Double Dose, page 20
Rhys stared at her, then started clapping softly.
“Bravo. You’re quite the voice of reason, aren’t you.”
She curtsied. “I try.”
It occurred to her that she never could have put together a refutation like that before Pard—or even known to call it a refutation.
Thank you, Pard. You taught me well.
Rhys wrapped his arms around her and hugged. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but there’s a very unpleasant—no, make that downright sickening fact I have to face, and it’s got nothing to do with whether or not the Visitors are real, or whether or not the tower can create a passage through the Void—whatever that means—or generate standing waves in the Earth that will flood the whole damn Imperial Valley. The fact is my father believes it can, or hopes it can, and he went out and built the tower for just that purpose. Publicly he says it’s to provide wireless power to the valley but, as the film confirms, the ultimate purpose of the tower is to flood it. And that means my father is not just a madman, but a monster as well.”
He sounded close to tears. She tightened her arms around him.
“You’re all wound up and tense.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Of course. But you’ve got to put it aside for a while and then come back to it. It will all seem more manageable tomorrow.”
“And how am I supposed to turn it off till then?”
“I can help.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the bedroom. “Come on.”
She’d needed him last night, and he needed her now. It would be good for both of them.
53
“Hard to believe,” Rhys said, licking his lips, “but this tastes pretty good.”
“Told ya,” Daley said.
He wore his T-shirt and boxer shorts, she had on her oversized Lakers T. After exhausting themselves in the bedroom, they’d decided they were hungry. So Daley had raided her supply of frozen dinners and microwaved a spicy beef and bean bowl for Rhys and a chicken and broccoli Alfredo for her.
“Never knew I was such a versatile chef, did you,” she added.
“I do now.” He leaned back and sipped from his vodka and OJ—all she could offer on the libation front. “I could get used to this.”
She laughed. “My culinary skills?”
“No. Us. Like this. Just the two of us in our own little world. No crazy father to deal with.”
“And no grilling by the hospital docs.”
“You don’t have to go.”
“I know, but…” She shrugged. “I think Sam is right. I should clear the air so people will stop wondering and talking about me. You’re sure you want to come?”
“I can’t wait to be your consigliere.”
She laughed. “I’m not a crime boss!”
“You know what I mean. My main purpose is to keep them from ganging up on you. I’ll run interference, be your wing man.”
That sounded good to Daley. Great, in fact.
“Well, if we’re gonna be a team at the medical center, we can also be a team where your father is concerned. We have three months to see if that tower is capable of doing what the film says it can. If it can’t, then it won’t matter what his plans are, they’ll fail. But if it can somehow really cause earthquakes…”
“What then?”
“We’ll have to find a way to stop him.”
Rhys stared at her for what seemed like a long time, then said, “Maybe my father was right to be obsessed with you.”
“‘Obsessed’ with me? Why?” She wasn’t all that surprised, but still didn’t like the sound of it.
“He believes you’re something called a ‘Duad.’ Don’t ask me what exactly that means because the Scrolls are vague about a Duad’s origin. The only thing he’s sure about is that this mysterious Duad is a threat to his plans.”
“But why would he think it’s me?”
“Okay, I told you how we put images of the previous night’s sky through our computers to guide the Pendry Fund’s investments. Well, sometime around mid-February up pops this message saying, A pairing has occurred.”
Daley’s gut clenched. “A ‘pairing’…mid-February?”
Pard had entered her life in mid-February…the eighteenth, to be exact. She’d been a one before that, and then she’d become two…a pairing. And it had shown up on the Pendry computers? That was disturbing to say the least.
“Yeah. Seeing that message really set my father off because according to the Scrolls, the Pairing and the advent of the Duad were a sign that celestial alignments were imminent for a return of the Visitors. And the Duad was destined to get in the way.”
“That’s no reason to think I was this…this Duad.”
“Wait. You’ve only heard half the story. I don’t recall the exact date in February, but I do remember that the ‘pairing’ notice showed up every morning for a few days in a row and then changed to The Duad approaches. I remember finding that on a Monday morning. And guess who shows up in town that very day to set up shop.”
Daley swallowed. “Me.”
“Right. That made my father suspect you were the mysterious Duad. And when the message changed the next day to The Duad has arrived, well he was absolutely convinced.”
A sudden chill made her rub her upper arms. “You’re giving me the creeps, Rhys.”
“He sent me down to town to check you out.”
“Is that why you showed up that day? Your father sent you?”
He nodded. “Yep. That was why I asked all those questions about whether or not you had a partner in the business.”
“Checking to see if I was paired with anyone?”
If he’d only known.
“Exactly. I arrived as an investigator and came away smitten. I reported back that no way were you the Duad but my father couldn’t be swayed. Once he fixes on an idea, that’s it. He wouldn’t drop it. That was when I began to suspect he might be going off the rails. And yet, here you sit, saying, ‘We’ll have to find a way to stop him.’ Maybe he was right to be worried about you.”
Worried enough to send Karma Kendrick after me? Yeah, probably.
“Except I’m not the Duad.”
Not true yesterday, but true today. Too true.
Elis Pendry obsessed with her…not a comfortable place to be, but it explained a lot.
“Well,” Rhys said, slapping the table and rising to his feet. “I’d better get dressed and get back to the Lodge.”
“So soon?”
“I need to talk to Cadoc about what we saw on part two.”
She put on her best offended expression and tone, and said, “Oh, fine. Is that it? Slam, bam, thank-you, ma’am, and you’re off? What do you take me for?”
His jaw dropped, he looked stricken. “Oh, no. How can you think that? I would never in a million—”
And then she couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer.
He threw up his hands. “You rat! Don’t do that to me! I thought you were serious!”
In truth, she’d been kind of hoping he’d stay a while longer. She truly enjoyed his company. She’d never had any problem being alone before Pard—enjoyed it, in fact—but after weeks of his constant presence, she was finding the adjustment to a solo life difficult.
“You should have seen your face!”
“Well, you sounded really hurt!”
“I’m fine.” She waved him off. “Go see Cadoc.”
“Seriously, I think we need him on our team to counter my father. Cadoc wouldn’t tell me about part two—said I had to see it to believe it. I thought he was just being coy, but he was right. If he’d tried to describe it I would have thought he was as crazy as my father. But now I know as much as he does.”
Not even close, she thought. Cadoc has secrets up the wazoo.
Daley knew some of what Cadoc knew, but she also knew a lot that he didn’t.
“Oh, by the way,” Rhys added, “Cadoc probably told you that he stays in hiding because of a skin condition.”
“He mentioned it. You’ve got that patch of rough skin on your back…”
“The Pendry Patch.”
“Right. He told me he’s got it all over.”
“He does. Or rather he did. But it’s started to clear.”
She knew that, but put on a surprised expression.
“Wonderful! He found a cure?”
“No. He says it’s just happening.”
She’d made Cadoc promise not to connect her with any improvement and apparently he was keeping his word. Always nice to know who you could trust.
“Well, whatever the cause, it can’t be a bad thing. Where does the Pendry Patch come from anyway?”
He shrugged. “No one knows. It runs in the family. Been with us forever.”
But according to Pard it didn’t run in the family, it was acquired after conception. When she’d passed this on to Cadoc, he already knew. He’d described it as “an ugly secret known only to a very few” and when she’d asked him to explain he’d refused, saying the secret was “too awful.” What could he have meant by that?
Clearly she had a lot to learn about the Pendry Clan. And oddly enough, so did Rhys.
54
Rhys knocked on Cadoc’s door and was surprised to be admitted to a well-lit room. So weird to see his brother in full light.
“Your skin…it’s even better than the other night.” He’d last seen Cadoc on Saturday.
Cadoc smiled. He had a nice, even smile—and surprisingly white, considering he’d never seen a dentist. Must have done a lot of brushing and flossing over the years.
“A little more of it clears every day. Missed you at breakfast this morning.”
It took a second or two for that to sink in.
“You went downstairs for breakfast?”
That had to be the first time in almost twenty years.
“Lunch and dinner too.”
“How did Mom react?”
“We’re both…very happy.”
“This could be the best therapy for her.”
“Enough about me. I assume your trip to La Mesa was successful.”
Rhys checked to make sure the door was closed, then pulled a chair away from the chess table and dropped into it.
“Yeah. Daley and I watched it. I can’t believe that travesty is part of our heritage. It’s monstrous.”
“You have no idea what’s part of our heritage.”
There it was: Cadoc’s flair for the dramatic. He was always saying things like this, and then refusing to explain.
“I suppose it will be a waste of my breath to ask you to elaborate on that.”
A shrug. “You’re the heir apparent. When you hit thirty you’ll be privy to all our dirty little secrets.”
Was he jealous? He was the older brother but when he’d gone into seclusion he’d given up all claim to being made an Elder. Had he changed his mind?
“You know, if you want to be an Elder, I’ll step out of your way. I never wanted—”
He laughed—a bitter sound. “I don’t want to lead this family anywhere—except away from the path Papa has chosen for it.”
Rhys leaned forward. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. If that tower can do what the film says it can—”
“I know for sure it caused the March fifth earthquake, and it most likely caused the one the week before.”
The words struck like a punch to the chest. “Seriously? How do you know?”
“It’s like I told you. I roam at night. I watch and see things, I listen and hear things. I know things. The February twenty-sixth quake occurred in the daytime, so I was here in this room. But a week later I followed Papa and the other Elders to the tower and watched them power up the deep shaft. I wasn’t timing it, but less than half an hour later that five-point-five quake hit.”
“Could have been coincidence,” Rhys said, remembering his post-hoc remarks to Daley earlier.
“Could have been. But then why were all the Elders high-fiving each other once the ground started shaking?”
Rhys slumped back in his chair. “Shit.”
“Exactly. But that’s not all.”
“Oh, great. There’s more?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Remember the ‘test’ of the tower, when you and Daley were out in the desert plugging lightbulbs into the sand?”
“Sure. Quite the light show.”
“Well, apparently the real show was elsewhere. While Papa worked the tower and sent the sparks flying, one of the other Elders took a boat out onto the Salton Sea.”
“Really? I had no idea. Why would…?” And then he remembered part two of the film. “The nexus point?”
Cad smiled again. “Good boy. You were paying attention. I couldn’t be out on the water spying on them, so I kept Papa in sight. Whatever they were looking for out there, they must have found it, because Papa got a phone call that made him very happy.”
“But what…?”
Cad leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I think they saw a breach into the Void at the Salton Sea nexus point. The Veil is thin there, so if the tower was to create an opening, it would happen there.”
Rhys stared at his brother. “Do you hear yourself? Nexus points, the Veil, the Void, breaching the Veil into the Void…what the fuck are we talking about?”
“Ancient secrets, brother. Things the average everyday Jane and Joe know nothing about—and they’re better off being left in the dark. Their religions present a tidy, comforting, ordered cosmos, when in truth reality is a chaotic, inimical mess. Other realities impinge on ours and sometimes the barriers between them rupture, allowing an exchange. Thus, the Visitors.”
“Then they’re real?”
A nod. “Very real.”
“Then Dad’s not crazy?”
“Rhys, he’s totally insane. No one who wants to bring back the Visitors can be sane. They will totally fuck up our reality.”
“Okay, but wanting to do it and being able to do it are two different things. Can he do it?”
A big shrug. “How can I say? He can create earthquakes. But can he cause enough slippage in the right faults to create a fissure between the Gulf of California and the Imperial Valley? Who knows? Even he doesn’t know. He hopes he can. And he’ll give it his best shot—which is what scares me the most.”
Rhys saw where he was going. “Because even if he fails, the amount of destruction he’ll cause along the way will be…” He searched for the word.
“Incalculable?” Cad said.
“Yeah. Incalculable. We’ve got to stop him, Cad.”
“We’ve got a tad over three months to figure out a way.”
“Short of killing him.” Rhys added.
“I’m not ruling that out either.”
Rhys started to laugh, but it died when he saw the look in his brother’s eyes.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m deadly serious. Two hundred thousand people live in that valley. It also supplies food to the entire country. If there’s no other way, I’ll do what has to be done.”
Staring at him right now, Rhys believed he would. But he was sure beyond any doubt that they could find another way.
“We’ll see that it doesn’t come to that.” He rose. “We’ll talk on this more tomorrow. Right now I’m off to get some shut-eye. Need to be on my toes tomorrow.”
“Oh?”
“I’m taking Daley down to the medical center first thing in the morning. The medical people want to talk to her.”
Cadoc frowned. “You think that’s wise?”
“She wants to clear the air of all this fraud talk. And if she’s going, I’m going with her.”
“If you really want to help her, you’ll talk her out of it.”
“Well, the deputy who brought her the invitation thinks it’s a good idea too.”
“I don’t,” Cad said. “I don’t see anything good for Daley coming out of tomorrow.”
TUESDAY—March 17
55
“I’ve got to admit I’m a little scared,” Daley said as Rhys parked the Highlander in the visitor lot.
“I can see that,” he said. “I mean, who wants to be suspected of fraud? But it’s pure guilt by association. You can’t choose your relatives. You’ve got nothing to hide.”
That’s what you think, she thought. If only that were true.
She wished Pard were here. They had no secrets between them.
Rhys unplugged his phone from the in-car charger and checked the screen.
“Fully juiced. Let’s go.”
She’d left the black Healerina getup back at the apartment and dressed in the jeans, peasant blouse, and floppy sun hat she’d worn on her first trip to the hospital, hoping that would send a message that she had nothing to hide. She’d skipped the big sunglasses, however.
As they headed toward the front entrance, Daley noticed a crowd of about twenty people—men and women of all ages and shades, and even a few kids—grouped under the portico leading to the front entrance. Someone spotted her and pointed and whatever conversations they were having stopped as they stood and stared.
“That’s her,” she heard someone say in a hushed tone. “That’s the healer.”
They moved aside, leaving a path for her. Daley couldn’t meet their needy gazes, so she kept her head down and quickened her pace.
“Can you help us?” a woman said. “Please, help us?”
No, she thought, not looking up as the glass door opened automatically ahead of her. I can’t help anyone.
In the lobby she noticed bright green shamrocks on the walls. St. Patrick’s Day—she’d totally forgotten. She’d have to give Gram and Seamus a call when she got back home.
Rhys left her side and strode to the security desk.
“Ms. Daley is here for a meeting with Doctor Milton. He’s expecting her.”
The security man checked a list in front of him, nodded and picked up a phone. After speaking a few words he hung up and said, “Someone will be right out to see you in.”
Sure enough, a middle-aged woman with very short black hair and a neutral expression appeared and came straight toward them.
“Ms. Daley? I’m Doctor Sandoval’s assistant. Follow me, please.”
