Deception Cove

Chapter 31

BURT EYED THE GLOOMY VIEW FROM THE FRONT WINDOW of the tavern. “Looks like that damn fog is already starting to roll in. I swear, it comes in earlier every day.”

Alice did not look up from refilling the row of empty ketchup bottles that she had arranged on the counter. She had already added an inch and a half of water to each bottle and was now in the process of pouring in actual ketchup from another jar. She used a funnel to get the thick stuff into the bottles.

“Maybe it just seems like the fog is earlier today because it’s been so dark and gray all day,” she said.

“Nope.” Burt turned away from the window. “Pretty sure it’s darker out there over the bay than it was yesterday at this time. Means the dinner crowd will be arriving earlier, too. They’ll probably stay longer and eat more food.”

“Don’t worry, you said the Foundation is picking up the tab.”

“I’m not concerned about the money, it’s the supply end of things that’s starting to worry me. We’re going through food like crazy. I’m telling you, we’ll have to start rationing.”

“Already on it, Boss.” Alice fit the narrow tip of the funnel into the first bottle. “Starting with the ketchup.”

Burt watched her use a spatula to push the thick ketchup into the bottle. When it was full, she removed the funnel, set it aside, and screwed the cap back on the bottle. She picked up the bottle and shook it vigorously until the water was thoroughly mixed with the ketchup. When she was finished, she held up the bottle for inspection.

“There you go, a nice full bottle of ketchup,” she said.

Burt took the bottle from her and examined it with an expression of deep admiration. “Good work. No one will know that you thinned it with water. You are a pro. Where’d you learn the trick?”

“I told you, I’ve worked in the food-and-beverage business off and on my whole life,” she said. “But I must admit that I picked up the ketchup-stretching trick in the orphanage.”

Burt’s forehead furrowed. “You were an orphan?”

“I know, we’re a rare breed.” Alice smiled ruefully. “We’re not supposed to exist. There is always supposed to be some family around to take in a kid who finds herself alone in the world. But once in a while you get someone like me, someone with no next of kin, at least no kin that the authorities can find.”

“But you’re Nicholas North’s great-granddaughter.”

“True, but I didn’t discover that until last year. And come to find out, I’m the last of the line.”

“Geez, that’s gotta be tough,” Burt said. He brightened. “But you’ve got a new family of your own now. You’re a Sebastian.”

“It’s just an MC,” she said lightly. “The family thing is temporary.”

“Yeah, but—”

“The ketchup will pour a little more easily now, but I doubt that anyone will notice the difference.” Alice eyed the row of bottles. “I estimate that with a couple of inches of water in each bottle we can make the ketchup supply last another few days. By that time, Drake will have sorted out the problems in the Preserve.”

At that moment Drake was in a meeting with Jasper, Fletcher, Charlotte, and Rachel. They were holed up in the Kane Gallery, going through the list of men in town, searching for a possible spy. Acutely aware that there was nothing she could do to help, she had returned to the tavern.

“Sure hope you’re right.” Burt put down the ketchup bottle. “Now if you could just do something about the hamburger supply. I’m using up the last of the meat from the freezer tonight. Tomorrow we start in on the canned goods.” He hesitated. “Sure as hell hope that nothing has happened to Harry Sebastian and the chief.”

“They’re okay,” Alice said.

“Yeah?” Burt cocked a bushy brow. “What makes you so sure of that?”

“Rachel told me she would know if something bad happened to Harry,” Alice said. “Charlotte said the same thing about the chief. I believe them.”

Because I would know if something bad happened to Drake, she thought.

The sudden certainty of that knowledge stopped her cold—literally. A true chill of deep awareness shifted through her, stirring all of her senses. For the first time she forced herself to face head-on the fact that she had been avoiding since she had met Drake in the alley behind the theater. There was a powerful, very vital, very intimate connection between them. It had been there from the start. The sex had simply intensified the bond, making it so much harder to ignore.

Until now she had tried to tell herself that the connection she felt was a product of her imagination. She had made up all sorts of plausible explanations, seeking logical answers—any answers—other than the obvious. But there was no longer any way to avoid the truth. She was in love with Drake Sebastian. He was the one man in the world who could break her heart.

Burt studied her with a worried expression. “You okay, Alice?”

She pulled herself together. “Yes, I’m fine.” She picked up two of the newly filled ketchup bottles and positioned them on nearby tables. “I was just thinking about the culinary possibilities of canned beans.”

Burt snorted. “Personally, I’m praying that Drake shuts down that damn fog machine before we have to start feeding beans to the entire population of Shadow Bay.”

She winced. “I take your point. I vote we move to canned soup and peanut butter crackers first. Keep the beans as a last resort.”

“That’ll work. The kids will eat anything with peanut butter on it.” He looked out at the bay again. “That fog isn’t just coming in earlier this afternoon, it’s darker, too. I swear you can feel the damn stuff.”

He’s right, Alice thought. She could sense the eerie whispers of energy that always preceded the incoming tide of fog. She went to stand beside Burt. Together they looked out the window. The seething mist that was crouched just a short distance offshore did seem closer and darker than it should have at that hour.

“This is not good,” she said quietly.

“No.” Burt turned away from the window. “But there’s nothing we can do except hope that Drake is making progress. Meanwhile, you and I had better get ready for an early dinner rush.”

“I’ll make up the peanut butter crackers,” she said.

She started to turn away from the window, but a flicker of movement at the edge of her vision made her pause for a closer look. As she watched, two young boys dashed across the street and ran toward the entrance of the marina warehouse. She recognized the youngsters.

“I thought all of the kids were down at the library this afternoon,” she said.

“Last I heard, that was the baby-sitting plan for today,” Burt said.

“Well, it looks like Billy Walters and Mark Snyder snuck away to play a game inside the warehouse. I’d better go get them.”

“Good idea. If they get caught in the fog, they’ll panic and so will their parents and everyone else.”

Alice hurried through the maze of tables to the door and let herself out onto the street. The amber lantern in front of the tavern burned steadily, but the glow could not stave off the disturbing currents of darkness that emanated from the fog. The water in the bay was eerily quiet.

Night was going to fall fast and hard this evening.

She went quickly along the empty sidewalk and crossed to the entrance of the warehouse. The boys had left the door ajar. She looked through a grimy window, but the interior was heavily shadowed. Egan was out somewhere, walking his lonely patrol on the outskirts of Shadow Bay.

A loud chortling stopped her just as she gripped the door handle. She turned to see Houdini rushing excitedly toward her. All four of his eyes were open. She scooped him up and tucked him under her arm.

“You’re still playing hide-and-seek with Billy and Mark, aren’t you?” She opened the door and stepped into the gloom. “I’m surprised you and the kids haven’t grown tired of that game.”

Houdini made encouraging noises and wriggled madly. She put him down on the floor. He took off and promptly disappeared into a canyon created by two rows of wooden crates.

“Billy, Mark, the game is over,” she called into the stillness. “The fog is coming in early today. Your parents will be worried.”

Houdini chortled madly somewhere in the shadows. Two small figures popped up.

“He found us,” Mark said. “I told you he could, even this far away.”

“We’re over here, Ms. North,” Billy said. “We were testing Houdini. We think the cops should use dust bunnies for tracking criminals.”

“Not a bad idea,” she said. She went toward the boys, her sense of anxiety intensifying. “You can talk about that with the chief when he returns.”

“If he returns,” Billy said.

There was a new note in his voice now. He was no longer a happy-go-lucky kid playing a game. He was a scared kid playing a game, hoping that game would distract him from his fears.

“Chief Attridge will return soon, and so will Mr. Sebastian,” she said firmly.

“I heard Dad talking to Mom last night,” Mark said. “Dad told her that if Drake Sebastian can’t stop whatever is causing the fog, we’re going to have to make a run for it in our boat. I could tell Mom was really scared. But Dad said we may not have any choice.”

Alice thought about the treacherous currents and the impenetrable fog that formed a paranormal moat around Rainshadow. She and Drake had barely made it through. The forces in the mist and the water had only grown stronger in the intervening time.

She looked down at the boys and remembered what it had been like to be young and scared of things over which you had no control. The terrifying part about growing up was the dawning realization that the adults who were responsible for protecting you did not always have control over the scary stuff, either. She knew that Billy and Mark did not want more soothing platitudes from her. They needed to be reassured that someone over the voting age knew what he or she was doing about the problem.

“I know you’re scared,” she said. She crouched down in front of the boys. “We all are. But I can promise you that Mr. Sebastian and the chief are still safe out there in the Preserve. They are both professionals. They know what they are doing.”

“But how do you know they’re safe?” Billy asked.

“I know they’re safe because Charlotte and Rachel know they’re safe.”

“But how can they know that?” Mark demanded.

“Because Charlotte has a psychic link with the chief. And Rachel has a similar connection with Harry Sebastian. Trust me on this, Charlotte and Rachel would know if something terrible happened to the men.”

“Huh.” Billy looked dubious. “Sounds kind of weird.”

“I dunno,” Mark said. “Mom says both the Sebastians and the chief have unusual para . . . para . . .”

“Unusual para-psych profiles?” Alice asked.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Mark said. He studied Alice. “She says you’re different, too. She says those tricks you do—making things disappear—aren’t like the tricks that real magicians do.”

“Your mother is a very wise woman,” Alice said. “She’s right. And because Harry and Drake Sebastian and Chief Attridge are a little different, they are going to take care of the bad guys. Meanwhile, we need to get you back to your parents. It’s almost time for dinner.”

“Ah, just one more game with Houdini,” Mark wheedled.

“Nope. Houdini will be wanting dinner, too. He never misses a meal or a snack.” Aware of an unusual silence, she looked around. “Where is he?”

“Hey, I’ll bet he’s figured out that he can reverse the game and hide from us,” Billy said. “He wants us to find him.”

“Houdini,” Alice called. “Game over. Seriously.” She clapped her hands lightly together in the signal they used on stage. “Come on out. Dinner time.”

There was a brief, muffled chortle in response to the word “dinner,” but Houdini did not dash out of the gloom. Alice walked through the crowded space, her unease spiking.

“Houdini,” she said. “Please, come out.”

There was a scratching noise. Houdini appeared on top of a nearby crate. He chortled at her and then scampered down off the crate and disappeared back into the gloom.

“Oh, for pity’s sake.” Alice marched toward the spot where she had last seen him. “I really do not have time for this. We need to get Billy and Mark back to their parents.”

She made her way cautiously through the warehouse, Billy and Mark at her heels. She rounded the far end of a row of neatly stacked kayaks and stopped when she saw Houdini. He was on the concrete floor and all four eyes were wide open. He was not sleeked out but he was definitely in alert mode. There was just enough of the failing gray light filtering through a dingy window to enable her to make out what had captured his interest: a bedroll composed of several ragged blankets and a well-worn khaki backpack that bore the faded emblem of the Resonance City Ghost Hunters Guild.

“That’s Egan’s stuff,” Mark said. “This is where he sleeps. We shouldn’t touch it. Everyone says he’s crazy.”

“Yeah, Dad says Egan must have got burned real bad by a ghost down in the tunnels,” Billy said. “Mom says that’s why I can’t be a ghost hunter when I grow up.”

“I agree, we are not going to touch Egan’s things,” Alice said. “But not because he might be psi-burned. We’re not going to touch them because they are his personal property. Everyone has a right to his privacy. Come on, it’s past time to leave.”

She bent down to collect Houdini. He rumbled as though in warning but he did not try to evade her. He dropped the object he had been playing with. It landed on the concrete floor with a small clink. Alice straightened, Houdini in her arms, and glanced down.

When she saw the object at her feet, everything inside her went cold.

“Oh, crap,” she whispered. “Houdini, where did you find that?”

But of course there was no answer. Nor did she need one. It didn’t matter now. The only thing that mattered was getting Billy and Mark out of the warehouse.

She picked up the object that Houdini had found, straightened, and looked at the boys.

“We’re leaving,” she said. She spoke very quietly. “Come with me. We’ll go out the back door, it’s closer.”

Something in her tone must have gotten through to Mark and Billy. They followed her out the rear door of the warehouse without asking any questions. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were safely outside and hurried them around the corner of the building.

A moment later they were on the sidewalk and no longer alone. Lanterns bobbed in the gathering dusk. They passed several people who were on their way to various places of refuge for the night.

Billy’s parents and Mark’s father appeared out of the fog.

“There you are,” Mrs. Walters said. “I was starting to worry.”

Mr. Snyder glared sternly at Mark, but his relief was palpable. “Didn’t I tell you not to wander off alone?”

“I wasn’t alone,” Mark said quickly. “Billy and I were playing with Houdini. And then Ms. North found us.”

Mrs. Walters looked at Alice, gratitude in her worried eyes. “Thanks for rounding them up.”

“No problem,” Alice said. “Almost time for dinner. I’ll see you at the tavern in a few minutes.”

“Where are you going?” Billy asked.

“To find Drake,” Alice said. “Is he still at the Kane Gallery?”

“No,” Mr. Snyder said. “I saw him a while ago. He was heading down to the police station.”

“Thanks,” Alice said.

With Houdini under one arm, the object he had discovered in her other hand, she hurried along the empty sidewalk. The windows of the unlit shops glittered darkly in the gathering dusk.

Her intuition was screaming at her now. She focused on finding Drake. The first tendrils of the mist wreathed around her like the tentacles of some monstrous sea creature rising from the depths to hunt on the shore.

She did not sense the dark shadow in the narrow alley until Houdini hissed a warning and went into full combat mode. Instinctively she pulled hard on her talent, trying to go invisible and take Houdini with her.

But it was too late. Neither she nor Houdini could move fast enough to evade the chilling radiation from the Alien weapon. Houdini went limp in her arm.

“Houdini,” she whispered. “No.”

She tried to run but she could not move. Instead the icy psi-light forced her to her knees. Her heart was pounding. Consciousness was slipping away. She managed to put Houdini on the ground. His paws twitched. His hunting eyes were closed but his baby blue eyes were still partially open. She dropped the object in her other hand on the ground next to him.

“Drake.” She did not know if she said the name aloud or not. “Get Drake.”

Drake would come to this place eventually, she thought. He would retrace her steps from the warehouse and find the object. He would understand why it was important.

Egan took no notice of the small object. Perhaps he never even saw it. He was too busy focusing energy through the Alien weapon.

For a terrible moment Alice locked eyes with him. But he was already pocketing the weapon and reaching down to catch hold of her. She tried to scream but she could not manage so much as a whisper.

She plummeted into the abyss. Egan’s hands and the terrible fog closed around her.