Mack nodded. “And the ring?”
“Will let us know what Eleanor plans next.” He climbed out of the car as soon as it stopped. The wind moaned through the trees, and its touch was bitterly cold. And Maddie was out in it, wearing only a T-shirt.
He slammed the car door shut and stalked up to the front door. Mack caught his arm when he was only a few feet away and pulled him to a halt. “The father’s a cop with a hair-trigger temper. Let me handle this.”
Jon nodded and stepped away, and Mack thumped on the door. The only reply was the unmistakable sound of a rifle being loaded.
“Who is it?” a voice called.
“FBI. Open the door, Steve.”
“Put your badge against the window.”
Mack muttered something under his breath, then glanced back at Jon. “The man can be a pain in the backside, but it’s good to see he’s being this cautious.”
Jon bit down on the urge to smash past Mack and the fool with the gun. “Caution won’t save Evan or Maddie. Hurry up.”
Mack slapped his badge against the window. After a moment, the door opened.
“Who’s your friend?” the bearlike figure asked, pointing the rifle in Jon’s direction.
Mack pushed the weapon aside. “He’s helping with inquiries. We need to talk to your son, Steve.”
The big man shook his head. “He’s asleep, and I don’t want to wake him.”
Mack’s sharklike smile flashed briefly. “Neither do I, but we have no choice. Which room?”
“Second on the right down the hall.” Steve eyed Jon with distrust, then swung his gaze back to Mack. “I’m coming with you.”
“Fine. Just don’t interfere, or I’ll have you hauled up on charges so fast your head will spin.”
Steve blinked in surprise, then nodded. Jon glanced at his watch again as they walked down the hall. Twenty-five minutes left.
Mack knocked lightly on the door, then opened it and switched on the light. Evan shot up in bed, his face screwed up in fright.
Steve pushed past them both and walked across the room, placing a reassuring arm around his son’s shoulders. “It’s okay, Evan. The police just need to talk to you again.”
Evan nodded, but his wide amber gaze was aimed directly at Jon. “Why haven’t you rescued her? You promised.”
Jon ignored Mack’s raised eyebrow. The teenager’s eyes were full of fear. He knew, or at least suspected, why they were there. “I did. Eleanor took her again.” He hesitated, then added softly, “She wants to exchange Maddie for you.”
The teenager shrank back into his father’s arms. Steve held him tight and glared at the two of them. “You can’t seriously be thinking of complying.”
“Of course not.” Mack’s voice held a soothing note. “But we do need Evan’s help to locate his aunt.”
“For God’s sake, he’s just a kid. Why don’t you leave him alone?”
There was a desperate edge of denial in Steve’s voice, and his fear curled through the room. Jon smiled grimly. Steve didn’t want his son to be different. Didn’t want him to be gifted, like his aunt.
But it was fools like Steve who had put Maddie through hell for so long. Anger shot through him, but he held it in check. “Like it or not, your son has inherited psychic abilities similar to his aunt’s. Denying it won’t change anything. It might even make it worse.” It might eventually make him kill someone because he’d been forced to deny his gifts too long. “But that’s not what we’re here for, either.”
“I can’t find her,” Evan said, a tremor of fear running through his soft voice. “There’s some sort of wall between us.”
“I don’t want you to find her.” Jon took the ring out of his pocket. The light sparked the panther’s eyes to life, shooting pale red rays through the room. “This ring belongs to Eleanor. If you touch it, she’ll know we’ve found you and will tell us where to meet her.”
Evan shrank back against his father again. “She’ll come here?”
“Only as a wraith, a ghost. She won’t be real, and she won’t be able to hurt you.”