Right as he found Holly’s listing, he got a call from Liza. How strange that she’d call just as he entered Holly’s building.
“When are you coming home?” she asked.
“Soon. I’ve been running some errands,” he replied.
“You could have called, you know.”
“I thought you wanted to have a quiet afternoon by yourself.”
“You leave in the company of an FBI agent. Then I don’t hear from you for three whole hours. You could be a little more considerate.”
“Sorry.”
“How did it go with Garrison?”
“It was a strange morning. It appears there’s more than one shadow person in the city. The FBI has tapes of them inside Grand Central Terminal. It’s like an invasion.”
“Eeek! What do the shadow people want?”
“Me.”
“Don’t say that. You’re scaring me.”
“All right. They want you.”
“You’re not funny. So, where are you now? Can you talk for a minute?”
It did not seem the right time to be telling his girlfriend that he was about to enter another woman’s apartment to give her a piece of jewelry. He stepped out of the lobby onto the sidewalk, and cupped his hand over his ear to block out the street noise. “I can talk.”
“I called Dr. Sierra,” Liza said. “He’s very disturbed by what you told him this morning. He’s afraid you could hurt yourself when you go into one of your states. He wants to help you.”
“Hurt myself how?”
“By doing something awful, and then later being held accountable for it.”
“Like nearly burning down the restaurant this morning.”
“Exactly.”
“Did you tell him what happened?”
“No. I was going to let you do that.”
Peter swallowed the lump in his throat. The moment of truth had finally arrived. “You think I should tell him what happened at the restaurant?” he asked.
“Yes, I do. Dr. Sierra said he could fit us in tomorrow morning.”
“That soon, huh?”
“He wants us to meet a colleague of his named Hunsinger. Dr. Sierra said that Hunsinger has dealt with people who have problems just like yours. Dr. Sierra put in a call to Hunsinger, and he’s agreed to meet with us.”
“He spoke with Hunsinger before you called?”
“Yes. Why?”
Something inside of him snapped. It must have shown in his face, for a man walking toward him on the sidewalk stepped into the gutter and immediately crossed the street.
“Dr. Sierra promised not to talk to anyone about us. Remember?”
“You’re losing your temper. Calm down,” Liza said.
The demon lurking inside of him never truly went to sleep. It was always simmering just below the surface, ready to attack like a vicious watchdog. “He betrayed me.”
“Dr. Sierra consulted Hunsinger for advice,” she said. “He’s trying to help, and you’re putting handcuffs on him.”
“He deserves a lot worse than handcuffs.”
“That’s not funny. Stop talking like that.”
Betrayals were the Devil’s playthings. They started wars, ruined marriages, and brought out the worst in mankind. A betrayal had taken his parents’ lives, and forever altered his own. He would make Sierra pay for this indiscretion, even with Liza in the room. Looking up into the sky, he let the warm sunlight bathe his face, and felt his anger recede, if only a little.
“I’ll do whatever you want,” he said.
“Will you go see him tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll go see him.”
“Thank you for doing this. Are you mad?”
“Not at all.”
“You sound mad. Please don’t be. It’s for the best.”
He loved Liza more than anything in the world. Yet there were times when she made him so angry, he wanted to scream. Saying good-bye, he ended the call.
Holly was in her apartment. She sounded happy to hear his voice, and buzzed him in.
He took a creaky elevator to the ninth floor. Once upon a time, he’d loved Mondays. It was the day he used to escape his problems. Now it seemed like all he was doing was confronting them. The elevator rumbled to a stop. He got out, and walked down a narrow hallway to a door painted a muted black.
Holly lived by herself. Most psychics did. He was one of the lucky ones, although he wasn’t sure how long that was going to last. He and Liza seemed to be growing further apart with every conversation. It was like slipping down a cliff.
He tapped lightly. No answer. He tapped a little harder. To his surprise, the door opened by itself. People didn’t leave their doors unlocked in New York, not even in the best apartment buildings. He stuck his head in. “Holly?”
Nothing. He entered and shut the door behind him. Holly lived in a large studio with a sweeping westerly view of the Hudson River. The walls and ceilings were painted black, while thick white candles decorated the bookshelf and coffee table. A haunting violin solo played over the music system. He looked around the room, not seeing her.
“It’s Peter. Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
Growing up, Holly had loved to play hide-and-seek. She’d make herself disappear in her aunt’s vast apartment, and Peter would have to search for her. She’d always squealed when he’d discovered her hiding in the closet, or under a bed. That had been the best part of the game.
A voice shattered the stillness. “Who’s that?”
“Where are you?”
“Here.”
He walked around the couch. Holly lay on the cushions, her eyes half open, as if in a daze. She wore jeans and a tight T-shirt that exposed her midriff and accentuated her breasts. Her dark hair lay seductively on a pillow, and her lips were painted a hot pink. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her dressed like that before. She did not look like the woman he knew.
“Are you okay?”
Her eyelids fluttered. “I think so.”
“You didn’t get visited by a shadow person, did you?”
“I think I would have known that. I’m just a little light-headed. Get me some water, would you? I’m dying of thirst.”
The kitchen was the size of a phone booth. He ran the tap until the water was chilled, then filled a glass and brought it to her. She was sitting up and smiling.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded and sipped the water. He sat down on the edge of the couch so they were a few feet apart. He noticed a large vase of water sitting on the coffee table. Beside it, a pouch of magic herbs. “You’ve been scrying on me again, haven’t you?” he said bluntly.
“Yes, I have,” she admitted without a hint of shame. “I got scared on Friday night during the séance. You were lying there on the floor in my aunt’s apartment, twitching your legs, and I realized that I might never see you again. It nearly broke my heart. So I started to watch you.”
“What did scrying on me accomplish?”
“I wanted to help you. I was scared for you.”
He looked away and stared into space. “How much have you seen?”
“Everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yes. I saw you at the doctor’s office this morning, and at the Indian restaurant which you nearly burned down, and later at Grand Central Station with the FBI agent, where you watched the videotapes of the shadow people running across the terminal floor.”
“Did you see me talking to Max?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear what Max said about you?”
“Yes. Max is angry with me. I already knew that.”
“Did you see me talking to Nemo?”
“Was that the face in the clouds? I didn’t recognize him. You shouldn’t be talking out in public like that to Nemo. People will become suspicious. Next time, stick a Bluetooth in your ear, and they’ll think you’re on a cell phone.”