Kitabı oku: «Parallel Lies», sayfa 2
“Miller lives in your neighborhood?”
“No. He was just visiting his sister in Sacramento. He’s from Seattle. Apparently he was out jogging when he found Zorro. Anyway, I was grateful to him. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Zack drawled. “Go on.”
Sabrina wasn’t sure what he was implying, but she was sure she didn’t like it. Turning away from him, she addressed her uncle. “I invited him in. He stayed for dinner and we had a lot of fun. He seemed like such a nice guy.”
“He probably is,” Theo told her. “Your father raised you to be a good judge of character.”
She smiled in genuine relief. “Thanks, Uncle Theo. I hope you’re right. Even now, looking back, I can’t imagine a nicer guy than Johnny. We had so much in common. We talked and talked, long into the night. I was coming down with the flu as it turned out. Otherwise—” She flushed but admitted, “Who knows what might have happened? But as it turns out, I was too sick to be even remotely attractive. So we just talked. About a million different things. Then the next day, when Shelby heard how sick I was, she came over to take care of me. Johnny came back to check on me, and they hit it off. Like an inferno.”
Sabrina stared down at her hands, suddenly embarrassed. “Just listening to myself, I can imagine how I sound. Jealous, right? But I’m not. I guess I’m just overprotective. The truth is, she found someone. Someone terrific. And he wants to spend some time alone with her. Sounds like a victimless crime, right?”
“I have a question for you,” Zack said.
She looked up, surprised. “Sure. Ask me anything.”
“What specifically did you and Miller talk about?”
“Hmm?”
“You said you talked long into the night. About what?”
“Well, about everything. All kinds of things.”
“Everything under the sun?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
“What?”
He reached over and took the recorder from her hand, then worked the controls until he had rewound the tape a bit. Then he played back the part that said, “…doesn’t just go to sleep when he’s done, you know? We stay up for hours after, talking about everything under the sun….”
Sabrina licked her lips, confused.
“Give me a topic. Something you two talked about. Current events? Your favorite movies? Capital punishment? Smoking in bars?”
She struggled with her memory. Or rather, the lack of it. And despite all the training she had received from her father, she began to slowly, quietly, panic. “I don’t remember. Uncle Theo? What does it mean? I don’t remember!”
“Settle down,” Zack murmured. “It might not mean anything. Just take a deep breath.”
For the first time, and only in the slightest of ways, he reminded her of her father, and she responded by breathing deeply, in and out, until her nerves had steadied. Then she forced herself to look straight into his green eyes. “What does it mean?”
Zack cleared his throat. “Did your father ever talk to you about DT3?”
The panic bubbled back up her spinal cord and into her brain. Not because she had heard of DT3—she hadn’t. But it sounded so ominous. “It doesn’t ring a bell. What is it?”
“A drug. An experimental one that was being developed here at Perimeter—Damn it.” He turned toward the phone, which had begun to ring. “Give me a minute.”
Punching the speaker button, he demanded, “Who is it?”
“Zack? Hey, man. It’s me. Connor. Did you want something?”
“Where the hell were you? Don’t you work for a living?”
“Lighten up,” Connor advised with a laugh. “I’m here now. What’s up?”
Zack glanced toward Sabrina, then murmured, “I need some information about one of Sully’s daughters.”
“Which one? The warrior? Or the con artist?”
Zack winced. “The younger one. Shelby. I heard she’s got a new boyfriend.”
“She gets a new boyfriend every week,” Connor told him, laughing again. “She’s got a big heart, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m on the speaker phone. The other daughter’s here with me.”
“Shit.” Connor cleared his throat audibly. “Sorry, Miss Sullivan.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she told him. “I just need to know where my sister is.”
“Huh?”
Zack took over, suggesting tersely, “Tell us about the new boyfriend.”
“I haven’t read the report yet. It’s not due until Friday,” Connor explained. “I’ve had my most reliable guy checking her place a couple of times a week. He mentioned the new boyfriend. Said he looked pretty solid. Hold on. Let me grab the file and see if we’ve got a photo. It’s here somewhere and—oh, shit.”
Zack leaned toward the machine. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re not gonna believe this, Zack. It’s John Derringer! I’m looking right at him. A picture of him, I mean. Shit, shit, shit. I can’t believe it. What does he want with Sully’s kid?”
“Shut up,” Zack instructed. “Just fax me what you have and stop causing a panic.”
“I’ll go over to her house right away.”
“It’s too late for that now. Just fax me what you have and stand by for further instructions.”
“I’m sorry, Zack—”
“Just answer the goddamned phone when I call back.”
“Right. Jeez, what could Derringer want with—”
The rest of the sentence was cut off and Sabrina knew Zack had terminated the call. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Theo, and both men seemed stunned.
She wanted to ask who John Derringer was, but it didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered were those three little words. It’s too late…
“Oh, God,” she whispered, her heart and soul flashing back to the moment, five long years ago, when she’d heard about her father’s death at the hands of Adonis Zenner. “This can’t be happening. Not again.”
“Don’t worry,” Zack told her. “We’ll get her back.”
“You just said it’s too late!”
“That’s not what I meant.” He flushed. “It’s too late for Connor to go and protect her. That’s all. And I don’t want him messing up the scene. I’ll have my crew meet me there later, to look for clues.”
When Sabrina exhaled sharply, he added, “She’s fine. I’m almost sure of it. John would never hurt a woman. Especially not someone Sully cared about. He and your dad were close once. A million years ago, but it counts for something. I’m sure.”
Sabrina crossed to him and grabbed his hands in her own. “I need information. I’m dying here.”
“Yeah, I get that,” he murmured. “Just breathe, okay? I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Reassured and a little embarrassed, she pulled free and backed a few steps away. “Who is this John Derringer?”
Theo stepped up to her and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “He used to work for us, honey. Years ago. Your father recruited him. Trained him. Just like Zack. Except Derringer was nothing like Zack. Nothing like Sully. We learned that the hard way.”
She shifted so that she could gaze up at Theo. “What does he want with my sister?”
“Hard to say—”
“He wants information,” Zack interrupted. “If all he wanted was to hurt her, he wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of pretending to save your cat.”
“Pretending to save…?” Sabrina’s stomach knotted. “You think he planned all that? You think he broke Zorro’s leg? Oh, God…” She covered her face with her hands, struggling against a new wave of despair.
“He wants something from her,” Zack repeated. “Let’s figure out what it is, okay? That’s the fastest way to get her back. Safe and sound.”
“Zack’s right,” Theo said with reassuring vehemence. “If he was after revenge, he would have killed her right away. There’s something else going on.”
“Revenge?” She forced herself to focus. “Are you saying Dad did something bad to him?”
“It’s not revenge,” Zack protested. “He used DT3 on her. That means he wanted information.”
“Or he wanted to plant a suggestion,” Theo countered. “Don’t forget that.”
“Okay, stop.” Sabrina held up her hand. “DT3? You said it was a drug. What does it do?”
“It makes most people susceptible to hypnosis. But it makes some people sick to their stomachs. That’s what happened when he tried it on you.”
“My flu symptoms?”
“Right.” Zack motioned toward the wing chair. “Sit for a minute. This is a lot to take in, and I need you to concentrate.”
She nodded and sat down. “He used the drug on me, but it made me sick.”
“Right. But it worked enough to allow him to plant a basic suggestion in your mind. The suggestion that you and he stayed up all night talking about everything under the sun, or some such crap.”
“Right.”
“And he may have planted other suggestions, as well. So I need to ask you something. It’s going to make you mad, but just try to understand. Okay?”
She nodded.
“Is your weapon really outside in the car?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Do you have any feelings of animosity toward Theo? Feelings you can’t explain?”
“No. I have some toward you,” she added with a halfhearted smile. “But I can explain those.”
Zack laughed. “Fair enough.”
The light moment vanished quickly for Sabrina. “You think he might try to use me and Shelby to hurt Perimeter? That’s sort of far-fetched, don’t you think?”
“Yes. Just be aware. If you have feelings you don’t understand—urges that seem uncharacteristic—report them to me immediately.”
“I will. I promise.”
“And you should probably get some tests done. Tonight or tomorrow.” He grimaced, then explained, “For diseases. Pregnancy. Whatever.”
“I didn’t sleep with him, thanks to the vomiting. It was a definite mood killer.”
“Just the same…”
“I didn’t sleep with him,” she repeated, annoyed at the stubborn suggestion. Then her shoulders slumped. “Obviously, Shell did. But I’m sure she used protection.”
“Good.”
“It’s kidnapping, right? I mean, he drugged her and made her believe she’s in love with him. That’s the only reason she went away with him, so it wasn’t really consensual.”
“It’s kidnapping,” Zack agreed.
“And now he’s out there somewhere, playing with her head. Trying to get information. Or torturing her as revenge for something Dad did to him. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“He’s not torturing her. It’s not his style. But otherwise, yeah. He’s messing with her head.”
Sabrina turned away, her heart pounding with confusion. “This is so much worse than anything I ever imagined. I thought I was overreacting. I thought you’d say he was just a romantic fool. Or at worst, a gigolo or something, trying to get at the trust fund.”
Spinning to face Theo, she insisted, “We hardly spent any of the money. We saved it for the day we could come back. So we could buy back Dad’s share of the company. We didn’t know you needed it. Please take it back—”
“Hey!” Theo silenced her with a hug. “Look around. Does it seem like I’m hurting? We had a cash flow problem for a year or so, but that’s behind us. Thanks to Zack. He got us on our feet. Found us a client who’s richer than Midas. We’re fine. I promise.”
With a wink he added, “Everyone knows I make my real money in real estate anyway. Perimeter’s just a hobby. So give me a smile and let’s not talk about money any more.”
Sabrina squeezed his arm, then resumed her questioning. “Tell me about John Derringer. What did Dad do to him that was so terrible?”
Zack gave her a curious look. “How much do you know about the Zenner mess?”
“The Zenner mess? Do you mean, my father’s murder? I’d like to think I know everything about it.”
“Let’s hear it, then.”
Sabrina shrugged. “Pluto Zenner assassinated a Perimeter client during some meeting in the Canary Islands. To salvage the company’s reputation, Dad helped the CIA track him down, and Pluto was killed resisting arrest. Then Pluto’s son Adonis came after Dad and blew him up.”
“Right.” Zack’s eyes clouded. “What you probably don’t know is that John Derringer was responsible for the breach in security that led to the assassination in the Canary Islands. It was John’s first big assignment for Perimeter, and he blew it. His ego took a serious beating.”
Sabrina was beginning to understand. “Dad fired him?”
“No. Sully wanted to give him another chance. But John’s pride got in the way. He quit in a huff. Disappeared for a few months, then surfaced as a petty criminal, using the knowledge he got from Sully’s training to penetrate various security systems and pull some creative heists. His way of saying he was just as good as us, I guess.”
“A disgruntled employee from five—no, six—years ago?” Sabrina shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would he wait so long to come after us?”
“That’s the question,” Zack agreed.
She covered her face with her hands again, but this time the gesture wasn’t one of despair. Instead she needed to blot out Zack and Theo for the moment. To return to her training. Her roots. Her legacy of strength from her father.
Fear doesn’t hurt people, Brie. Panic does. It’s an agent’s worst enemy. Learn to control it.
“Okay,” she said finally. “DT3. You said it’s got something to do with hypnosis, right?”
“It’s got everything to do with hypnosis,” Zack confirmed. “You’ve probably heard that a person can’t be hypnotized without their consent, right? And that you can’t make them do anything under hypnosis that goes against their grain? Well, DT3 changes all that.”
He pulled a chair over and sat directly in front of Sabrina. “It’s what they call a hypnotropic drug. It gives the hypnotist tremendous power. With it, he can put the subject into such a deep trance, even without their consent, that they’re virtually his slave. He can extract information from their memory or he can conceal it there. He can password-protect it so that he’s the only one who can ever retrieve it. He can plant powerful post-trance suggestions, like the one Derringer gave you.” Leaning closer, he muttered, “It’s a goddamned menace.”
“I can’t believe I’ve never heard of it.”
“Perimeter developed it. But after a few tests, your father and Theo were so alarmed by its potential, they abandoned the project.”
“But Derringer has it?”
Zack nodded. “We were both trained to use it. But the formula stayed with Sully. I guess John took a supply with him when he left. We’re probably lucky he hasn’t sold it to some foreign agency by now.”
Sabrina looked over toward Theo. “You think he’s planting ugly suggestions in her mind? Making her do creepy things?”
“That’s unlikely,” Zack protested. “My guess is he wants information. Something he thinks you girls learned during all those years with Sully. Maybe even some secret information Sully hid in your minds—”
“My father would never hide things in our minds!”
Zack flushed. “Take it easy. I’m just brainstorming here. If you can’t take it, you should go lie down or something.” He stood and turned to Theo, as though dismissing Sabrina. “Can you get Marietta to make copies of all Connor’s faxes for me? And all the reports from his crew for the last three months. Derringer probably surveilled the girls for weeks before he made his move. Maybe there’s something in the early reports we can use.”
“Wait!” Sabrina jumped up and confronted him. “Let me help.”
“You can help by staying out of the way. We do this for a living, you know. Go upstairs and rest for a while. If there’s anything to report, you’ll be the first to know.”
Sabrina wanted to reach down his arrogant throat and pull out his tonsils, but counseled herself to stay calm. He saw her as a civilian. Fine. She could use that to her advantage. Wasn’t that what her father would want her to do?
“I am a little beat,” she said with an apologetic smile. “Give me a few minutes to splash some water on my face, okay? But after that, I really want to help.” Heading for the double doors, she added over her shoulder, “I’ll be back in five minutes. Don’t make any decisions until I get back, okay?”
“Right,” Zack drawled.
Theo corrected him with a warm, loving, “Take your time. We’re just going to look at the files. And, Sabrina?”
“Yes?”
“You made the right decision, coming here. We’re going to get little Shellie back. I promise you that.”
Sabrina beamed, then turned and strolled into the hall as though completely reassured. But as soon as she was out of their field of vision, she sprinted toward the grand staircase, then took the steps two at a time, anxious to get to the music room that was located directly above Theo’s study.
She only hoped things hadn’t changed since the day, almost twenty years earlier, when two little girls—who were tired of being sent out of “Uncle Theo’s” study every time he and their father had something important to discuss—had transformed the music room into their own personal, clandestine listening post.
Chapter 2
Hurrying past the baby grand piano that dominated the music room, Sabrina opened a set of louvered closet doors on the far wall. A brass chest filled with sheet music was sitting right in front of her, just as it had been during her childhood. Inching the chest aside, she knelt and ran her fingertip along the rim of a large black knot in the oak flooring. Years of wax had sealed the knot firmly into place, but she was able to loosen it with the blade from her pocketknife.
Prying the lump of wood free, she pressed her ear against the floor and heard voices, courtesy of the tiny tunnels she and her sister had poked through the various layers of insulation and Sheetrock that separated the music room floor from the ceiling of the study.
Zack’s tone was predictably strident. “I get the point, boss. I was rude. I’ll apologize to her as soon as I get the chance. But in the meantime, I need to start looking for the other one. Assuming the lecture is officially over.”
“As long as we’re clear,” Theo replied. “I want you to treat her with kid gloves from now on.”
“Done. But spare me the concerned-uncle act. You aren’t worried about Sully’s kid. You’re just worried she’ll share secrets with Derringer that might hurt the company—”
“That’s not true! I love those girls. Their father was my best friend. And they—all three of them—were the only family I ever really had.”
“Sully was family to me, too,” Zack reminded him.
“Like a father,” Theo agreed. “And Derringer was like a brother, right up till the time he betrayed your trust. If anyone’s motives here are suspect, I’d say yours are.”
There was a moment of silence, then Theo spoke again, this time in a conciliatory tone. “I have complete confidence in your ability to find Michelle, Zack. How do you plan to go about it?”
“My crew can check the airports, et cetera. See if there are any reservations in her name or activity on her passport. I’ll head up to Sac tonight to check out her place. Maybe I can find something to show where they headed.”
“Sounds good.”
“Before I go, I want to hypnotize Sabrina—”
“That’s out of the question.”
“Huh? Why? It’s our best source of information. If she can remember what John was trying to dig out of her memory—”
“That girl is already miserable. I’m not going to let you go on a fishing expedition in her brain. That’s final.”
“If she agrees—”
“I said it’s final,” Theo retorted. “Find Michelle some other way. Not at the expense of Breezie’s sanity. Period.”
Sabrina could easily imagine the angry expression on Zack’s face at that moment. And while she was grateful to her uncle for trying to protect her, she agreed that her memory was the best clue available to them. Zack had to use it.
But Zack was obviously a zealot—and a hothead—so she was also glad Theo would be there during the hypnosis to protect her from his employee’s excesses.
When the zealot finally spoke, his words were clipped and measured. “When this is over, you and I are gonna have a long talk. Either I’m running Perimeter or I’m not.”
“You’re running it. But it’s my company. And I want Sabrina treated with kid gloves. Marietta can feed her and pamper her and I’ll reminisce with her about Sully.”
“You should show her the funeral video,” Zack murmured. “I always thought it was a shame his kids missed that eulogy you gave him.” Clearing his throat, he added more briskly, “We can postpone the London job for a few weeks, right? I need my full crew here if I’m going to find Michelle before Derringer’s done with her.”
“Of course. I’ll make sure the client understands,” Theo promised. “That leaves the birthday party in Dallas on Friday night, which can not be postponed. You know as well as I do that that particular client will never understand.”
“We’ll find the little sister before then. Or I’ll send Connor to Dallas—”
“No way,” Theo interrupted. “Our reputation stands or falls with our ability to please King Dominik. I need you there. That’s not negotiable.”
“It’s not an issue,” Zack said, his tone sharp with exasperation. “Just keep Sabrina out of my hair. I get the feeling she wants to play with the big boys, and ordinarily, it would be fun to watch her try. But I don’t have time for games.”
“She’s not exactly a civilian,” Theo reminded him. “Sully started training her before she could walk. I’ll never forget some of the crazy exercises he put her through.”
“Kid stuff. She never went out on a job, did she? And she’s been a million miles away from Sully’s world—teaching school kids how to tie their shoes—for the last five years.”
“She’s no ordinary schoolteacher. Read the reports. She never misses a Saturday at the pistol range. And she runs three miles every morning.”
“She’s in great shape,” Zack admitted. “The legs alone are gold standard. But this job’s too dangerous for an amateur. Aren’t you the one who said she needs to be pampered?”
“Sabrina will stay here,” Theo agreed. “You’ll take the lead on finding Michelle. But if you haven’t succeeded by Friday, we turn the assignment over to Connor so you can go to Dallas. No arguments.”
Zack’s laugh was gently mocking. “So much for the concerned-uncle routine.”
“Forgive me if I don’t want to see the company go down the tubes again, like it did when Sully died.”
“You mean, like it did when the daughters ran off with half the money and all of the cachet?” Zack chuckled again. “You’re a hypocrite, Theo. Making it seem like I’m the bad guy, when you resent them as much as I do. Probably more.”
“This conversation is over. Just review the faxes until Breezie gets back. Where is she, anyway?”
Grimacing, Sabrina plugged the knot back into its hole, then jumped to her feet and slid the brass chest into place, taking care not to make any noise. After making a quick stop in the bathroom, she rejoined the men in the study.
“There’s my girl! Feeling any better?”
“I’m fine, thanks. Are those the faxes?” She shuffled through a handful of grainy images, mostly of Johnny arriving at or departing from Shelby’s house, day in and day out for almost two weeks straight. “Unbelievable.”
“Tell me about it,” Zack drawled. “This guy comes and goes at will, and Connor’s crew just sits there and takes pictures.”
“It’s no one’s fault,” Theo interrupted. “Let’s just deal with the situation as it stands now, shall we?”
“Speaking of which, I was thinking…” Sabrina pursed her lips, feigning casual inspiration. “Maybe you should try to hypnotize me.”
Zack’s green eyes widened with surprise. Then he turned to Theo. “Interesting idea, don’t you think?”
Theo scowled. “Hypnosis is serious business, Breezie. You’re too upset right now to be a proper candidate. Maybe later—”
“I insist, Uncle Theo. It’s the quickest way to find out what Johnny wants from us. Once we know that, we’ll be in a better position to guess where he took Shelby.” When Theo hesitated, she repeated firmly, “I insist. If you refuse, I’ll pay a psychologist to do it.”
“It’s settled then.” Zack’s smile was triumphant. “We’ll go easy on you, I promise. Just a quick in and out. Two, three questions tops.”
Sabrina shook her head. “Take your time. Like I said, this is our best resource, so don’t be afraid to use it.”
Theo seemed unconvinced. “We don’t need to do it right away, do we? I want you to relax and eat some lunch first.”
Sabrina laughed. “What’s the point? I’ll just vomit it up. Remember?”
“Whoa!” Zack shook his head. “We aren’t using DT3 on you. Just conventional hypnosis.”
“But—”
“Do you have to argue about everything?” he asked, adding more reasonably, “DT3 is designed for an unwilling subject. You’re submitting to the process willingly, so we don’t need it.”
“But—”
“Zack’s right, Sabrina,” Theo interrupted. “We don’t need it. And given the intensity of your allergic reaction last time, another dose could send you into shock.”
She grimaced. “Really?”
“It’s settled,” Zack said, pulling out his cell phone. “You two have some lunch—and a nice visit—while I make some calls. I want to check for activity at the airports, particularly on Shelby’s passport.”
Sabrina remembered the men’s conversation about the videotape of her father’s funeral. She really wanted to hear that eulogy Zack had raved about, so she decided to jog her uncle’s memory. “Do you have any pictures of Dad? I’d love to reminisce a little.”
“Of course!” Theo exclaimed. “And I want to show you the funeral video, too. I’m glad you reminded me.”
Zack’s attention instantly refocused on Sabrina, his eyes narrowing, and she knew she had made a strategic mistake.
Then his gaze shifted—from her face up toward the ceiling, then back again—and she knew he was on to her. Confirming the suspicion, he spun around and stalked out of the study.
“What set him off?” Theo demanded.
Sabrina gave an innocent shrug. “He’s a hothead, remember?”
“I’m sorry he talked to you the way he did, Breezie. In his defense, he was a die-hard fan of your father’s.”
“You said Dad recruited him? And also Johnny?”
“Yes. Connor, too, actually. They were all friends at one time. The future of Perimeter, according to Sully. Strange, isn’t it?”
Sabrina nodded, but her attention was focused on the room above her head. There was no noise. No sound of a brass trunk being pushed aside. Maybe Zack hadn’t figured it out after all.
Then he strode back into the room, as quickly as he had left, and tossed the knot of oak into her hands. “Here’s a souvenir. Sebastian’s getting his saw as we speak, so your eavesdropping days are over.”
Sabrina struggled not to smile as Theo asked his employee, “What are you talking about?”
“Believe me, boss, you’d rather not know.” Zack arched a teasing eyebrow in Sabrina’s direction. “How old were you when it started?”
“Seven. But Shell was only five. She’s the one who did the drilling.”
He laughed. “Derringer better watch his step.”
“Believe it.”
Theo glared at them. “Did I miss something?”
“I’ll tell you later.” Sabrina patted his arm. “Meanwhile, I’m anxious to get started on the hypnosis. Do you mind if we do it before lunch?”
“Works for me,” Zack agreed. “The sooner I hit the road, the sooner I can search your sister’s place and pick up Derringer’s trail.”
“I’m coming with you,” Sabrina told him.
“No way. You’re safest here.”
“I don’t want to be safe. I want to find my sister. I can do it with you. Or I can do it alone.”
“If Derringer can’t get what he wants from Michelle, he’ll come after you. You’re safest here.”
“With your crackerjack security? Give me a break.” She shook her head. “There’s nothing in Sacramento anyway. I searched Shell’s house from top to bottom. If we’re going to find a clue, it’s through Derringer.” She turned to Theo. “I need to see everything you have on him. He worked for Perimeter, right? That means there are employment files. Background checks. References. Every shred of information.” To Zack she added cheerfully, “I bet I find him before you do.”
“You already had him, remember? Standing right in your living room.”
“Because your staff let him walk right up to my front porch.”
“But you let him in. What happened to your so-called training? You fell for the oldest trick in the book—a lost cat. So lose the attitude, would you? We’re just trying to help.”
Sabrina turned away, stung by the truth. It was the oldest trick in the book.
Johnny had stood there on the porch, with that radiant smile and hunky broad shoulders, and all her training had flown out the window. That was the part she hadn’t shared with Theo and Zack, although Zack had clearly picked up on it. She had been instantly attracted to Johnny, for reasons that had nothing to do with Zorro’s leg. Her lonely body had reacted to the handsome stranger like a child reacts to Christmas.
“Hey.” Zack came up behind her. “I was out of line. Again. Sorry.”
“You were right,” she countered, turning to grace him with a cool smile. “I thought he was the world’s greatest guy. Apparently you did, too. Best friends—almost like brothers, right? Dad liked him enough to hire him. Uncle Theo trusted him enough to send him to the Canary Islands to guard our most valuable client.
“We were all conned by him,” she finished with a flourish. “So let’s just move on. Hypnotize me now and get it over with. Then you can hit the road.”
“Maybe you should just leave now, Zack.” Theo gave his employee a withering look as he patted Sabrina’s arm. “I can hypnotize Sabrina myself. If we learn anything of value, we’ll call you.”
Zack spoke between clenched jaw muscles. “I have the most training. And we both know you’ll go too easy on her. What’s the point?”
Theo shrugged. “To be successful, she has to be relaxed. And she has to trust the hypnotist. I don’t see that happening with you here.”
“I want Zack to do it, Uncle Theo.” Sabrina touched her host’s cheek to soften the interruption. “He’s right. You would be too careful. We have to be thorough, for Shell’s sake.”
Theo shrugged again. “I want to okay the list of questions then—”
“No way,” Zack said with a growl.
