Priceless (6 page)

I shook my head.
“
I was hoping you could help me find them. I think I left them here.
”
I pointed to the hospital.

She squinted in the direction of my hand.
“
You think you left them in a hospital?
”

I blushed. This would not be a good time for her to be more lucid. When she was angry, she could give O
’
Shea a run for his money.

“
Yes, the hospital. I think that
’
s where they are. Can you help me?
”
I
hop
ed
to just get her in
side
.

Giselle followed me in through the sliding front doors and up to the reception desk without a word
,
lowering herself slowly into one of the padded chairs set out for the infirm. I watched her a moment before turning to the clerk.
“
I
’
d like to admit my friend. She
’
s not competent and I think she may be quite sick. Maybe an infection of some sort. She
’
s been hanging around the neighbors who just got back from Mexico.
”
That got the clerk
’
s attention real fast
,
what with all the upheaval of the
S
wine flu coming up from down south. Of course
,
it wasn
’
t true, but I didn
’
t want them pissing around with whether or not to admit her and for how long. Just the possibility of Swine flu was an automatic admittance
for someone Giselle
’
s age,
and a minimum of a
one-
week observation around here.

Within moments
,
they had Giselle under quarantine, s
ettled into a private room, on fluids and
a heavy dose of sedatives to keep her quiet.

I stood by her side, mask over my nose and mouth, holding her bare hands with my gloved ones.
“
I
’
ll be back as quick as I can
,
”
I whispered, knowing she couldn
’
t hear me anyway. The week of warmth and good food would help her more than anything else, and having her in the hospital would keep me from worrying when I should be focusing on India.

Leaning in
,
I gave her a kiss on the cheek through the paper mask, then started out the door.

“
Milly will come back
,
Rylee.
”

I spun back toward her.
“
What?
”
But her eyes were closed and her breathing was even, her body slumped with sleep. There was nothing more
,
and again I headed out the door. Maybe I was hearing things, or maybe I was just hearing things I wanted to hear.

Again
,
I worked my way through the subdivision,
this time with a distinctive shadow behind me.
A traditional
FBI
dark-
coloured SUV trailing at a distance of no more than three car lengths followed me through all the twists and turns. For now, I ignored them, but at some point I was going to have to do something about them. Damn O
’
Shea, he was going to make things difficult right off the bat this time.

I pulled
up to a small
green-
trimmed house, a two
-
story, with a perfectly manicured lawn out front. The only concession to living in a more rural part of the country was the Christmas lights that were still up from last year.

Leaving my Jeep,
I made my way around the side of the house and through the perfect,
non-
rusty gate in the perfect
ly trimmed
white fence. The basement was a separate suit
e
and was rented out to Kyle Jacobs, an eighteen-year old computer geek fresh out of high school
who also happened to be the
best hacker in town.
Make that the best hacker, period.

Not bothering to knock, I let myself right in. If Kyle didn
’
t know you or didn
’
t like you, the door would be locked. He had the whole place bugged with cameras and recorders and the door could
be
lock
ed
with a simple remote control he kept with him at his work desk. The kid
was more paranoid than an alcoholic who
’
d
“
seen
”
someone looking at them sideways
.

The hallway was bare of any personal things
;
a camera was up in the far corner tracking my movements. I waved at it and Kyle called to me from his workroom.

“
Come on in
,
Rylee.
”
I followed his voice through the kitchen full of unwashed plates, open chip bags and empty root beer cans into the workroom, what had once been a living room. Computers, at least four that I could see, two laptops, multiple cameras, a crazy amount of wires, and other pieces of electronics I couldn
’
t identify were set up throughout.
I touched nothing, hung back from the equipment. The thing was, the closer I got, the more the technology would act up and I needed it to work.

I made my way to the
“
client
’
s
”
chair and eased myself into it. It had started life as a
La-Z
-
Boy r
ecliner. Now, the handle was broken and the seat tried to suck you in
and eat you if
you sat down too hard. I
’
d found that out the first time I
’
d come for a visit.

“
You want a beer?
”
He
held
out a can of root beer to me.
His blond hair hung just past his pale blue eyes encased in big glasses. He was a cute kid, but looked closer to thirteen than the eighteen he was.

I shrugged,
“
Sure, pass one over.
”
I cracked it
open,
took a sip
, and damn near choked
.
“
No wo
nder you have so much energy
,
kid.
”
The sugar rush was immediate, lighting up my adrenaline. I was more than a tad bit sensitive to the stuff, but once in a while I liked to indulge.
I put the can on the floor at my feet. There was no way I
’
d be able to finish it.

Kyle laughed and clicked a button on his
mouse
. The screen lit up.
“
The usual, going through police files?
”

“
Yeah, but I have a tail today so they may be trying to trace your work.
”

He spun b
ack to me.
“
What kind of tail?
”

“
FBI
.
”

His eyes widened
,
and he half choked on a mouthful of pop.
“
What?
”
He squeaked out.

I nodded, confirming what I
’
d already said.

“
And you came here? Man, I could get so busted for the hacking I do!
”
He
was
close to
shouting
, his eyes even wider behind the glasses.

I shushed him with a wave of my hand.
“
Have you ever been caught?
”
I already
knew
the answer.

“
No, but it
’
s because I
’
m careful.
”
Frowning
,
he stared down at the keyboard.
“
This could mean jail time, easy. I don
’
t think I can do this. Not today.
”

From past experience, I knew getting angry was a last resort with him. He could be intimidated, but
that would make it harder
to work with
him
later
on
.
“
Listen, the little girl I
’
m looking for, she was stolen from the same park as another child.
”
I paused, debating how much to tell him. Licking my lips, I held my breath
,
then slowly let it out.
“
She
’
s gone missing from the same park as my little sister, same date, same situation. I need this info, Kyle. Please.
”
I lifted my eyes to his, hoping he could see how important this was.
“
I have to find her, I can
’
t lose her after not being able to find . . .
.
”
I swallowed hard, the sudden lump in my throat making it difficult to breathe. Reaching for the can of root beer, I took a swig, wishing it was
alcohol
and not pop.

His chair
squeaked
.
“
So that
’
s why you do this, huh? I
’
ve always wondered
.
”

“
My past is not a required discussion for my contacts
. You told me cash was all I had to give you.
”
Putting the can of pop back down at my feet
,
I spread my hands in front of me.
“
Are you going to help me?
”

Fingers fl
ew
across the keyboard
.
H
e pulled up surveillance cameras even I didn
’
t know he had of the whole street and the
next
one over. Sure enough, at the end of his street sat the SUV, two dark suits inside. I felt like waving to them, knowing it was
more than
likely O
’
Shea was one of said dark suits.

Kyle turned back to me.
“
I thought maybe you were joking. Okay, I guess I was hoping you were messing with me.
”
His eyes suddenly looked far older than they had just a moment before.

I shook my head.
“
No, I wasn
’
t.
What will it be? Helping me find this kid, or sending me out on my own?
”

He snorted and ran a hand through his straw
-
coloured hair.
“
Okay
, I can get you in, but as always, we don
’
t know each other if you get picked up.
”

I smiled
, relief coursing through me
.
I put two fingers in the air.
“
Scouts
’
honour
.
”

I gave him India
’
s information and within a few minutes he had it pulled up. There in black
‘
a
n
d
white and colour was what I was worried about.

There was always a small chance something got left behind by the kidnappers, even supernaturals fucked up from time to time.
But in this case, t
here was literally no evidence there had even been a kidnapping other than the fact there was a child missing.
No footprints, cloth samples
,
or eye witnesses to be found
,
despite the fact she went missing
at sunset, just before dark
, under her own mother
’
s care at a busy park.
It was exactly like Berget.

Like being transported back in time, I could see
my sister
on the swing
,
laughing and squealing, the fading sun turning her hair into a golden nimbus around her head. I was lying on my back, reading my book, glancing up from time to time. Between one pump of her little legs and the next, she was snatched. I closed my eyes against the guilt and pain swell
ing
through me. I wouldn
’
t let India face the same fate as Berget.