Chapter Two

 

The Gulfstream landed smoothly on a private airstrip in Maryland outside Baltimore and taxied toward a hangar on the far side of the runway. As they came to a stop, Adam LaSalle unbuckled his seatbelt and waited as the pilot, Mike D'Antoni, ex-Air Force and partner in the Phoenix Agency, pulled off his headgear.

He'd gotten the summons early that morning. "Drop everything. We have a new assignment for you." Adam had only been working for the Phoenix Agency for about a year, but when the boss told you to drop everything and get on a plane to come see him, that was exactly what he did.

"Any idea what the job is about?" Adam asked Mike as they descended the stairs.

"Nope," Mike answered. "But from what I heard, it's personal."

That couldn't be good. Adam followed him into the hangar toward a small office in the back where Dan Romeo, senior partner of the Phoenix Agency, and his wife, Mia, were waiting for them. They stood as he entered. He'd met them briefly when he'd first signed on with Phoenix last year, but he'd never worked with them directly.

"Good to see you, Mike," Dan said to the pilot. "Are you available for a quick trip down to Charleston and back?"

"Sure thing," Mike said. "I'll check on the refueling."

"Great, thanks, Mike. Appreciate it."

Adam watched Mike go and wondered if that quick trip involved him.

"Thank you for flying out here on such short notice," Mia said, taking his hand. She was petite, with wavy, shoulder-length auburn hair, and green eyes that seemed to peer right though him.

Dan shook his hand next. "We've been talking with Rick Latrobe, and he said you've been doing a terrific job for us. When we told him what we needed for this next assignment, he said you were the best."

"That's good to hear," Adam said, beginning to relax as they all took their seats. Rick had been his trainer and had given him most of his assignments with the group.

"Not only that," Mia added, "but Rick felt that your background made you the perfect fit for what we were looking for."

Adam's interest was piqued. "Which background would that be?"

Mia quirked an eyebrow. "Is there more than one?"

One side of his mouth lifted. "Perhaps."

Dan leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Your background as an MP in the Army, for starters. Rick told us that during your tour, your team said they'd never go on a mission without you. That danger was your middle name."

"Fearless," Mia added.

"War stories," Adam cut in quickly. "You know how tales can get embellished, even exaggerated while you're in the field. It cut down on the boredom."

"Still…" Mia hesitated. Adam looked into her green eyes and had an eerie feeling that she didn't miss a thing. "People who are fearless usually have a death wish. Do you?" she asked.

He held her gaze. "Maybe. But it also means I get the job done."

"Well, we can't argue with that," Dan said. "Your conduct on your last five cases has been exemplary."

"Thank you."

"But this one is different," Mia said. "This one is going to take a soft touch.

Adam held up his right hand and wiggled his fingers. "Soft as a baby's butt."

She cracked a smile. "Good."

He relaxed. "So what's it about?"

"I got a call last night from Faith's aunt, Vivi. Have you met Faith yet? She's Mark Halloran's wife, one of our senior partners."

"Nope. Not yet."

"Faith and her aunt are special."

"Have you been briefed on the PSI side of the agency?" Dan asked.

Adam had heard mumblings, but nothing concrete. He shook his head.

"Mia and Faith have set up another division of the Phoenix Agency called Phoenix PSI. It serves as both an adjunct and an enhancement to all of our operations. More of our members are joining as the needs arise."

Mia leaned forward. "We all have special abilities."

"Abilities?" Adam repeated slowly.

"Psychic abilities that they use to help us with our investigations," Dan said.

"Okay." Adam wasn't completely closed-minded, and luckily, this wasn't the first time he was hearing about Mia and some of the others and all their woo-woo stuff. But it was the first time he actually had to confront it, and to make a decision. Did he believe? Did he even want to?

"Faith's Aunt Vivi is very involved in a group called the Lotus Circle," Mia said. "It's an organization that allows psychics to get together for support and encouragement. They have small chapters in several states. While in Charleston, Vivi met a psychic named Jessica she'd been talking to through their website. This woman is very powerful, but she doesn't embrace her gift. She won't go to the meetings, and doesn't want to get involved."

"She's more of a loner type," Dan added.

"Okay, so where do I fit into this?" Adam asked.

Mia caught his gaze. "Vivi had a vision of Jessica surrounded by blood."

"A vision," Adam said slowly.

"Yes, that's Vivi's gift. Only in her vision, the blood was black."

Adam leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table. He worked with facts, not visions. He didn't know what he was supposed to do with this.

Mia took a photo out of a file folder sitting in front of her and pushed it toward him. "That in itself wouldn't cause us a great deal of concern, except last week a tourist was murdered where Jessica lives, and we believe another was killed last night."

Adam looked down at the crime scene photo of a woman lying on the ground, her blond hair spread around her, a thin line of red lying like a ribbon across her neck. A pool of her blood lay beneath her head.

"We need you to fly down to Charleston, check in on Jessica and make sure she is okay, and that she's safe from this killer," Mia said. "See if there is anything else you can find out about these murders."

Dan's dark eyes narrowed. "It's too soon to tell if the woman who was murdered last night is related to the murder last week, but Vivi is certain it is the same killer."

Adam set down the photo. He was beginning to understand why they'd chosen him. "You think there is a serial killer targeting young women in Charleston?"

"Yes. And that Jessica might know something about him," Mia said.

"And you got all this from a dream?"

"A vision," she corrected. "Don't discount the women in the Phoenix Agency, Adam. Their gifts are the real deal."

Adam held up his hands. "Don't worry about me. I'm good. It's all good," he said, though he wasn't sure he believed it.

"And if there is a serial killer?" Mia asked.

He looked at her again, looked into those knowing eyes, and felt a thread of queasiness move through his gut.

"Would you have a problem dealing with that?" she asked.

His jaw stiffened for a split second before he plastered on an easy smile and shrugged. "Nah. Serial killers? No way. Let me at them."

"That's good," she said. "Because if you let what happened to your sister affect your judgment on this case, it will be disastrous for both you and Jessica."

The smile dropped from his face.

"Yes, I know about your sister. I'm sorry about what happened to her."

"Is that why you suddenly started taking on more dangerous assignments?" Dan asked.

Adam had to stop himself from getting up and walking out the door. His sister. His personal life was none of their damned business. His jaw hardened.

"It wasn't your fault," Mia said. "There was nothing you could have done to stop him. Then."

"But you might be able to this time," Dan added.

Adam leaned forward, all pretenses gone. "Are you saying this serial killer is the same bastard who killed my sister?"

"I'm saying we're not sure," Dan said. "But if he is, you can't let that get in the way of bringing him to justice, or of protecting our client. Because according to Vivi, Jessica Barnes is his next target."

"I won't," Adam said through gritted teeth.

Dan stood. "That's all we needed to hear."

Mia pushed the folder across the table. "Inside is everything you need to know about Ms. Jessica Barnes. Where she lives and what she does. Who her friends and family are. Trust me, it's a short list."

"We've also included copies of everything the police have on the first murder," Dan said. "After you talk to Jessica, go to police headquarters and talk to Chief Armani and find out everything you can about the second murder."

"They're on board with this?" Adam asked, surprised.

"Let's just say we've helped them in the past, so they're willing to play ball. The sooner they can catch this guy, the better. Tourists getting killed isn't good for business. Anyone's business."

"Here's your rental car and hotel reservations. Everything is already set up." Mia handed him a billfold.

Adam took it and placed it in the inside pocket of his black blazer. "Thank you."

She touched his arm. "I really do hope he's the man who killed your sister, and that you can put him away for good."

He nodded over the lump in his throat. If this really was his sister's killer, the only place he'd be putting him was in the ground. "I never told anyone about what happened to her."

She nodded. "I know."