“I know he wanted to kill you.”
“I figured that much, but why?”
“Because you are still alive. I think the subtle attempts they’ve made haven’t worked, so they’ve stepped it up, going for a more direct approach.”
I thought about that for a moment. It sounded like I was in trouble, not just unlucky. How many times could one person be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
“You’ve been holding out on me, Jay,” I said.
He laughed. “What about you? After a full day of nosing around and stirring up trouble all over town, you never even called.”
“I was getting around to it,” I lied.
“Let’s meet and talk.”
“We’re talking now,” I pointed out. “Where did that freak come from?”
It was his turn to hesitate. “Where all this crap comes from. Another place.”
I decided to drop some names to jolt him a little. “You mean out of another existence? That’s what Rostok called it.”
“You’ve met Rostok?”
“And Ezzie too.”
He fell silent.
“You there, McKesson?”
“That explains some things,” he said. “You’ve gotten in deeper faster than I thought you would.”
“Give me something I can use, then. Share some real information.”
“All right,” he said. “You want to see what we’re up against? I’m on the way to a disturbance right now. Get a ride and come out to Henderson.”
He gave me an address. I hung up and looked to my left. Holly was sitting there on the couch, staring at me like an irritable cat.
“Your tail is lashing,” I said.
“What’s up?”
“I need to get to Henderson.”
“I told you to steer clear of the cops. Now they are calling my cell looking for you. This is bullshit.”
“At least you know I didn’t kill anyone. They would have done more than just call if I had.”
“Am I coming with you?” she asked.
“Can I bum a shower and a ride?”
Holly heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes. “I just bought a car. How did you know that?”
“I didn’t,” I said. “Tony’s money?”
“Shut up about that.”
In the end, I got the shower and the ride. Thirty minutes later, we were driving down Interstate 515 to Henderson, a suburb south of Vegas. Her car was far from new. It was a nondescript Ford from a better decade. The seats were cloth and mine had a rip that kept scratching my right arm. The ride was free, so I didn’t complain.
The address was in a pricey neighborhood full of McMansions. I had Holly stop at a drive-through to let me get some instant food before we went up into the hilltop neighborhoods. We finally rolled up to the wrought-iron front gates and watched them swing open automatically. I was still chewing.
Holly hung her head out the driver’s window and stared at the camera that had swiveled to watch us. She didn’t drive into the open gates. She let the car sit there, idling.
“Are you sure this is the place?” she asked dubiously. I could tell she didn’t feel comfortable in a rich neighborhood.
I pointed through the windshield up the driveway. There was a fountain circled by concrete and a single, featureless sedan. There were two other cop cars there as well.
“That’s McKesson’s car, isn’t it?” I asked.
“I guess so,” she said. “Why don’t you just walk up there? I’ll wait in the car.”
I looked at her, swallowing the last of my breakfast. “What did they do to you?”
“It’s not what they did. They were—threatening.”
“Did they say something? Or did you just get a bad feeling?”
“A little of both. They know about the objects, Draith. Be careful. They might even know about Tony’s sunglasses. The only reason you still have them is because they are hoping you will lead them to more players—more objects.”
I stared at her for a moment. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah.”
“According to your logic, I must walk in there. Being nosy is the only reason I’m still breathing. Now isn’t the time to turn chicken and disappoint them.”
She shrugged. “I guess not. Be careful.”
“OK. If you change your mind, come up after me.”
“I won’t,” she said.
I got out of the car and walked up the driveway. I had the feeling I was walking into the lion’s den, but I’d felt that way before. I knew somehow the sensation was part of my regular life, even before the accident. I supposed one couldn’t be an investigator of actual paranormal events without being stubbornly determined about it. Normal people would have long since run off and sought counseling.