Seizure(107)

Stall! my brain ordered.

“Cat got your tongues?” Marlo ratcheted back the slide on his piece. “Looks like I’ll have to be more persuasive.”

“Wait!” Heart racing, I piled on words. “Why are you doing this?”

I had no real sense of Marlo, but the cold look in his eyes was terrifying.

“For real?” Marlo clucked from one side of his mouth. “Dollars, girl. This is a nice score for my brother and me.”

“I met Marlo and Duncan while tracing your steps,” Short said. “Imagine my surprise to find so many other people following you.”

“The Fletchers,” I hissed. “You killed them, didn’t you?”

Short gave a dismissive flip of his hand. “Rank amateurs. Obstinate children. Those two believed they were so clever. Such skilled investigators.” He snorted derisively. “I’ve been researching Anne Bonny’s treasure for three decades. The Fletchers knew nothing, not even what they were looking for! They weren’t worthy of the prize.”

“You didn’t have to murder them.”

“They wouldn’t listen to reason,” Short said matter-of-factly. “But Duncan here got them to chat, and then they had an unfortunate accident. And now we have you.”

Short’s voice went cold. “We know you have the chest.”

“You’d kill us all for pirate treasure?” My mouth was so dry I could barely speak.

“What type of game did you think you were playing?” Short snapped. “Thirty years! Trolling through dusty archives. Painstakingly gleaning clues from archaic documents long forgotten by the living. And then one day you four walk in, wide-eyed and dreamy, with a letter written by Anne Bonny herself.” Short tapped the Beretta against his knee. “Asking questions about Half-Moon Battery. Gaelic. Using sample writing from the treasure map. You practically announced your search in skywriting!”

Short’s tone was glacial, but madness danced behind his eyes. “I’m a document expert. Did you think I’d missed the bent cross on each of the letter’s pages? Or that I wouldn’t connect it to Bonny’s famous treasure map?”

Think Tory! Time is running out!

“You spied on us.” First thought I could verbalize.

“Of course.” Short crossed his legs. “After you brought me the letter, I suspected you might know something useful. When you asked to see Bonny’s private documents, I listened over the intercom. I even considered stalking you myself, but realized I’d need help.” Self-deprecating smile. “I’m not as young as I was once.”

Ben glared at Marlo. “So you hired these thugs.”

“Thugs?” Marlo stepped close to Ben’s face. “Watch your mouth, boy.”

“We had similar goals, but the boys lacked direction.” Short stood, gently waved Marlo back with his gun. “I lacked manpower. They lacked brainpower. Working together solved both our problems. They’re quite adept at surveillance and muscle.”

“That’s me.” Marlo flexed a bicep. “Muscle, baby!”

Duncan just stared.

“The Studebaker,” Shelton squeaked. “Ya’ll drive that jalopy?”

“Jalopy?” Marlo sneered. “That ride is vintage. Dunc and I restored her, piece by piece.”

“The pawnshop,” I said, finally piecing it together. Why had it taken me so long? “Your father is Lonnie Bates.”

“My father’s a damn fool.” Marlo snorted. “Hates getting jacked, though. Put us on the job the minute ya’ll bounced from the shop. I thought he was nuts. Turns out, the old man’s still got the skills. Not that he’ll see a dime.”

“Enough chatting.” Behind his glasses, Short’s eyes were chips of granite. “Time for some answers. Why are you on Dewees? Why are you in this church? Where is the treasure chest?” He stepped closer to me. “And what’s in your bag?”

Out of time.

I closed my eyes. Dug deep.

SNAP.

My powers flooded like water through a breaking dam.

I dove into my subconscious.

Ben and Shelton appeared sharp in my mind. I could feel Hi close, but his image was blurry. Much fainter, at the edge of my perception, I sensed Coop spring to his feet.

As before, flaming ropes connected the five of us.

The golden nimbus surrounded my own image. Reaching for the others, I tried spreading the glow as I’d done before.

Virals. Listen up!

My message hit the invisible barrier separating our thoughts. Fragmented. I tried again and again. No go.

Why? What am I doing wrong?

Gritting my teeth, I willed my consciousness past the obstruction. Failed. Like our first wolf encounter on Bull Island, I was unable to touch their minds.

Short’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”

The image in my brain began to change. Hi solidified, grew more distinct. I sensed him creeping toward the chapel’s rear entrance.

A fault line appeared in the mental barrier. I pushed hard, opened a crack. Beside me, Ben and Shelton flinched.

Suddenly, the answer fired home.

Why the telepathy worked sometimes, but not others.

The failures. When practicing flares on Loggerhead, Shelton was missing. When first confronted by the wolves, Ben was scouting ahead.