The Nymph's Curse: The Collection

by Danica Winters

  “I stopped all contact with Carey over a year ago.”

  “So you haven’t seen her at all in the last year?”

  Dr. McDougal shook his head. “She’s tried calling, but I’ve been … unavailable.”

  “Do you think it is possible we could get any more of that particular medication?”

  “We started work on that drug over twenty years ago. Now, it’s all gone.” The skin of his hand warmed and his body tensed under her touch.

  “Why are you lying to me, Eliot?” She let her voice drip with sweetness.

  “I gave her enough to last for five years, if she rationed it to her daughter.” He glanced at Starling, like he was finally putting a face to a name.

  Starling’s lips were puckered as if she was trying to hold back from speaking.

  “Eliot,” Harper continued, rubbing her finger down the length of his index finger. “This is Starling Jackson, Carey’s daughter. Can you look at her and tell her there is no more of the drug? That she will no longer get the help she so desperately needs? Are you really so crass?”

  There was a flash of pain in his muddy brown eyes as his gaze slipped between her and Starling. “Even if there were more of GX 149, there’s no way I could get my hands on it. They are keeping it under lock and key.”

  “Is there any way you could make more?”

  Dr. McDougal sat back, pulling his hand from hers. “You know, as a pharmacologist, that is completely impossible. GX 149 didn’t pass clinical testing and there is no way I can bring it back into the lab for personal use. That project is done.”

  “I also know if you can find another marketable use for the drug, or if you think you can tweak it to be effective without the side effects that failed it during clinical trials, that you can bring this drug back from the dead.”

  “You don’t think I’ve already thought of that?” Dr. McDougal rebuked. “Don’t you think we have had teams of people trying to figure out other ways to alter GX 149? It simply can’t be done.”

  “Maybe you and I could work together to make this happen. I could quit Merckson and we could spend every day together.” She was grasping at straws … “Do you think I could see the information on the drug?”

  Dr. McDougal’s smile weakened and she could feel her energy slow as it struggled to leave her. “You know as well as I do we can’t share information. I like you.” He leaned forward. “But there’s just no way that I can give you what you’re asking.”

  Starling stiffened in her seat. “Eliot?” she asked tentatively. “I know that you have your job to think of, I do. But I can’t be without my medicine. I’m so scared.”

  Dr. McDougal’s gaze dropped down to his desk.

  “I’m scared the next time, if I go into my own mind, I may not come back.” Her fingers shook violently in her lap. “Do you know what it’s like to be constantly in contact with spirits — most of which you don’t want? I only want to talk to my mother … my dead mother … This medication … I think your medication is the reason she’s dead.”

  The young woman hurt and her pain and fear made Harper’s heart pang with sympathy. “Starling, it’s okay. If he can’t help us … we can find another way. You don’t have to talk about this. You don’t have to do this to yourself.”

  “I want him to know,” Starling said. “I want him to know how important this medication is to me. He needs to know GX 149 is the only way I will be able to function … If I can function then I can find whoever killed my mother.” She turned to Dr. McDougal. “I need to find her killer.”

  “If you can talk to the dead … ” Dr. McDougal started. “Then why haven’t you asked your mother who killed her?”

  “I can ask, but I don’t have great enough control over my ability yet. I can barely get out of my bed in the morning … And now … since my mother’s death, the only reason I have left to wake up, is to find whoever killed my mother and get my revenge.”

  Starling’s agony shook Harper to her core. She was just like Harper — filled with the anguish of loss and the passion for some type of vengeance.

  “Eliot, please. If there is anything you can do to help her … us … please.”

  He stared down at his hands for a second and then looked up. “There’s nothing — ”

  “Eliot, did you know my sister?” Harper interrupted his refusal. “Did you know Jenna Cygnini?”

  His buggy eyes widened, making them look as though they barely fit under his bottle-thick lenses. “I know your sister … How is she?” Subtle warmth crept into his voice.

  All of a sudden the razor and the shaving kit in Jenna’s bathroom came to mind — was it possible that this man, this lab coat wearing, nerdy man, had left the shaving kit behind?

  “She’s not good.” Harper baited the trap.

  “What? What happened to her? Her phone’s been off. I’ve been leaving messages,” he said, the words suddenly fighting to get out.

  “When’s the last time you saw Jenna?” Harper asked.

  “I went to her house three weeks ago, but no one was home.”

  “Let me get this right — you hadn’t seen Carey in a year, but you just went to see my sister?”

  As she asked the question, Dr. McDougal’s shoulder’s rose and he cowered slightly. “Yes.”

  “What happened between you and Carey?”

  Dr. McDougal’s shoulder rose higher so none of his neck was exposed. “She found out your sister and I were trying to do something, something she didn’t like. Carey wanted us to stop. So Jenna stopped telling her about me. I quit delivering to Carey and only had contact with Jenna.”

  “When was the last time you saw Jenna?” Starling pressed.

  He seemed to think for a moment. “It was six weeks ago, but I normally try to see her at least every three weeks. We’ve been having a bit of a rough patch.”

  “Are you dating?” Harper asked in a soft, caring voice.

  “We are. At least I think we are, but like I said she hasn’t been taking my calls. I knew she was angry with me, but I’ve been trying to explain to her how sorry I am.”

  “The last time I saw her I told her I couldn’t get GX 149. She wasn’t happy that I had come empty-handed.” He balled his hands. “I thought she really loved me — that she wanted to be with me for something more than the drugs. But I guess I was wrong. I don’t know why she was so upset — she had been tucking the drugs away for a while now. Between her house and the safe deposit box there should have been a big enough supply to do what she was trying to do.”

  “There’s a safe deposit box?”

  “So far as I know.”

  “How big is this supply? How long can we help Starling?”

  “There was a five year supply for Starling and another five year supply to help with our experiment. There should have been plenty of drugs for her to get everything she wanted.”

  “What experiment are you talking about?”

  “You know. She wanted a baby … ”

  Her gasp echoed through the room. She should have known. She should have known how desperate her sister had been to have a baby — that this all went back to her sister’s desire for children. It was the same desperate desire that had gotten her killed.

  Harper tried to get her thoughts in order, but sadness and regret filled the pit in her heart and overflowed into her tired mind. Words refused to form on her lips.

  “What do you mean?” Starling reached over and sat her warm hand atop Harper’s, comforting her. “Why would GX 149 help a nymph get pregnant?”

  “One of the side effects of the drug is that it aids in women’s fertility. With most of these types of medication, they cause ovarian damage and reduce fertility. However, with GX 149, it actually strengthens the ovaries and increases the quality and quantities of the ovum.” A weak s
mile played on his face as he seemed to take pride in the drug. “In other words, the women who take GX 149 get more, higher quality, eggs. In the case of Jenna, she was hoping it would be enough to get her pregnant.”

  “But it didn’t work?” Harper said, trying to center herself back in reality.

  “You don’t know anything about your sister, do you? I know you two aren’t close, but I didn’t know you were so distant.” His proud smile disappeared.

  “I know.” Her fingers ached as she loosened her grip on the chair’s armrests. “It’s something I will regret for the rest of time. I should have never left her alone.”

  “She loves you, Harper. She talks about you all the time — especially when she went through the miscarriage.”

  “What … miscarriage?” Her sorrow showered every nerve in her body with excruciating pain. Why hadn’t Jenna told her? Why hadn’t she called? Tears filled Harper’s eyes.

  “It was a couple of months ago. She and I … we were … it was a girl. She was going to name her Harper — after you.”

  She couldn’t keep the tears from slipping down her cheeks. Just when she thought she could feel no greater pain than her sister’s loss the pain was amplified.

  “I love your sister, but as soon as I told her I loved her, she stopped talking to me. Then she disappeared. I just don’t understand it.”

  Harper’s tears blurred her vision, and she tried to choke back the sounds of her crying. She needed to be stronger than this. “It … was … the curse.”

  “What curse?” Dr. McDougal looked to Starling for answers.

  “Nymphs can’t love. If they fall in love, the man they choose is fated to die. The bastard Zeus placed the curse on our kind forever ago,” Starling answered.

  “Is that why she chose me? Was I unlovable?” Dr. McDougal asked, his voice pensive.

  Harper dabbed at her eyes. “She left because you were loveable — when we really love someone we have to leave. It’s the only way we can keep them safe. It’s our only choice.”

  “Where is Jenna? Is that why she isn’t here? Because she loves me?”

  “No,” Harper answered, a fresh tear upon her cheek. “She isn’t here because … because she’s dead.”

  “What? Are you serious? She’s … she’s … dead?” The word “dead” came out as a whisper.

  “Yes, and I will be soon, if you don’t help me. I need more GX 149. Please,” Starling begged.

  Dr. McDougal gave a slow, dazed nod. “The drugs are gone, but I’ll see what I can do. Where are you staying?”

  “At the Bellagio, in the penthouse,” Starling answered.

  Harper tried to control her emotions, but it was a losing battle. “Why don’t you meet us in the Business Center lobby? Two hours. Please. Bring the paperwork … Bring anything that will help.”

  Chapter Twenty

  The bodyguard walked into the penthouse suite carrying an aluminum briefcase shackled to his wrist. “Was everything okay while I was gone, sir?”

  Kodie followed him in and made his way across the room.

  “Everything is fine, Jeffries.” Mr. Blackwater, the gaming commissioner, dropped his hands to the armrests of the gold embossed chair. “Going back to what we were talking about, Chance, do you understand what I’m asking of you?”

  “Let me get this right. You want to catch Nate cheating by setting me up as bait?”

  Mr. Blackwater gave a stoic nod. “Exactly.”

  “How do you think he’s cheating?”

  “We think he’s using collusion.”

  Chance’s skin prickled with the nastiness of the word. For a second, his mind went to the night Kodie had taken the loan. He’d been getting pretty lucky cards. He’d played them well, but at the time Chance had blamed the losing on Kodie’s inability to control his emotions and his tells. Yet, thinking back, he remembered the other man, Vice, at Kodie and Nate’s table that night. He’d been betting loose, throwing around big bets, making the other players think he had the cards, but when it came to the river, the last card, several times he folded. At the time, Chance had thought the man was just a shitty poker player, but maybe he’d gotten it all wrong. Maybe the man was working with Nate. Maybe he’d been signaling the cards.

  “How many players do you think Nate’s using?”

  “Going back in our video archives, we’ve seen Nate and another man, Vice, together at the Bellagio high-stakes several times. Each time Nate or Vice has walked out a winner.”

  Kodie turned away from the window, his face was pale. “How could I miss it, Chance? How could I have been so stupid?”

  “Don’t beat yourself up, Kodie. I missed it too.”

  “Goddamn him … We gotta do something. We can’t let him get away with this bullshit.”

  He couldn’t blame Kodie for his anger. He’d been conned and they would have to get their revenge, but maybe they could get something else at the same time. Chance couldn’t draw his eyes away from the bodyguard’s briefcase as the bodyguard passed him and walked into the kitchen. He laid the square box on the expensive looking black marble countertop and dropped his hands onto the metal. With one simple “yes,” what lay inside could be Chance’s.

  “How much are you going to pay us to help take Nate down?”

  “I’ll give you everything that is in that case.” Mr. Blackwater pointed at the case still shackled to the bodyguard’s wrist. “And more … . Depending on your level of cooperation.” Mr. Blackwater leaned forward and offered his hand. “Do we have a deal?”

  The cheater, Nate, needed to be stopped, but if Chance said yes to the gaming commissioner it would mean his reputation would come into question with the other players. He might as well be making a deal with the devil.

  “What if I say no?” Chance squirmed in the straight-backed chair as if the golden fabric was responsible for the uncomfortable situation in which he found himself.

  Mr. Blackwater’s lips pulled into a dangerous smile. “If you choose to not work with us, then I shall assume you’re going to play against us.”

  Going against the gaming commissioner was the last thing Chance wanted to do, but he didn’t want to be implicated in any of their plans. “I’ve worked my entire career to develop a reputation of being fair and a man of honor — I can’t just throw it all away.”

  Kodie stepped beside him. “Chance is right, Mr. Blackwater. Nate is one helluva bastard, but there’s a lot riding on tonight’s game. And what if Nate doesn’t cheat tonight? We still got debts that need to be paid. We can’t be involved in another deal where we could end up owing anyone anything. We … ” He shot a look over at Chance. “I mean I, learned my lesson.”

  “You have, have you?” A cynical laugh rippled from Blackwater.

  “Absolutely. I’m not going to put Chance in any more danger. We just need to pay back Three-Eyed Nate and then we’ll be done with this mess.”

  “You know about our history in Vegas don’t you, Kodie?” Mr. Blackwater looked like a snake in the way his lips peeled back from his teeth.

  “You aren’t threatening us, are you, Mr. Blackwater?” Chance tried to act cool.

  “Absolutely not. I’m merely asking if you men know Las Vegas started as a mafia town.” Mr. Blackwater’s dangerous smile grew wider. “No one in this place went against the bosses. More importantly, no one took what didn’t belong to them — there are many graves in the desert filled with the bones of those who tried.”

  “Don’t you have another way to take Nate down?”

  “There are other ways we can handle this situation, but we are hoping to not use such antiquated practices in taking down those we deem “less than ideal” for our business. We’d rather use this instance to our advantage.”

  By using him. “We haven’t acted in a way that is less than ideal.”
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  “Not yet, but if you aren’t willing to help us, I’m sure we can find something in your past we don’t like … something we could use to show how you and Kodie are going to go against the bosses.” Mr. Blackwater straightened his black jacket and the sudden movement made Chance’s heart pound. The man meant business.

  The bodyguard thumped his fingers on the metal briefcase. “I think I saw an area out in the desert … a perfect place where a grave … or two, would never be found.”

  “You wouldn’t go against your best interests, would you?” Mr. Blackwater stood up and pulled his sleeves down, covering the wrists of his white dress shirt.

  “Let me think about it.” Chance stood up and faced the man head-on.

  “I don’t understand what there is to think about.” Mr. Blackwater motioned to his bodyguard and the briefcase. “I trust you will make the right choice.”

  “You can’t just force this on us,” Chance said, pointing at the bodyguard and the gilded threat.

  “We’re not forcing anything,” Mr. Blackwater answered, with a calmness that came to men in power. “We’re only trying to impress upon you how important your role in this game is going to be.”

  “If I play along.”

  Mr. Blackwater smiled and walked toward the door, the case-wielding bodyguard close at his heels. “I’m sure you will do what you know is right.”

  The door clicked shut behind them, leaving confusion in their wake.

  “Shit.” Kodie turned and walked back to his spot at the window. “Shit. Shit.”

  What was Chance going to do? If things didn’t go as they hoped, they would still have to pay back the debts owed. In the winner-take-all tournament there was only one winner, and only one way he could come up with the money to pay back Three-Eyed Nate. They had to win. However, if they took Nate and Vice down, Kodie’s debt would no longer be an issue.