“I would—I was going to. I thought she was here. I don’t think I’m supposed to have it. I didn’t even tell Leonardo about it. I’m a terrible person,” she finished.
Hysterical women had come his way before. Roarke slipped the disc into his pocket, walked over, and ordered a tall soother of the milder variety. “Here, drink this. What sort of evidence do you think this is, Mavis?”
“I dunno. You don’t hate me, do you?”
“Darling, I adore you. Drink it down.”
“Really?” She gulped obediently. “I really like you, Roar
ke, and not just because you’re rolling in credits or anything. It’s good that you are, ’cause poor sucks, right?”
“It does indeed.”
“But either way, you make her so happy. She doesn’t even know how happy because she’s never been. You know?”
“Yes. Three slow quiet breaths now. Ready? One.”
“Okay.” She took them, very seriously, her eyes on his. “You’re good at this. Calming people down. I bet she doesn’t let you do it for her much.”
“No, she doesn’t. Or she doesn’t know it when I do.” He smiled. “We know her, don’t we, Mavis?”
“We love her. I’m so sorry.” Tears came, but they were soothing and soft. “I figured it out after I ran the disc I gave you. At least I figured out some of it. It’s a copy of the lay down from my video. I ran it off on the sly. I wanted it for posterity, you know? But there’s a memo after it.”
She looked down at her hands. “This is the first time I played it, the first time I heard it all. He gave a copy to Dallas, but he made notes after this version, about . . .” She broke off, lifted suddenly dry eyes. “I want you to hurt him for this. I want you to hurt him really bad. Play it, from where I’ve cued it.”
Roarke said nothing, but he rose and slid the disc into his entertainment unit. The screen filled with light, with music, then the volume and intensity lowered as a background for Jess’s voice.
“I’m not sure what the results will be. One day I’ll find the key to tapping in at the source. For now, I can only speculate. The suggestion is to the memory. The reenactment of trauma. Something’s at the core of those shadows on Dallas’s mind. Something fascinating. What will she dream tonight after playing the disc? How long will it be before I can seduce her to share it all with me? What secrets does she hide? It’s such fun to wonder. I’m just waiting for the chance to tap into Roarke’s darker side. Oh, he has one, so close to the surface you can almost see it. Thinking of them together, with just the animal in control, gives me such a rush. I can’t think of two more fascinating subjects for this project. God bless Mavis for opening the door. Within six months I’ll know these two so well, anticipate their reactions so clearly, I’ll be able to lead them right where I want them. Then there’s no limit. Fame, fortune, adulation. I’ll be the goddamn father of virtual pleasure.”
Roarke remained silent as the disc ran out. He didn’t remove it, certain his fingers would crush it like powder.
“I’ve already hurt him,” he said at length. “But not enough. Not nearly enough.” He turned to Mavis. She’d risen and stood, small as a fairy, her slip-shouldered dress of pink gauze somehow valiant. “You aren’t responsible for this,” Roarke told her.
“Maybe that’s true. I have to work that out. But I know he wouldn’t have gotten that close to her, or you, without me. Will that help keep him in a cage?”
“I think he’ll hear the lock turn and wait a long time before he hears it open again. You’ll leave it with me?”
“Yeah. I’ll get out of your hair now.”
“You’re always welcome here.”
Her mouth quirked. “If it wasn’t for Dallas, you’d have run like hell in the opposite direction the first time you saw me.”
He came to her, kissed her firmly on that crooked mouth. “That would have been my mistake—and my loss. I’ll call a car for you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“A car will be waiting for you at the front entrance.”
She rubbed a hand under her nose. “One of those mag limos?”
“Absolutely.”
He walked her to the door, closed it thoughtfully behind her. The disc would be enough, he hoped, to drive another nail in Jess. But it still didn’t point to murder. He went back, ordered both of his machines to display on screen.
Sitting behind his desk, he picked up the VR goggles and studied the data.
Eve lowered her gaze to the stunner. From her angle, she couldn’t be sure which setting was clicked. A sudden move, she knew, could result in anything from mild discomfort and partial paralysis to death.