Leonard had believed those arguments back at the start, but lately hehad begun to suspect that Dunstan’s concerns with Alice Radstone’s talent went beyond questions about her rare and little-studied psi profile. Dunstan, he had concluded, was mortally afraid of the woman. Kelbrook would never admit it, but on some level he knew that if Alice acquired power and position within the family, she would destroy him. He was probably right.
So no, Alice had to be contained and controlled, and the Kelbrook clan must continue to present the image of the perfect family unit. But with the Kelbrooks, nothing was quite what it seemed.
He was surprised to see Charlotte at the estate. Years ago she had been a starry-eyed bride who had been wildly in love with her handsome older husband. But these days she spent most of her time in the mansion the Kelbrooks were pleased to call “the cottage” in a resort town outside Cadence. There she lived the typical life of the spouses of the rich and powerful. She filled her days serving on the boards of various charities. Her evenings were spent hosting or attending fundraisers and social gatherings. The stars had fallen from her eyes a long time ago.
She waved to him in a friendly way. The gesture conveyed the right amount of the aloof distance that was expected between the wife of the patriarch and a trusted servant.
He raised his hand in polite acknowledgment of Charlotte’s wave and rezzed the sliver of amber in the key fob to unlock the Resonator. He got behind the wheel and used another pulse of energy to start the engine.
He drove down the long tree-lined lane and slowed to turn onto the road that would take him back to the highway. The only sign at the end of the drive was one warning drivers that they were about to enter private property and were under surveillance.
A gleaming convertible approached and turned into the lane without hesitation. The top was down, allowing a clear view of the man at the wheel: Dr. Gerrard Fremont of the Fremont Longevity and Psychic Enhancement Institute.
“I hope you kill him with your fucking longevity and enhancement drugs, Fremont,” Leonard whispered to himself.
If Fremont’s drugs didn’t do the job, he was going to have to get rid of Kelbrook himself. It wouldn’t be the first time he had removed someone who stood in the path of his personal career advancement plan.
The goal was simple and straightforward. He was going to take control of Kelbrook Industries.
Chapter Twenty
The familiar nightmare struck outof nowhere…
He is standing in the center of a vast rotunda in the Underworld. A dozen glowing hallways branch off from the circular space. Gatley’s victim is concealed in one of the countless chambers that line each of the corridors. Her amber has been stripped. There is no way to track her.
“I see we have a volunteer from the audience,” Gatley says. “Welcome to the stage.”
His voice comes from one of the halls but is distorted by the sea of paranormal currents that flood the rotunda. There is no way to track it back to the origin point. The killer could be hiding in any of the corridors.
“I call this trick The Disappearing Woman,” Gatley says. “If you can find her, you will both go free. If you fail, she disappears. And so do you.”
“Let the woman go, Gatley. You don’t need her. She was just bait. You wanted me. I’m here.”
There is a short silence.
“How did you find out my name?” Gatley says, voice rising.
“You weren’t hard to identify. Just a run-of-the-mill, standard-issue, low-rent serial killer.”
“Tell me how you found my name.”
“Identifying insane high-rez talents is what I do. I’m good at my job.”
“I’m not insane,” Gatley screams. The words are distorted by the energy in the atmosphere. The killer sounds as if he’s yelling from deep underwater. “And if you were any good at tracking people like me, what the fuck are you doing here? This is where you die.”
“You know why I’m here. I came to get the woman.”
“Do you really think it’s going to be that easy? I’m Mr. Magic. I make people vanish.”
“I already know all I need to about you, Gatley. You’re insane. I’m not interested in learning more.”
“The only reason you’re still alive is because I’m curious about you.”
“You just want to know how I found you.”
“I made sure you had nothing to work with—nothing. I made sure all the evidence vanished.”
“You left your psi prints everywhere. How do you think I was able to identify you so quickly?”
