New Moon (19 page)

She knew her face must have given away how sick she felt, because he smiled at her.

She tried to reach out to Haig, to find his mind with hers. But he had closed himself off from her, and she knew it was because of his shame.

Guards flanked her sides, back and front, as they marched toward the tent, toward her doom.

JAKE pulled in at the Marshall driveway and came to a stop in front of the house. As he cut the engine, Marshall came charging out the door.

Jake stared at him appraisingly. Actually, he looked like he could have spent the night in a flophouse. His hair was uncombed, his shirt was stained and sticking to his skin, and a day's growth of beard darkened his cheeks.

He was clutching a T-shirt in his hand, holding it out like he was offering it over as evidence. But as soon as he saw Jake, he dropped his arm.

Jake got out of the car and walked toward him, keeping his arms casually at his sides.

But Marshall's eyes were instantly wary. "What do you want?" he asked.

"To talk about the Easy Shopper."

"I told you, I wasn't there, except to buy some batteries the day before the robbery."

"So you say."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When I was here last time, I got your prints from the door handle of your SUV."

Marshall's stance turned aggressive. "That's an invasion of privacy."

"You could say that. You could also say they match the prints on the can of pork and beans you brought down on Tony Blanchard's head."

"I guess I picked up the can when I was in there last week," Marshall said coolly. "When I bought the flashlight batteries. I was going to buy the beans, but they were too expensive."

"Is there some reason why you don't want to get involved in the investigation?"

Marshall hesitated. It looked like he was about to answer when another SUV pulled up the driveway.

It was Jake's turn to curse, but under his breath. It had seemed like he would get something out of Marshall. Now the guy had a chance to reconsider.

The SUV pulled into the parking area in front of the house. Probably it was the car Marshall had been waiting for when he'd come charging out of the house.

Another man got out and ambled toward them. His gaze flicked from Jake to Marshall. "You call the cops?" the newcomer asked.

"No."

Interesting
, Jake thought. Apparently one or both of them had a problem that might require police assistance.

"Then what's the law doing here?" the other man asked, his voice still casual.

Marshall sighed. "This is detective Jake Cooper. He's looking for information about witnesses to a convenience store robbery."

Beyond the spoken conversation, the tall, lean men exchanged silent messages that raised Jake's curiosity. Maybe Marshall hadn't shared any robbery details with his friend, no… relative, Jake decided. These guys looked they came from the same gene pool.

Finally Marshall cleared his throat and gestured toward the other man. "This is my brother, Lance Marshall. He's come to help me find my wife. She's… missing."

Instantly, Jake saw the situation in a new light. No wonder the man looked strung out.

And then there was the other guy. The brother. He was supposed to be here to help. But he'd reacted to what Marshall had said. Why? Could it be that this was the first time he'd heard that Marshall was married? Or was Marshall really married? The answer to that question was still pending.

Fishing for answers, Jake asked, "Marital problem?"

"No!" The answer was too quick and too decisive, making Jake wonder if it was the truth.

"Did somebody snatch her?"

Marshall balled his hands into fists. "I'm not playing twenty questions with you."

Jake held his ground. "Take it easy. I'm the police. I can help."

"I doubt it. And I can't help you on the convenience store, because we have to look for Rinna."

Making a quick mental connection, Jake tried another question. "Is her disappearance related to what happened the other day?"

Marshall's eyes narrowed. "I have to go."

"Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. But give me a few minutes of your time. I may have some information you can use."

When he saw hope flash in the other man's eyes, he figured he was on the right track.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"WHAT INFORMATION?" LOGAN demanded.

"There's something funny going on at that store, right? Is your wife involved in something there? Are you trying to protect her?"

Logan wanted to punch out the cop's lights. He'd thought this guy could give him a clue about where to find Rinna. But Cooper was only on a fishing expedition.

"I don't have time for this," he muttered, starting to turn away.

"Wait a minute," Cooper said quickly. "Let's exchange information."

Logan stared at him, stony faced.

The detective continued, talking fast. "I've had patrols going past the store every couple of hours. They didn't see anything, so I went there last night. I didn't see a damn tiling."

"Then stop wasting my time!" Logan growled.

"I said I didn't
see
anything. That was part of what was so strange. I thought I heard men coming out of the store. When I tried to pursue them, somebody threw a spear at me. Then somebody else came up behind me and started a fight. I couldn't see the spear carrier. And I couldn't see the one who attacked me, but I smelled his sweaty body. It was like somebody made him invisible. Him and his friends."

Logan stared at him, hardly daring to hope. He'd seen enough cop shows to know that they could say anything they wanted to you and it didn't have to be true. But why would Cooper have come up with such a bizarre story?

"You're saying you think there were a bunch of guys there last night. But they were invisible?" he asked, keeping his voice low and even.

"If I told that story to someone else, they'd haul me off to the loony bin," the cop remarked. "But you're taking it in like I was telling you about a cool play during Monday night football."

"Yeah," Logan admitted, looking from Cooper to his brother, then back again. "I have an idea about what's going on at the Easy Shopper. But you probably won't believe me."

"Try me."

"If you're willing to keep an open mind."

The detective nodded.

"You watch science fiction shows on television?
Star Trek
? Stuff like that?"

"Some."

"You remember they landed on a different planet every week, with inhabitants who were different from us?"

"Where are you going with this?"

Logan swallowed. "One more thing. Have you heard of string theory? It's a concept developed by physicists that says there are universes parallel to this one."

The detective cocked his head to one side, studying him. "You've got me on that one."

Logan knew he could be making a big mistake. But he figured he didn't have anything to lose.

Looking the detective squarely in the eye, he said, "What's happening at that damn store proves the theory. There's a door to another universe in the back. The guys you couldn't see came through it. They come from a universe where a lot of the people have psychic powers. I'm guessing one of them made them invisible."

Cooper heaved a sigh. "I thought you were going to come clean with me."

"I am."

"I don't think so. What are you covering up?"

"Nothing!" Logan made an effort not to grab the guy by the collar and shake him. One fight in an hour was enough. "I'm not going to stand around talking about it. Not when Rinna is missing."

He pushed past the detective, walking rapidly toward his car. "Come on," he said to Lance.

His brother followed.

"I don't have a record of your being married," the cop called after him. "What is she, an illegal alien?"

WHEN Rinna saw Falcone disappear inside the campaign tent and close the flap behind him, her footsteps faltered. But two of the soldiers grabbed her. They must know what Falcone had done to her. They were in his household, and gossip traveled quickly around a closed little world like Falcone's estate.

She wanted to scream, "No," but the protest stayed locked in her throat.

They were afraid to help her, and she understood why.

She wanted to tell them that they could run away. She and Logan would help them get adjusted to this world. And together they could deal with Falcone.

But she knew they wouldn't believe her. They were too conditioned to the reality of Sun Acres.

So they followed orders, pushing her relentlessly toward the tent. It took every bit of resolve she possessed to keep from turning and clawing at them, then running as fast as she could into the woods, praying that somebody heaved a spear into her back before Falcone could get his cold, cruel hands on her again. Better death than another session in his bed.

But somewhere in her frantic mind she remembered why she had come here. If she was strong enough, she might change her own fate.

LOGAN turned back toward the detective, determined to make him explain that crack about Rinna being an illegal alien. But before he could challenge the cop, Lance put his hand on his arm and squeezed.

Logan went rigid, hardly able to control his need to strike out—at someone. Anyone. The detective. His brother. Anybody convenient.

But Lance's voice cut through the red fog in his brain. "Come on," he ordered. "Getting slapped into jail isn't going to do you any good."

Logan gritted his teeth and struggled for control.

The detective gave him an assessing look. Logan thought the guy was going to make a comment about his state of mind. But he switched to something completely different.

"One more thing. You have any insights about a big white bird hanging around the Easy Shopper?"

Logan felt his heart stop and start up again in double time. "You saw a large white bird?" he asked carefully.

"It came flapping down to the pad in front of the store after I got coldcocked, while I was lying there, trying to get up the energy to move."

"And when was that?"

"Last night."

Logan stared at him. The bird sounded like it was Rinna, unless someone else who took that form had come through the portal. That was always a possibility.

So why had Cooper mentioned it? Was he just doing more fishing for information? Or did he think the bird was part of the strange events coalescing around the convenience store?

Logan chose to believe it was Rinna. But he'd know soon enough. Because if she'd been at the store, her scent would be fresh there, and closer to where Falcone and his men had come through the portal.

"You've seen that bird?" Cooper asked.

Logan managed to answer with a small negative shake of his head, then allowed Lance to escort him to his SUV.

"Want me to drive?" his brother asked.

"No!" He climbed behind the wheel. The moment his brother was in his seat, he gunned the engine and sped down the drive.

Beside him, Lance fumbled with his seat belt. "You trying to get us killed?"

"I'm trying to make sure he doesn't follow us."

Behind him, he heard Cooper's car start. Before the detective could turn his car around and head down the driveway, Logan took a detour into a nearby development, making several turns, then going out the back way so that they were on a different road from where they'd entered.

"Let's hope we lost him."

"But you and the cop are both going to the convenience store, right?"

"Yeah. Only he's just going to see a couple of big shaggy dogs in the woods." He changed subjects abruptly. "You got your cell phone?"

"Um hum."

"Call Ross and tell him we're meeting at the recreational area just west of the Easy Shopper in Mount Airy." He gave Lance the address of the store and also directions to a parking area on the other side of the woods.

THE soldiers pushed Rinna into the campaign tent, then stood behind her, blocking any means of escape. She struggled not to tremble as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light.

When she finally looked up, she felt a wave of relief. Falcone was not alone. Two of his adepts were also there—Avery and Brusco.

"Here she is at last," he said in a conversational tone.

The two men were looking at her in a way that made her stomach knot. They knew something she didn't.

"What are you planning?" she asked.

"Another little psychic operation for you. You're too dangerous as you are. But I believe the three of us can fix it so you won't be threatening the stability of Sun Acres again."

She looked from one man to the other. "Is that what he told you? That I'm threatening the stability of his little kingdom? Who says he has the right to rule Sun Acres?"

Avery looked abashed. Brusco gave her a stony stare. He was younger than Avery. Perhaps he hoped for a good place in the new government.

Falcone pushed Rinna into a camp chair, then bound her arms to the chair arms with rope. More rope secured her legs and feet.

When she was secured in place, her captor stepped back and looked at her. She made a subtle try at sending him a suggestion that he wanted to leave her alone. The effort made her head throb, but it had the opposite effect than she'd intended.

"I was ready for that," Falcone muttered as he reinforced the block he'd put up, then punished her with a wave of pain that he sent directly into her skull.

As the blast hit her, she gasped, going limp in the chair, then tried to collect her scattered thoughts over the ringing in her ears, in her brain.

Making a terrible effort, she stared up at Falcone.

But it was Avery who spoke. "I felt that jab from her. I thought you made it impossible for her to use that power."

"Apparently she still can."

"She's dangerous."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Falcone snapped. "And you've been putting up all kinds of arguments. Do you believe me now?"

"I believe you. But I have been on the council for a long time. Years ago we agreed that destroying the brain of a human being is counter to… morality. Death is more humane."

"It may be humane. But that's not what we're going to do. I want her alive so she can bear me children. If we leave her the way she is, there's no telling what she can do."

The old man nodded, looking regretful.

Falcone turned to Brusco. "And you agree that she can't be allowed to influence other people's behavior?"

The younger man gave his agreement quickly.

Rinna turned toward Avery. "You could just let me go," she gasped out. "That's all you have to do. Let me live out my life in this world where I won't be a threat to Sun Acres."

"She has a point," Avery murmured. "That would solve any problems concerning her for Sun Acres."

"You're forgetting that I want her children," Falcone snapped. He gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Women tell me I'm a skillful lover. You might have already discovered that, if you hadn't been so intent on hating me. But after we operate on your mind, you won't be thinking about who is giving you pleasure."

The boastful words made her stomach curdle.

Falcone turned from her and addressed the two men. "Let's get it over with. I want her neutralized so that we can bring her back safely."

As she watched in horror, the three men gathered in a circle around her. When they joined hands, a wave of cold swept over her. They were all strong psychics, and she knew they had the power to damage her mind beyond repair, especially if Falcone was directing the proceedings.

With a silent prayer to the Great Mother, she struggled for calm, even as she braced for the pain.