Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

And yet…something had moved. Something other than plant life swaying back and forth. Something that had darted back into the shadows with inhuman speed, and yet had been human in shape.

Frown deepening, he walked around the car, waiting until his back was to the building before he said, “Can you feel anything out of place?”

She gave him a sharp glance and looked at the building. “No.” She hesitated, frowning a little. “Yes. There’s a faint feeling of evil coming from the right of the building.”

The right of the building was where he’d seen the shadow move. “What do you mean by faint?”

“It’s not a solid sensation. It’s wispier, like I’m feeling something ghostlike rather than human.” She shrugged and glanced at him. “Why? What did you see?”

“I’m not sure.” He stared at the side of the building for a little longer but didn’t see any further movement. And yet the sense that something was out of place remained. “I think something is about to go down. You want to get inside and talk to Mary Elliot? I’d like to check the outside of the building first.”

She nodded and strode toward the front door. He headed sideways toward the suspect. But neither of them had taken more than a few steps when the screaming began.

He shared a brief glance with Sam, then ran like hell for the gates. One huge leap and he was over them, racing for the rear of the building.

He saw a shadow leap skyward on night-dark wings as he rounded the corner.

He shifted shape and gave chase.

—

Sam crashed through the front door, her badge raised in one hand and her weapon held low in the other. “SIU, folks. Stand back.”

“Officer, please, there’s no need—”

She ignored the woman at the reception desk and ran down the hall. How many times in the past had she been in a similar situation? Being so close to possible answers, only to have them snatched away by some force of evil? Whether that force was military or Sethanon’s didn’t matter right now. What mattered was getting to Mary’s room and making sure yet another source of answers wasn’t shut down.

Because the screams were definitely coming from Mary. Sam pounded down the hall, chased by footsteps and protests, her gaze on the main prize—the open door to Mary’s room.

She slowed as she neared the room, took a deep breath, then stepped inside, weapon raised.

Only to discover the receptionist had been right. There was no need, and no threat. One of the four big windows that looked out onto the garden was open, but nothing more than a few inches. Maybe enough to let a bird in, but certainly not a human. The screen covering the window had tumbled to the ground, and the curtains flapped slightly in the breeze. Surely neither could be the reason behind the screams coming from the thin gray-haired woman standing in the middle of the room. The screen dropping could have frightened her, but not to this extent. Yet there was sheer terror in Mary’s voice.

Two nurses stood on either side of her, talking to her in soft tones, obviously trying to calm her down. Sam had seen at least one of the women on her last visit here, so they probably weren’t causing Mary’s distress either.

She put her weapon away and stepped toward the trio. “Ladies, do you need any help?” She flashed her badge as one of the nurses looked around, then asked, “What happened?”

“Day terrors,” the dark-haired nurse said grimly. “It sometimes happens when the mind regresses.”

Sam walked into the older woman’s line of sight, blocking the window and whatever it was Mary had seen. Or thought she’d seen.

“Mary?” she said softly.

The older woman blinked, th

en her gaze met Sam’s and the right side of her face lit up in a smile.

“Josephine!” The word was slightly slurred, but understandable. Mary’s stroke had robbed the left side of her face of mobility, but thankfully had left her capable of speech. “Oh, thank God you’re here!”

She lurched forward, pulling out of the nurses’ grip with surprising ease, and staggered toward Sam. Sam caught her, wrapping her arms around the frail body. She felt the shuddering of terror through the other woman’s limbs, the steel of muscle underneath it.

Mary might be old and frail, but she had a surprising amount of strength left.

“It’s all right, Mary. I’m here. No one will get you now.”

The old woman shuddered. “I saw him, you know. I wasn’t imagining it. I saw him.”

“Shhhh. It’s okay. You’re safe.” She stroked Mary’s back with one hand and felt the terror begin to leave the older woman’s body. “Who did you see?”