Chapter 13

Dare

“Derek! A fabulous party. I don’t know how you do it – get all this organized an’ fix the weather too.” Carl beamed contentedly. “I have your pottery shard in the trunk of my car an’ your report, as I promised. I don’t wanna take you away from your duties as host so I’ll go fetch them an’ leave ’em in the music room.”

“You know where the library is?” Derek queried.

“I do.”

“Could you leave them there? They are less likely to be discovered.”

“Sure thing.”

“It’s good to see you, Carl, and Lynda.”

“She loves me to get outta the office .. an’ just when I have an office I can enjoy being in again,” Carl laughed. “Peri’s around?”

“Inside somewhere. She’ll be out soon,” Derek replied, wishing it was now.

“I’ll go get your stuff. Catch up with everyone later.”

Carl wandered away across the lawn and Derek was instantly captured by another of his guests. Alex was on the other side of the gathering, circulating and looking quite magnificent.

There was an antique brass urn on the end of the terrace and it was filling rapidly with envelopes containing checks and cash. Andrew stood near to it but not in any capacity as an official guard. He was keeping a firm eye on the staff who moved between the tables with trays of canapés and glasses of champagne. The elegant, refined strains of chamber music floated on the air almost as a fragrance.

Inside the house, Merlin had finished wiping the sticky gel from her belly and was slipping into a short sundress.

“How?” she asked.

Rachel shrugged uneasily. “Kat’s been having these dreams. Or rather this one dream since the night before Steve arrived. She told me about it the next morning. To be honest, I didn’t think it meant anything. I told Alex about it days ago an’ neither of us saw anything suspicious. It wasn’t until Derek asked me yesterday to think back that I recalled it. I spoke with Kat an’ got more detail. An’ then .. well, you’ll think badly of me, God knows I feel guilty enough, but it was Kat’s idea. We tried an experiment, an’ it worked.”

Merlin slid her feet into a pair of three inch stick heel sandals. “Couple of questions – what did you do that would make me think badly of you, an’ why’d you do it if it made you feel guilty?”

Rachel leaned against the exam couch and folded her arms. “Kat told me this dream is the same but, each night, it grows. Gets longer with new scenes added on the end. Basically, she sees a storm. It’s right over the house. The sky is turning slowly, like it’s a giant wheel. She starts over by the city waterfront an’ skims the water toward the island. She sees calm sea and clear sky either side of the island but we’re under this wheel of black cloud, lightning, thunder, strong wind. Slowly, as the nights have passed, she’s gotten closer. An’ she told me yesterday that she could see a guy down by the ferry. She couldn’t make him out, he was too far away, an’ I couldn’t see how that could help. But he’s the only person she sees in this dream. I thought it unusual .. an’ enough to suggest she try accelerating the sequence. Take a couple of naps, then sleep overnight. We could make up three nights of dreams – three nights was her estimate of how long it would take for her to get close enough to see his face.”

Merlin was nodding.

“She wasn’t tired,” Rachel confessed. “She tried to fall asleep an’ couldn’t. So she asked me to hypnotize her. I refused. Kat insisted. An’ I caved.” Rachel looked down. “I didn’t compromise the dream. I didn’t mention it at all. I just .. got her relaxed enough to fall asleep. Whether she dreamed or not was up to her. She did. She got closer to the ferry stage, close enough to confirm there definitely are no other people around. Just this one guy. He looked scruffy. She woke up. We left it a few hours an’ went thru it again. We weren’t sure if it would work. She might only dream to that point, in which case we’d have to wait another three or four nights before we got a description. But Kat dreamed past that point an’ got closer again.”

“An’ you hypnotized Kat because ..?” Merlin inquired. “Not because she insisted. All the stubborn insistence in the world won’t change someone’s mind if they’re set on something.” Unless they’ve already been compromised, she silently appended.

“I did it because I felt it was important to have this information. I did it cos I didn’t believe we had the time to wait for it come naturally. Nick an’ Steve have to be freed from this before these dares kill them. Maybe this guy in Kat’s dream knows how it happened. He could be able to reverse it. We have to know what he looks like if we’re gonna have a chance of finding him. An’ Kat wants to help Nick. He’s been there for her so many times. This is her way of paying some of that debt.”

“Then why are you feeling guilty?”

“I hypnotized my own child. I did a selfish thing.”

“For the good of others. I don’t see a problem in that. I bet Kat doesn’t either. Let it go, Rachel. You’ve got nothing to feel guilty about.” She straightened. “We should get out there, mingle with the crowd. When it’s quiet later, we’ll get together, figure this out. Deal?”

“Deal,” Rachel smiled.

*****

Carl rounded the garage block and broke into a grin. “Hey, Steve. Good to see you’re feeling better.” The grin wavered. “You are Steve, right? Or have I just gotten Nick really pissed off at me?”

Steve had straightened. “Green tie. I’m Steve.”

“Phew,” Carl said, blowing out his cheeks. “What you doing? Checking people haven’t left their vehicles unlocked?”

“Part of the job,” Steve replied.

“You help Nick with the security,” Carl commented, heading toward his sedan.

“Uh huh. Why aren’t you at the party?”

Carl took the keys from his pocket. “I have to return Derek’s shard. You remember, you brought it over for me to look at. Told me to fetch it back today.”

Steve came up behind him, his hand closed into a fist. It rose, aimed at the back of Carl’s head but Nick, coming up fast, caught it and dragged it down.

“Hey, Carl,” he said, glaring at Steve.

“Nick! Was just talking about you. Blue tie.” Carl opened the trunk and reached inside for the cardboard box. “Congratulations, by the way! Looking forward to being a father?”

“Sure. How’d you know?”

“Peri told me. Or she confirmed it to me after I guessed.”

“You’ve seen her?”

“Uh huh.” Carl turned. “When she came to help me straighten up my office. Steve .. that box of yours. Is there any chance I could get another look? I’d like to borrow it for a week or so, get it into the chem lab. D’you know your box almost caused a fire?”

“How could I have known that?” Steve frowned.

“Derek might have told you. He called yesterday asking about the box.” Carl watched them glance at each other. “What d’you say? Can I borrow it?”

“We don’t have it anymore,” Nick lied. “Gave it away.”

“Damn, but that’s a pity. Oh well. I should’ve asked before. One of those things, I guess. See you guys later. Great party,” Carl smiled and headed away.

Nick’s lips thinned. “We are in the shit now. Where is it?”

“What?”

“The fucking box! Jeez, how’d you ever get to be a Legacy member?”

“It’s safe. Hidden. What do we do?”

“Derek’s said nothing to you?” Nick queried.

Steve shook his head. “Not a word.”

“Then .. he doesn’t want us to know that he knows. He’s putting on an act. Playing dumb.”

“Why would he do that?”

Nick let out a breath. “Hoping we’ll do something to hang ourselves. Go check the box is where you hid it. You can bet he’s been looking for it.”

“What’ll you do?”

“Finish what we’ve started. We got a good haul so far. Only a quarter of these high rollers left to search.”

Steve nodded and began to move away.

“There’s worse though,” Nick remarked as an afterthought.

“What could be worse than the ol’ man knowing?” Steve inquired, pausing and looking back.

“Peri knows. An’ she can arrange to give us hell.”

And it’s a lot closer than you know, Alopex thought as he leaned against Carl’s sedan.

*****

“Ah, Peri. Rachel,” Derek greeted with a smile. “Everything all right?”

“Seems to be – one head, two arms, two legs. I got a picture,” Merlin grinned. “I’m fine. Everything’s right on schedule.”

“Excellent news. Have you seen Nick or Steve anywhere? They seem to have pulled their usual trick and vanished.”

“Don’t worry about them,” Merlin replied. “They’re being watched.”

“Rachel, you wanted to speak with me,” Derek recalled.

“It can wait till this is over. I have told Peri,” she admitted. “Not because I don’t trust you, Derek – ”

“This affects her as much as it does us. I hope it’s good news?”

“It’s a step forward,” Merlin corrected. “Let’s leave it at that. Rachel, we should go relieve Alex. She looks besieged.”

Derek stood alone for a blessed moment and he sighed with pleasure. It was very nice to see the garden being used in this way. More often than not, Derek hardly noticed it was there. A house this big was meant to hold a lot of people, not seven. It was ludicrous, really. And the grounds, the gardens .. they could contain hundreds. Around eighty people were here, enjoying the sunshine and the warmth, the food, the music and the company.

Something brushed his sleeve and he looked round. There was nothing there but a voice said, softly but quite clearly, “They know that you know. Carl told them.”

Derek closed his eyes and sighed again, the pleasure, like Nick and Steve, vanished.

How to play it now ..? An autocrat? Demand answers? Or continue as I am? Or some kind of middle ground, possibly. A Precept but one concerned about the personal issues at stake. Whatever, they will be on their guard even more.

“Problem?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure,” Derek replied. “It’s certainly moved to a different level.” He looked at her, his eyes grave. “Be cautious.”

*****

Steve went to his room, dragging at the tie around his neck. It was too hot for a suit, certainly too hot for a tie. He wanted denim jeans, sneakers and a loose T. He felt stifled and not just because of his clothes. He wanted out. Out of this house, out of the Legacy. He wanted true freedom, to be subject to no one’s orders or instructions but his own. He wanted to go where he wanted when he wanted. This .. holding back, holding it in, sneaking around for cheap thrills .. it was smothering. He hated it.

He let the door close and his eyes raked the mess. Did it look a little tidier than he recalled? Maybe it did. They’d been in here, searching thru his stuff. People who had said they were his colleagues. Well, people could be such bastards …

Steve went to the laundry hamper and began pulling out the items he’d tossed in there. He dropped them to the floor. Halfway down, wrapped loosely in a T-shirt, he located the box. He took it out, held it lovingly cradled in his hands as he gazed, rapt, at the carving. Then he frowned and glanced quickly over his shoulder.

“Someone there ..?” he called.

He shivered. He could’ve sworn someone was watching him.

Paranoid now. Another reason to get the fuck out of Dodge. I can’t say there’s anything I’ll miss. Not Nick. Not Derek. Not this goddam, fucking island mentality. It’s a prison. Can you imagine what it’d be like here in the winter? Cut off for days … I’d go crazy. Well, more crazy than I am right now.

Steve looked around for a new hiding place. Somewhere they wouldn’t even begin to think of looking. Slowly, he smiled. The best place to hide something was in plain view. And, if it was discovered, it would liven things up around here.

*****

“Hi, Peri,” Kat said. “You look beautiful.”

“So do you. I’m pleased Rachel has let you keep the highlights. With the fog we have around here, we need as much help as we can get.” Merlin leaned a little closer. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Kat frowned.

“Doing what you did yesterday. I appreciate it. I know Nick will, once we get him back.”

“But .. he’s here.”

“He is an’ he isn’t. Don’t trust this one. He’s unpredictable. I don’t want you getting hurt so stay away from him. An’, Kat, don’t tell yourself that Nick would never hurt you. This one would an’ not think twice.”

“An’ that goes for Steve too.”

“Damn straight. It isn’t their fault, you understand, but they can’t help themselves.”

“Okay,” Kat nodded.

“Good. Now, I know you’re a smart young lady an’ a very perceptive one. Tell me, this guy in your dream. What do you feel when you look at him?”

Kat paused, looking away over the party. “Like I want to take a step back. Keep my distance. He looks .. it’s hard to describe. He looks .. okay. Not ugly but a little under the average and like he could turn nasty in a second. Like a desperate person, y’know? The ones who beg for money an’, when you ignore them, get angry an’ start shouting at you in the street. Like that but a lot worse cos .. he wouldn’t shout. He’d do something.” She fell silent and slowly looked up. “I guess .. like Nick an’ Steve.”

Merlin had been thinking the same thing. “Did he scare you?”

“The last time, yeah,” Kat confessed. “I didn’t tell my Mom. She would’ve blamed herself an’ it isn’t her fault. Last night, I got close enough to almost touch him.”

“What scared you?” Merlin frowned.

“I think he could see me.”

*****

The savories had finished and Andrew was now overseeing the distribution of strawberries and cream. He estimated two more hours and people would be starting to make their farewells. Thus far, the Luna Foundation’s annual summer garden party fundraiser had been a great success.

Nick was another who felt today had been a great success. It was amazing what people left laying around in their automobiles. Cash, always useful to have. Diamond earrings. Bracelets. Watches. All kinds of stuff. He’d left billfolds, although he’d gone carefully thru each and removed some of the money in them. Not all the money; that was too obvious. Similarly, if he’d lifted the billfold itself, it would have been noticed. He’d also left the credit cards. He’d kept a mental tally of the haul. It was around the five thousand dollar mark plus whatever he could get for the jewelry and watches. He put his takings into his own automobile and carefully hid them from view. Then, nonchalantly, he returned to the party and circulated like a good boy, smiling, nodding, making idle small talk, and keeping a watchful eye.

Derek knew. So did Merlin. It was going to be trouble. But Nick could make it work to his advantage. Turn it into a dare. Then it’d be fun. Derek wouldn’t make it easy, neither would Merlin. Derek had intelligence, cunning. Merlin had planning, tactical expertise. Steve and Nick had inside knowledge, physical strength and a driving need. Plus their ethics had been left at the side of the road. Applied correctly, Nick and Steve could balance out against Derek and Merlin. They might even win. Even if they didn’t, it’d be a blast. They’d go down fighting and take as many with them as they could.

Nick saw Steve doing the rounds but didn’t approach. Their eyes met once and lingered for a long moment. Steve nodded to indicate he’d found the box. Nick nodded to acknowledge the message and to show he’d finished stealing from the rich to keep for themselves. They both allowed themselves a private smile.

Derek didn’t notice this exchange. Neither did Merlin. But Alex did. She put it away, ready to tell later on. Her smile after that was a little strained but she played her part and didn’t reveal to a soul that things were not as good as they appeared.

Kat found her way to Rachel’s side and stayed with her for the remainder of the party. Merlin had given her an order, straight, no argument permitted, and Kat recognized the voice. Aquila might be temporarily elsewhere but she could make her authority heard.

Merlin was talking to Carl and his wife and laughing over the pitiful excuses Carl came up with to stay at work and not go home.

“It’s dedication,” Lynda sighed. “I wouldn’t have him any other way. I know he’d be miserable an’ I’d feel horribly guilty.”

“Sure, but all work an’ no play … ” Merlin shrugged. “What d’you plan to do when you retire, Carl? When you don’t have an office to live in?”

“I have plans,” Carl replied airily. “I’m gonna travel. I’m gonna take Lynda to all the places I’ve been an’ taught about so she can experience ’em an’ their magic for herself.”

“Wow. Do you want that, Lynda?”

“I have one condition,” Lynda replied and Carl looked surprised. “Yeah, I’ll trek to Machu Picchu an’ the rest of the ends of the earth an’ I’ll explore any number of ruins, but I also want one week at the nearest beach resort each time.”

“But, honey – ” Carl protested.

“Hey, it’s my retirement too. I figure one week doing what you love an’ one week letting me relax is a fair compromise.”

Slowly, he nodded. “I guess. Yeah, you’re right. Of course you are. An’ I’m not just saying that. Some of the sites are .. inhospitable. God only knows why ancient races thought to build where they did. A week doing nothing, recovering from the trip .. it’d do me good too. You got a deal.”

“Peri,” a voice breathed in her ear.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to .. y’know.”

“Sure. It’s lovely to see you again. I wish you’d work more with him,” Lynda confided. “You keep him .. human.”

Merlin smiled and moved away. “What is it?”

“Nick’s been on a spree.”

“Vandalism?”

“Theft.”

She closed her eyes. “Let me get inside so people can’t see me talking to myself.”

Once in the music room, Merlin carefully closed the door. “Okay, spill.”

Alopex shimmered into sight. “It began with Steve but then Carl Chang arrived and told them that Derek knows about the box.”

“Oh, Carl! Can’t you keep quiet about things like this?” she sighed and held up a hand. “I know. I can’t blame him. He doesn’t know it’s a secret. Go on. It’s just so .. frustrating.”

“Steve went to check the box was where he’d left it. Nick continued on his own. Every vehicle has been searched and something taken from nearly all. He’s netted just about five thousand dollars in cash, plus around ten thousand in watches and jewelry. He was careful not to take everything. I doubt most will be immediately missed. He’s hidden it in his car.”

“Can you remember what goes where?”

“I can,” Alopex confirmed.

“Put it back,” Merlin instructed. “All of it.”

“He’ll know we did it.”

“I don’t care. These people are important to the Luna Foundation. Even if they don’t miss the money or the jewelry, they’ll lose out. I won’t let it happen. Put it all back.” Her chin lifted defiantly. “It may cause trouble in paradise, Jon. The best buds might fall out. We know there’s no honor amongst thieves an’ we could make that work to our advantage.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Work fast. We don’t have much time.”

Alopex vanished. Merlin went out to find Profelis.

*****

By eight, it was all over. The guests had long departed. The musicians had packed up and gone. The caterers had taken down the tables and loaded up the chairs. The lawn had been swept. Andrew had been sent home with strict orders not to come back until Tuesday; he’d argued and Derek had insisted. The money had not been counted but it had been put in the safe in Derek’s bedroom. Counting the proceeds now smacked of vultures circling and he refused to do it.

Unknown to him, Nick had restored the live feed to the camera covering the area around the garage.

“D’you need me anymore tonight?” he asked.

“I don’t believe so. Do you have plans?”

“You know how I am with ties an’ suits,” Nick grinned. “I’m going for a run. Work off the tension.”

“Fine. I’ll see you in the morning,” Derek responded mildly.

“I’ll come with you,” Steve said, rising from the sofa. “My neck feels like it’s been in a sling all day too.”

No one was surprised by this but they made no comment. They needed time alone to discuss what they’d each learned and to debate what they should do next.

Rachel, and Kat, went first. “You remember you asked me to think about what had happened since Steve arrived? I did. Obviously, I wasn’t here when he arrived so I wasn’t able to comment on that but I did think about what I did that morning. It was pretty much an ordinary day,” she shrugged. “But Kat said something over breakfast that I realized meant more than I at first thought. She’d had a dream.”

Derek’s eyes flashed to Kat’s face and he smiled approvingly.

“Well, I asked her yesterday to tell me what goes on in this dream. Kat did. Maybe I should let her tell you about it.”

It was the first time Derek had heard this and Alex to hear all the details and they leaned forward to concentrate. As he listened, Derek nodded. He’d dreamed something very similar – a storm but he’d also been buffeted by dark emotions. Betrayal, deceit, lies. It was making much more sense now.

Merlin had already heard a version of Kat’s dream and didn’t pay quite so much attention but she kept an ear out for any new facts. When Kat got to the part about seeing the solitary guy on the ferry stage, Rachel picked it up again.

“The only guy? Dreams are either populated or they’re not. At least, regular dreams are. To have one figure in an otherwise unpopulated dream said to me this wasn’t regular. My initial interpretation,” she said with a sigh, “was that it was nothing more than a weather report. Once I’d gotten past that aspect, I figured that it was a warning. The hostility between Nick an’ Steve only supported that interpretation. Storms don’t have to be real thunder an’ lightning, they can be metaphorical. But then, when they abandoned the fight an’ joined forces, I thought maybe it was a warning to us. I should’ve said something then an’ I’m sorry I didn’t. I was convinced you didn’t care. I was wrong.”

“Water under the bridge, Rachel. What did you do about this dream?” Derek inquired.

“I thought that another three nights would have me close enough to see this guy in detail. So I asked Mom to hypnotize me,” Kat related.

“That’s cutting out a lotta talk, Derek. Kat an’ I discussed it. I thought it might be possible to accelerate the process because I didn’t think we had three nights. Kat had told me that she had this dream every time she slept, so, if she took a couple of naps, we could make up two of those nights. She agreed to try but couldn’t get to sleep.”

“That’s when I asked Mom to hypnotize me,” Kat continued. “Not to make any suggestion – ”

“Just to get you sleepy,” Derek concluded.

“Right. I had to fight her to do it,” Kat said, ”but I persuaded her. I wanted to help Nick. I had the dream, I got closer but not close enough. I was .. maybe a couple of blocks away.”

“We didn’t know if it would work. The dream might get stuck. After a few hours, Kat took another nap and, when she woke, said she’d gotten closer again.”

“Maybe half a block away,” Kat enlarged. “I could see he was fairly young, in his twenties. He looked really scruffy. Dirty.”

“Last night, when she went to bed, she slept naturally,” Rachel finished. “An’ woke this morning to say she’d seen him close up.”

“Scruffy. Dirty. And ..?” Derek encouraged.

“Unsavory. He looked like a beggar. Or a .. user. Very thin. His clothes hung on him. His face was kinda empty. Vacant, y’know? But his eyes were cunning. It’s an act. He knows exactly what he’s doing and all the slouching around is just an act.”

“Tell them how you felt,” Merlin softly instructed. “An’ why.”

Kat took a deep breath. “He made me uneasy. Like I wanted to cross the street to avoid him. An’ he scared me. I think he could see me.”

Rachel’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“You would’ve blamed yourself, Mom. An’ what could you have done? It had happened. It was over. I’m telling you now because everyone needs to know. I’m not scared when I’m here. The Legacy will protect me.”

Merlin sat forward. “I’ll go next, fill in some of the blanks of what these two have been doing when they’re not around. I’ll exclude some of it because it’s personal, directed straight at me because Steve an’ I had an exchange of words. It’s nobody’s business but mine. Anyone got a problem with that, tough. They’ve been racing on dirt roads north of here. In the dark, no lights. They crashed when it started to rain. After the race was abandoned, they trashed a bar, put the owner outta business .. which I’ve paid for, an’ a lotta guys in the ER. They’ve been on a manhunt, right here on the island. A hunt to the death. Nick would’ve killed Steve if Alopex hadn’t stopped it. Only today, they went on an expedition among the guests’ automobiles, stealing cash an’ valuables. Alopex has put it all back. At least, they started stealing together. Nick finished alone because, after Carl so helpfully told them we knew about the box, Steve went to see if it was still where he’d left it.”

She shook her head. “I’ve had them watched since the hunt. Alopex has been with Nick an’ we called Profelis in as well to stick to Steve.”

Derek eased upright. “So Profelis knows where the box is.”

“What box?” Rachel queried with a slight frown.

“Your turn, Derek, to fill in the gaps,” Alex smiled. “Although, I’d just like to say that, this afternoon, I saw Nick an’ Steve exchange what I can only call a meaningful look. Steve nodded, then Nick nodded, an’ they both smiled. I wondered what they were doing. Now I know.” She looked to Derek. “Over to you.”

“I’ve noticed the words they’ve been using. They crop up again and again. Life’s too short. What the hell.”

“Oh, there’s more of that,” Merlin sighed. “Why not? Go for it. Bring it on. Fun. Where’s the harm. And, most tellingly, dare you.”

“Precisely. This is all about dares,” Derek said. “Things children do but grow out of doing. Setting off the alarms, for instance. A harmless prank. An inconvenience. Only it didn’t stay at that level. Steve was affected first. At some point between landing at the airport and arriving in the house, he was given a box. It’s small. Carved. It has initials on the top. And the wood has either been impregnated with a peculiar kind of poison, for want of a better word, or it’s naturally occurring. The effect, though, is the same. When handled in all innocence, the victim must go on to open the box. Once he or she does, they lose all sense of restraint. A little like Pandora’s box, it promises freedom but there is a very high price to pay. So, Steve was given the box and brought it into this house. On the morning of his second day here, he opened it. His behavior changed. Later, he passed it on to Nick. Nick opened the box and his behavior changed. Steve made a tactical error when he took the box to Carl Chang. Not as a dare, at least I don’t think it was. It was more to show off that he had something of interest. Carl, fortunately, wore gloves when he handled it. The gloves acquired a sticky resinous film which caught fire. He mentioned the fire to Peri, Peri followed it up, and I called Carl to get the details.” He looked round at Merlin. “It’s still in the house.”

Merlin nodded. “It was wrapped in a T-shirt in his laundry hamper but he’s moved it. I’ll show you where it is now.”

*****

“So .. how much did we make?” Steve asked eagerly.

“Five thousand in cash. The jewelry .. I’m no expert. Maybe seven or eight grand.”

“Split down the middle .. over six grand each. Enough to finance a new start somewhere.”

“Six grand? That’s chickenfeed. I got a lot more than that.”

“Knock over a bank?” Steve inquired.

“Married money,” Nick replied. “Peri’s got millions.” He glanced round. “Not so weak marrying the help, huh?”

Steve stumbled and came to a dead stop. “You never told me that before.”

“She’s not your wife,” Nick retorted in a cold voice. “That doesn’t get split fifty fifty, not her, not the money.”

“But if you killed her, you’d have it all. You’d give me some of it to make me go away .. wouldn’t you?”

Nick slowed and looked back. “I won’t do it. I won’t kill her. I told you, she can arrange to give us hell. Killing her won’t stop that. It’d make it easier. C’mon, what’s the dare?”

Steve was thinking fast. He didn’t have to change his plan. No .. even Derek knowing about the box fit right in. He could make it work. He could pull it off. Who’s the moron now, huh?

“Guns,” he said.

Nick jogged to a halt. “Okay.” He watched his mirror image. “A duel?”

“Nothing so boring.”

“What’s the dare?” Nick demanded.

“Survival.”

“When?” Nick questioned.

“How about now?” Steve grinned, his eyes glowing red.

*****

Merlin led them to the study and gestured at one of the alcoves. It housed a collection of boxes – musical boxes, ornate boxes, all kinds, some carved, some plain, some large, some small, some smaller. There were thirty or more on the shelves.

“Hidden in plain view,” she said. “Look, don’t touch.”

Derek eased closer, Alex crowding at his shoulder. His gaze raked over the shelves.

“We’d never have thought to look here,” Alex breathed.

“He’s clever,” Rachel murmured.

“He is,” Derek agreed, his gaze sharpening. “There. That’s it.”

“It’s beautiful,” Alex whispered. “The carving .. is so rich. It does have initials.”

“Carl wasn’t sure what they were but it’s DD. Does that mean anything to anyone?”

They slowly shook their heads.

“Peri, would you go to the control room and get a sealed container and a pair of tongs?” Derek requested. “The sooner we have this isolated, the better for everyone. I thought this poison might increase in the body with subsequent handling of the box. I know Steve looked very perky this afternoon. Nick, on the other hand, looked ill.”

She left without a word.

“DD,” Rachel echoed, easing closer to take a look for herself. “I’m tempted to say Dare .. something.”

“Dare Devil,” Kat said.

Derek froze. “Could it be ..?”

“I don’t know,” Kat said, blushing. “It just seemed right to me.”

“A dare .. devil? Offering temptation. Corruption of the soul,” Derek mused thoughtfully. “Alex, you saw Steve’s face yesterday. He was in torment.”

“It does fit,” she agreed. “They’re self destructing, Derek. A devil wouldn’t care about that. It’d celebrate .. an’ move on to the next victim.”

“Kat .. thank you,” Derek said. “And now, until this is over, you must remain here and try to stay awake. If the man in your dream saw you, tonight you would be even closer and in danger. It seems probable that he is connected to this. He may even be the dare devil.” He straightened. “As soon as Nick and Steve return, I’ll ask Alopex and Profelis to do a sweep down by the dock. It could be Kat’s dream is a warning to us .. so that we can act in time.”

*****

Merlin went into the lab and selected one of the Perspex containers and took a pair of tongs from a drawer. There was a name stamped into the metal of the tongs and she read it.

Fulton.

Her gaze lengthened and came to rest on a memory. Kat wasn’t the only one to have dreams.

“Matt,” she said. “I have to call Matt.”

*****

Nick unlocked the Mustang. “I left it in here. We could do this tomorrow.”

This was part of the plan too. Nick was getting tense, his nerves on fire. Making him wait would grind off a little more of the edge.

You’ll be dead tomorrow, Steve thought. And I’ll be living your life, with your wife and your money. Derek won’t think twice about it. He likes you, trusts you. He won’t give you up to the cops, he’ll protect you. He knows you hate me. You’ve already tried to cut my throat. So, now, you’ll shoot me. Steve will be dead .. and I’ll be Nick. Dreams really can come true.

“It’s quiet. They’re all talking. Let’s get the money now an’ split it up. C’mon, what’s the delay?”

“It isn’t here. It’s gone.” Nick rummaged around under the dash. “I left it right .. here.”

“Nick, you wanna keep it all? That is so selfish. I want out. Outta the Legacy. I want away from here. I need that money. C’mon, hand it over.”

“It isn’t here!” Nick straightened and slammed the car door. “They were watching. They must have been. They waited an’, when we went back to the party, they took it an’ gave it back.”

“How? I saw them all at the party. They didn’t leave.”

“Someone’s taken it! If they didn’t put it back, it’s in the house an’ Derek will find a way to repay it all. I don’t have it, Steve. If I did, I would gladly give you your cut an’ wish you’d get the fuck away from here.”

He was really losing it. His hands were shaking. Steve grinned to himself.

“No need to get mad, bro,” he smiled. “It’s dare you time. Life’s too short, right?” For you, it definitely will be. Measure it in minutes. “Let’s go to the range.”

*****

“Matt? Matt Fulton? It’s Peri. Nick’s wife.”

“Oh, hi, sweetheart. How you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Merlin replied, wondering what to say next. She’d been hoping Matt would have been expecting the call and know what she wanted. “Um .. this is gonna sound a little crazy, but .. do you remember a conversation in a rose garden?”

There was a long pause. “Well .. yeah, now you mention it, I do. Lots of roses. Very perfumed. A really nice day. A bench. Nick’s in trouble, isn’t he? He needs my help. I’m on a plane soon as I can get to the airport.”

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. He’s saved my neck more than once. Least I can do.”

She hung up and took the container to the study. “Sorry I was so long.”

“Peri,” Alopex said.

“Yeah.” She felt tense. Just one word, but delivered with such hollow warning.

“You’d better come. It’s going to be bad.”

“Where?” she whispered, aware of the others staring at her.

“The range. It’s guns this time an’ Steve has a plan.”

She ran.

*****

“Lock it,” Steve instructed. “I know there’s an electronic security pad but I want it locked from the inside so we can’t be disturbed. They know. Upstairs, they know. Y’think they’re talking about how well the party went today? Think again. Put the key over there so the survivor can get out.”

“It’s a little elaborate for target practice,” Nick commented. He felt exhausted but the rat was gnawing hard and there was no way he could back off. Not now.

“You may think so. That’s your right. But .. I guess it depends on the target.”

Nick withdrew the key and put it where Steve had said. “What do I have to do?”

“Get the weapons. You prep one, I’ll do the other. Then we exchange so it can’t be manipulated.”

Nick went to the weapons locker. “Which firearm?”

“Revolvers.”

Nick selected two and held them out. “Okay?”

“Fine with me. One bullet in each.”

“One ..?” Nick queried.

“S’right. If we miss, we put in one more.”

Nick shrugged and took two rounds from the ammo box. He handed one revolver and a bullet to Steve. They opened the magazine, put in the round, and closed it.

“Spin the magazine.”

Grinning, Nick obeyed.

“Exchange.”

“Now what?”

”Now you go stand down there .. an’ be my target.”

Nick hesitated.

“C’mon, bro. I take a shot. Then we trade places an’ you take a shot at me. You got five empty chambers. Russian roulette .. with a twist. Life’s too short.” His eyes gleamed. “Dare you.”

His tread heavy, Nick walked to the end of the range.

*****

Merlin entered the code and pushed on the door. It wouldn’t move.

“Oh, damn you … Let me in!” she shouted, banging her fists on the door. “Nick! Can you hear me? Let me in!”

Merli .. I’m gonna die.

No, no, you’re not. Fight it, Nicky! Take control. Do whatever you can.

He’s gonna shoot me.

Then get outta the way. Duck. Twist. Don’t let it happen. Shoot him. Self defense.

I don’t have a gun. I’m the target.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the door. “Alopex, get in there. Stop it going down. Knock them both out. Whatever you have to do, do it.”

She heard a shot.

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