They all turned expectantly to him.
“Smith sent his men out to deep-six me and Olivia. He has no reason to suspect that we survived being tossed overboard with weights around our ankles. How’s he going to react when he sees us invade his property?”
“I think he was already worried about Travis’s ghost—and fearful of what he considered our supernatural powers,” Olivia added with a hitch in her voice. “Maybe seeing us again will give him the scare of his life.”
“An excellent angle,” Jake said. “Just don’t get overconfident about playing ghosts. He might have some tricks up his sleeve you don’t know about.”
Olivia cleared her throat, and everyone turned toward her. “Smith struck me as the kind of guy who doesn’t take chances. I mean, he kept drugging me when somebody else wouldn’t have thought it necessary. She paused before blurting out, “I wish we had some idea of what defenses he has. He could hit us with something we haven’t taken into consideration.”
“Good point.” Rachel nodded and turned to Gabe but was clearly addressing Travis. “You were able to move through the house unseen. Did you see anything we have to worry about?”
As he was learning to do, Gabe mentally stepped back and let his alter ego do the talking. “I saw a control room with a lot of screens. A man was always on duty watching them. He’s got views all over the property. Including the boat dock.”
“I was prepared for that,” Craig answered. “We have to disable the exterior cameras when we come in. Anything else?”
“He also had a lot of electronic equipment. I don’t know what that was for. I suppose it could be for communications. But electronics isn’t my field. It could be something dangerous to us.”
“I don’t like it,” Jake mused.
“Remember his trick with the football helmets,” Matt added.
“Which is?” Olivia asked.
Matt laughed. “You know those old jokes about mental patients shielding their brains with tin foil? He took it to heart and lined helmets with aluminum foil. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any mental suggestions through to his men when they were wearing them.”
Elizabeth nodded. “If they have on helmets, we’ll have to assume we can’t influence them.”
They went on to speculate about what defenses Smith might have ginned up against an invasion of psychics. But nobody had a definitive answer.
Finally, Jake cut off the planning session. “Again, we can’t be ready for every contingency. But I do know we should have a meal before we head for Smith’s place.” He gave Olivia and Gabe a considering look. “The two of you have to stay out of sight on the off chance that Smith or one of his men would recognize you. I’ll go into town and pick up some food.” He turned to Gabe, “You’re the only one from around here. Where’s the best place to get something quick and good?”
Gabe tensed in confusion. He wasn’t from around here. He was from Silver Spring.
Okay for me to answer?Travis questioned inside his head.
Sure.As he replied, he was wondering if the two personalities inside his brain would ever mold themselves into one.
“The Crab Claw, down by the downtown dock,” he told Jake.
“Thanks—let’s look at the online menu, and we can place an order.”
While the members of the group were making selections, Travis said inside Gabe’s head,This isn’t The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
What is it?
I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping we can...get comfortable with each other.
Could they?
If not, Gabe was afraid he was going to end up in a mental hospital. Maybe he could be a unique case study and make some psychiatrist famous.
The private conversation was interrupted by Jake asking for their order.
Crab cakes okay?Travis asked.
Yeah. And onion rings.
Perfect.
