“Don’t bother.” She moved one hand in a dismissing motion. “I’vebeen living under a false ID for the past seven months and I’ve got a spare ready to go in case I found myself in a situation like this. Sebastian likes you, and for now that’s good enough.”
“My character reference is a dust bunny?”
“He’s got excellent intuition when it comes to humans.”
“How did the two of you get together?”
“He started showing up on my back porch in the evenings shortly after I settled in Illusion Town. I left snacks out for him and he left little gifts for me. Interesting rocks and flowers. That sort of thing. Meanwhile, I had a problem with a very disturbed individual at the clinic. His name was Denton. He developed a fixation on me. Claimed I was channeling nightmares into his head.”
“What happened?”
“Dr. Loring, the director, barred Denton from the clinic and referred him to a hospital. But one night Denton followed me home and tried to attack me. Sebastian appeared out of nowhere and went for his throat. Denton ran off. I bought a large pizza for Sebastian to thank him, and we’ve been pals ever since.”
“What happened to Denton?”
“He was picked up by the police and confined to a psychiatric hospital.”
“Is he still there?”
She frowned. “As far as I know. Why do you ask?”
“In my experience, people like that don’t give up on their fixations very easily.”
There was a long silence from the passenger seat.
“Even if he gets out of the hospital, I really don’t think Denton will be a problem for me going forward,” Alice finally said.
Her voice was a little too neutral. He smiled. “What did you do to him?”
She hesitated. “I told you, I can sometimes tune a person’s dreams. Icouldn’t fix Denton’s mental health issues. That’s a job for the doctors. But I could and did manipulate his dreamlight to focus his obsession on something other than me.”
“What?”
“Puzzles. The last time Dr. Loring checked on him, Denton was still in the hospital, working on a thousand-piece puzzle. All the pieces were the same color.”
“Impressive. You found a nonviolent fix for the problem. You are a credit to the Ballantine Method. Think it’s a permanent solution, or will Denton’s obsession with you return?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m not a doctor.”
“And there you have the basic problem with the Ballantine Method. It’s not always the most realistic approach.”
“What would you have done?” she challenged.
“Something a lot more permanent.”
“Such as?”
“It would probably be a good idea to change the subject.”
“I agree.” She held up the mirror. “I am so anxious to see if there’s a recording on this camera that will help me clear my name. I know an amber tuner in Illusion Town who can probably unlock it.”
He smiled. “Of course you do. But as it happens, you probably won’t need a tuner. Pretty sure I can unlock it.”
She gave him a quick searching glance. “Right. Your handy-dandy little lockpick gadget. You’re also an excellent shot with a flamer. I’m guessing that you weren’t always a forensic consultant specializing in paranormal inheritance traits.”
“I was with the FBPI for a few years,” he allowed.
“And now you consult for the Bureau?”
