The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) (24 page)

“If you just kept quiet I wouldn’t have to do this,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

Layla tried to plead with him again, but now her words were muffled and unintelligible. She fought to beat back the panic, feeling like she was about to suffocate. She thought about Ramon with a sob, and a low moan of agony echoed in her head. She pulled as hard as she could against the restraints, fighting until the leather straps bit into the skin on her wrists.

The private detective went back to pacing again, downing another bottle from the minibar and stepping outside into the darkening night to smoke another cigarette in peace. He looked inside the room to see the girl thrashing helplessly on the bed and felt sick to his stomach. This was definitely more than he’d bargained for.

His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket to see that it was the senator. “Do you have her secured?” he asked.

“Yes,” he answered, wishing he’d never gotten involved with the man.

“I’m on my way up,” Senator Blackwell said.

~

Layla finally stopped struggling, settling in to await her fate. She told herself that she must conserve her energy for the fight that was sure to come. She didn’t know what Teddy was up to, but she knew he wouldn’t be keeping her like this without some kind of plan. She heard the door open and she pretended to be asleep, straining to listen.

The next voice she heard made her blood run cold.

“It better be the right one
.”

The blindfold was yanked off her eyes and a grinning face right out of her nightmares came looming into view. “Thought you’d outsmarted me… Didn’t you?”

Senator Blackwell stood over her, clad in a tuxedo. She shook her head no, trying to lock onto into his cold pitiless eyes. She tried her hardest to build up a color bombardment, but before she could overcome her own shock his eyes left her face, traveling up and down the length of her body. She whimpered, trying unsuccessfully to get him to look at her face.

Her run-in with the child molester had given her some insight into the workings of a twisted mind, and she tried to control her terror, realizing that he wanted her fear– in fact, he thrived on it. It made him feel powerful. Now
that she recognized Senator Blackwell as a true sadist she was terrified, finally understanding exactly what she was up against.

“Would you cover up her eyes?” the detective called from across the room. “I don’t want her to be able to ID me!” It suddenly occurred to him that the senator had no such concerns, and his stomach lurched when he realized what that probably meant.

Senator Blackwell leaned in close to spew hot breath into Layla’s ear, “I’ve dreamed of this moment for the past six months, and I’m going to make this one last. You’ll pay for what you tried to do to me.” She turned her head, her eyes rolling in their sockets as they wildly searched out his.

He took her by the face and squeezed, his voice low and menacing,  “Just because you don’t have plastic tits doesn’t mean that you’re not
just a little
slut
like all the rest of them.” He reached up her skirt and pinched her hard, sucking in his breath as she squealed in response.

“Before I’m finished with you, you’ll be begging me for mercy.”

He replaced her blindfold and stood to straighten his lapels, blinking at the private detective like he only just saw him. “I’m on my way to an event tonight, and as entertaining as she promises to be, I’m going to have to postpone my date with this little tramp until tomorrow. Stay here tonight and I’ll take over first thing in the morning.”

“Now wait a minute– I agreed to find the girl, not kidnap her! This is a federal offense, and I–”

“Keep her quiet tonight and I’ll double your fee.”

“But– but…”

Senator Blackwell straightened his lapels of his tuxedo jacket, donning the mask of a dignitary as he strolled to the door. “I’m sending the wife out for some spa treatments tomorrow… And I plan to enjoy a long day of golf.” He turned back to cast one more longing glance at Layla, “I can’t wait to work on my swing.”

The private eye watched him go, looking down at a roll of plastic wrap propped up in the corner of the room with a shudder. He poured himself another scotch to quell the pangs of conscience that were poking at his soul.

Of one thing he was certain.

This girl was in for a world of hurt.

~

Chapter Twenty

MISSING

~

Ramon
spent the day counting down the minutes before he could leave. Despite everything that had happened, just thinking about Layla made him smile, and when he could finally slip away he bolted out of the building, eager to see her again. He tried calling her, but her phone went straight to voice-mail, and after an hour had passed he was afraid he’d left one too many messages. He finally found himself driving to her house, unable to wait one minute longer.

Caledonia answered the door with a friendly smile, “Hello Ramon.”

“Is Layla around?” he asked anxiously. “We made plans, but I can’t get her on the phone and I don’t see her car…”

“Come on in,” she said with a smile, opening the door. Caledonia exuded tranquility, putting him at ease. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

He stepped inside, stooping to greet Tripod before he followed Cali into the kitchen. She gestured for him to take a seat, as serene and relaxed as Layla was delicate and high strung.

“I just put on some coffee, would you care for a cup?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said, taking a seat at the table. She busied herself putting some groceries away while she waited for the coffeemaker to finish.

“So… How do you like working with
Doc Smith?” Ramon asked.

“It’s great. He’s a very talented
veterinarian,” she replied.

“He told Sherriff Brown that you were the best worker he’d ever had. He says you have a gift…” Their eyes met and he felt uncomfortable. “I mean, he said that you–”

She held up her hand. “It’s okay. Layla told me that you know about us.”

He smiled sheepishly. “
So… I guess it works on animals too?”

She nodded, “Even better. I like being around animals, and I like helping them. In many ways, I prefer them to people.” She poured their coffee, glancing up at the clock and
wondering when Calvin would get home, adding, “Well, most people.”

Ramon looked over at the beautifully decorated living room with its posh furniture and impressive electronics. “Nice place,” he observed.

“That was all Layla,” Caledonia said, bringing a couple of mugs to the table. “She likes to shop so we let her pick out everything… She did a really good job decorating, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. The room was as tasteful and elegant as Layla
always was, and he started to feel a little insecure. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was being stood up. 

“Do you know where she is?”

Cali shrugged, “No, she was gone when I got off work.”

“What about
her brother… Is he home?” Ramon asked, “Maybe he knows where she went.”

“No. H
e’s with Calvin. They’re out at the motorcross races in Mendocino. They won’t be back till later.”

Ramon kept looking at his watch, growing increasingly agitated.

Cali could see how anxious he was, and her voice was sympathetic, “I talked to her this morning, and she told me about the suicide at the jail… I hope everything worked out okay for you. She felt really badly about getting you into trouble.”

He shook his head. “I told her not to worry about it. Did she tell you how she saved a little girl
’s life?”

“Yes, but she was still upset about causing you problems.”

Ramon shook his head angrily. “As far as I’m concerned that guy got off easy. He deserved to die.”

“That’s exactly what I told her,” Cali smiled wryly. “Layla’s just… She’s sensitive. She’s been through a lot in the past year.”

“Like what?” he asked, leaning forward in his chair. Cali could see how he burned with curiosity and she studied him, wondering how much she should say. After all, Layla’s secrets were hers to keep or tell. “She told you about how our synesthesia works, right?”

He looked at her with admiration. “Yes… But it seems more like magic to me.”

She smiled wryly, “I suppose so… Did she tell you how her and Michael were brought up?”

“A little,” he said. “That Teddy guy sounds like he was a real jerk.”

Cali nodded in agreement. “So you know about the professor.”

“Enough, ” he said with contempt.

“Yeah well, I was lucky enough to avoid being raised by him. My parents ran. They hid me from him as long as they could.”

“Hid you from him? Why?”

Cali’s eyes narrowed as she wondered exactly how much he really knew, but she realized that she’d piqued his curiosity even more. In her opinion, Layla had already told him her most shocking secret, so she didn’t see the harm in filling in a few more details. She got up from the table, fetching the coffee pot.

“Another cup?” she asked.

When she sat back down she started at the beginning, telling him how their parents took part in a drug trial, testing a psychotropic compound that Professor Reed had created.

“He believed
that it held the key to unlocking unlimited human potential, and he chose the brightest graduate students he could find to participate. He named his experiments after Athena, the goddess of wisdom.”

She told him everything she’d learned, from the student’s suicides
to the professor’s being fired from the university. “The worst part is how he used Layla and Michael after their mother’s death.”

“Used them?” Ramon asked.

Caledonia nodded gravely. “He trained Layla to manipulate people, and from the time she was a small child he used her to embezzle money. That’s how he financed his research all these years.” She went on to explain how he isolated and manipulated the twins, punishing any disobedience by separating them.

“What a bastard!” Ramon exclaimed.

Caledonia told him how after her parent’s death he’d tried to collect her as well, and by escaping him and eventually returning home she’d discovered her true connection with Layla and Michael. “You see, it all started when our grandmother’s house burned down… For all of us.”

He finally exhal
ed hard. “That’s one hell of a coincidence.”

Caledonia shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

“That’s for sure,” Ramon said, thinking about what he’d already seen Layla do.
He was finally getting some insight into some of the things about her that had always mystified him, and the truth was turning out to be far more bizarre than anything he could have possibly imagined.

“Whoa,” he said,
shaking his head with disgust. “I should have known. I could see there was something weird going on the way they were talking to each other.”

“Who’s they?”

“Layla and Professor Reed,” he said with a frown. “Teddy. That guy is a total creep.”

Caledonia straightened up in her chair. “What? You met him?”

“We went to see him,” he replied.

“When?” she was alarmed. “Why?’

“Last weekend. We went to the city… Layla wanted to ask him about her father… Her
real
father.”

“What did he tell her?”

“He said he’d call if he found anything out.”

“She gave him her number?” her voice rose along with the hairs on the back of her neck.

“She kinda had to… He didn’t have a phone.”

Cali raced to the counter for her purse, snatching out her phone and dialing Layla’s number. “It goes right to voicemail,” she said ominously. “
She usually answers.”

“I know,” Ramon
agreed in frustration.

Now Cali was even more agitated than Ramon, pacing. “I told her he couldn’t be trusted… I warned her to stay away from him… There’s no telling what he’s capable of…”

Ramon stood up, “What do you mean? What would he do?”

She looked at him with a grim set to her jaw, “He wants her back, and he’s not above taking her against her will.”

“You mean kidnapping her?”

Caledonia pressed her lips together
in distress. “It’s not like her to just disappear like this… We have to find her right away.”

“
Do you really think he’d go that far?” Ramon asked again, in a tone that demanded a straight answer.

Her eyes met his, and the fear in them scared him more than ever. When she spoke her voice was angry,
“He’s a desperate man. He’s had no way of making money ever since–” she stopped herself.

“Ever since what?”

Caledonia looked deeply into his eyes, evaluating his character. She felt his concern and worry, and saw that his cold green fear matched her own. She could taste the bitter dread welling up within him, and she realized that he truly had feelings for Layla. She decided to trust him.

Cali nodded. “Somebody else took her
away from the professor. Let’s just say, things went from bad to worse for Layla.”

~

A couple more long hours passed, and by then there was no denying that something was very wrong. Ramon was ready to rush out to San Francisco and break down the door to the professor’s place, but Caledonia stopped him.

“He’d never
keep her there… he knows it’s the first place I’d look.”

“Where then?” Ramon was about to crawl out of his skin, anxious to take action.

“I don’t know,” she lamented, looking down at the phone in her hand. She remembered how Max had used Layla’s phone to find her, and she felt completely helpless. “I wish we had a way to track her down.”

Ramon’s eyes flew open wide. “We do!” He snatched his keys, “I gotta go!”

“Where?” she asked.

“Down to the station.”

“What for?” Cali asked.

He paused for a second, flushing teal blue with shame. “We installed a GPS tracker on her car.”

“We?”

“The police… The DEA. There are trackers on
all
of your cars.”

“I see,” Cali
didn’t bat an eyelash. She wasn’t surprised.

“Look– I’m sorry, but we had to know if you had any dealings with the cartel. You’re no longer suspects, but we still have a thirty day warrant.”