A Sexy Time Of It

“And the times in which he killed were 120 years apart,” Neely breathed.

“His mother’s psychic powers were very strong. She was brilliant and a bit arrogant, the type that feels the law doesn’t always apply to them.”

Deirdre paused and Neely felt heat rise in her cheeks. “We have a saying in 2008 about someone being a chip off the old block. Are you implying that I might take after them?”

For a moment, Deirdre was silent. “I’ll be frank. You’re a real problem for TGS, Neely. Max told us that you have issues with our rules, but there is a question of whether or not they apply to you since you’re not from this time.”

“Have you considered the possibility that your rules are a bit too strict—that perhaps changing some things in the past might actually improve the future instead of destroying it?”

Deirdre shook her head. “Max said you were a handful. Clearly, you’re not breaking any rules from your own time. At any rate, Thomas Renquist’s mother paid a high price for the rules she broke. We believe he may have killed her.”

“He told me he did.” Neely fingered the bandage at her throat. “I think he felt some regret about that. At the end, I don’t think he really wanted to kill me. What will happen to him?”

“He’s in surgery now having his ability to time travel neutralized, and eventually he will stand trial for what he’s done.”

“Do you have enough evidence to convict him?”

“With your testimony and Max’s, we should be able to.”

Neely’s heart leaped. “Then you won’t be sending me back to 2008 yet?”

For a moment Deirdre hesitated. “Not yet. We’re not sure what to do about you. Lance Shaw will report to the board of directors in the morning.”

Neely wasn’t encouraged by the look she saw in Deirdre’s eyes. And when she called up the faces of the board members she’d seen on Max’s palm unit she was encouraged even less. They were an old, conservative lot—rule followers.

“I’ll check with Director Shaw and see if you can talk to Max.”

Watching Deirdre walk out of the room, Neely was positive that they were going to send her back. And they would keep Max here. She stared out the window, taking in the view of the Coronado bridge. It was a brave new world, but all she wanted was a place where she and Max could be together. He’d promised he would find a way to come back to her, but that would take time.

Meanwhile, there was something she wanted to do for him. A little gift she could give him as a thank-you for saving her life twice. If she could just pull it off. The idea had been playing and replaying in her mind the whole time she’d been watching Max in that hospital bed. The sailboat shouldn’t be so hard to get to. And she knew the date and the time. It was what she was going to do once she got there that worried her.

Neely emptied her mind, then filled it with the image she wanted, sunshine pouring through lace curtains, the white chenille bedspread, the dark-oak bed. She’d gotten the Ripper to Max’s sailboat, hadn’t she? Surely she should be able to get herself there. Closing her eyes, she let the whirls of blackness sweep her away.

“WHAT ABOUT NEELY?” Max asked. He’d refused drugs, wanting to keep his mind clear. As a result, his pain level was nine on a one-to-ten scale. And he wanted—no, he needed—to see Neely. To touch her. Lance had told him that she was all right—she hadn’t even needed stitches for the cut on her throat, but he’d seen the Ripper’s knife pierce her flesh and draw blood. In that instant, he was certain that he’d gotten there too late.

Lance glanced over his shoulder as Deirdre stepped into the room. “You can see her now if you like.”

Max frowned. “Good, but that’s not what I was asking. What are you going to do about her?”

Lance slipped his palm unit into his pocket. “I’m going to discuss it with the board of directors in the morning.”

Max’s frown deepened. “What business is it of theirs?”

Lance’s brows shot up. “She’s a traveler from the past—the first that we know of. That makes her a high security risk, and I have an obligation to keep them informed.”

When Lance moved toward the door, fear and panic formed a hard ball in the center of Max’s gut. All he could think of was that time and Neely were slipping away from him. Lance Shaw and his stodgy board of directors would send Neely back to 2008 and he’d be separated from her. Oh, he intended to keep his promise. He’d find a way to get back to her—at least for visits. But now that she was here, there was an argument to be made to keep her in 2128. He just hadn’t had time to prepare…

Desperate, he said, “If she’s such a high security risk, you might want to weigh the danger of sending her back to a time when she doesn’t have to operate by our rules. She doesn’t even think the Prime Directive makes sense. And we don’t yet know the extent of her powers. She’s the first person we’re aware of who’s psychically traveled to the future. And she’s impulsive. Unpredictable. She…”

Max’s voice faded away as he caught sight of Neely approaching through the glass wall of his room. But it wasn’t seeing Neely that had his throat closing and his heart skipping a beat. It was the tall, dark-haired woman at her side.

Shaw and Deirdre stepped back to allow the two women to enter.

“I brought you a surprise,” Neely said, beaming a smile at him.

“Suzanna?” Max could barely get the word out. He could barely let himself believe his eyes until his sister moved to the bed and took his hand.

“What the hell happened to you?” Suzanna asked.

“I had a run-in with Thomas Renquist.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “He’s the guy I wanted to leave you the note about. We went out a few times. Then out of the blue, he offered to get me an illegal operation so that I could time travel again.”

“You didn’t take him up on it?”

Suzanna shook her head. “Figured you’d just have to arrest me a second time. But I thought you should know about his offer. There was something about him that didn’t strike me as right. And I figured the whole thing was right up your alley. When I got to the sailboat today, I ran into your friend Neely. And she told me this story about how Tom Renquist was Jack the Ripper and that I was—would be—his third victim, on June 1.”

“You’re here? You’re really here?” Max tightened his grip on her hand, fearing she was going to disappear.

“Seems so.” Suzanna frowned. “Is it true—what she said? Did Renquist really kill me? Is he the Ripper?”

“It’s true. Look at the news screen. It’s August 1.”

When Suzanna saw the date, her face went pale.

Lance Shaw stepped forward. “I’m TGS Director Lance Shaw, Ms. Gale. Can you tell us how you got here?”

Suzanna nodded in Neely’s direction. “Ask her. Thanks to my brother here, I had my time travel powers neutralized. But here I am, two months after the Ripper supposedly killed me. And I’m as good as new.”

Every eye in the room turned to Neely.

“Ms. Rafferty?” Lance asked. “Can you explain how Ms. Gale got here?”

“I tried to time my arrival at Max’s sailboat for just before three o’clock on June 1. Suzanna came on board to write the note shortly after I got there. I tried to explain everything and then I linked my mind with hers and willed her to come with me. I didn’t know if it would work, but I thought it was worth a shot.”

With his heart full and his hand still gripping Suzanna’s, Max laughed, then winced at the pain in his arm. Still smiling, he met Lance’s eyes. “See what I mean? There’s no predicting what she’ll try next. I think it’s imperative that we keep her around.”

Lance cleared his throat. “While you get reacquainted with your sister, Assistant Director Mason and I are going to have a chat with Ms. Rafferty.”

WHEN SHE WAS finally able to return to Max’s room, Neely paused at the door, nerves knotting in her stomach. She’d watched him very carefully during his reunion   with Suzanna, and she’d satisfied herself that he was going to be all right. His relationship with his sister still needed work, but his joy at seeing her had been so clear. Suzanna hadn’t missed that.

Neely’s interview with Lance Shaw and Deirdre Mason hadn’t gone as smoothly as her encounter with Suzanna had. Neither of them were pleased with her. Deirdre had researched all the news files, and all the reports on Suzanna’s murder had been erased. It was as if they’d never existed. There were only four recorded victims of the Ripper in 2128. Because he’d been captured in his own time, after the murders had already been committed, his 2128 killings had not been reversed, apart from Suzanna’s. While she was checking, they’d also discovered that Neely Rafferty was no longer a victim of Jack the Second in 2008.

“You’ve changed history,” Lance had said.

Neely had lifted her chin. “The world as you know it still exists. The Ripper has been caught. And I may have changed more than you know. Who can tell for sure how many other victims he would have claimed in other time periods? I’m not going to apologize for altering any of that. And maybe I was meant to save Suzanna. She’s an idealist. The future of the planet may be brighter because she’ll be a part of it.”