Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-five

“I knew it,” Cutler Steen said, his voice soft and savage. “Those fucking directors. They’ll regret playing games with me. They’ll give me the real formula before they die.”

Irene stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

Cutler turned to face her. “Isn’t it obvious? The Aurora Islands lab people think they no longer need me to continue the drug trials. They know they can’t get close enough to take me out personally. Anyone they sent to do the job would be dead before they got anywhere near me. So they decided to poison the version of the drug they provided to me and my men. They thought they could get rid of all of us without taking any risks.”

“Why would they do that?” Irene said. “They need the trials. They can’t continue to develop the serum unless they have a reliable way of testing it.”

“They found someone else they think they can use,” Cutler raged. “A cartel boss or one of my competitors. Hell, the leaders of most countries would jump at the opportunity to get their hands on the drug.”

“We don’t know for certain that you’re being slowly poisoned,” Irene said. “Amelia told you she’s new at aura reading.”

“That’s right,” Amelia said. “There’s a real possibility that I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

Cutler rounded on her. “I knew something was wrong. They said I needed the boosters to keep going. But it didn’t make sense because you and the others were alive and apparently stable. At first I assumed the drug simply hadn’t worked on you but now I know the reverse is true.”

Amelia looked at Irene. “You figured this out months ago, didn’t you? That’s why you rented an apartment in the building where I live. That’s why you made sure we got to know each other. You wanted to observe me.”

“I know you won’t believe me but I really did enjoy your company,” Irene said.

“Bullshit.”

“Shut up, both of you,” Cutler said. He focused on Amelia. “How long have I got?”

She caught her breath. “I can’t answer that question. I have no idea. The drug is weakening you but I don’t know if it will kill you outright. You may just lose whatever new talent it gave you.”

“No, it’s doing something to me. I can feel it.” Cutler’s voice rose. “I need answers.”

“So do I,” Amelia said. “What are you going to do now? Kill me?”

Irene spoke up quickly. “Of course not, Amelia. It would be stupid to do that. You’re too valuable. You and your friends are proof that the serum not only works, it can be successfully tolerated by individuals who meet a certain profile.”

Irene was looking at her but Amelia got the sense that she was speaking to Cutler, trying to convince him of her logic.

“I have to track down that lab,” Cutler said. “Get my hands on the formula and take control of the manufacturing and distribution. I need time.”

“Don’t we all,” Amelia said. “I’ll make you a deal, Mr. Steen.”

“You are in no position to make any kind of bargain,” he said.

“Well, actually, that’s not true. You see, I diagnosed what’s wrong with you but I didn’t tell you that I might be able to fix the unstable currents in your aura, or at least keep them from weakening even more.”

Cutler went still. “You’re lying.” But there was frantic hope in his eyes.

“Where are you going with this, Amelia?” Irene asked quietly.

“I’m not lying,” Amelia said. “I admit I can’t guarantee success. I’ve only been able to run one experiment, and the circumstances were quite different. But my intuition tells me that I can not only perceive auras, I can manipulate them to some extent, provided I have the right tool.”

“What tool?” Cutler demanded.

“An old-fashioned film camera would work, I think, one with a prism and a mirror.”

Cutler grunted. “Where the hell do you suggest I get one of those at this hour of the night?”

“I can also work with a crystal,” Amelia said.

Irene frowned. “We don’t have any crystals in this house unless you count the glassware. Will that work?”

“I think it would depend on the quality of the glassware,” Amelia said. “But I’ve got a better idea. Your father has a very good crystal.”

Cutler shook his head, bewildered. “What are you talking about?”

“Your watch.” She glanced at the expensive timepiece on his wrist. “The face is covered with a crystal.”

Cutler and Irene both looked at the watch as if they had never seen it before.

“You’re right.” Cutler touched the watch. “It’s a sapphire crystal.”

“The type doesn’t matter,” Amelia said. She was winging it now but she didn’t have much to lose. “The quality is the important thing.”

The glass door onto the balcony opened abruptly. Twitchell appeared.

“Boss, sorry to interrupt, but there’s some kind of disturbance going on at the front gate,” he said.

Cutler scowled. “What are you talking about?”

“Vehicles started arriving a few minutes ago. Brinks and I have been watching on the monitors. At first we thought it was a political rally or a protest. Figured they had the wrong house. We advised them to move along. Then they started shouting. It’s getting louder. Listen.”

Chanting could be heard in the distance.

“Free Amelia . We’re in this together until we get answers.”

“Free Amelia . We’re in this together until we get answers.”

An exultant thrill flashed through Amelia. “Those are Lost Night Files fans.”

“Do you want us to call the cops, Mr. Steen?” Twitchell asked.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Cutler raged. “No, I don’t want the cops here. Go down to the gate. Take Brinks with you. Show those idiots the guns and remind them this is private property.”

“If we start flashing the weapons around someone will call the cops,” Twitchell warned. “They’ll be here in sixty seconds.”

“It’s just a bunch of dumb podcast fans,” Cutler said. “I pay you to deal with situations like this. If you want another dose of the drug, you will get things under control at the gate now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Twitchell disappeared, leaving Amelia alone with Irene and Cutler.

“I wonder how they found me?” Amelia said.

“That,” Cutler seethed, “is a very good question.” He jerked the pistol out of the holster and looked at Irene. “I think I know the answer.”

“No.” Irene stared at him, eyes widening. “Please, I swear, I never told anyone that Amelia was here.”

Cutler raised the pistol. “It’s a sad day when a man discovers that he can’t even trust his own offspring.”

“Why would I bring the podcast people here tonight?” Irene said. “I’m the one who arranged to grab Amelia when Falcon and the others failed, remember? If it hadn’t been for me you still wouldn’t have her. And now she’s telling you she can save your life and maybe your talent, too.”

Amelia kicked up her senses again and studied Irene’s energy field. There was no mistaking the panic in the currents. Irene was terrified of her father. She was convinced Steen would murder her without any hesitation. The realization that your parent could kill you in cold blood took the definition of complicated family dynamics to a whole other level.

“Your daughter is telling you the truth, Mr. Steen,” Amelia said firmly.

Cutler shot her an assessing look. “Does your aura reading ability enable you to know if someone is lying?”

“Not always, obviously,” she said. She watched Irene, who was motionless. “If I were infallible I would have realized long before now that Irene was playing me from the start.”

“Amelia, it wasn’t like that,” Irene whispered.

“Yes, it was,” Amelia said. She turned back to Cutler. “I have no reason to back up Irene’s story. I’m certain she’s telling you the truth now. Trust me, she did not summon the podcast fans tonight.”

“What makes you sure of that?” Cutler said.

“Think about it. It’s not like you could call or text a certain number and organize a flash mob. Only a member of the Lost Night Files crew would know how to contact the fans and get them to turn out at a specific address on such short notice. Your daughter’s only connection to the podcast is me, and I certainly did not summon them here. How could I? I didn’t even know this place existed until tonight.”

Cutler hesitated and then reluctantly lowered the pistol. The chanting grew louder. Someone had brought a bullhorn.

“Twitchell and Brinks should be at the front gate by now,” Cutler said. “What’s going on? Why haven’t they taken control?”

Irene looked at Amelia. She did not say anything but her gratitude was not hard to read. She truly had feared for her life. And I was upset because my parents got a divorce , Amelia thought. Perspective was everything.

She started to turn back to Cutler but Gideon spoke from the deep shadows on the far side of the deck.

“Twitchell and Brinks are not in any condition to take charge of the gate, Steen,” he said.

“Gideon.” Relief and panic flashed through Amelia. “Steen has a gun. Irene probably has one, too. Everyone around here is armed to the teeth.”

Cutler moved much faster than she expected, closing the short distance between them. He wrapped an arm around her throat and dragged her hard against his chest, making a human shield of her. She was intensely aware that the front of his shirt was soaked with a sick sweat.

She was also aware that in her current position, pinned against Cutler, she could touch the watch on his wrist.

“You must be Sweetwater,” Cutler said.

“Yes, he is,” Irene said. She was still tense but the panicky vibe was gone. She was back in control. “What’s going on out at the front gate?”

“I told the Lost Night Files producer that I needed a distraction,” Gideon said. “She was very helpful.”

“Phoebe,” Amelia whispered.

“She put out the word to fans in the local area,” Gideon said. “Evidently they are a very loyal bunch. Amelia, are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said. Her voice was annoyingly thin. Control. It’s all about control.

“Come one step closer and I’ll put a bullet through her head,” Cutler warned.

Gideon did not move. “I understand. Amelia?”

“I’ve got this,” she said, her voice steadying.

“You’re sure?”

“Pretty much.”

“There’s always plan B,” Gideon reminded her.

“How in fucking hell did you find this house?” Cutler’s voice rose. “It’s hidden under a dozen layers of shells and trusts. There’s no way you could locate it, not in a few hours.”

“Sometimes the simple approach works best,” Gideon said.

“What are you talking about?” Cutler raged.

“You forgot about GPS,” Gideon said. “Or, rather, Falcon forgot about it. So did Irene. Maybe it just never occurred to them it could be a problem.”

Irene drew a sharp breath. “I don’t—” Her voice trailed off as understanding sank deep.

“What do you mean?” Cutler shouted.

“I found the address of this house on Falcon’s GPS log,” Gideon said. “That made me curious. Then there was the receipt from the gas station a couple miles down the road. When this location turned up on the log in Irene’s car I knew there had to be something interesting here.”

“…Free Amelia. We’re in this together until we get answers…”

“I’ve had enough,” Cutler grated. “Amelia and I are leaving. If you try to stop me, Sweetwater, I swear I’ll kill her. I’ve got nothing left to lose.”

“You can’t get away without going through that crowd,” Gideon said, “not with a hostage. You might have a chance if you leave Amelia behind.”

“Do you really think I’m dumb enough not to have an exit strategy?” Cutler said.

“You were always the smartest man in the room,” Irene whispered, her voice fierce with barely restrained fury.

Cutler ignored her to move across the deck, hauling Amelia with him. He stopped and brought the heel of his low boot down hard on a section of the wooden planking. A large, square trapdoor sprang open, revealing a well of dense shadow. Briny air carrying the scents of the ocean wafted upward.

Amelia saw a flight of narrow steps leading down. Two distinct sets of energy prints burned on the wooden treads. She recognized both.

She raised one hand to touch the face of Cutler’s watch. But at that instant he released her throat and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm instead. He pushed her toward the steps.

“You go first,” he ordered. “If Sweetwater tries anything, you’ll die first. Clear?”

“Yes,” she said. Her voice steadied. She had made her decision. She was about to run a dangerous experiment on Cutler Steen. Talk about karmic-style justice.

She did not have her camera to help her focus and she could no longer reach the crystal in his watch. But she did not need control for what she was about to do. Her intuition told her that physical contact was enough. Cutler still had a bruising grip on her arm.

“Amelia?” Gideon said once more.

“Stay tuned,” she said. She was both exhilarated and terrified by the prospect of what she was going to try to do.

She went into her talent in a way that, until now, she had never attempted, never realized was even possible. It was like pulling the trigger of a gun. A part of her was shocked; horrified. But her survival instinct took over. Trust your intuition.

True, her intuition was not one hundred percent reliable—see stupid friendship with Irene Morgan—but nothing in life was risk-free.

She launched the full force of her talent at Steen, enveloping him in a violent, senses-dazzling tsunami of energy. She heard a scream. Not her, she decided. Cutler Steen. His aura sparked and flashed and burned with paranormal lightning.

He yanked her out of his way and flung himself down the dimly lit steps. He would have plummeted to his death if not for the narrow confines of the stairwell. His hands skidded along the walls, slowing his descent.

He vanished around a sharp turn. The screaming stopped but the sound of his scrambling footsteps reverberated up from the depths.

Gideon’s cane thudded on the deck as he rushed toward the tunnel. “He’s getting away.”

Amelia realized he was intent on pursuing Steen down the steps. She remembered the second set of energy prints on the treads and reached out to grab his arm.

“ No ,” she said. “Don’t go after him. Please. Stop.”

Gideon hesitated, his eyes heating with battle-ready tension. “I can handle him.”

“I know. That’s not it. I just don’t think you should go down there.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“Almost positive.”

“Almost?” The rumble of a powerful boat engine vibrated up the stairwell. “Lost him. Why the hell did you stop me?”

“The thing is, I noticed two sets of prints on the stairs. One set belongs to Steen.”

But Gideon wasn’t paying attention. He moved to the deck railing and looked down into the quiet cove. Amelia joined him. Together they watched a high-powered cruiser roar away from a concealed dock and fly across the cove, heading for the bay and the ocean beyond.

The explosion came a few seconds later, shattering the moonlit tranquility of the cove. The cruiser disappeared in a volcanic blast of fire that lit up the night. An instant later the vessel was consumed in the flames.

“Okay,” Amelia said, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t know that would happen, but I had a feeling something very bad was going to take place down there at the bottom of the stairs.”

“Good call,” Gideon said. He turned. “She’s gone. No surprise.”

Amelia swung around. She and Gideon were alone on the deck.

“Of course she’s gone,” Amelia said. “Her work here is done.”

“She’s the one who sabotaged Steen’s boat?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t,” Amelia said. “Not for certain. But she hated her father and she was afraid of him.”

“…Free Amelia. We’re in this together until we get answers…We’re in this together until we get answers…”

“We had better make an appearance at the front gate,” she said. “I want to let those people know they not only helped rescue me, they were instrumental in bringing another cold case to a close. This is going to make a fantastic podcast episode for The Lost Night Files . Phoebe will be thrilled.”

“Before we go out there, I’ve got a question,” Gideon said. “You saw the threat in Irene’s energy prints on the dock stairs.”

“Yes.”

“That can’t have been the first time you saw her prints, and you must have viewed her aura from time to time. Any idea why you didn’t perceive the threat to yourself?”

“I’ve been wondering about that. Maybe my energy reading skills are not reliable, or maybe I’m still on the learning curve, still trying to figure out how to decipher them. But I think there’s another explanation.”

“What?”

“Maybe she never had any intention of hurting me. Like her father, she wanted answers, but her goal back at the start was to observe me. She wasn’t so sure I was a failure. As time went on we became friends.”

“With friends like that…”

“I know. But the thing is, in her own way, she was trying to protect me. She killed Falcon.”

“And somewhere along the line she figured out how to use you to get rid of Cutler.”

“I think so, yes. Don’t get me wrong. In hindsight, I do see that she wasn’t great BFF material.”

“The woman executed that thug, Falcon, in cold blood, and if you’re right, she arranged the explosion that killed her father. Trust me, Irene is very dangerous.”

Amelia thought about the violent currents of energy she had used to destroy Steen’s psychic senses. “So am I, Gideon.”

“I know.” He wrapped an arm around her and brought her close for a fierce embrace. “That’s one of the many things I love about you.”

She froze. “What?”

He released her and started toward the glass doors of the living room. “Let’s go call off the Lost Night Files fans before they come through the gate with pitchforks.”