The ex-senator cleared his throat. “A private hearing. My family has suffered enough.”
“I’m sure they’ll do whatever you want, Senator.” Vadim handed over his card. “If you have any further questions or information for us, please call me or Mr. Feehan, and we will do our best to help.”
“Thank you.” Mr. Dailey took the card and studied it. “May we see Brad now? We’d like to say our last goodbyes.”
Ella and Feehan stared at each other. Feehan cleared his throat.
“As to that—”
Vadim stepped forward. “It’s not a problem. Mr. Feehan, I know you’re expected at another appointment. I’ll take the Daileys to see the body.”
“If you’re sure, Vadim.”
“I’m happy to do so.” He glanced at Ella. “Will you accompany me, Ms. Walsh?”
“Sure.”
With a reassuring pat on Feehan’s arm, she followed Vadim down to the ER.
“I’ll need your help to maintain the illusion. Do you remember what Brad used to look like? That’s what I’m going to project.”
“Got it.”
She held the door open for the ex-senator and waited while they completed the necessary security checks to reach the body. Mrs. Dailey was the only member of the family who seemed genuinely upset by the tragedy. Ella was mainly picking up anger and disgust from the two men. It chilled her. Was that how they’d seen Brad? As some sort of pawn in their family empire, one that had disappointed them? No wonder he’d acted like such an insecure loser...
Vadim opened the door into the temporary morgue, and the Daileys filed in after him. She focused her attention on her partner, adding her emerging magical powers to his as he lowered the sheet and revealed Brad’s altered face. How odd that they were using magic to add yet another layer to Brad’s mask. Would Adam sense their spell and come looking for them?
Mrs. Dailey burst into tears and tried to reach for Brad. The two men held her back, their expressions remote and tinged with impatience. Mr. Dailey caught Vadim’s eye.
“We should leave. There are arrangements to be made. When will you release the body?”
“You’ll need to consult with the hospital authorities about that.” Vadim replaced the sheet. “Hopefully it won’t be too long. May I suggest you liaise with Ms. Phelps about drafting a statement to be released to the media? I’m sure she gave you her details.”
Ella held the door open and waited until the Daileys had gone before turning back to Vadim.
“Where is Ms. Phelps anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be at that meeting?”
Vadim slowly raised his head. “Yes, she was.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Dammit, she’s blond, isn’t she?” She ran for the door, only to have Vadim catch her arm.
“Hold on a minute.”
“Why? She might be in danger!”
“Wait. Think this through. We’ve both got a good sense of Adam. Let’s use our combined power to see if we can locate him.”
“How?”
“Just close your eyes and use your empath abilities.”
“But—”
“Ella, shut up and do it!”
She complied and forced herself to slow her breathing and turn her thoughts inward. Vadim’s magic flowed along with hers, sometimes in parallel, other times so closely mingled that she couldn’t tell where he ended and she began.
“He’s close.”
“Yes.”
“Now what do we do?”
“Concentrate on where you feel his power most strongly and find him.”
She opened her eyes, and this time he didn’t stop her leaving. Adam’s power drew her on. He was in the hospital. He was close. She was standing outside Ms. Phelps’s office, Vadim right behind her.
“She can’t be here. We were just in here.” She tried to turn the handle. “It’s locked.”
“Try it again.”
A surge of Vadim’s magic passed through her fingers and the lock clicked open. She drew her weapon and gently pushed open the door. Someone sat in Ms. Phelps’s chair. She didn’t turn or react to the opening of the door. Her eyes were wide open and she wasn’t blinking.
“Holy cow.” Ella whispered. “That’s not how Ms. Phelps looked yesterday, is it?”
“No.”
Vadim went past her. “She’s in a trance.”
“Maybe that’s for the best.” Ella moved closer. “If it is Ms. Phelps. Her face and hair coloring are completely different.”
“It’s her, all right. Can’t you feel the magic? Remember, this was where Adam’s power was most concentrated.”
“Shall I call Feehan?”
“Yes, tell him what’s happened and get him to send a second SBLE security team up here. I’ll keep her under. You and I can take turns standing guard until they get here.”
Chapter Eight
“Ella, can I speak to you, please?”
She looked up to see Feehan at her elbow. “What’s up?”
He nodded in the direction of the door. “Out here?”
She rose from her seat beside Ms. Phelps’s bed, nodded at Vadim and headed out into the hallway. It was now dark outside, and the SBLE team had secured the private room where Ms. Phelps lay. She was still in a magical trance and had betrayed no trace of awareness of what had been done to her.
The smell of coffee lured Ella farther down the hallway to the nurse’s station, where Jose obligingly handed her a cup.
“Thanks.” She smiled at him. “I needed that.”
“You’re welcome. Where’s lover boy?”
“Who?”
“You know, tall, dark and dangerous, who looks as if he wants to devour me whole every time I talk to you.”
“Oh, him.” Ella shrugged, then sipped at her coffee. “He’s standing guard.”
Jose leaned against the desk. “What’s going on with Ms. Phelps?”
“She seems to have had some kind of fit.”
“What kind of ‘fit’?”
“They’re not sure. That’s why she’s being kept in isolation.”
“I saw her this morning at the staff meeting, and she looked fine.” Jose shook his head. “Whatever happened, it sure seemed to come out of nowhere.”
“I know.”
“Ella?”
She turned back to Feehan, who was waiting patiently behind her.
“Sorry, boss. Emergency caffeine refueling.” She nodded at Jose. “Thanks for the coffee.”
Feehan walked her over to a seating area by the elevators and sat down beside her.
“I wanted to ask you something in private.” He looked around and then settled his gaze back on her. “I talked to a couple of the staff on this floor earlier, and they told me the strangest thing.”
“What?”
“That the last person they saw going into Ms. Phelps’s office was Vadim.”
“So?”
“Could it have been him?”
“Boss, you were with us most of the day. We only parted when we went down to the ER with Brad’s parents. I was there the whole time with Morosov. He certainly didn’t sneak away and do this to Ms. Phelps.”
“Are you quite certain?”
“Sure I am. Do you think he bespelled me? He needed to be one hundred percent present in the ER to do the magic required to convince the Dailey family that Brad’s face looked the same as it ever had.”
Feehan scratched his thinning hair. “It does sound a little farfetched, doesn’t it?”
“Look, whoever this Adam dude is, he wants Vadim to take the blame for his actions. This is the second time he’s pretended to be him.”
“But why? Liz thinks—”
Ella sat up straighter. “What’s Liz got to do with it? Is all this coming from her?”