“Do you have paper records?”
He pressed his lips together. But he couldn’t stop the image of the filing cabinet in his office from leaping into his mind.
“And now I know you’d like to get away from me,” she soothed. “Go on. I’ll give you a chance to escape my evil magic. Go out the back. If you can get down to the river, you can make your escape that way.”
For a moment, he thought that was a stupid plan. Escape how? But the image fixed itself in his mind. Along with the urgent need to get away from her.
He didn’t wait for her to say more. He dashed toward the back door, heading for the river. And as he ran, too late, he remembered that he’d salted the lawn with land mines—which he’d activated from the house. One had even gone off. But only one. There were a dozen more. Oh God, no. He couldn’t remember where they were. He slowed down, moving more cautiously now. But he had to keep going. He had to get to the river. His escape boat was at the dock. Wait—was it? It didn’t matter. He’d swim if he had to.
* * *
Gabe moved up beside Olivia,who was now trembling with reaction. The illusion of her ghost costume and the wind effects were gone, and she was dressed in the dark shirt and pants she’d worn for the raid.
“Good job,” he whispered.
She leaned into him, overwhelmed by her own performance.
That was Oscar-worthy.
Thanks.
From outside the house, they heard an explosion. Turning, they started toward the door, Gabe leading the way because Travis knew where the mines were planted.
They saw Smith’s crumpled body. Or part of it. The leg with the foot that hit the device was missing, and blood poured from his femoral artery.
The man was moaning, gasping, crying out for help, sounding weaker by the second. Then the voice stopped, and there was only silence.
“We’d better get the records from the office, then get out of here,” Rachel said. “It’s only a matter of time before the police show up.”
Gabe led them to the office, since Travis had explored the house while the others had been in captivity.
They grabbed the pertinent files and stuffed them into the pack Jake was carrying.
As they reached the front door, Rachel held up a hand.The psychic scrambling...thing...could still be working.
She heard muttered curses behind her.
Are you still there?She sent to Craig and Stephanie.
Yes. Thank God you’re okay,Craig answered.What happened? We could follow some of the action. But not all of it.
Tell you later. Can you see or feel anything that might be projecting the anti-psychic field out there?
Yeah, we’ve been studying the house. I think I see something along the eaves. And something else in the shrubbery, but we didn’t want to take a chance on going after them in case someone figured out what we were doing and came charging out with guns.
There’s nobody left to come out. Blast them,Rachel ordered.
Craig and Stephanie did as requested, and Gabe heard a sizzling noise and smelled charred wiring.
After taking a cautious step outside, Rachel beckoned to the others,Let’s split.
They all headed for the SUV down the road. It was a tight fit, but they managed to pile in, with Jake driving again. As they made for Route 50, they heard sirens.
Jake laughed. “A day late and a dollar short.” He added, “I think we’re all too tired to go very far. I made reservations at the Historic Inns of Annapolis. We can treat ourselves to some major coddling.”
As they approached the bridge, Rachel said, “I know we’re all on our last legs, but I need one more thing from you. Give me energy, like we did when we snuck up on the murder boat. We need to disable the camera and plate reader at the toll booth so nobody knows we were here.”
They all joined in the stealth operation, erasing any evidence that they had been on the Eastern Shore.
