a Touch of the Past (An Everly Gray Adventure)

by Charles, L. j.

  I lurched away from him. There had to be sparks shooting from the top of my head. "What? How could me touching him not help? There have to be useful images hidden in that convoluted mind of his." A tremor wracked my muscles. Those were images I didn’t want to see, not ever. But this was Annie’s life. Not to mention whatever unknown threat Brody had alluded to. It would be worth the addition of his ghoulies to my personal nightmares if I got a lead on how to heal Annie.

  Mitch jabbed his hands in his pockets, his eyes filled with worry. "He’s insane. Not much reality going on in his brain, and I’m not sure what it’ll do to you if you touch him."

  "It won’t be fun, but I don’t catch things through my fingers. It’s not like I’d lose my sanity, too." I shuddered. Could be I’d already lost it to even consider touching Brody again. It would be awful. Worse than when I touched him at my grandmother’s house and found out I’d led him to Annie, and that he’d developed the toxin on that trip to South America.

  Before I could drag in a breath, Mitch had me pulled tightly against him in a desperate hug. "I have this insane need to protect you," he whispered. "Loving you sometimes makes me crazy about stuff like this."

  I planted a chaste kiss on his chest, then pushed away from him, but caught his hand and wove our fingers together. Touch could say so much more than words. And no way did I want to get into anything personal with Mitch while we had an irritable, unpredictable, and potentially lethal super spy audience.

  "I get that," I said. "I go a little nutzoid every time you’re on assignment.

  I turned to Pierce. "Okay. That only leaves my grandfather unaccounted for, and there isn’t any way to check on him without a trip to the North Shore. So, are we done here? Can we whip out there to make sure he’s all right, then head to the airport to meet up with Adam, Jayne and Parker?"

  Pierce nodded, tapped his cell. "Yeah. Good plan. A. J. is the same. No breach of security at Tripler. Let’s move."

  I stumbled to a complete stop when we left the containment building. Where had the day gone? The night sound of geckos and insects filled the still-warm air, and the scent of heat fading into cool dampness clung to my nose. A few inhalations and I’d replaced the musty scent from inside the building with the fragrance of flowers. A sigh welled, and I blew it out, reveling in the freedom of being outside.

  We piled into the Jeep, the men in front, me in back, and for the first time I paid scant attention to the night-purple shade of the mountains and the lights blinking along the hillside. Instead, I slid my hand over the seatback and held on to Mitch’s shoulder. He pressed his palm over the back of my hand…like couples do.

  My stomach grumbled at the lack of food. There had been vending machines in the containment building, but I hadn’t wanted anything, couldn’t even think of food without my gut clenching while I watched the interrogation.

  "I’ll drive through McDonald’s." Pierce’s announcement didn’t require a response from either Mitch or me.

  I rambled, words pouring from my mouth. "What could he have been threatening? Is the toxic substance hidden somewhere? My bed at the Ma Kai? In my make-up? My handbag? Am I just gonna touch it by accident, and then kapow, end up at Tripler next to Annie? Or worse, is he going to attack one of you?"

  Mitch pressed my hand and the warmth of his love flooded my body, calming me. "Williams obviously isn’t going to do anything. You have a point there, Sunshine. Whatever he had planned has already been done. Unless it was an idle threat, meant to throw you off."

  A nasty creepy-crawly sensation lodged in the back of my neck. "Or he’s working with the Middle Easterners."

  Pierce slammed his fist on the steering wheel, his frustration obvious. "No link between Williams and any terrorist group."

  "But the guy who was killed last month at Jayne and Parker’s séance was from there, so there has to be a connection." Desperation lay heavy in my heart.

  Pierce eyed me in the rear view mirror. "Checked it out. No go."

  I wanted to snap at him. Wanted to accuse him of not doing his job, but I didn’t. I knew better. If anything, Tynan Pierce was meticulous to a fault. So, who else, what else, could Brody Williams use to get to me?

  "My clients? Do you think he came up with a way to contaminate my office? Sprinkled evil pixie dust around that’s set to make everyone sick at a specific time? That doesn’t make sense, though. I’m fine, and I would have come in contact with it, too."

  They both eyed me like I’d sprouted wings or a forked tongue. "Just stop. I feel fine, other than being ready to strangle the truth out of that insane shell of a human being who hurt Annie and your team."

  They both turned, started to respond, and then Pierce was distracted because he had to turn into the McDonald’s drive thru lane. The smell of hamburgers and French fries must have wiped whatever Mitch was going to say right out of his head, because he homed in on the menu with total focus.

  Saved from the male protective instinct by Micky D’s. A sack full of hamburgers, fries, and three large sodas later we hunkered down into our own thoughts, and munched in silence for the rest of the ride to my grandfather’s house.

  Aukele, as always, waited for us on his stoop, his smile warm and welcoming. I didn’t realize until I saw him standing there how tense I’d been—how much I needed him to be healthy and untouched by the ugliness that was Brody Williams.

  We piled inside, and I filled him in on the latest news while he fed us freshly cut pineapple and the rest of the mango juice from that morning…so many hours ago.

  And then Kahuna Aukele settled into his cushion and began to speak without me so much as saying a single word beyond the usual aloha greeting.

  "Huna is built on strong tradition, my granddaughter. Elders do not volunteer verbal knowledge, but we always respond to direct questions. Choose your questions wisely."

  Frustration bubbled in my abdomen, and I barely kept my temper in check. Why was he making this so difficult? Anger was not going to get the information we needed. I wanted to ask what getting hers meant, but first things first. "If I bring you to Annie, can you heal her?"

  My grandfather moved his hands together in prayer position, bowing over them for a moment. "Reality is a dream that you can change."

  Pierce inhaled, closed his eyes, and ignored us.

  Mitch cocked his chin toward Aukele and opened his mouth. I slapped my hand on his thigh, shaking my head. This conversation had to be between my grandfather and me.

  "How do we change the dream that is Annie’s illness?" I asked, and prayed that my question would be the right one.

  "You must change the inner to change the outer."

  Irritation sizzled along my nerves. Change the inner to change the outer. Okay, then. I sucked in a few breaths, used what I knew from my yoga practice to soothe my irritation so that I held only positive thoughts toward my grandfather before I formed my next question. "What must change in Annie for her to heal?"

  "Illness is a disruption of harmony."

  "So Annie’s whole world would need to be in harmony for her to heal?" I didn’t realize I’d voiced my thoughts until Mitch looked at me, eyebrows hiked. I tried to send him a bear-with-me look, but he sort of shook his head, so I mouthed patience, to him and hoped for the best.

  "But her world was in harmony, grandfather. She had finally found the right person to share her life with, and their wedding was scheduled three, no two, days from now."

  He nodded, serene. "Yes. But there was a disruption of harmony between her and the man you call Brody Williams."

  "What do you mean by call him Brody Williams? That’s his name." The words flew from my mouth with an urgency that was far from harmonious.

  "In our language there are many meanings to every word. Haole means without breath, as well as white, and ghost. You know the word as it is used to denote those of English heritage. For us it means much more. We defined English as a language without breath because our ancestor’s first reaction to seeing pale skin was th
at the people were unwell, that they were without life." He brought his hand next to mine. "You see the difference between the paleness of your skin and the deep shade of mine. Neither of us is ill, but we need to learn how to blend the harmony of light and dark before we understand each other. There are also layers to a name. You only know the top layer of Brody Williams, his mask."

  My brain mulled on this until Pierce tapped his watch.

  I blew out a sigh, annoyance coating every molecule of carbon dioxide. "We need to leave. Annie’s brother, Mitch’s sister and her husband are arriving soon and we have to pick them up at the airport. Can you tell me anything else that will help to heal Annie?"

  "Yes."

  It was all I could do to stop an eye roll, and when I looked at Mitch, I knew I’d failed. His lips were twitching. I threw out my next question. "What do I need to know to heal her?"

  "You must cultivate the ability to remain in harmony with yourself and with nature."

  No kidding? Seriously? That’s what my Kahuna grandfather was giving me to work with?

  Mitch and Pierce were on their feet, moving toward the door. Aukele cradled my cheek in the palm of his hand and peace flowed through me. I held his gaze. "Why can’t you do that for Annie? It would heal her. I know it would."

  He nodded, and slipped a small, folded piece of paper into my hand.

  Twenty-four

  The edges of the paper cut into my palm, and I slipped it into my pocket. There was no light for me to read whatever message my grandfather had passed on, and I suspected I wasn’t supposed to mention it to either Mitch or Pierce. I’m not good with patience, and not knowing what the note said was making me restless.

  I hustled to catch up with the guys. Mitch helped me into the back seat and slammed the door just as Pierce turned the key in the ignition. We laid rubber leaving the parking lot. With my seatbelt securely fastened, I met Pierce’s gaze in the rearview mirror. The man had something on his mind, but I didn’t want to probe with Mitch listening. My fingers itched to wrap around his shoulder, and I had to sit on my hands to control the impulse.

  We voiced our opinions about Williams’s mental state, all three of us in agreement that it sucked he wouldn’t be prosecuted. A bloodthirsty trio, we wanted, no, needed him to be blasted with the full extent of the law. Mitch’s cell rang with Jayne’s ringtone—The William Tell Overture—and successfully interrupted our gripe session.

  "Flight must have arrived early," he said, bringing the phone to his ear.

  His body tensed. I reached for his shoulder, offering support, but waited until he nodded before I let my fingertips touch him to read the images. Cloudy picture shadows hit my internal monitor—Jayne crying and Parker…sick. Must be Mitch’s worry making the pictures cloudy.

  He made hurry-it-up motions to Pierce. "We’re on our way. About ten minutes out, so we’ll meet you at baggage claim and rush him to Tripler."

  He stuffed the phone in his pocket, then turned, glancing between me and Pierce. The lines bracketing his eyes were deeper, and the circles under them were a gray shadow against his tan skin. I’d never seen Mitch so exhausted. I reached for him, then tucked my arms tightly around my ribs. It wasn’t the time.

  "Parker had a relapse on the plane. Looks like the poison hit him again."

  Even with my preview of the images, Mitch’s words landed in my stomach with a thud. "The antitoxin was only a short-time cure?"

  "Looks like it, Sunshine. This doesn’t sound good for Parker or Annie." His words were soft, hesitant.

  I slide a sideways glance at Pierce—ramrod stiff behind the wheel. None of us wanted to face the possibility of losing either of them, and we were emotionally drained from trying to pretend it was going to be all right.

  Tears, hot and heavy, clogged my throat. We couldn’t get to the airport fast enough, and thankfully Pierce had defensive driving honed to an art form. In record time, he’d parked the Jeep in front of baggage claim, then Pierce twisted to face me. "Gotta leave you here. Williams is locked up, so you’re safe. They’ll need my signature to check Steele into Tripler, and Hunt needs to hang with his sister. Won’t see you again. Have to catch a flight out of here."

  "But my grandmother. I want to see to her burial." My heart ached as I said the words.

  Pierce cupped my shoulders, his gaze steady. "Kahuna Aukele claimed her body. He’s next of kin. Probably wanted to hide her remains and bless them."

  "Oh. I didn’t expect that. I guess he didn't want me there, probably doesn’t trust me."

  "It’s not you, Belisama. It’s the rest of us."

  Mitch started to say something, a low growl, until he turned and spotted Jayne helping Parker toward us. She supported most of his weight, both their faces the pasty color of cold fireplace ashes. Mitch leaped from the Jeep, rushing to help her, Pierce not far behind.

  "Where’s Adam? Why isn’t he helping you?" Mitch wasn’t happy.

  Jayne didn’t look him, but eyed me with a silent fix-it demand. "Switched to a later flight. Something about packing Annie’s townhouse and shipping some things here that he thought she’d need right away."

  Why was she looking at me instead of her brother? Something was off…no, there was a challenge flashing neon bright behind her eyes. She expected me to fix this. Was daring me to fix it. A chill inched along my spine. She was right, and I hated it. Somehow it was on me. My parents. My problem. Damn it all, I could do this. Had to. I stiffened my spine, hoping the effort would kick my brain into gear. Eventually.

  I hated that Parker was sick. Wouldn’t have sacrificed his and Annie’s recovery for anything, but since Jayne had so neatly handed me the responsibility for saving their lives, I needed to stop thinking about death, and focus on healing.

  My palms itched with the need to whip out the note from my grandfather. Surely he’d written some sage advice to help me get through this. He knew things, my Kahuna grandfather, and it was time to stop with the double talk, and get some straight answers.

  I hurried toward the four of them. "There isn't room for all of us in the Jeep, so I’ll grab a cab back to the Ma Kai, pick up Mitch’s rental car, and meet you at Tripler."

  Nods all around.

  "Keys are on the dresser," Mitch said. We shared a quick, desperate hug, and they were off. The humid warmth of the Hawaiian night settled around me, too quiet, and too empty. I let the tears fall, wiping them away when the trade winds softened and failed to dry my cheeks.

  Annie might die.

  There had to be a way to…I rooted in my pocket for the note from my grandfather.

  The writing was bold and precise.

  Meet me at Tripler AMC Library. 8pm.

  My fingers trembled, the images from the paper flashing inside my head. The building was a nasty shade of green, and seemed to be located just outside the gates into Tripler. He was showing me a side entrance, presumably where he could linger without attracting too much attention. I punched the button on my iPhone. Seven-fifteen. He’d given me no time—and that thought about sent me into another crying jag.

  It meant Annie was barely hanging on. That whatever he had to tell me was critical to saving her life. But I suspected that. I gave my destination to the taxi dispatch woman and jumped into the cab, barely giving her time to open the door for me. It would take twenty minutes to get back to the Ma Kai, another thirty, at least, to get to Tripler. And that was if traffic cooperated. I should have just rented another car and gone straight from the airport. But no, those lines could take forever, and at least I knew Mitch’s rental was ready and waiting for me.

  That left me with twenty minutes to worry. My stomach lurched. My fingers automatically went to the diamond nestled in my navel, my mind grabbing for the memory of Pierce sliding it into place—a celebration. I’d successfully used my ESP fingers to nab a killer, and the diamond had been my touchstone ever since. One I hadn’t paid enough attention to for a while. The tip of my index finger found the faceted surface through the wrinkled fabr
ic of my dress.

  A wave of peace rushed along my arm, and headed straight for my heart. That always happened, but I’d never really thought about it until now. I sifted through my brain cells for whatever meager knowledge I’d accumulated about the metaphysical properties of gems. Diamonds were associated with the crown chakra. They had something to do with love and fidelity, but what else? I closed my eyes and dipped into long buried knowledge—knowledge I hadn’t used since I first studied metaphysics, back when I’d been learning to accept my ESP fingers.

  Purity. Diamonds were a symbol of purity, and they attracted abundance, both of positive and negative energy. Not much help there, so I dug deeper into my memories. Fearless. There was something about being fearless, and allowing your soul purpose to…what?

  Hope flared. Clarity of mind and enhancing creativity. That was it. I could use some of that kind of power to sneak my grandfather into Tripler. Surely, that had to be why he wanted me to meet him there. I shuddered. Sneaking someone into a military facility had to be bad. Really, really bad—especially if you were caught.

  And then it came to me, a memory that slapped me upside the head. Diamonds purify and detoxify the body, and…it was there, just out of reach. I inhaled, then sneezed. The dancing deodorizer hanging from the taxi's rearview mirror had messed with my nose. I blocked the smell, focused on the smooth surface of my jewel. Balance. Yes, diamonds were a symbol of balance, and they… Counteract. Poisoning.

  I shot up, bumping my head against the roof of the cab. Holy Mamma Mia. Could I somehow channel enough energy through Pierce’s diamond to purify the poison invading Annie and Parker? No time to think about it. The taxi jerked to a stop in front of the Ma Kai. I threw some bills at the driver, and ran for Mitch’s car.

  No keys.

  I barely remember jogging up the stairs, grabbing the keys from on top of the dresser, then stopping long enough to think. I hurried into Annie and Sean’s room, gathered a few changes of clothes and some bathroom necessities, stuffed them in a duffle, and flew down to find Mitch’s rental. What the heck kind of car was it? I flicked the Unlock button. There. Three slots down, and two rows over.