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.“Like a delicate musical instrument.”They all looked at her.“Makes sense,” Griffin said.“And doubtless only the individual who created them knows how to tune them.That would offer a measure of insurance, as well.”Mrs.Trevelyan was baffled.“What on earth do you mean, Mr.Winters?”Griffin looked at her.“Consider the position of the man who put these crystals into the hands of a pair of street toughs like Nate and Fergus.He gave them very powerful weapons.He would not want those weapons turned against him.”Mrs.Trevelyan’s eyes widened.“I see what you mean, sir.As long as they must go back to him for ammunition, so to speak, he need not fear that they will kill him to obtain the crystals.”“I’d like to know where they got those canisters of vapor,” Delbert muttered.“My head still hurts.”“Mine, as well,” Mrs.Trevelyan said.“And I had such unpleasant dreams.I suspect they will make sleep difficult for some time.”“Nightmares, they were,” Jed said.“Unlike anything I’ve ever had.Everything seemed so real.”“I don’t look forward to going to sleep again, that’s a fact,” Leggett added.“I will take care of the nightmares,” Adelaide said quietly.The men looked at her.She smiled.“I have a talent for that sort of thing.”“Where would they get such a noxious vapor?” Jed asked.“I am very curious about that, myself,” Griffin said.“There are certainly chemicals such as chloroform and gases such as nitrous oxide that can render a person unconscious,” Adelaide said.“But I have never heard of anything that could be effectively dispensed in the manner that vapor was tonight.”She picked up the pot and poured tea into the half-dozen heavy mugs on the counter.Jed watched her with open admiration.“Never met a woman who could shoot a gun, Mrs.Pyne.”“I spent several years in the American West touring with Monty Moore’s Wild West Show,” she said.She put the teapot down.“One of the most popular acts was an exhibition of marksmanship by Monty Moore, himself.I was his assistant.He was kind enough to teach me how to use a variety of guns and rifles.”Delbert brightened.“I’ve heard of Monty Moore.There was an account of his sharpshooter skills in the press last year.His assistant tosses a playing card into the air and he shoots three holes in it before it hits the ground.”“From the back of a galloping horse, no less,” Adelaide added.Griffin raised his brows.“And if we believe that, you have some shares in a nice little California gold mine that you would be happy to sell to us for a very good price, correct?”She smiled.“I will admit that Monty always took the precaution of putting holes in the cards before I threw them out for him.But he really was amazingly skilled with a gun.The audience loved him.In fact, I believe that he had a psychical talent for the business, although I don’t think he realized it.”“A paranormal talent for handling a gun?” Leggett asked, intrigued.“Now that would come in handy.”“Trust me, I would never have agreed to hold the apples for him to shoot out of my hands if I hadn’t been quite sure that he had a true gift for his art.”Griffin closed his eyes briefly as though in prayer and then looked at her.“You held the targets for an exhibition sharpshooter? I’m not sure my nerves can sustain the shock of that image.”“I’m sure you’ll survive.” She gave him the last mug of tea.“What will you do with those two men you captured tonight? Turn them over to the police?”Jed, Leggett and Delbert stared at her as though she had spoken in tongues.But it was Mrs.Trevelyan who pointed out the glaring flaw in the suggestion.“He can hardly go to the police now, can he?” Mrs.Trevelyan said.“Mr.Winters is a crime lord, after all.A man in his position doesn’t summon Scotland Yard whenever someone breaks into his house.”“Sorry,” Adelaide murmured.“I forgot myself.”Griffin ignored the byplay.“As it happens, I’ve been giving the matter of Fergus and Nate some thought,” he said.“The simplest thing to do is to set them free.”Mrs.Trevelyan bristled.“After what they did in this household?”Griffin cradled his tea in both hands.“Something tells me they are going to do their best to disappear.”Delbert made a face.“If they know what’s good for them, that’s exactly what they’ll do.”“It will be interesting to see who tries to find them after they leave here tonight,” Griffin said.Leggett pushed himself to his feet.“I’ll take care of having them followed, Boss.Give me thirty minutes to get some men in place before you turn them loose.”Griffin looked at Adelaide.“And now, Mrs.Pyne, I have a few questions for you.But we will conduct our conversation in private.”23THEY WENT BACK INTO THE LIBRARY AND CLOSED THE DOOR.A cold draft wafted through the window that had been opened earlier to clear out the last of the vapor.Adelaide stopped in the center of the carpet.Heated memories washed through her.She would never again be able to enter the room without thinking about what had happened in it.For that matter, she would very likely think about the passionate encounter every day for the rest of her life.Griffin closed the window.Then he crossed to the fireplace and regarded the embers of the fire with a brooding expression.Adelaide did not sit down.She knew that it would be easier to argue with Griffin if she remained on her feet.“Do you have any notion of what you did tonight when you worked the lamp?” he asked.His tone was chillingly cold and controlled.“My intuition told me that some of the currents of your dreamlight were not in harmony with those of the lamp,” she said.She struggled to keep her own voice calm and professional.“I simply did a little fine-tuning.”His jaw tightened.“Fine-tuning,” he repeated.“Is that what you call it?”“I do not think that the terrible nightmares and hallucinations will trouble you now,” she ventured.“I believe they were caused by the slight disharmony in your patterns.”“Do you have any notion of what other surprises I might expect from the paranormal side of my nature, Adelaide?” he asked a little too politely.She sighed.“I cannot say.But I must insist that all I did tonight was make some minor adjustments in your own natural wavelengths.The lack of harmony in the dreamlight portions of your aura was not surprising when you think about it.”He slanted a quick, hard look at her.“What the devil do you mean?”She took a breath.“Griffin, please listen to me.I believe that when you came into what you call your second talent a few weeks ago some of your currents were temporarily disturbed.It seems only reasonable.Your paranormal senses suddenly had to deal with a lot more energy coming from the dreamlight end of the spectrum.”“Disturbed.Well, that is certainly one way to describe the effects of the Curse.”She warmed to her thesis.“I think that, given time, your currents would have gradually adjusted to the new level of power.All I did tonight was hurry things along, as it were.”His mouth twisted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]