Chapter 3
It was early morning before I returned to my hotel room. My packed bags were on the bed. My airline tickets were sitting on top. I couldn’t even be upset or surprised that I’d missed my flight. Carlee’s prediction had saved Mira’s life. There hadn’t been a single fatality on the bridge even though several people required hospitalization.
I wasn’t buying Carlee’s prediction that the little girl would one day be president. But the thought niggled…what if she’d been right? What if someone from Carlee’s company had initiated that entire scene.
Whether forensics examination would reveal electronic malfunction or something more devious, like cut brakes as the culprit was hard to say. And it might be months before we ever discovered the truth.
If she’d been right, someone might have just gotten away with attempted murder. And all because Carlee had predicted something that might or might not come true. And this was only one. How many more had she predicted? Had she’d seen other staged accidents? Was that why they sent me to find her?
I’d fallen asleep with the questions rolling around in my mind. The accident played out in my nightmare. Only it wasn’t Mira who’d been standing in the street. It was Carlee, and she’d been screaming, “Save me.”
The morning came hard and fast. I leaped out of bed before the alarm clock went off. After getting ready, I was shoving my gun into my holster when a knock sounded on my door. I peeked out the blinds before opening.
Melony stood in the doorway. She’d forgone the business suit and dressed more casually. Her bright smile suggested she’d been up for hours. She had files beneath her arms, with a pastry bag in one hand and coffee holder in the other. I pulled the door open wide.
“I was hoping you were still here,” she said, stepping around me into the room. “I heard about the accident.”
“Yeah, well. I had a tip,” I said, shutting the door.
Melony handed me a coffee and the pastry bag before dumping the files onto the table. “Carlee Tate is a busy woman.”
I took a sip of the warm coffee. The caffeine slid down my throat with an energetic jolt. I peeked inside the bag and grinned at the bagel. Most everyone else on the team enjoyed donuts and pastries. They said my bagel was plain and boring.
Growing up the way I had, plain and boring, was a luxury. My family had abilities. A ton of them really, everything from seeing ghosts to healing. I had only my heightened intuition and gut instinct to lead me in the way of the world. Some might even say, compared to my siblings, I was like my bagel.
“We didn’t find any cameras in her apartment,” Melony reported.
“Okay, what else?” I took a bite of my bagel.
“The phone was untraceable. A burner. It had one incoming call to it that you answered, and before you ask, that call came from another burner phone.”
“Damn.” I sighed. “Okay, put the guys on trying to determine where it was purchased and get the footage. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll catch a break and be able to retrace her footsteps.”
“Sure thing, boss,” she said and glanced at the opened suitcase on the bed. “Weren’t you supposed to fly out for your brother’s wedding?”
“Yeah, well, the car accident derailed that. It’s okay. I scheduled my leave early, so in case something like this cropped up, I could handle things before I go.” I turned my gaze to the files. “Are those the interviews?”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing new in them. I reviewed them again last night in case there was something I missed.”
“Great.” I picked up the keys and tossed them to her. “You can drive while I eat.”
“Where to?” Her brows dipped in confusion.
“To FT Development. I don’t think they’re telling us the entire story.” After yesterday’s startling events, I was willing to move Carlee’s former employer to the top of my suspect list.
Melony shivered and I couldn’t blame her. FT Development’s offices gave off a cult-type vibe where everyone was programmed to be happy. More like brainwashed. Last night, I was convinced they were.
We made good time on the drive across town to the campus and lab facility. The morning commuters hadn’t hit the roads yet. At the guard shack to the facility we flashed our badges. The rent-a-cop security guard waved us through and instructed us to stop at the main building, where we’d be met.
People milled about in front of the buildings as we drove to the designated area. Some wore business suits, and others wore more casual clothes like college students attending class. Some were seated in a little park-like area at concrete picnic tables. They were drinking coffee and eating breakfast.
Melony parked in a visitor’s spot a few yards from the main entrance.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Melony whispered as she got out of the SUV.
“I’m not sure anything here is what it seems. Keep your eyes sharp.”
There was a fountain in the walkway where a bird was bathing. A large and imposing statue stood in the center. The curves of it made it look like a sleek tornado.
