The Lost Night (31 page)

“As it happens,” Harry said, “I’m the one who decides what legal actions will be taken. I’ve made an executive decision. We need both your biological expertise and your unique musical skills here on Rainshadow in order to proceed with the investigation.”

Calvin stared at
him. “There’s nothing left to investigate. The aquarium complex and the artifacts in the vault were destroyed by the explosion.”

“We have to assume a lot of those marine specimens made it into the flooded cave system and will probably survive,” Harry said. “Got a feeling that there will be plenty of the monsters to catch and study. I’m putting you in charge of that aspect of the investigation.”

“Me?” Calvin was dumbfounded.

“You’ve obviously got more experience in Preserve marine life than anyone else in the vicinity. You’ll have access to the full resources of the Foundation labs.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Calvin whispered. “I’m … stunned.”

“Get over it fast,” Harry said. “We don’t have time for you to sit around being stunned.”

Rachel raised her brows. “Don’t get me wrong, I think putting Calvin in charge of locating and studying some of the escaped aquarium creatures is an excellent idea, but why the rush?”

“I’m now convinced that my original theory is correct. The problems in the Preserve were caused by the theft of the three stones that Harry One concealed here on the island. To date we have recovered only one of those damn rocks. With luck, removing it from the aquarium complex will bring down the psi-temp inside or at least slow the heating process and buy us a little time. But that leaves two more stones unaccounted for.”

“It also leaves the thief unaccounted for,” Rachel said.

“Yes,” Harry said. “It does.”

“I think
I know where you’re going with this,” Calvin said. He gestured toward the gray crystal on the table. “You don’t believe that first stone wound up in the aquarium by accident, do you?”

“No,” Harry said. “I think whoever stole the three stones understood something of their power. The thief placed one of those damn rocks in the aquarium complex for some reason.”

“You’re wondering what he did with the other two slabs,” Rachel said.

“We need to find them,” Harry said. “I think that the territory we call the Preserve was in reality the Alien’s version of a biological laboratory, a place where they could carry out dangerous paranormal experiments in a desperate effort to bioengineer the surface of the planet so that they could survive. In the end it didn’t work. They were forced to go underground.”

Rachel drew in a sharp breath. Calvin’s expression was grim.

“In other words, you think that the aquarium complex wasn’t the only lab on the island,” Rachel said.

“I’ve got a feeling that there are other experimental labs deep inside the Preserve,” Harry said.

“It makes sense,” Calvin said. He nodded slowly. “What better location for labs engaged in dangerous para-biological research than a remote island in the Amber Sea?”

“It would go a long ways toward explaining the legends and myths that have developed about Rainshadow,” Rachel said. “But it doesn’t explain why the paranormal radiation levels
inside the Preserve have started to rise recently.”

“No.” Harry looked at the quartz stone sitting on the table. “But the missing quartz stones would explain it.”

“Maybe they were also inside the aquarium,” Calvin said. “Either in that vault or elsewhere. There’s a lot of crystal in that network of labs.”

“If that’s the case, the explosion may have taken care of the problem,” Harry said. “But I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. It’s far more likely that the thief was trying to use the three crystals to enhance a natural geothermal power grid. That means that the rocks are placed far apart in a carefully calculated arrangement.”

“But why would anyone want to do such a thing inside a dangerous nexus like the Preserve?” Rachel asked.

Calvin snorted. “Do you have to ask that after knowing what I did? I’m an example of just how far some people will go to discover the secrets of the para-biological world. The answers hold the promise of curing disease, enhancing psychical powers, and increasing longevity. Trust me, the prospect of making those kinds of discoveries is more than enough to cause a man to do a deal with the devil.”

Rachel reached out and touched his hand. “It’s okay. You canceled that contract.”

Calvin smiled. “Thanks to you.”

“One way or another,” Harry said, “we have to locate the two missing stones because it looks like those old explorers’ maps are right about Rainshadow.
Here there be monsters
.”

Harry’s phone
rang, shattering the pleasant morning routine of the sunny kitchen. Rachel gave a small start of surprise. Darwina, perched on top of the refrigerator, chortled and took another bite of the freshly baked biscuit that Rachel had just given her.

Harry reached for the phone. “Looks like we’re back in contact with civilization. He glanced at the incoming code. “My brother.” He clicked the key to take the call. “Good timing. We got power back an hour ago. Figured phone service wouldn’t be far behind. I’ve got an update on the missing crystals.”

“I’m listening,” Drake said.

“We found one. And you’re not going to believe what else we stumbled onto inside the Preserve.”

He ran through the litany of recent events. By the time he was finished, Rachel was placing a plate of golden yellow scrambled
eggs that had been laced with herbs and cheese in front of him. She went back to the counter for the bowl of berries and cream and the platter of biscuits that she had just removed from the oven.

“It looks like the psi-heat in the Preserve is no longer rising as fast as it was when I got here,” Harry said. “I think it’s safe to assume that we were correct about the source of the problem.”

“Those damn crystals,” Drake said.

“Right. Taking one out of the Alien aquarium quieted things down, but it doesn’t fix the problem. We need to find the other two. Meanwhile, there’s no way to know what’s waiting for us inside the fence.”

“You don’t think that the Aliens fenced off that much territory just to protect that aquarium, do you?” Drake said.

“No. I think we’re in for a few more surprises before this is over. Any luck on your end?”

“I found North’s great-granddaughter,” Drake said. The cold satisfaction of the hunter edged his voice.

The familiar frisson of intuition heated Harry’s senses. “She’s alive?”

“I think so, although I can’t absolutely confirm it yet. Looks like she’s living under an assumed name and a new identity.”

“Working? Married?”

“Not married, at least not any longer. She was in an MC, but the husband died under mysterious circumstances. She’s working as a magician’s assistant in a low-rent magic act in the Old Quarter of Crystal City. She went to a hell
of a lot of trouble to make herself disappear.”

“The question is, why go to so much trouble to hide?”

“The family of the dead husband has always believed that she murdered him.”

“Was there an investigation?”

“Yes, but no proof was found, so no charges were brought,” Drake said. “That didn’t satisfy the family of the deceased, however. The Whitcombs are very powerful in Resonance City. They never did approve of the marriage. Even if they couldn’t get the widow charged with murder they made it clear that they wanted revenge. They made life miserable for her. It’s not like she has any family of her own to protect her.”

Harry munched on a bite of the biscuit he had just buttered while he considered that information.

“Are you eating?” Drake asked.

“Breakfast.” Harry swallowed. “Scrambled eggs and biscuits.”

“You don’t cook stuff like biscuits. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you whip up a batch of scrambled eggs, either.”

“Cooking’s not my thing. But I’m good at eating.”

“Can I assume that the cooking was done by Rachel Blake?”

Harry met Rachel’s eyes as she sat down across from him. He smiled. She smiled back. And then she wiggled her fingers.

“Tell your brother I said good morning,” she said.

“Rachel says to tell you good morning,” he said into the phone.

“Same to her.” There
was a short pause. Drake cleared his throat. “Is this breakfast together in the morning a special occasion or is it going to be a routine event?”

Harry locked eyes again with Rachel. “Routine, as in lifelong.”

Drake cleared his throat. “Does she, uh, know about …?”

“My sordid past? Oh, yeah. But Rachel was raised in a Harmonic Enlightenment community. They take an enlightened view on stuff like that. Tell me more about the Whitcomb family. Did they come up with a motive to explain why the widow might have whacked her husband?”

“Sure. That’s the interesting part, at least as far as we’re concerned. They think she seduced him into an MC because she needed him to help her find something valuable.”

“The dead husband was a talent?”

“Yes and apparently quite powerful, but the exact nature of his abilities is unclear,” Drake said. “All I can tell you for certain is that he had a degree in para-archaeology. He was on the staff at a private museum.”

“In other words, Whitcomb was the kind of talent who might have been useful when it came to locating a cache of Old World artifacts inside the Preserve.”

“Right,” Drake said. “Even if the widow had an old amber-psi map like the one you used to find the slabs a few years ago, it’s doubtful that she would have risked going inside the fence alone.”

“In addition, she may have concluded that she might need a guy who was good with Old World relics.”

“The Whitcomb family’s theory
is that after the son and heir helped his bride find whatever it was she was looking for, she offed him and did the disappearing act.”

“They may have been right. Except that she obviously did not make it out of the Preserve with the crystals or, apparently, anything else that was valuable. If she had, she wouldn’t be working in a low-rent magic show.”

“You’ve only confirmed that one of the stones was still inside the Preserve,” Drake said. “It’s possible that she got out with the other two.”

“No,” Harry said. “The other two are still in there. It’s true the psi-temp isn’t rising as fast as it was, but there’s still a lot of heat inside the fence.”

“Okay, I’m not arguing with you. When it comes to this kind of thing, your intuition is solid. Looks like the next step is to track down the widow and see what she knows.”

“Yes,” Harry said. “Go do that and do it as soon as possible. When you find her, bring her here to Rain-shadow. Something tells me we’re going to need her.”

“Uh, what if she doesn’t want to go to Rainshadow?”

“That’s your problem. I’m putting you in charge of that end of the investigation. I don’t care how you do it, just make sure you bring her here as soon as possible.”

“You know, there are laws about forcible abduction.…”

“I’m going back to my breakfast now,” Harry said. “Call me when you have her. Good-bye.”

“Damn
it, Sebastian, I go away for a week and you start blowing up things on my island.” Slade Attridge’s ancient desk chair squeaked when he lounged back in it. “And then there’s the little matter of a firebombing and a report of some mutant sea monsters that escaped into the flooded caves of the Preserve. Not to mention the discovery of a couple of bad guys who were trafficking in illegal relics that they found inside an Alien lab.”

“It’s been busy here on Rainshadow,” Harry said. “How did your week go?”

“How do you think it went? Charlotte has a huge family and I must have met every single one of her relatives. I endured a grilling by her father, who made it clear that if I didn’t treat his little girl right I would disappear permanently into the catacombs.”

“He could make that happen?”

“Evidently he has
connections in the local Hunter’s Guild,” Slade said. “After that I made the mistake of accepting an invitation from Charlotte’s brother to go out for beer and a few rounds of rez-pool at a no-name tavern in the Quarter.”

Harry smiled. “What could go wrong?”