Killer Dreams (8 page)

He chuckled. “Then I’ll definitely keep my distance.” He sipped his wine. “I’ve heard Jock is a veritable wonder.”

She glanced up and frowned. “You’re acting—I don’t remember you laughing before.”

“Maybe I’m trying to put you at your ease so that I can pounce.”

She studied him. “Are you?”

He shrugged. “Or it could be that Kelly finally called me and I know that he’s not dead meat. I realize you think I’m a callous son of a bitch, but I don’t like the idea of anyone I send into the fray biting it.”

“But you sent him anyway.”

“Yes.” He looked at her over the rim of his glass. “Just as I’d send you.”

“Good.” She took another bite. “What did Kelly say?”

“That he hadn’t found the records but he was still trying. He’s going to call me later tonight.”

“It may not be in the file room. Sanborne could have it in his safe at home.”

“Perhaps. But I’d bet he’d want it where the security is top notch, and that’s the facility.”

“It will probably still be kept in a safe.”

“Kelly can get into most safes, given enough time.”

She remembered how easily Royd had gotten past the locks in her house. “How convenient. Even if Kelly finds it, he may not recognize the disk,” she said quietly. “Unless he’s a chemistry major. Sanborne labeled all his sensitive disks with code numbers. And that formula is very complicated and involved. He’ll need help.”

“What are you saying?”

“Can Kelly get me into the facility?”

He went still. “No way,” he said flatly.

“No way, he can’t get me in? Or no way, you don’t want me to do it.”

“Both.”

“Ask him if he can do it.”

He muttered an oath. “You’re going to walk into the lion’s mouth when we’re trying to keep you away from Sanborne so that he won’t cut your throat?”

“We need that disk. It’s one of the prime objectives. You know that.”

“And I’ll get it.”

“But you may be running out of time. You said it would be harder if he gets the entire facility moved offshore.”

“No,” he said firmly. “We’ll let Kelly do his job.”

“Ask him how I can get in. He must know where every security camera in the facility is located, since he works in the video-surveillance room. He could never have gotten near any sensitive files if he hadn’t known how to temporarily take out those cameras.”

“But once you’re in the areas they can only be accessed by thumbprint.”

“I know that. But Kelly managed to bypass it, if he got you information about me.”

“He switched his print record in the computer with that of one of the scientists who was on vacation for a few days. He had to replace it almost immediately.”

“If he did it once, he can do it again. Or manage some other way. Ask him.”

“We don’t need you there. Describe Sanborne’s encoding marks on the label.”

She was silent.

“We have to work together, Sophie.”

“Unless you’re the one who wants to work alone,” she said dryly. “You wouldn’t think twice about leaving me out in the cold.”

He was silent a moment. “Maybe. What does it matter if I can get the job done?”

“It matters. You said ‘if,’ and that’s the key word. I’ve given up too much to throw everything in your court.” She finished her meal and lifted the glass to her lips. “I want to move. I want my son back.”

He gazed at her for a long moment and then shrugged. “I’ll ask Kelly. You’re right, why should I stop you? You seem to want to get yourself killed.”

“When will you call him?”

“I’ll phone him now.” He stood up and took out his phone. “Have another glass of wine. I’m going to walk around outside for a while. I need some air.”

“What are you going to say to him that I can’t hear?”

“I’m going to ask him how good a chance you’re going to have if he does get you in. And if I don’t like the odds, you’re not going anywhere.” The door shut behind him.

She sat there for a few minutes and then went to stand at the window. Royd was pacing back and forth in the parking lot, talking on his cell phone. She hadn’t expected that reaction from him. She had thought he’d keep his promise to protect her but his response to her going into the facility had been both negative and violent. Perhaps she didn’t know Royd as well as she’d thought. She’d thought his single-minded passion to get Sanborne and Boch would overshadow and choke every other facet of his personality. But the more she was with him, the more sides to his character he revealed.

Like lust, she thought. Not that that should have surprised her. He was an obviously virile man and sex ruled the world. She should have been more amazed at the fact that he cared about the safety of Kelly, an employee. He’d told her that Kelly had to take his chances, but his attitude was clearly not as callous as it seemed on the surface.

Royd was still talking and she was becoming impatient. She hated standing here waiting for him to come back. She hated not being in control. Well, there was one area where she was in control. She turned and strode across the room to the desk where she’d left her cell phone in her handbag.

The cell phone rang as she took it out of the bag.

“I love you, too. Be careful.” She hung up the cell phone and turned toward the door as she realized Royd had come into the room. “Dave called again. I wondered—” She stopped as she saw Royd’s expression as he slammed the door behind him and marched across the room. “What on earth is—”

He was cursing as his hands grasped her shoulders. “You’re an idiot. I told you to—”

“Take your hands off me.”

“Better mine than Sanborne’s. Dammit, he’ll squeeze the life out of you. Why the devil take a chance just because you have a softness for an old lover? Or maybe not an old lover. Couldn’t you have just done what I told—”

“Take your hands off me,” she said through her teeth. “Or so help me I’ll make a eunuch of you.”

“Try it.” His hands tightened. “Fight me. I want to hurt you.”

“Then you’re succeeding. I’ll have bruises. Are you happy?”

“Why shouldn’t I be—” He broke off and the anger left his expression. “No.” His hand released her shoulders and then fell away. “No, I’m not happy.” He took a step back. “I didn’t mean to—Shit. But you shouldn’t have answered Edmunds’s call.”

“I didn’t.” She jammed her phone in her handbag. “I never said I answered it. I said he called. You didn’t give me a chance to tell you anything else. He called last night and the call went to voice mail. Then he called again tonight. I thought it was odd that he’d persist when it’s logical for him to think I’m dead.”

“Then who were you talking to?”

“Who do you think? Michael called. They just got to MacDuff’s Run.”

“Oh.” He was silent a moment. “Egg on my face?”

“A whole omelet, you son of a bitch. I didn’t ignore Dave’s call because you told me not to take it. I did it because I agree it’s the smartest thing to do.” She glared at him. “And don’t you put a hand on me again.”

“I won’t.” He smiled crookedly. “Your threat hit me where I’m the most vulnerable.”

“Good.”

“And I’m sorry I lost it for a minute.”

“More than a minute, and your apology is not accepted.”

“Then I’ll have to work on making amends. Will it help to distract you if I tell you that Kelly thinks he may be able to knock out the security cameras for a period of twelve minutes?”

She frowned. “Only twelve minutes?”

“Not enough time to locate the safe, get the disk, and then get out.”

“It would be close.”

“Close, hell. We cancel it.”

“The hell we do. Let me think about it.”

He was silent and then nodded. “We have until tomorrow, but we have to give Kelly time to set up the power outage.”

“If Kelly is as good at safecracking as you tell me, then we might be able to do it. It won’t take me that long to go through the safe. I’d recognize any of Sanborne’s disks in a heartbeat. But twelve minutes is—I’ll think about it.” She started for the adjoining door.

“Good night, Royd.”

“Good night. Leave the adjoining door cracked and lock the outside door.” He added, “And don’t be so pissed at me that you argue about it.”

“I’d love to argue, but I’m not the stupid woman you called me. I’ll let you stay up all night to protect me if you like. It would serve you right.”

“Yes, it would,” he said gravely. “How is Michael doing?”

“Better than I hoped. He thinks MacDuff’s Run is neat. What boy wouldn’t?” She shrugged. “A Scottish castle and a Laird catering to his every wish.”

“I don’t think MacDuff caters to anyone, from what Jock tells me. But I’m sure he’ll take good care of Michael.”

“Jock promised me that they’d both do that. I just hope that they keep him safe,” she said wearily. “I’ll see you in the morning, Royd.” She didn’t wait for an answer. A moment later she was stripping off her jeans and shirt and pulling a bright yellow cotton nightshirt over her head. Yellow? It was a weird color for Royd to choose. She would have thought navy or hunter green….

It would be a miracle if she could sleep after the long nap she’d had earlier in the day. Maybe that would be for the best. She could lie here and come to some decision about whether she wanted to risk her neck trying to make that blasted twelve-minute deadline.

“She didn’t answer.” Dave Edmunds pressed the disconnect on the phone. “It went straight to her voice mail again. I told you she wouldn’t answer. Her phone’s probably somewhere in the wreckage or blown into someone’s backyard. The police told me that calling her cell phone was one of the first things they did after the explosion.”

“It was worth a try.” Larry Simpson shrugged. “As I told you, sometimes the police don’t dig deep enough. They have too many cases for their manpower. But I’m a freelance journalist and that means I have all the time in the world. I was hoping to get a feel-good story to sell to the papers.”

“There’s nothing feel-good about any of this,” Edmunds said bitterly. “My son is dead. My ex-wife is dead. It shouldn’t have happened. Someone’s going to pay for what they did to me. And I’m going to sue the pants off the power company. They can’t get away with this.”

“Good move.” Simpson stood up. “You have my card. If I can help, give me a call.”

“I may do that.” His lips twisted. “Anyone who thinks a case is tried solely in a courtroom is nuts.”

“You’re a lawyer. You should know.” He paused, glancing down at his notes. “Did your son mention anyone else your wife might be visiting besides this Jock Gavin?”

“No.”

“And he didn’t say anything else about him except that he was your ex-wife’s cousin?”

“I told you he didn’t.” His gaze narrowed on Simpson’s face.

“And I’m beginning to wonder about you, Simpson. I let you into my home and I’ve been cooperating with you because I may need public support. But you’re pushy, very pushy. I wonder if perhaps the power company decided to send someone to gauge my intentions and feel me out.”

“You saw my credentials.”

“And I’ll definitely check them out tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry you’re suspicious of me,” Simpson said earnestly. “Although it’s perfectly understandable. Perhaps we can talk more tomorrow after you’ve made your investigation.”

“Perhaps.” Edmunds strode across the room and opened the front door. “But right now I wish to be alone with my grief. Good night.”

Simpson nodded sympathetically. “Of course. Thank you for your help.”

Edmunds followed him onto the porch and watched him walk to his car parked at the curb.

Simpson glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the curb.

Shit.

He flipped open his phone when he was around the corner.

“He got my license number, Sanborne,” he said when Sanborne answered. “And he may be checking me out tomorrow.”

“Then you must not have done a good job of convincing him how upright and honorable you are.”

“I did the best I could. What do you expect? He’s suspicious of everyone. He’s a lawyer, for God’s sake.”

“Okay, calm down. How can we smooth him out?”

Simpson was silent a moment. “He’s going to sue the power company. He thought maybe I was hired by them. I’m not sure if he wants revenge or a fat check.”

“Then we’ll explore that avenue. Lawyers are always ready to plea-bargain. It shouldn’t—Wait a minute.” Sanborne went off the line for a moment. “Dammit, the fire department has just announced there were no bodies found in the ruins of the house.”

“Then we won’t have to worry about Edmunds now.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Sanborne was silent a moment. “Call him tomorrow and arrange for a meeting to discuss terms on behalf of the power company. Since he has no evidence that he’s a bereaved father, he should be willing to negotiate on our terms. Did you get anything else?”

“She didn’t answer her cell phone. And according to the kid, the Dunston woman was hanging around with her cousin, Jock Gavin, for the last few months.”

Silence. “Jock Gavin?”

“That’s the name he gave me.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“You know him?”

“I did at one time. And I heard some impressive things after he was off my radar scope.”

“What kind of—”

“Get back here as soon as you can. I need to brief you on how you’re to set up Edmunds tomorrow.”

“Why don’t I wait and let him stew awhile?”

“Because I don’t want to wait. Don’t argue with me.” He hung up.

8

T
hree
A
.
M
.

Sophie turned over in bed again, searching for a cool place on the pillow. Relax, dammit. She’d been right, that nap earlier in the day had destroyed any chance she might have had to go back to sleep. She’d been tossing and turning for the last four hours. She would have turned the TV set on and tried to find a boring movie to lull her if it hadn’t been for the cracked adjoining door. She’d heard no sound from Royd since his light had gone out a few hours ago. She didn’t need to wake him just because she had—

But she was hearing a sound from his room now.

Harsh, ragged breathing. Not a groan or a scream. Just that sharp, rasping breathing.

She tensed and lay there, listening.

If it was Royd, he sounded as if he was in pain.

And it had to be Royd. She would have heard a door opening.

So maybe he was having indigestion from that Chinese food. Not her business.

The hell it wasn’t. She was a doctor. She’d given up the right to close her eyes to pain when she’d taken the oath. At times she wished she could, and this was one of them.

Dammit, it could be just a nightmare.

Perhaps it wasn’t. She was inclined to think of every ailment in connection with her experience. Even if it was only a nightmare, she couldn’t withhold the mercy of waking him.

Stop arguing with yourself. Just do it.

She jumped out of bed and was across the room in seconds. She threw open the door. Royd was lying on his stomach, the sheet half covering him.

She turned on the light on the bedside table. “I heard you. What’s the—”

He knocked her to the floor and jumped astride her!

His hands tightened on her throat.

She turned her head and her teeth sank into his wrist.

His grip didn’t slacken. He was gazing down at her but she wasn’t sure he was seeing her. His face was convulsed with rage.

Her fist punched downward to his genitals with all her force.

He grunted in pain and his grip loosened.

She tried to roll away but his legs tightened around her. Her nails dug into his thigh.

“Shit!” The anger was fading from his expression. He shook his head as if to clear it. “Sophie? What the hell are you trying to do? Kill me?”

“Survive, you bastard. What do you think I’m doing? Let me up.”

He slowly got to his feet. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. This is the second time today you put your damn hands on me.” She jerked down her nightshirt as he pulled her to her feet. “Next time I come near you, I’ll bring a gun.”

“You did considerable damage without a weapon.” He made a face. “I remember you threatened that you’d make a eunuch of me.”

“If I’d had a knife, I would have done it,” she said through her teeth. “I thought you were going to kill me.”

“You shouldn’t have surprised me.”

“I wasn’t trying to startle you. I turned on the light. I didn’t even touch you. There was no reason for you to—”

“Why?” He interrupted. “What happened? Why did you come in here?”

“Because you were—It didn’t sound like you were dreaming. I didn’t want to take the chance. I don’t know your medical history. I thought you might be ill. Or having a stroke. You sounded as if—I was stupid.” She turned away. “I’ll know better next time.”

“And you’ll leave me to my heart attack or stroke?” He shook his head. “I don’t think so, Sophie.”

“It obviously wasn’t either or you wouldn’t have had the strength to half kill me.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” He paused. “How can I make it up? What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing.”

He reached out and put his hand on her arm. “I hurt you. I didn’t mean to do it, but words are cheap. There’s nothing I won’t do to make amends. Name it.”

He meant it. His expression was so intense that she couldn’t look away from him. She felt oddly shaken. “I don’t want you to do anything. Let me go. I’m going back to bed.”

He slowly released her arm. “Thanks for trying to help. But don’t do it again.” He smiled faintly. “If you want to wake me from one of my nightmares, throw a pillow at me or shout at me from across the room. It’s safer.”

She stiffened. “It was a nightmare? I wondered, but I couldn’t take the chance. You seemed in profound distress. I wasn’t sure that was what was happening.”

He nodded. “Oh, yes. It was definitely a nightmare.”

“What about?”

“Hunt, chase, death. You don’t want to hear the details.”

Yes, she did. But it was clear he didn’t intend to tell her. “Did you ever sleepwalk in conjunction with one of them?”

“No. You’re thinking that I’ve mistaken night terrors for nightmares?” He shook his head. “It’s a nightmare. As you know, they usually take place during REM, rapid eye movement sleep, rather than NREM, deep sleep. So they come at the end of my sleep cycle instead of closer to the beginning. My body appears to be paralyzed so that I only twitch, not flail around, and I don’t scream out. I have an elevated heart rate but nothing like the ones accompanying night terror. I remember my nightmare perfectly, and that’s not common with night terror.”

She gazed at him in surprise. “You appear very knowledgeable. Have you been in therapy?”

“Hell, no. But when this started I knew I had to get a handle on it. So I did some research.”

“In my opinion you haven’t really succeeded in getting a handle on the problem. Only identifying it. You may need therapy.”

“Really?” He tilted his head. “And have I aroused your professional curiosity?”

She moistened her lips. “Do the dreams have anything to do with Garwood?”

He was silent a moment. “Yes. What do you expect?”

“Exactly what’s happening.” She started to turn away. “Sit down and take a few deep breaths. You need to relax. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

He frowned. “I don’t want you waiting on me. I can get my own damn water.”

“Sit down and shut up. I’ll be right back.”

His brows lifted. “May I put some clothes on?”

“Why? Nudity doesn’t bother me and you’ll be going back to bed as soon as you relax.”

He looked down at himself. “Being nude in the same room with you isn’t relaxing.”

“Suit yourself.” She went into the bathroom. Seeing Royd naked wasn’t relaxing for her either. He was too male, his body too muscular and tough. He made her feel weak and womanly and not at all professional. There was no way she wanted to feel that way. But to admit that to him would be a defeat in itself.

She filled the water glass and took it back into the bedroom. He was sitting in the easy chair with his legs stretched out before him. He had taken her at her word and not gotten dressed.

Damn him.

She handed him the water and sat down on one of the upright chairs at the small table where they’d eaten earlier in the evening. “You’re perspiring. Do you always do that during the dream cycle?”

He nodded.

“How often do you have the nightmare?”

“Two or three times during the week.” He took a drink. “Sometimes more. It depends.”

“It depends on what?”

“How tired I am. Surplus energy seems to trigger it.” He shrugged. “Exhaustion must short-circuit it.”

“Maybe. Or it releases the tension you build up during your waking hours instead of the nightmare doing it after you go to sleep.”

“There isn’t any release about them. It’s an ambush.” He tilted his head, studying her. “Why all the questions? What are you doing?”

“I’m a doctor. Sleep disorders are my specialty. I want to help you. Is that so hard to understand?”

“Seeing that I nearly choked you only five minutes ago, I’d say it’s very hard to understand.”

“You weren’t in your right mind. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“Now you’re making excuses for me?”

“No, but it’s part of my job to comprehend cause and effect. I had a patient when I first got out of med school who socked me so hard he broke my nose.” She grimaced. “He didn’t mean to do it. It was pure automatic reflex. But after that I was more careful.”

“You weren’t careful tonight.”

“I didn’t know I had to be. You seemed—”

“Sane?”

“In control,” she substituted.

“I am in control.” He made a face as he met her skeptical gaze. “Okay, except when I’m not.”

“Have you tried drugs?”

“No drugs. Not ever,” he said flatly. “I don’t believe the adage of taking a little of the hair of the dog that bit you.”

She flinched. “I wasn’t suggesting—In some cases it’s beneficial to find a way to relax before you enter the sleep cycle.”

“I agree. I discovered that the first month I started having the dreams. I tried all kinds of remedies. Poker, crossword puzzles, chess. But mental stimulation didn’t do it. I had to go for the physical. Anything that would exhaust me. I started to run seven miles every evening.”

“That should definitely exhaust you.”

“Sometimes.” He paused. “Sex does the job better.”

“I’m sure it does.” She stared at him in sudden suspicion. “Were you trying to embarrass me?”

“Just clarifying. You were asking what helped me.”

“And you were only supplying me with facts.”

He smiled. “No, I was actually making an opening move toward trying to seduce you. It’s the truth, though. There’s no release like sex. Don’t you agree?”

“If I agreed, it would keep this discussion going and that’s not what I want. Are you going to tell me what this dream is about?”

“No. Not right now. Maybe when we know each other better.”

It was obvious from his smile that the bastard meant “know” in the biblical sense. She stood up. “Go to hell. I was trying to help you. I should have known better.”

His smile faded. “I don’t want to be your patient, Sophie. I’m not your son. The last thing I need is for you to hold my hand and soothe me. And I’ve no desire to be entirely cured of my nightmares.”

“Then you’re crazy.”

“What a term. How very unprofessional of you.”

“I’ve lived with Michael’s pain and I know the hell those nightmares bring. The word
nightmare
comes from the Old Saxon
mara,
which means ‘demon.’ And nightmares can roast you alive like the demons they’re called. They may not be as dangerous as the night terrors, but they’re bad enough. Why the hell wouldn’t you want to be rid of them?”

He was silent a moment. “They keep the memory fresh. They keep the rage bonfire high. They keep the focus sharp on what I have to do.”

Bonfire high.

She was glimpsing the inferno of rage now behind that hard-edged exterior. “My God, you’d do that to yourself? I know what torture those dreams bring.”

“Sanborne and Boch did it. That was their gift to me. I might as well keep it around to use against them. So don’t waste your pity on me.”

“I won’t.”

“Yes, you will. You can’t help yourself. You’re a do-gooder who carries the world on your shoulders.” He got up and went to the bed. “You wouldn’t have sunk neck deep into this mess if you hadn’t wanted to help your father. You’re bleeding because you can’t heal your son. Now you think I need you, and I could play you like a fiddle if I chose.” He got into bed and pulled up the sheet. “But I don’t choose. So go to bed and let me get to sleep.”

“I will, you son of a bitch.” She strode toward the door. “And I hope your nightmares turn to night terrors and you have a lifetime of—” She stopped. “No, I don’t. Not that.”

“See?” Royd asked softly from the bed behind her. “You’re even afraid of laying a curse on me.”

“Night terrors are too personal to me. But there are all kinds of terrors. I can think of several I could wish on you that would make a man like you turn pale.”

“Such as?”

She gave him a cool glance over her shoulder. “May your balls wither away and you develop an allergy to Viagra and all its counterparts.”

He looked at her, stunned. And then he suddenly exploded into laughter. “God, you’re a formidable woman.”

“No, I’m not. I’m soft, remember?”

She slammed the door behind her.

“Is the boy still sleeping?” MacDuff asked as Jock came down the stairs.

“He should be for a while yet. He was exhausted but so wired he didn’t manage to fall asleep until almost three
A.M.
”

“Can you come for a walk with me? We need to talk.”

Jock shook his head. “I can’t leave Michael even for a few moments. I promised Sophie.”

“I rigged you with that wireless wristband.”

“And if he has a terror and falls into apnea when I’m ten minutes away we have a dead boy.”

“Point taken,” MacDuff said. “Come out into the courtyard. That’s only three minutes away from any room in the castle.” He smiled. “You should know. You were all over the place as a child.”

“And you never made me feel inferior because my mother was the housekeeper here,” Jock said as he followed the Laird out into the courtyard. “It never occurred to me that you could have been a real bastard until I got out into the real world.”

“This is the real world, Jock.”

Jock looked up at the turrets of the castle. “For you. It’s part of your blood and bones. You live for the place. To me it’s a pleasant memory and the home of my friend.”

“It should be home to you, too.”

Jock shook his head.

MacDuff was silent a moment, gazing out toward the Run. “I want you to stay. I let you go before because I knew you needed to distance yourself from me. You felt I was smothering you with care because you…weren’t yourself.”

Jock chuckled. “You mean, I was nuts.”

He smiled. “Let’s just say, you had periods of disorientation and loss of control.”

“Nuts,” Jock repeated. “You’re not going to hurt my feelings. I still have times when I’m not totally in control.” He met MacDuff’s gaze. “But the times are coming less and less frequently. And I don’t need to be here under your eagle eye. You’ve invested too much effort and worry in me already.”

“Bullshit. It’s not too much effort until you’re totally healed and healthy again.” He paused. “And what if I said that it was me who needed you. Not the other way around.”