Gift of Fire (29 page)

Preston Yarwood was sunk deep in a painful, angry silence that Verity noticed immediately. There was a lot of pain in the room, she realized, but she didn’t know how to relieve it. She found herself eating quickly, wanting to escape. Jonas didn’t seem inclined to linger over the meal either.

As soon as possible, Verity put her crumpled napkin on the table and gave Jonas a quick, questioning glance. He nodded briefly and finished the last of his sandwich.

Preston Yarwood chose to break his self-imposed silence just as Verity started to push back her chair. He raised his head and pinned Jonas with a look of dark, anguished rage.

“She thought you were for real, you know,” Yarwood said in a strained voice. “She thought you were a genuine, grade A, goddamned real psychic.”

Verity tensed and shot Jonas an anxious glance. He ignored her. Putting both elbows on the table, he regarded Yarwood with quiet challenge. “Is that right?” he asked softly. “I wonder where in hell she got that idea.”

“Cut the crap, Quarrel. You know damn well where Elyssa got that idea. I know all about you. You were at Vincent College.”

“A lot of people were at Vincent College.”

“You were tested in their Department of Paranormal Research,” Yarwood said belligerently.

“So what? I heard you were tested there too. But they didn’t find any trace of psychic talent in you, did they, Yarwood? What makes you think they found any in me?”

“Oh, they thought they had found something, all right.”

Yarwood picked up his glass and took a large swallow of the martini he’d been nursing through dinner. “I know all about those damn lab technicians and their bloody stupid research techniques. They found something. It was supposed to be a big secret. You were their prize guinea pig and no one wanted to lose you to a major-league research institution. So they kept it quiet. But there were rumors, lots of rumors. All those museums and private collectors who wanted you to check out their acquisitions believed you were for real —just like Elyssa did.”

“But you know better, right, Yarwood?”

“Why are you playing these fucking games with me?” Preston demanded furiously. “I know about you. I know just how for-real you are. You’re so goddamned real, you tried to kill a man in that damned lab! And maybe you tried to kill Elyssa, too.” Yarwood leaped to his feet.

“Why would I want to kill Elyssa?” Jonas asked softly. His eyes held a savage gleam.

“How the hell should I know? Maybe because you didn’t like the fact that she knew too much about you. Maybe you want to keep your damn talent a secret, so you can use it to rip off people like Doug Warwick. All I know is, Elyssa almost died out there on those cliffs, and I don’t believe she fell accidentally. The only one around who’s got a track record when it comes to attempted murder is you, you fucking psychic bastard.” Yarwood stomped out of the room.

Slade Spencer had watched the small scene with bleary eyes. He said nothing. Jonas’s fingers flexed as he toyed with the handle of his dinner knife.

Verity sat frozen, staring at the empty doorway. She was so furious that for an instant she couldn’t even move. Then she found her tongue. “How dare he accuse you!” She leaped to her feet.

“Sit down, Verity.”

“I will not sit down. That man made a terrible accusation. I’m going to set him straight.” She started to move past his chair to get to the door.

Jonas reached out and snagged her wrist, yanking her to a halt. “I said, sit down.” His face was set in hard, uncompromising lines.

“But, Jonas, we can’t let him think…”

“Who knows what he thinks? All we heard was what he said. Sit.” He used his grip on her wrist to force her back down into her chair.

“You’re right,” Slade Spencer said, finally speaking. His voice was slurred. “We heard what he said. Is it true? You kill some dude in a lab?”

“No, he did not kill anyone in any lab,” Verity retorted hotly. “Yarwood was lying.”

“That’s enough, Verity,” Jonas said.

Spencer scratched his nose and made a production out of lighting his fragrant pipe. The heavy scent filled the room. “I guess he didn’t actually say you killed someone, did he, Quarrel? He said you
tried
to kill someone. I take it something interesting did happen at Vincent College?”

“Nothing that concerns you, Spencer.”

“Hey, man, I gotta right to know if I’m staying in the same house as a fucking murderer.”

Maggie Frampton appeared in the kitchen doorway, frowning darkly as she wiped her hands on a towel. “What’s this about murder?”

“
He
’
s not a murderer,”
Verity shouted.

Jonas got to his feet and tugged Verity up beside him. “Come on, honey. Let’s get out of here.”

She dug in her heels. “But, Jonas, I want to explain. I don’t want these people thinking you’re a murderer.”

Jonas shot her a cool glance as he pulled her toward the door. “Leave it, Verity.”

“Just because you’re too damn proud to make explanations,” she said angrily, “doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“There’s nothing to explain.” He had her through the door now, and led her down the hall to the stone staircase. “Yarwood is right.”

“About what happened at Vincent? But Jonas, there were mitigating circumstances.” Verity was incensed at the injustice of it all.

“I’m sure anyone who ever sank an ice pick into someone else would claim there were mitigating circumstances. If Yarwood tried to kill Elyssa, you can bet he’s busy telling himself he had cause.”

“Jonas, you did not kill that lab tech.”

He shrugged. “I tried.”

“It was an accident,” Verity raged. “A lab accident. People were playing with forces they didn’t understand, and someone got hurt.”

Jonas stared at her for an instant. “Verity, even if you can argue that point, you can’t forget what happened a few months ago at Caitlin Evanger’s. Even Yarwood doesn’t know how good a case he’s got when it comes to accusing me of pushing Elyssa into the water.”

“What happened at Caitlin’s was pure self-defense,” Verity declared. Her eyes were blazing with righteous indignation. “You were attacked by a professional killer, for heaven’s sake.”

A slow smile tugged at Jonas’s hard mouth. He looked down into her furious face. “You really do love me, don’t you?” he said softly.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Never mind.”

They were walking along the hall to the bedroom. Verity simmered down enough to think about what Yarwood had said. “You know, Jonas, if Preston thinks you tried to kill Elyssa, that means he’s probably innocent himself,” she said slowly. “He looked really torn up about it all.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Jonas said fondly as he swept her through the door of their room. “If you’ve just killed someone, the logical thing to do is throw suspicion on someone else. Yarwood used the information he had on me to do just that in front of witnesses.”

“Witnesses? Oh, you mean Spencer and Maggie.”

“Yeah. Spencer and Maggie. And when Warwick and Crump get back tomorrow morning Yarwood will undoubtedly make certain they hear about my unsavory reputation.”

“I wish you wouldn’t talk like that,” Verity chided him.

Jonas shrugged. “Maybe Elyssa will remember what happened and solve the problem for all of us. In
the meantime, we have to be prepared for the possibility that Doug will want to end this consulting job in a hurry tomorrow. Can’t blame him. After what happened to his sister, he’ll probably be anxious to end this entire thing.”

“Can you write the report he wants with the information you’ve got?”

“Don’t look so worried, boss. Sure I can write. The report never was a problem. I could have given him something for his clients after the first day.” Jonas was moving around the room, collecting the flashlight and a jacket. “But tonight could be our last shot at the treasure.”

Verity groaned. “I should have guessed. You know, you’ve become obsessed by this treasure business, Jonas. I’m not sure it’s at all healthy. In fact, given what happened to Digby, I’d say it very definitely is not healthy.” She broke off. “It’s strange, isn’t it?”

“What’s strange? Here, put on a jacket, that passage gets cold. You’ve got to keep the baby warm.” He tossed her the parka.

“What’s strange,” Verity said as she put of the parka, “is that two people who have a direct link with this villa have gotten into serious trouble here. Digby was murdered, and Elyssa was almost killed.”

“You’re right—it is strange. Ready?” Jonas was already at the wall, moving aside the tapestry to operate the door mechanism.

Verity followed more slowly. “What are we going to do tonight?”

“We’re going to look for that room that appears in the vision of the man sitting at the desk. I’ve scoured every inch of this villa during the past few days, and I haven’t found a single room that matches the one in that image.”

“So you figure it’s hidden somewhere in this passageway?” Verity shivered at the cold draft that swept out from the dank tunnel.

“I think it’s possible this passage leads to it. Tonight we’ll find out. Bring along that broken sword hilt in case we need to access the vision again.”

“I want you to know I don’t really approve of this, Jonas. Something tells me we’re making a mistake.” She picked up the rusted scrap of metal.

“The only mistake I’m probably making is in taking you along.”

“I won’t let you go without me,” she insisted.

“Just be sure you follow orders. You know the drill. Stay behind me and don’t touch anything.”

“Just like taking a little kid through a department store,” she muttered.
“
Don
’
t touch anything.
”

“When little Jonas Junior comes along we’ll get to find out about things like that, won’t we? I can see us now you, me, and the kid doing all kinds of stuff together.”

“What if it’s a little Verity Junior?” Verity said saucily. But it warmed her heart to hear him talking about the three of them as a family.

“I’m not picky,” Jonas said generously. “Are you okay? Seems colder than usual in here tonight.”

“It’s gotten quite cold outside. Probably another storm on the way. I hope Doug and Oliver get back before it hits tomorrow. Jonas, I’m going to be very glad to get off this island. The bloom is off the rose of consulting work, as far as I’m concerned. I’ll have to think very carefully before I sign you up for another job.”

“You do that, boss.”

They followed the trail of old footprints and the ones they themselves had left as far as the entrance to the torture chamber. Jonas pointed the flashlight straight ahead and kept going.

“Not that I wouldn’t like to stop and tarry awhile in that chamber,” he told Verity. “I’ve got fond memories of that seduction scene you pulled in there.”

“Honestly, Jonas, I’d rather you didn’t remind me.” Verity was embarrassed at the memory of her sexual aggression. She didn’t want to admit to herself how carried away she had gotten.

“Why not?” he taunted. Then he chuckled. “I know what’s bothering you. I’ll bet you don’t think that sort of behavior is proper for a pregnant lady. Such a little prude.”

Verity chose not to respond. There wasn’t much you could say to a man who had such satisfied glee in his voice.

The stone corridor wound deeper into the bowels of the villa. Verity lost all sense of direction. It was impossible to tell what wing they were in or how deep underground they were. She huddled into her parka, grateful that Jonas had made her bring it along.

“Well, hell,” Jonas said a few minutes later. He sounded disgusted.

Verity nearly collided with him when he came to an abrupt halt in front of her. She peered around him and saw that the passage ended in a stone wall. “Oh no!” she cried. “You mean it just ends? After all this running around down here, the passage just comes to an end? It’s not fair.”

“Maybe things got screwed up when they reconstructed the villa here on the island,” Jonas suggested. He pointed the flashlight downward. “Ah, here we go. The footprints disappear into the wall. What we’ve got here is another door. All we have to do is find the mechanism that opens it. Stand back, honey. This should be a piece of cake.”

But it was not a piece of cake. It took Jonas nearly half any hour to find the hidden lock mechanism. It wasn’t the same design as the others, and it had been embedded in the floor instead of the wall.

“Here we go,” he said finally. He was down on his knees, his fingers probing between two stones. There was a grinding noise from the wall in front of them.

Verity caught her breath as Jonas activated the mechanism. A wave of dank, fetid air burst from the slowly opening stone doorway. Jonas stepped back out of the way and pulled Verity with him.

“Jonas, what if we’re about to uncover a pile of Florentine gold coins or a basket of jewels?” Verity asked breathlessly. “We’ll be able to send the kid to Harvard.”

“No kid of mine is going to Harvard,” Jonas vowed. “We’ll worry about how to spend the goodies after we find them. You ready?” He moved toward the entrance and shone the flashlight into a small, square room.

Verity came up behind him and followed the light. She was immediately assailed by an overpowering sense of déjà vu. This was the room she had seen last night when she had worn her new earrings, during the second psychic-awareness session.

“Jonas, I know this room. I’ve seen it. There should be a black chest in here somewhere.”

“Christ. You’re right. There it is.”

A massively carved stone chest squatted in the corner of the cell-like room. Jonas went toward it cautiously.

“It must be safe enough to approach it, Jonas. The footsteps go up to it and come back.” Verity didn’t like the look of the black chest, though. It resembled a coffin. Her earrings felt very warm against her cheeks. “It’s the chest we see in the vision, isn’t it? The one with the heaps of gold coins and gems in it.”

Jonas reached the chest and examined it from all angles. “The lock is open. Let’s see what’s inside.”

“Jonas, be careful.” Verity lost her nerve. A rush of anxiety came over her. “Don’t touch it. I don’t think we should open it. Forget Harvard, there are plenty of good state universities. Let’s get out of here.”