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.My foot slams the accelerator and we re gone before they reach the road.For a kid, Ryan keeps his cool.He s holding onto the panic handle on the car door with a grip that sturning his knuckles white, but he s not cowering in the seat or yelling distracting questions or demandingto go home.I like him more and more.But what am I going to do with him?It will be only a matter of minutes before Bradley comes after us.I have to ditch the car.Straight aheadisBelmontPark , home of the Giant Dipper Coaster and the Plunge, a huge saltwater pool.It s either aneighty-year-old treasure or a past-its-prime eye sore, depending on your point of view.But it s a busy,crowded amusement park and just what I need.I pull into the parking lot and look for the right spot.I find it between two big SUV s.Perfectconcealment for the tiny Miata.Ryan and I jump out and I herd him toward the entrance.We don t goinside, but rather watch from a protected vantage point beside the box office and wait for the black SUVto appear.It does, almost immediately.But to my relief, instead of pulling into the parking lot, it veerstowardMission Bay Drive and downtown.To Darryl s, probably.If I m lucky, the little shit will have bled to death.Now that the immediate danger has passed, Ryan s eyes are big with delayed panic. Where s thecomputer? he asks. You don t have it anymore, do you?Page 140Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html It sokay, Ryan. I put my arm around his shoulder reassuringly. We don t need it anymore.I knowwho s responsible for the videos. Who is it? I don t think you ever met him.He was a friend of Trish s mom.His shoulders tense. It wasn t Trish s stepfather, was it?There s a tone in his voice that hasn t been there before.It s bitter and full of recrimination. Stepfather?He narrows his eyes. Trish called him her dad.But I knew he wasn t.I overheard her mother talking tohim once when she didn t know I was around. What did you hear? Trish s mom was warning him to stay away from her and he laughed and said why? Since they weren tblood, what was the problem? It made me sick.It makes me sick, too.And angry all over again.What Trish has gone through is loathsome.Carolyn isdead, and I have no idea who the stepfather is.But Bradley and Darryl are very much alive and I make asilent oath that they will pay.Chapter Forty-OneBut right now, I have a problem.I can t let Ryan go home and I can t keep him with me.That leavesone alternative.The cab picks us up in front ofBelmontPark.Ryan looks surprised when I tell the driver where we wantto go, but once again, he doesn t ask questions.His faith in me touches my heart.When we approach the door to Frey s magical headquarters, I touch Ryan s arm. Follow me, I say. You might feel something funny, like passing through damp spider webs, butit s okay.His eyes widen.He s looking past me to the garden. There isn t anything back there.Where are wegoing?I answer by stepping through the barrier.His expression stills and he holds out a hand toward theinvisible curtain, unable to believe what has happened.At the feel of the curtain on his skin, he yanks hishand away.I hear his voice as if from a great distance. Anna?I step back through. What happened? Where did you go?I smile. It s all right, Ryan.I can t explain it.I don t know how it works.But I m taking you to Trish.You just have to trust me.His eyes dart over my shoulder. Trish is in there?Page 141Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlI nod.He looks around at the people passing by on the sidewalk and leans toward me. And they won t seeus? No. I remember how Frey explained it to Trish. It s a secret government facility.Ryan s expression brightens. Wow.This is really cool.And this time, he doesn t wait for me to go first.* * * *Trish and Ryan have their heads together, talking in excited whispers, while Frey and I stand outside thelittle office. Are you sure it was a good idea to bring him here? Frey asks, watching.I shake my head. I m not sure of anything except that Ryan needs to be protected.He motions for me to follow him and I do.We end up in Williams s office down the hall.When he hearsabout everything that happened in the hours since he left me, he frowns. I should have stayed with you.I m sorry.I shrug. You can make it up to me.I m going after Bradley and Darryl.I need your help. What do you want me to do?I shoot him a hard look. I want you to turn yourself into a panther.He lets a growl escape his throat.A very convincing growl. No problem.What else? Garlic.You re not affected by it, are you?* * * *I ask Frey to borrow a car from one of the psychics on duty.Preferably, I tell him, an old one.I can t besure what condition it will be in when we return it.He has no trouble securing one, which I take as a good sign.After all, a psychic should know whetherlending her car to a stranger is a good idea or not.Once we re on the road, Frey asks about the plan. Plan?His lips pucker with annoyance. You don t have one? Oh, you bet I do, I snap. We go in, tear Darryl s heart out, and destroy the computer and anythingelse we find that has any link to Trish.Then we burn down the scumbag s house and go after Bradley.Page 142Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlHe grins. Works for me.I glance over at him. You know I never suspected Darryl to be a part of this.He s different on hishome turf.Either that or he s a damn good actor.Is he the reason you came toSan Diego ? Yoususpected he was taking over his dad s business?Frey shakes his head. I never met Darryl inBoston.If I had, I damn sure would have recognized himthe other day.His last name is different from his father s, too.Probably changed it when he moved here.I wait a moment. Things become uncomfortable for you inBoston ? Darryl mentioned something aboutyour coming under suspicion there because you seemed to know too much.He sniffs. That was Bradley s doing, I m sure.But yes, a rumor went around that I had made a deal toextricate myself by turning on Darryl s father.The truth was, I learned about him the same way I learnedabout Trish.One of his victims was a student at my school.She attempted suicide.Her best friend cameto me and told me why.I did some investigating, contacted the Feds and they got him.The same story I heard from Darryl.I glance at Frey.His expression is harsh. But you leftBoston. Our school board was very conservative.I didn t have much of a future there once the rumors startedflying.It didn t matter that they were unsubstantiated.But the one concession they made was to let meresign with the promise of a good recommendation.It s how I got my job here [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]