Invasion of Justice (Shadows of Justice) Page 13

  He'd chosen a way of life in order to make a difference in a convoluted world. And his life had taught him that peace like he felt now was the only prize worth dying for.

  Petra woke, unsure how long she'd been sleeping, to a vivid understanding of the term boneless. She couldn't recall ever feeling so lax, so luxurious, so deliciously spent, and complete.

  She should probably feel embarrassed, ashamed or some other guilt typically assigned to good girls gone astray, but she couldn't summon the energy. Truth was it felt good to be here with him, though she didn't quite know what to say or how to gracefully extricate herself from their intimate tangle. Unable to resist, she nuzzled into his neck, relishing the touch of his beard against her skin. Who knew the combination could bring such unique pleasure in unexpected places?

  "What time is it?" she asked.

  "About morning, I'd guess."

  His soft chuckle rumbled through her and she shifted to stroke his side where the bullet had entered. "This healed nicely. Does it still hurt?"

  "You can't tell?"

  He was teasing. She smiled, enjoying the casual, relaxed connection. "Just from experience I'd say it twinges a little but it didn't get in the way."

  "What sort of experience do you have with gunshot wounds?" He stretched his arms, lacing his fingers behind his head. She admired the view of that broad chest, tracing the map of muscle and scars.

  "Just second hand. I've worked with officers shot in the line of duty and civilians injured or recuperating." She reached back, using her jeans to blanket her cool legs.

  "You've seen too much," he said, snuggling her to his side and kissing her hair.

  His sweet tenderness undid her. Should she tell him he was the first man she'd experienced fully with her soul and her body? The massive implications stopped her. Their explosive joining was just a natural result of physical attraction compounded by his daring to open himself to her. She was a big girl and could accept that she'd jumped him. Sex didn't have to result in a woman going mushy, but for just a moment it was wonderful to pretend that she could be part of something lasting and precious.

  "Petra?"

  "Hmm?" Her mind wandered further along the sweet, personal path she conjured.

  "How do you help injured people?"

  "I only draw off the pain."

  "Where does it go?"

  "What?"

  "The pain you draw off."

  The question brought her back to reality with an abrupt thud. Temper threatened. That new, irrational temper she'd never known, and fought to reconcile with who she knew herself to be. She took her time, working to cage it, to think rationally instead of going off on him.

  Had he played her just to get laid? Or had he pleasured her just to loosen her up enough to explain what she was? Countless therapists and doctors had tried, through more conventional and ethical practices, and she'd never been able to give a precise explanation of her skills. Now, with her empathy magnified, her gift apparently morphing or strengthening, she only had that much more she couldn't define.

  "Do you send it into something else like an animal or–"

  "I couldn't cause an innocent animal pain." She sat up, chilled, gathering her clothes around her. "That'd be cruel." This interview, experiment, whatever he called it, needed to cease. Immediately.

  "Why can't you explain it?"

  "Why can't you accept it?" she countered.

  "Because it doesn't make sense." He sat up too, oblivious to his nudity. "Desperate people search out psychics who tell them what they want to hear. Grieving relatives beg mediums to find out where Dead Aunt Sarah left the winning lottery ticket. Why do you, an empath, comb crime scenes for emotions? It can't be a positive experience."

  She held her tongue, assuming his uninspired litany was rhetorical. She gathered her clothes and stalked into the bathroom to clean up and regroup.

  As much as she'd like to blame Gideon for annoying her, she should know the answers. Why did she seek crime scenes when volunteering at hospitals or schools would probably be more pleasant? It wasn't the pay. Which left excitement, acclaim, and job satisfaction.

  She did more than point Kincaid in the right direction like some psychic bloodhound. Her office was full of petitions and testimonials to her success. She helped people find things–sometimes material, sometimes not. To date, she'd never worked a case as trivial as a lost lottery ticket. Her favorite cases were those when she helped people reconnect. That's why the kidnapping cases that had brought her to Chicago were especially dear to her. Knowing those girls and women were safe again, headed back to reclaim their lives, meant something to her. People mattered. She'd specifically applied her skills where people would benefit most.

  Stepping out of the ionic shower, she did a grateful double take. Her suitcase was sitting just inside the door. It was no small measure of comfort to have her own toothbrush and a variety of clean clothes. Choosing a fresh shirt and slacks, she revved herself up to face Gideon again.

  Why did he have to demand answers she didn't have? Hadn't she just proven her priorities by helping him? She'd given herself to ease his pain. She'd scoured his mind, freeing it of painful baggage so he could move forward.

  A remnant of his stark memories rushed into her mind. Nathan's face, smeared with camouflaging grease, one eye fitted with a night vision site as he fired a suppression pattern to get Gideon to safety.

  They knew each other. They'd been together in fieldwork far removed from Nathan's safe public life behind a desk. She shivered. Everyone had secrets, why should her brother be different? Nathan might fire a weapon in the line of duty, but that didn't make him a murderer.

  Is that why Gideon was assigned to her–to watch for contact from Nathan? Did Gideon want to prove her brother's innocence or his guilt? Nathan had told her to trust Gideon, but how could she trust a man who hid so much of himself?

  Petra finger-combed her hair, staring into her mirrored eyes, but seeing the rich depth of her brother's. The questions kept coming in rapid-fire succession, none of them with answers. Was she a clone, a mere shadow of Nathan? Were her gifts her own, or just hollow reflections of his strengths? What did Gideon know about Nathan's talents? Did he know where Nathan was imprisoned?

  Gideon probably knew a lot of the answers she wanted. She got the sense he knew all sorts of details he wasn't sharing.

  Her temper up again, Petra threw open the bathroom door and stormed out, her shirt only half buttoned. "Crime scenes provide opportunity for resolution," she said, finally voicing an answer she didn't have earlier. Thrilled with her epiphany, she rushed into the front room, letting her raised voice precede her. "Crime scenes provide opportunity for resolution. So there."

  She blushed to see a fully dressed Gideon relaxing at the table with Jaden, Brian, and Kelly.

  He had the audacity to smirk. "Good to know, Neiman. How about some coffee once you're dressed?"

  Chapter Ten

  I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go. –Sherlock Holmes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

  Gee, Sherlock, I can relate. Kincaid called me out to a crime scene at two am and then wonders why I'm sluggish on reading the scene. Some days I wish he'd never found me!

  After an hour on site, I cleared the wife and husband of kidnapping a neighbor girl, but not his visiting brother. I'd hoped Sherlock Holmes and Watson would lull me back to sleep, but no luck.

  Trouble is, I couldn't get through the brother's defenses to find the girl's location, I only know he took her. The parent's are furious, Kincaid's less than pleased, and all I can do is wish I was stronger. –From the crime scene profile journals of Petra Neiman

  Petra felt the heat climb into her cheeks. She finished with her shirt and tucked it in, trying to act like she did this sort of thing all the time. God! What was happening to her? "Oh! Excuse me," she managed at last.

  "Not at all," Brian said graciously. "Coffee?"

  "Micky's brew is legendary," Jaden encoura
ged.

  Kelly nodded, taking a long sip. "You'll need it while we bring you up to speed."

  Petra consented and accepted a mug filled with the mirror black liquid. They were right. Pure, uncut caffeine gave coffee a rich taste the standardized government blend lacked. "This is good."

  "The news is bad," Gideon said, pulling a chair out for her. "Kristoff's disappeared."

  "How? Why?"

  Brian cleared his throat. "I found the scientist willing to shed light on his false claims about the up side of juicing. The Health Department is seeking his resignation while they prepare to file criminal charges."

  "Too bad class-action suits are obsolete," Jaden said with a tight smile.

  Brian rubbed her shoulders. "Maybe there's a grandfather clause for criminal experimentation."

  Gideon frowned and shook his head. "I'm not sure you'd have plaintiffs. Most soldiers took that hormone-steroid blend willingly. He's been manipulating this project for way too many years."

  "Did he have test subjects other than the soldiers?" Petra asked.

  "Yes."

  She waited, but Gideon didn't elaborate. "Are you telling me not all the subjects survived?" she asked the room in general.

  Brian answered this time. "We don't have solid numbers yet on fatalities. There may be survivors who chose to stay in the chairman's employ."

  "The mind control is that advanced?"

  "Or the perks are that lucrative," Gideon said. "Kristoff seems to attract the right people for specific jobs. Either it's the juice or he's too charismatic."

  "His niece was unimpressed with her famous uncle," Brian said, refilling his mug from the carafe on the table.

  "Lorine?" Gideon asked.

  Brian sat back, brows arched in surprise. "The same. How do you know her?"

  Petra heard Gideon mumble something about a connection to another case, but a twinge of jealousy hummed through her system.

  "Lorine lived here in Micky's employ until recently," Jaden said. "She's a doctor, a natural genius and the mother of the neatest boy you'd care to meet."

  Petra forced her mouth into a smile. Could she claim to be a natural anything? The wondering was making her more than a little crazy. "Why would a woman like that run contraband?"

  "Alienated from her family and original career, she was saving up for her son's future. We, well Brian, discovered the truth of her background by accident, but she was more than willing to help us."

  "How do you know Kristoff's disappeared of his own free will?" She caught the glance between Brian and Gideon.

  "There's nothing to suggest otherwise," Brian said. "No signs of struggle or unauthorized entry at his home or office. They went to pick him up and he was gone."

  "We need to know where he's hiding," Gideon said.

  "Since you have a history with him, they thought your flight would have the best chance of success," Kelly concluded.

  Petra stared at each of them in turn. "It helps to know where I'm flying to," she pointed out.

  Kelly took a sip of coffee, never taking her eyes off Petra. "I've reviewed the records. I think in this case you won't have any trouble." She set the cup down. "I believe he programmed you to respond to him."

  Three faces gaped slack-jawed at Kelly. Petra would've laughed if she'd been able.

  "This is what I was trying to tell you in the park," Kelly continued. "He messed with your DNA, but he couldn't have known the soul that would fill the body. Look how he modified a once-safe supplement to include mind control. He must have a plan for both the juicers and Petra. The real question is why?"

  "He's been an ongoing case in my agency for years," Gideon added.

  "Really?" Brian asked.

  Gideon shifted and leaned back in his chair. Petra recognized his attempt to buy enough time to edit his answer. "Anyone with that much power stays on the list."

  "Cop out. This is a team effort now," Jaden said. "Spill it."

  "Fine. It was his amazing fertility success rate combined with his opinions on cloning that first sent up red flags. That and the way several drugs he proposed received approval a little too quickly."

  "Why wasn't he stopped?" Petra asked. It was getting too personal to think she wouldn't be here without the meddling of a mad scientist.

  "Public opinion." Gideon shrugged. "He provided breakthroughs in fertility which led to discoveries about human growth, immunities, paralysis, and disease."

  "It's human nature to want comfort and solutions for our biggest fears." She was the new poster child for the fearful seeking comfort. She needed to know exactly what Kristoff had done to her before she was even a 'her'. "So his popularity with voters earned him a free ride with the government when he gave them juice to help win battles." Petra accused, bitterly.

  "Kristoff was warm and fuzzy with the public who bought into his opinions," Brian clarified.

  "The point is: what now?" Jaden brought them all back to the moment. "If several unnamed agencies are looking for him, why should Petra risk it?"

  Kelly spoke up, "Look at Jaden's situation. She's fought the same entity for centuries and days ago won the battle. Did Petra help you at all?"

  Jaden and Brian exchanged a glance. She answered, "Before I met her I'd say no. After learning a bit about her skills and her past-life memories, I'd have to admit her presence probably made a difference."

  "How so?" Gideon demanded.

  Petra shot him a look. The man was determined to get his quantifying evidence.

  Jaden elaborated, "I think her empathic ability impacted my own experience. I'd never felt victims to that extreme before. I think both her existence and her proximity helped me."

  "Help is a positive way of looking at it," Brian muttered.

  "What do you mean?" Petra asked Jaden.

  "There were times when feeling what the victim felt was debilitating," Jaden answered.

  "Oh." The idea of her empathic gifts causing Jaden pain only confused and confounded her more. She didn't like the significant variable that indicated and the potential dangers to other people she cared about. She couldn't think of a single plausible explanation so she offered a rather lame sounding, "I'm sorry."

  "No need to apologize. Can you find him, Petra?"

  "I can try." She couldn't do anything less. She was surrounded by a few determined people working to bring Kristoff down and restore the lives he'd ruthlessly affected. Even suspecting she was the weak link, she'd do her best to help. Her brother was strong enough to last until she could focus on his case exclusively. "Without a direction it'll be risky, but I'm up for it." She was immediately blessed with a certainty that it's what Nathan would want her to do.

  "It's possible that Kristoff knows you'll come looking and try to derail you," Kelly warned.

  "It's probable," Petra admitted. "I think he's found a way into my head already."

  "I thought that was just the serial killer Kincaid's after?" Gideon said.

  Petra looked at Gideon, surprised to see worry creasing his dark brow. "I've been thinking about that. I first noticed a real change when I went poking around the evidence van for Kincaid. That officer didn't die due to negligence or faulty equipment. His restraints were sabotaged."

  "Are you talking about Larry Ferguson?" Brian asked. Jaden stood up and walked to the kitchen.

  "Yes," Petra replied, staring after her sister. "His partner's claim made the weekly CRIA report. Kincaid took me out to the lot on a whim that it might be the same killer."

  "Was it?" Jaden's voice was hoarse and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

  "It's very possible. The hotel attack gave me enough to recognize the signature that links the saboteur to Kristoff. That residual felt much the same as the serial killer that Kincaid has been tracking. If it's not the same man, they play for the same team. In Officer Ferguson's case, the killer felt the task beneath his skills. That superior attitude is consistent with this killer's mentality."

  "Any ideas how you were found at the hotel?"
Brian asked.

  "It couldn't have been difficult, especially for a man in Kristoff's position. Even my parents could've tipped him off."

  "Unless the killer's reading you directly," Kelly said.

  "Again that points to Kristoff. If Kelly's right and good Dr. K built a back door into my brain, then it's just as likely he'd know how to give access to whomever he wished."

  "There's a scary thought," Brian said.

  Petra agreed. She'd been wrestling with the best way to close Kristoff out and still proceed with the case. Part of her knew she should take time to regroup and test her new strengths, but part of her knew time was short. Neither part of her knew how to find the middle ground or explain it to the others.

  "Then you can't do it," Gideon commanded, getting to his feet. "It's too risky. How will you know if you're discovering real information or misinformation Kristoff wants you to see?"

  Petra wanted to laugh. Now who was getting sappy? A single sexual interlude couldn't have transformed a man like Gideon to this extreme. He wasn't the sort for public displays of concern. Unless she counted the clean clothes, shelter from local police and thoughtfulness when they'd shared his bed at the hotel. So she wouldn't count those and then wouldn't have to count the votes of confidence from Nathan and Jaden either.

  "Petra?" Brian waved a hand in front of her face. "Can Kristoff manipulate what you see?"

  "The short answer is yes. Admittedly Nathan would be a big help," she confessed, coming back to the more urgent issue. "He's better at interpretation. Without him, you'll just have to trust me to recognize the difference. The notes Kelly takes should help us evaluate correctly as well."

  Gideon fisted his hands, pacing around, apparently looking for a punching bag.

  "Go burn off your temper," Jaden told Gideon. "Kelly and Petra can do some planning and I have a few things to take care of, too."

  Brian took the cue, leading Gideon out under the pretense of showing him the most direct path to the gym.

  "How can I help?" Jaden offered when the men were gone.

  "Lend me a little strength." Petra tried to lighten it with a laugh, but the sound caught in her throat.