by Kathy Reichs
“Cheer up.” I flashed a wicked smile. “This time we do it our way. We go in hot.”
“We’ll show the Claybournes what happens when you mess with the Virals.”
CHAPTER 67
“Dam”
I replaced the brick and stepped back from the gate.
“The key is gone.”
Two in the morning. We were huddled beside Claybourne Manor’s outer wall, dressed all in black, cat burglar style. A full moon was lighting the path. Hopefully, the sumacs were concealing us from late nighters strolling the sidewalk.
“Chance isn’t stupid,” Hi whispered. “He figured out how you got in earlier.”
Clearly. We needed another way inside.
“We’ll go over the top,” I said. “It’s the only option.”
Shelton glanced up at the iron spikes topping the ten-foot wall. “You’re nuts.”
“Rope.” I held out a hand.
Ben pulled a coil of double-braided nylon cord from his bag. Sewee’s back-up anchor line. I tied the knots and created a two-foot lasso.
“I’ll do it.” Ben winged the lasso at a spike directly above us. Missed. Two more tosses. Both failures.
“May I?”
Ben handed me the rope.
I whipped the lasso overhead, then straightened my arm and released. The circle rode the air then dropped over a spike. I pulled down hard to tighten the loop.
“Horseback riding camp,” I whispered. “Silver medal in target roping.”
“Guys, I’ll wake up the whole world trying to climb that wall,” Hi said. “I doubt I’ll make it.”
“Not you,” I said. “Ben?”
Eager, Ben grabbed the rope with both hands.
“Wait!” I faced the others. “We can’t do this without our powers. We need to flare.”
“How?” Shelton whispered. “I can’t just order one up. They only come when I get really scared.”
“Police!” Hi hit the ground.
We all dropped.
“Oh crap!” Shelton whimpered. Then his eyes flashed golden.
Hi rose, brushing dirt from his belly. “You can thank me later.”
He squeezed his lids shut. When they opened, two more gold irises burned in the darkness.
“Jerk!” Shelton shoved him. “How can you do that so easily?”
“I just think about how crazy this all is. Bingo. Wolf-time.” Hi shrugged. “It doesn’t always work.”
My turn.
I closed my eyes and reached for my anger. I thought about Katherine’s murder. The bunker attack. The experiment on Cooper.
Nothing. No flare.
So I thought about Chance. The winks. The smiles. How he’d held me tight while dancing, touched my hand, and kissed me on the cheek.
Made a fool of me.
Fury spread through my body like wildfire.
Sparks exploded in my brain.
My eyes sharpened. I could hear slugs crawling through mulch in the garden, waves crashing the seawall blocks away. My nose read the air like a roadmap.
I felt amber blaze from my sockets.
“I can’t.” Ben clenched his fists. “It won’t come!”
“Ben?”
When he turned, I slapped him full across the face.
The force of my blow knocked Ben sideways.
He grabbed me with both hands, fingers digging into my arms, eyes blazing with yellow fire.
I held my breath.
“Thanks.” Ben spoke through gritted teeth. “Good job.”
“No problem. You can let me go now.”
He did.
Gripping the rope, Ben scaled the wall, one step at a time. At the top, he grasped an iron spike in each hand, flexed his knees, and pushed off. His feet swung up over his head. His wrists rotated, and for a moment, he balanced in a handstand, biceps straining under the weight of his body. Finally, he flexed, pushed off with his hands, completed the back flip, and dropped from sight.
Beyond the wall we heard his Nikes hit the ground.
“Whoa,” Shelton said.
I agreed. Most Olympians couldn’t have pulled that off.
Metal clanked, then the gate swung out. I led Hi and Shelton through without a word.
I listened. Nothing but leaves and insects.
Moving quickly, I guided the Virals though the gardens. With the kick-ass moon and my eyes in hyperdrive, the yard was noontime bright.
Surprise. The same door was unlocked. Chance hadn’t been careful enough.
The service corridor was as dark and empty as before. At the Alice door, I poked my head through to take a peek. The grand foyer was silent as a tomb.
“Wow,” Hi whispered. “Nice digs.”
Shelton’s eyes were looking everywhere at once.
Ben remained quiet, vigilant.
I led the way. We scurried down the hallway, up two flights of stairs, and into Hollis Claybourne’s study.
I started to sniff-search the chamber, but Hi was ahead of me.
“That-a-way.” He pointed to Hollis’s desk.
Unbelievable.
Everything was there. The fingerprint report. Heaton’s journal. The dog tags. Karsten’s deposit slip. The evidence lay on the desktop, garbage waiting to be curbed.
Chance had been lazy. And had underestimated me. Badly. He’d pay for his overconfidence.
I stuffed the documents into my bag and pocketed the tags.
“Let’s get out of Dodge,” Shelton hissed.
“This isn’t enough,” I said. “We have to find Heaton’s bones before Chance destroys them.”
“Where?” Hi whispered. “This place is the size of an airport.”
“If you had an ancient mansion, where would you hide a skeleton?” I asked.
“The cellar?” Hi guessed.
“Exactly! This house was built before electricity and refrigeration. It must have lots of underground storage areas.”
I shouldered my backpack. “We need to find the kitchens. A cellar entrance would be there.”
Ben checked the hallway. “All clear.”
As I descended the stairs, my eyes pierced the shadows with ease. My ears picked up dozens of ticking clocks. My nose sorted an array of strange scents. None of it was helpful.
The mansion felt empty and we encountered no one. I prayed for that to continue.
On the first floor I detected a storm of food smells.
“Over here.” We slipped into the dining room, then down a short hallway to a tall white door. Through it, we entered an enormous kitchen.
Gray floor and wall tiles reflected moonlight pouring through two bay windows. Modern stainless steel appliances circled a butcher block large enough to dismember an elk.
“Psst!” Shelton pointed to a doorway barely visible in one corner.
I tried the knob.
It turned in my hand.
CHAPTER 68
We scurried down a narrow passage to an iron gate. Through the bars we could see an ancient stone staircase disappearing into darkness. A dank musty smell wafted up from below.
“The cellars must be down there,” I said.
The gate rattled and squeaked as it opened. We slipped through, leaving it wide, fearful more noise might sound an alarm.
Testing with our feet, we slowly worked our way down the stairs. Blind. Even flaring, I needed a few light pixels to see.
The staircase seemed impossibly long. By the time I reached bottom, my hand was ice from sliding along the wall. And I was shivering.
Utter blackness. I drank in the odors of damp stone, ancient dust, and rusty iron. Inhaling deeply, I searched for the distinct scent of death. Came up empty.
Ben handed me a flashlight. I thumbed it on. The others did the same.
Four pale shafts arced and bobbed in the darkness.
We stood at the edge of an enormous stone cavern supported by concrete pillars. At dead center were a half dozen high-backed chairs snugged under a round oak table. Flanking sideboa
rds held crystal glassware and bottle-opening implements. Beyond the table, large wooden barrels marched in two rows down the center of the room.
Slowly, I probed the chamber with my light.
Wine racks stood in rows to our left and right, with passages between, like aisles in a library. Thousands of dusty bottles filled the shelves.
I shined my light down an aisle. The beam petered out before reaching a wall. I checked another. Same deal.
“The whole world could get drunk down here,” Hi said. “There must be ten thousand bottles, at least.”
“Focus,” Ben said. “We need to find Heaton’s remains, then get the hell gone.”
“Spread out,” I said. “The bones have to be down here. Ben, you and Hi check the right-hand aisles. Shelton and I will go left.”
“My flashlight died.” Shelton sounded panicky.
“Use your phone,” I said. “It provides enough light if you’re flaring.”
I stepped left, testing the air like a hound, determined to pick up the scent of bones.
“This is crazy.” Shelton was just inches behind me. “I’m sniffing around for a skeleton in Hollis Claybourne’s wine cellar. Two weeks ago, my biggest concern was my fantasy baseball team.”
Shelton was right. Things had gotten insane. For a moment, I wondered if life would ever be normal again.
No. We’d been changed at some fundamental level. There was no going back.
“Pay attention,” I said. “Let’s alternate rows. You check this one; I’ll check the next. We’ll work our way toward the rear of the cellar.”
“Fine,” Shelton said. “But when we get back, I’m lodging a formal complaint about flashlight distribution.”
Row after row, I found nothing.
Was I wrong?
No. And I wasn’t leaving Claybourne Manor without Katherine’s bones.
“Guys! Over here!”
I hustled toward the sound of Hi’s voice.
Hi stood by the table, flashlight pointed at a lone cask beside him. “I walked by it twice before I caught the smell.”
My beam picked out a crowbar leaning against a pillar. Ben grabbed it and pried off the top of the cask.
I almost gagged on the sudden smell of death.
Inside the barrel lay a jumble of human bones. Nestled among them was a skull with a small round hole in the forehead.
“Katherine’s skeleton!”
I was totally pumped. Hollis Claybourne was going down!
Creak.
The tiny hairs on my neck and arms went upright.
As my head whipped toward the staircase, every bulb in the cellar blazed to life.
I blinked, but the sudden blast of light forced my lids shut.
My flare slipped away.
When opened my eyes, Chance stood at the bottom of the steps. He wore gym shorts and a white tee, and his hair was sleep tousled. It was obvious he’d just awakened.
And armed himself.
“Bastards!” The gun shook in his hand, a Sig Sauer 9mm. Sleek. Deadly. “You just couldn’t leave it alone.”
My heart stopped. Chance’s eyes looked wild.
“Everyone over there.” Flicking the Sig toward the table. “Now!”
We did as instructed, hands raised, careful to avoid sudden moves.
“Cell phones. On the floor.”
Again we complied. Chance kicked them all against a wall.
I stole a glance at the others. No golden irises. We were sitting ducks.
“I can shoot all of you! No one knows you’re here. No one would ever find your bodies.”
Chance pointed the gun at me.
“You shouldn’t have come back, Tory. I thought you were smart enough to know when you’re beaten. I was wrong.”
“Chance—”
“Shut up! Just shut up!” His pupils jittered like a tweaker on meth. Sweat dampened his face. “I won’t repeat my mistake. I won’t prove my father right.”
Chance stepped toward me, fingers so tight on the Sig’s handle his knuckles bulged white. Despite his death grip, the barrel trembled.
My heart thudded.
What to do? Run? Try to talk him down? Try to take him out?
Chance drew air through his nostrils, steeling for the kill.
This was it.
To my amazement, he lowered the weapon.
“Who am I kidding?” he whispered. “I can’t execute four people. I won’t. I’m not my father.”
No one moved.
I was about to speak when the gate creaked again.
“Chance?” Hannah’s voice called down the stairs. “Are you in the wine cellar?”
“Hannah!” I yelled. “Down here!”
Chance raised a tremulous hand. “No! Don’t—”
“Hannah, please! We need help!”
Light footsteps hurried toward us.
Chance pivoted, gun hidden behind his back.
“What’s going on down here?” Hannah was wearing fuzzy bear slippers and a silk baby doll. Despite the danger, I wondered where her parents thought she was spending the night.
“The boat kids broke into the house.” Chance was now sweating bullets. “Some kind of prank.”
“Don’t listen to him!” I shouted. “His father is a murderer! We have proof and Chance is trying to destroy it.”
“Look!” Hi lifted Katherine’s skull from the barrel.
“He’s got a gun!” Shelton yelled.
“A gun?” Hannah looked at Chance. “What does he mean? What’s behind your back?”
Chance glared at Shelton, but lowered the weapon to his side.
“My God!” Hannah’s eyes widened in alarm. “Chance, sweetheart, what are you thinking? Give me that horrible thing right now!”
“But—”
“Right now!”
Hannah held out a manicured hand. For a moment, it looked as though Chance would refuse. Then, sighing, he passed her the weapon.
I drew my first breath in a very long time. It was over. We were safe.
Hannah hefted the pistol, expression unreadable. Then she pulled back the slide, chambering a round. She aimed the barrel straight at my head.
“You really are a stupid girl, Tory.”
Hannah’s flawless smile was pure evil.
“Get two shovels, sweetheart. We’ll need to bury the bodies.”
CHAPTER 69
My eyes widened. The other Virals froze in disbelief.
Hannah kept the Sig trained on me. I stared down the barrel, imagining the feel of bullets ripping through my flesh.
“Hannah?” Chance sounded confused. “What are you doing? Put the gun down.”
“I don’t think so.” The honeyed drawl was galvanized steel. “They know far too much. I’m going to finish this.”
Chance gaped, speechless.
“Close your mouth Chance, you look like a fish.” Hannah’s eyes were hard. “Did you really think I’d allow you to screw this up?”
“What are you talking about?” Chance said. “Be careful! You don’t know how to handle a gun.”
“I know more than you think. A lot more, actually.”
“It was you,” I breathed. The pieces were clicking into place. “You led the gunmen to our bunker. You shot Karsten!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Hannah giggled. “I didn’t shoot anyone. Baravetto shot the silly scientist. I just watched.”
“Baravetto shot someone?” Chance looked as though he’d been punched. “What were you doing with my driver?”
“Chance, Chance.” Hannah shook her head. “Sometimes you’re like a child. Someone had to clean up your father’s mess. And, sweetheart, you just don’t have the stomach for this sort of thing.”
“How did you find us?” Ben’s rage was barely controlled. “How did you locate our bunker?”
Hannah’s eyes flicked to me. A tell.
“iFollow,” I guessed. “Hannah and I are both in Jason’s group. We joined in order to share info for
our biology presentation. I never logged out, so the GPS tracked me wherever I took my phone. Even the bunker.”
“Nicely done. But, sadly, too late.” Hannah gestured with the Sig. “Put your bag on the table. Now.”
I took the pack from my shoulder and set it down.
“Back up,” she ordered. “All of you.”
We retreated several paces. Hannah strode forward, grabbed the pack, then retreated to the foot of the stairs.
“Tracking you was hard,” Hannah said. “There’s no reception out on Morris, so you constantly flickered on-and-off. But we managed.” Another smile. “iFollow is how I knew you were here tonight, too.”
Chance took a step toward Hannah. She swung the Sig his way, stopping him cold.
“I don’t understand.” His eyes locked onto the barrel. “How do you know about my father’s business?”
“I overheard Hollis telling you about Cole Island and Katherine Heaton.” Hannah frowned. “I also heard him tell you what had to be done. Not that you listened.” Hannah waggled a finger. “Someone has to make sure you don’t ruin our future.”
“I had things under control!” Chance yelled.
Hannah glanced at me. “Honestly, Chance. Flirting with this poor girl? Did you really think you could charm your way out of this mess?”
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved in Claybourne business.” A vein was bulging on Chance’s forehead.
“What? Leave it up to you? You don’t have the guts to do what’s necessary. To act like your father did, all those years ago.” Hannah jabbed the gun at his face. “You’re weak. I’m not.”
“You can’t talk to me like this!” The vein was pumping a gusher. “This is over your head.”
“Silly goose. I’m more capable than you’ll ever be. Ask your daddy.”
Chance went rock still. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The couple locked eyes, neither looking our way. Unnoticed, I scanned the cellar for anything useful. Spotted the crowbar beside the cask of bones.
Ever so carefully, I edged toward it.
“Do you think I could order your father’s men without his permission?” Contempt tinged Hannah’s voice. “God, you can be so dense.”
Hannah crossed her arms. “I went to Hollis myself, sweetheart. I told him you weren’t able to handle this ... situation. He agreed.”
