Jenny Plague-Bringer(29)

“So sad,” Ward replied. “Tie him up and stuff him out of the way.”

“Sir, we might need a van or a truck to move the furniture,” Buchanan said.

“Then call for one. And nobody goes in there without gloves and a mask. Place is probably crawling with toxins,” Ward told him.

Ward stepped outside while Avery tied up the man, who was so badly beaten he could barely protest as Avery shoved him into the coat closet.

Buchanan joined Ward on the front porch.

“There’s a fourth one,” Ward told him.

“A fourth paranormal, sir?”

“Might be the most dangerous of all. His touch spreads fear.”

“Do we have a name, sir?”

“Just a face. I’d need a sketch artist to render it. We have a lot to do, Buchanan, but it’s all turning into dead ends down here. We need to talk to the Barretts. Let’s pray God sees fit to let Senator Mayfield die. Until then, we’d better get back to Virginia and crunch what we’ve learned here, get our data miners working. Determine our next step. Now, call someone for me.”

“Yes, sir.” Buchanan made a call.

Later, a team arrived with a small truck and full-body hazardous material suits. They picked Jenny’s room clean, taking everything from her bed to the small picture of Jenny and Seth Barrett tucked into the corner of her mirror. Ward wanted to see what a biochemical analysis might reveal, and to find whether Jenny had left him any clues to her next destination.

When Jenny’s room lay bare, and all the other men had left the house, Ward opened the coat closet door. Darrell Morton, though bound, gagged, bruised, and bloodied, gave him a defiant look.

Ward cut away the rope from his hands and mouth.

“Mr. Morton,” he said, “There is no reason you should tell anyone about our visit today. If you do, you will be punished. We’ll be watching and listening from now until the end of your life, which could be very soon, or could be many years from now. Think about that.”

Ward stood and walked out the door.





Chapter Ten




Jenny ate an unspeakably delicious slice of mushroom pizza with a rich, spicy tomato sauce, sitting alone at an outdoor table at L’Oraziano, directly across the street from the high glass facade of the economics school. She had a weird craving to smear a glop of peanut butter on top of the pizza, but she didn’t have a jar handy. As best as she could tell, she was about three months pregnant, and she was starting to feel it.

Mariella Visconti had not bothered her again, but Jenny had continued thinking about the girl as the weeks passed. It made Jenny uneasy to know that another of her kind might be right here in Paris, one who was searching for Seth and already knew where Jenny lived.

Jenny was allegedly shopping for Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, in Paris it was just another Thursday, but it would be nice to have something that reminded them of home.

This was the third day she’d slipped off to spy on Mariella. So far as she could tell, Mariella had told the truth—she did live in a student apartment building near the Sorbonne, where she attended classes at the Broca Center, the business school, as well as the Saint-Charles Center, which housed the school of art and cinema. Today, she’d come to the economics building, which was far from the rest of the campus. Jenny watched and waited for her to come out.

If the girl was like her and Seth, then she posed a serious threat. Jenny couldn’t stand not knowing. She had to determine whether the girl had a supernatural touch like her, and what it was, and what the girl’s intentions might really be. Watching Mariella go to class or hang out with other students at cafes and wine bars wasn’t telling her much, unfortunately.

Jenny had a sense of growing urgency, as if time were short. She tried to pretend that it didn’t have anything to do with the baby growing inside her, or her insane wish that the baby could live, that she and Seth could start a family. Thinking about it only led to pain...but still, she couldn’t help feeling more worried and more alert to danger.

Jenny decided not to wait any longer.

She wolfed down her food, to the disgust of two women at the next table, and then hurried out.

When Mariella emerged from the front door of the building, Jenny just happened to be strolling slowly along the sidewalk, and she just happened to glance up and make eye contact with Mariella. A look of recognition flashed across Mariella’s face, followed by excitement. Jenny acted surprised to see her, then wrinkled her brow as if trying to remember who Mariella was.

“Have you seen him?” Mariella asked, looking up and down the street. Mariella wore gloves, a long jacket, and a scarf, and most of her hair was gathered into a soft cloth hat. Like Jenny, Mariella bundled up before going out in public.