right here.” She let her eyes drink in the room. “You’ve done a wonderful job, from what I can see.”

“This is my get-away-from-it room,” Faith told her. “The lighthouse comes from a store near the cabin in Maine that Phoenix owns. The border was painted by a friend of my aunt’s to relax me when my telepathic communications get too intense for me.”

“I can see how these things would help. They’re even beginning to affect me.”

“Now.” Faith placed two steaming mugs of tea on the table and sat down across from Mia. “Lotus tea. A special blend from my aunt. Taste it. I promise you’ll think it’s magic.”

Mia lifted the mug in two hands but the moment she touched it she felt unbearable heat race along her arms. The image of a fire out of control burned itself through her brain. She dropped the cup, gasping and squeezed her eyes shut but the image wouldn’t disappear.

She sensed Faith rise from her chair and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Mia? Mia, what is it? What do you see?”

Mia tried to stretch her brain, to get a better definition of the image but then, like smoke, it was gone. She leaned back in her chair, her face covered with perspiration, her hands shaking so badly she had to grip them in her lap to steady herself.

“Deep breaths,” Faith was saying. She mopped Mia’s face with a cool cloth. “That’s it. Nice slow breaths.”

Mia drew in the deepest breath she could and let it out slowly. When she opened her eyes it was gone. The image, the sensation, everything, replaced by the familiar headache.

“Let me get you some fresh tea.” Faith calmly cleared away the mess in front of Mia and replaced it with a new mug.

“I am so sorry. I broke your cup and made a huge mess.”

“Not to worry.” Faith handed her a towel. “You might want to blot your skirt, though.”

Mia felt a hysterical laugh break free. “Wait until Dan sees this. He’ll think I’m the biggest klutz on the planet. When we met this morning, I spilled coffee all over myself.” She dabbed at the damp material.

Faith smiled at her. “From the way Dan was looking at you, I don’t think anything could detract from what he sees.”

“What?” Mia looked at her, shocked. “Oh, no. You’ve got it all wrong.” The image from the day before suddenly blasted at her, Dan Romeo burning his magnificent nudity on her brain. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to dispel the vision. “We just met this morning. This is business. I’m not even sure he thinks I’m sane.”