to be even more elusive than usual tonight.
Chapter 10
ARAMINTA AND MAX RETURNED SHORTLY BEFORE DAWN. The sound of the sliding glass door being opened woke Davis. He watched Trig let the dust bunnies into the apartment.
“Any sign of the relic?” he asked.
“Afraid not,” Trig said.
“Damn. Guess that would have been too easy.”
Max tumbled across the floor to greet him. Araminta drifted down the hall in the direction of Celinda’s bedroom.
Trig stretched. “You need me any longer, boss?”
“No, I can take it from here.” Davis sat up and discovered that there was a blanket covering him.
“Miss Ingram put it over you after you conked out last night,” Trig said.
“Huh.” The thought of Celinda bending over him in what must have been a fairly solicitous manner, ensuring that he didn’t get cold during the night, made him feel much better than he had a moment ago.
He pushed the blanket aside and contemplated a shower. He needed one. Experimentally, he rubbed his jaw. He also needed a shave.
Before he could decide how to proceed, rapid footsteps sounded in the hall.
Celinda appeared. Her hair was a tangled cloud around her face. She wore a dark blue robe secured with a sash and a pair of matching slippers. Araminta was perched on her shoulder.
Davis looked at her and realized that he was getting aroused all over again. He liked Trig a lot, trusted him completely, but right now he wished his friend was anywhere else but here in Celinda’s living room. He didn’t like the idea of Trig or any other man seeing her like this, all warm and soft and flushed from sleep. The surge of possessiveness caught him by surprise.
“Araminta’s back,” Celinda announced excitedly.
“Yeah, they both rolled in a couple minutes ago,” Trig said, angling his head toward Max.
Celinda turned to Davis. She seemed oddly startled at the sight of him sitting there on her sofa. It dawned on him that, what with his crumpled black dress shirt and trousers and the morning beard, he probably looked as if he, too, had spent the night out on the tiles.
Celinda’s hopeful expression dimmed. “No one looks very cheerful. Can I assume that means they didn’t bring back the relic?”
“It’s still missing.” Davis got to his feet. “Mind if I use your shower?”
The request seemed to floor her. Her eyes widened. “Uh.” She recovered quickly, blushing a bright pink. “No, no, of course not. Go ahead. I’ll, uh, start breakfast. Or something. I think I’ve got some eggs.” She turned quickly to Trig. “Will you stay?”
“Appreciate the offer, but if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way,” Trig said. “I need to start working our contacts on the street and inside the Guild, see if we can find the guy who generated those twin ghosts last night.”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” Celinda paused, looking first at Trig and then at Davis. “What about the second man?”
“The getaway driver?” Davis nodded. “We’ll look for him, too. But we haven’t got much to go on there.”
“Well,” Celinda said, “if it helps, I can tell you that he’s got a rather twisted parapsych profile. I would advise extreme caution if either of you happen to run into him again.”
They both looked at her.
“Are you saying that because he’s involved in a criminal enterprise and, by definition, most outlaws probably have twisted profiles?” Davis asked evenly.
“No.” She seemed to hesitate, then come to a decision. She reached up to pat Araminta. “I’m saying that because I can read psi profiles if I get close enough to a person. Last night, for a few seconds, I was very close to the getaway driver.”
Davis looked at Trig and then turned back to her.
“Are you telling us that you can sense other people’s psi energy patterns?” he asked.
“At close range, yes.” She shrugged. “It’s one of the reasons why I’m so good at my job. I can match people psychically as well as in the usual ways.”
Trig
Chapter 10
ARAMINTA AND MAX RETURNED SHORTLY BEFORE DAWN. The sound of the sliding glass door being opened woke Davis. He watched Trig let the dust bunnies into the apartment.
“Any sign of the relic?” he asked.
“Afraid not,” Trig said.
“Damn. Guess that would have been too easy.”
Max tumbled across the floor to greet him. Araminta drifted down the hall in the direction of Celinda’s bedroom.
Trig stretched. “You need me any longer, boss?”
“No, I can take it from here.” Davis sat up and discovered that there was a blanket covering him.
“Miss Ingram put it over you after you conked out last night,” Trig said.
“Huh.” The thought of Celinda bending over him in what must have been a fairly solicitous manner, ensuring that he didn’t get cold during the night, made him feel much better than he had a moment ago.
He pushed the blanket aside and contemplated a shower. He needed one. Experimentally, he rubbed his jaw. He also needed a shave.
Before he could decide how to proceed, rapid footsteps sounded in the hall.
Celinda appeared. Her hair was a tangled cloud around her face. She wore a dark blue robe secured with a sash and a pair of matching slippers. Araminta was perched on her shoulder.
Davis looked at her and realized that he was getting aroused all over again. He liked Trig a lot, trusted him completely, but right now he wished his friend was anywhere else but here in Celinda’s living room. He didn’t like the idea of Trig or any other man seeing her like this, all warm and soft and flushed from sleep. The surge of possessiveness caught him by surprise.
“Araminta’s back,” Celinda announced excitedly.
“Yeah, they both rolled in a couple minutes ago,” Trig said, angling his head toward Max.
Celinda turned to Davis. She seemed oddly startled at the sight of him sitting there on her sofa. It dawned on him that, what with his crumpled black dress shirt and trousers and the morning beard, he probably looked as if he, too, had spent the night out on the tiles.
Celinda’s hopeful expression dimmed. “No one looks very cheerful. Can I assume that means they didn’t bring back the relic?”
“It’s still missing.” Davis got to his feet. “Mind if I use your shower?”
The request seemed to floor her. Her eyes widened. “Uh.” She recovered quickly, blushing a bright pink. “No, no, of course not. Go ahead. I’ll, uh, start breakfast. Or something. I think I’ve got some eggs.” She turned quickly to Trig. “Will you stay?”
“Appreciate the offer, but if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way,” Trig said. “I need to start working our contacts on the street and inside the Guild, see if we can find the guy who generated those twin ghosts last night.”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” Celinda paused, looking first at Trig and then at Davis. “What about the second man?”
“The getaway driver?” Davis nodded. “We’ll look for him, too. But we haven’t got much to go on there.”
“Well,” Celinda said, “if it helps, I can tell you that he’s got a rather twisted parapsych profile. I would advise extreme caution if either of you happen to run into him again.”
They both looked at her.
“Are you saying that because he’s involved in a criminal enterprise and, by definition, most outlaws probably have twisted profiles?” Davis asked evenly.
“No.” She seemed to hesitate, then come to a decision. She reached up to pat Araminta. “I’m saying that because I can read psi profiles if I get close enough to a person. Last night, for a few seconds, I was very close to the getaway driver.”
Davis looked at Trig and then turned back to her.
“Are you telling us that you can sense other people’s psi energy patterns?” he asked.
“At close range, yes.” She shrugged. “It’s one of the reasons why I’m so good at my job. I can match people psychically as well as in the usual ways.”
Trig
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