“I’m not picking up any focused energy from this sculpture.”
“Neither am I. That’s a good thing, because I don’t like the idea of sleeping in a room with an object that’s giving off a strong vibe, even if it is a cheery one.”
“This is the honeymoon suite,” Sophy reminded him in ominous tones. “Who knows what kind of vibe the artist might have infused into it? Cheery might be the least problematic.”
“If you suddenly start talking dirty to me I will conclude that this thing got switched on and sent out a hypnotic suggestion.”
Sophy flushed. “Not likely, and that’s enough with the sexual innuendos.”
“Technically speaking, it wasn’t an innuendo. More like a statement of fact.”
“What I meant was, it’s not likely that a psychically infused hypnotic suggestion could be switched on and off.” She paused, brows crinkling above the black-and-crystal frame of her glasses. “Is it? You’re the tech expert here.”
“I don’t know of a mechanical way to do it. Close contact is needed to infuse a strong vibe of any kind into an object, and one as precise and focused as a hypnotic suggestion would require considerable talent.” He paused, thinking. “It would also fade quite rapidly, much faster than regular hypnotic suggestions do.”
“A hypnotist can renew a suggestion,” Sophy reminded him.
“Yes, but not remotely. Maybe I should say, I’ve never heard of it being possible. When it comes to psi-tech, never say never. We know so little about para-physics. The Boss says—”
He stopped because his fingers had brushed against an almost invisible seam in the polished metal.
“Find something?” Sophy asked.
“Maybe. Turn out the lights.”
Sophy went to the master light panel at the entrance of the room and pressed theAll Offbutton.
The room went dark but the glow from the multitude of lights outside poured through the windows.
“Close the curtains,” he said.
Without a word Sophy pressed the button that closed the blackout shades, plunging the suite into cave-like night.
He heightened his senses and studied the small, mirror-finish panel set into the base of the sculpture. It gave off a faint but discernible radiance.
“See anything?” Sophy asked. Excitement hummed in the question.
“Yes,” he said. “A small, mirrored tile. There’s a little residual energy in it but it’s not emitting a focused signal. I need to get some tools and pry it out of the sculpture. I want to see what’s underneath.”
“Luke,” Sophy gasped. “I think they were here. Right here in this room.”
“Who?” he asked.
“Deke and Bea.”
An electric spark of knowing zapped across his senses.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“No. The energy isn’t very strong, but there’s something here. I need to do a reading. Now.”
In the eerie light of his other vision he watched her take the chimes and the mallet out of her suitcase. She tapped one of the metal rods. The clear note sounded, hanging in the atmosphere for a time before fading.
He heard Sophy take a sharp breath.
“Are you seeing ghosts?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said in her trance voice.
