Seeing Black (16 page)

Thirty minutes later the car pulled up in front of a
mansion that put Rocco’s other mansion to shame. As soon as she
stepped out of the limo, an ominous feeling spread through her
body. Whereas the other home was warm and inviting, this one was
cold. It was huge. Massive. Most of the walls were made up of
floor-to-ceiling windows. The back faced acres of beautiful, green,
lush land for horses to roam, and at the far end of the acreage,
she could see the Gulf of Mexico. There were also gigantic stables
and gardens.

“May I take your bag, miss?”

“Jillian. Please call me Jillian,” she said. She
handed the man her bags. He had picked her up straight from school
instead of at home, and she still had books and her laptop with
her. He nodded.

She moved around the spacious open-floor layout of
the home, brushing her fingers across the light-colored wood coffee
table. There was not one knick-knack, not a single picture frame.
The house was cold, modern in design and décor. Low to the floor, a
white leather couch adorned the living room. It was made for style
and convenience, not for coziness or practicality. The artwork on
the wall was abstract. Overall, the house felt formal and
utilitarian, not warm or inviting. It was sterile.

A cold voice behind her startled her out of her
thoughts. “So glad you made it, my dear.”

“I don’t think I had much of a choice, Rocco.”

“You always have a choice, dear. You didn’t have to
come.” But even as it came out of his mouth, she knew he was
lying.

“Well, I’m sure you know that I was summoned here.
When I tried to cancel, someone, maybe Josef, sent me a threat.
What choice did I have?”

“Threat?”

“Don’t play dumb, Rocco. I may not be as experienced
in my little gift as you are, but I know enough to know that you
know things. You know everything. In fact, I’m sure you know how I
feel right this very second. You can probably sense the anger and
exhaustion. You know very well that Josef gets inside my head.”

“I’ll make sure he stops. He sometimes gets a little
impatient. I apologize.”

“So you did know. Besides, you already told me, the
first time we met at your other home, that you’d make sure he
stopped. He hasn’t. And I do not appreciate it.” Jill squared her
shoulders and took a step toward him. “I would’ve come without the
threats. I want to get to know you. I warned you not to deceive me.
Maybe everyone was right. You are dangerous. I asked you not to lie
to me. Please, take me home.”

“Okay. Let’s lay the cards out right now. I wanted
you here. Josef can get inside your head and in mine. You and I
don’t have that power. It’s the only power he has left. He, too,
can’t visualize any longer. This is a gift he possesses. He alone.
It’s not exactly telepathy, because he can’t read your mind or
manipulate your thoughts. It’s like reverse telepathy; he can make
you read his thoughts. He wants to study you as much as I do. He’s
impatient. You have to understand we’ve been trying to find another
psychic for decades. He’s afraid you’re going to change your
mind.”

“I already agreed to your testing in exchange for
your knowledge. I never go back on my word, so long as you are only
taking a little blood and conducting one scan. I don’t want to be
prodded and probed.”

“Of course. Just a pinch and a scan.”

“And you will make sure Josef stops getting in my
head?”

“I swear it.”

“Okay. Good.”

“I apologize for Josef. He shouldn’t have
interfered. He meant well. He wouldn’t have hurt your friends. I’d
still like to have dinner with you, but I would understand if you
still want to leave. I can have my driver take you home.” He closed
the gap between them and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Suddenly feeling calm and more at ease, she believed
him. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. She yawned.

“You’re tired.”

She nodded. “It’s been a long day, and that vision
from Josef was the final straw.”

“Yes. I explained that they will become more and
more strenuous on your body. Why don’t you take a nap. We have
plenty of rooms. When you wake up, if you still want to go home, I
will take you myself.”

She wanted to leave immediately, but she was just so
exhausted. Her eyes were closing.

“I take that as a yes.” His smile wiped the ominous
feeling from the air. “Come on. Let me show you to your room.”

“My room?”

“Just trust me.”

***

Jillian opened her eyes and stretched her arms up to
the ceiling. She woke up refreshed. Well rested. Ready to start the
day. She sat up and took in her surroundings.
Huh?
She was
slightly disoriented. Yesterday, she had had a lovely dinner with
Rocco. They’d gotten to know each other, and she’d been about to
leave, but . . .? But what happened? Something was off. She got off
the bed and walked towards the bedroom door, but not before she
glanced at herself in the mirror by the bedroom door. “What the
hell?” she whispered, as she tugged on the white linen pajama pants
and matching top. There were matching slippers in her size by the
door. “I look like a reject from a Ralph Lauren catalog,” she
whispered. It was a big change from the camisole and panties she
normally wore. Her red hair hung loose, and her eyes were
brilliant. She had definitely had a wonderful night’s sleep. Now,
if she could just remember something about it.

She opened the door and went downstairs, making her
way towards the kitchen. What was odd was that she walked as if she
knew where everything was, as if this were not the first time she’d
woken up in this house or walked to the kitchen. It was a strange
kind of déjà vu.

“Good morning, Ms. Stone.” An elderly woman greeted
her. She stood by a big stainless-steel professional gas stove,
stirring something.

“Um, good morning, Ms. . .” Was she supposed to know
this woman?

“Remy. I don’t like when you call me Ms. Johansen,
silly child. Come on and eat. I made your favorite.” Remy pulled
out the chair for Jillian.

“My favorite?”

Remy chuckled and placed her warm hand on Jill’s
shoulder. “Fresh blueberry pancakes, dear.”

“Oh. Okay. Thank you.” Jill was completely confused.
There had to be an explanation. Remy walked away and Jill looked
around. It was the first time she’d ever seen the kitchen or met
Remy.
Right?

“Eat up. You barely ate yesterday.”

“I didn’t?”

Remy shook her head side to side. “You weren’t
feeling well, you said.”

“Oh, ah, actually, I’m not feeling so well right now
either.” She had a bad feeling. “I’m sorry, Remy, but I’m a little
confused. How did I—?”

“My lovely daughter, how are you this fine morning?”
Rocco strolled into the kitchen, placed his hands on her shoulders,
and gave Jill a peck on the top of her head.

“I’m great. Slept like a baby.”

“Oh, and I see Remy made your favorite.”

“Yes, she did. How did she know it was my favorite?
Besides, I’m not really all that hungry.”

Remy chuckled.

“Aren’t you? Are you sure you don’t want to just
taste it. Remy went through all the trouble.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Jill said politely, cut a
small piece, and tasted the warm fluffy pancake. “Mmm. So
good.”

“Once you’ve finished, please take your vitamins,
dress comfortably, and meet me in the lab.”

“Lab?”

“Yes. Today we’re going to work on your focus.” He
kissed the top of her head again and walked out. Jill was baffled.
Did she know where the lab was? Did she have comfortable
clothes?

“Another helping?” Remy took her out of her
thoughts.

“Another? No, I’m not feeling well, I said. I’m not
hungry,” she said, but when she looked down at her plate, every
last morsel was gone, and she was suddenly very full. Had she eaten
all those pancakes? There were two large brown pills and a large
glass of water in front of her. Instinctively, she put them in her
mouth and swallowed.

Jill remained on auto-pilot as she stood and made
her way up the decadent staircase, slowly. Dazed, yet not scared.
Confused, yet not nervous. Actually, she was relaxed and looking
forward to her session with her father. Jill ran her hand along the
white-and-gray marble railing of the grand staircase. She looked up
to see an obscenely huge wrought-iron chandelier. The house smelled
of nothing, which was strange, not of the pancakes that Remy had
just prepared, not of a specific air freshener. Nothing. She closed
her eyes as she opened the door to her bedroom—the bedroom she’d
woken up in—and took a deep breath in order to try to memorize the
scent, but nothing. It was peculiarly insipid. Once on the other
side of the door, she couldn’t remember how she had just made her
way to the room without any guidance. She opened the door, stuck
her head out, and looked right and left down the hall. There must
have been a dozen doors. They were all closed, and hers was
somewhere in the middle. How’d she know to walk into that specific
door? She brought her head back inside the room, closed the door,
and leaned back against the closed door.
What the hell was going
on?

Jill walked into the enormous walk-in closet, took
out a pair of gray yoga pants, a black tank top, and sneakers. She
picked up her hair in a perfect ponytail and swiped on some lip
gloss. Jill headed out the door of her bedroom and towards the lab.
She passed four doors and opened the fifth door to the left. The
wall opposite the door had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the
acres of the greenest grass she’d ever scene with horses running
wild and stables along the side. The floors were a white marble,
and the walls were white, like everything else in the house. The
room was completely bare except for a wrought-iron spiral staircase
right smack in the middle of the room. Jill closed the door behind
her and climbed up the stairs until she reached the next floor.
What she found was an exact replica of the room below. It was
eerie. She opened the door to this second room to find a colossal
room that must have spanned the entire length of the first floor of
the mansion. Opposite the door, there were floor-to-ceiling windows
overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. There were mats placed all along
the windows, and she immediately recognized the room as the
location she had
seen
Rocco sitting on a dozen times months
ago when she was overcome by constant visions of him. There was a
harsh contrast between the serene view of the Gulf and the medical
equipment scattered along the other side of the huge expanse of the
room. She heard beeps and bleeps and other noises. Rocco stood next
to another man with their backs to her. Both men looked down at the
screen, deep in conversation. Surely, they hadn’t heard her come
in. She quietly looked around and took in her surroundings. The man
next to Rocco seemed familiar, but without looking at his face, it
was hard to tell.

“Don’t be shy.” Jillian saw Rocco gesture to the
mats without turning around. “Please have a seat, and we’ll begin
shortly.” She nodded, although no one was looking at her.

Jill sat on the floor on a mat strategically placed
a few feet away from the window overlooking the ocean. She turned
her head back to the men. She tried to get a good look at the man
with Rocco. He was about the same height as Rocco, not quite six
feet tall. His head was completely bald and gleamed against the
light on the ceiling. She could see the back of glasses around his
ears, and he wore a white lab coat. The man turned to reach for
something behind him, and Jill noticed he was younger than Rocco by
at least ten years. Before he turned back around, his eyes locked
on Jill’s, and she immediately knew who he was. “You!” Jill
accused, out loud.

Rocco turned around to look at Jill, as the other
man continued doing whatever it was he was doing on the computer.
“Pardon?” Rocco asked.

Jill stood confidently and walked up to the man.
“You! You’re Josef.” Josef didn’t so much as flinch. He continued
to work as if the conversation was not directed at him. When he
didn’t speak, Jill poked him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. I’m
talking to you.” Rocco reached for Jillian’s hand and pushed it
down, as if warning her. The man looked at the spot where Jill’s
finger had just poked and then down at Jill. His intensely menacing
eyes made contact with hers. His eyes were cold and calculating.
She felt as if she had just poked a shark, and she realized her
error immediately. Trepidation rose up her spine, and she leaned
away from him. Josef leaned forward, towards her. The moment was so
tense she wasn’t sure if she was breathing. Time seemed to stop for
a brief moment; she was pretty sure he was going to hurt her. Being
in his presence stirred something in her that made her
apprehensive. She should have left it alone. Instead, the man stuck
his hand out in a cold, undetached way that made her immediately
fearful. She felt he was threat, if ever there was one. Josef’s
hand stayed unmoving in front of him. His thin lips closed, his
green eyes unblinking and focused on hers. When Jill didn’t do a
anything, Rocco intervened. “Jillian, darling, this is my
half-brother, Josef Kraus. My mother had him later in life with her
second husband. He’s your uncle.” Rocco nudged her forward
slightly, and Jill reached her hand to Josef’s outstretched
one.

“A pleasure to meet you,” he replied coldly. He held
her hand a moment longer than a customary. It wasn’t awkward. It
was scary, intimidating. He had showed her she was a guppy swimming
next to a shark by the brief meeting. He’d set her straight, and it
was a meeting she’d not soon forget.

She swallowed before she spoke again. “Um, er, yeah,
um. You’ve been getting inside my head,” she said as she tapped her
finger on her temple. She gave a nervous smile. Josef didn’t deny
it. He said nothing. A moment of silence later, she said, “Not much
of a talker, I see.” She giggled nervously. “Anyway, so, um, don’t
do that, okay? I’m here. I want to get to know my father, and I
promised I’d cooperate with your little test, but don’t threaten my
friends again, please.” Josef still didn’t speak.