Page 99 of Demon's Bluff

And yet I still felt guilty for abusing Trent’s trust as we pulled into a large empty lot in front of a two-story building within easy walking distance of Trent’s residence. “That’s probably our escort,” I said as I brought the cart to a stop right at the stairs. “Dr. Scrim, was it?”

“Yeah-h,” Elyse drawled as she studied the man fidgeting at the door. His lab coat was pale blue, and his hair was cut close. He waved as we got out, and I felt a surge of nerdy kinship.

“Don’t spell him,” I said as I hoisted the satchel holding my shoulder bag. “We need him to find the magnetic resonator if it’s not already running. And remember, I’m Madison and you’re Bob. You called me Rachel in front of Newt.”

Elyse’s attention turned to a congress of noisy crows as we took the shallow stairs. “Sorry.” She hesitated. “I can’t afford to get caught.”

“Me either. We’ll be fine,” I said as I nodded to the waiting man.

But in truth, I was worried. Trent’s estate was like a lobster trap. Getting in was one thing. Getting out was another.

“Hey, hi,” the young man said as he ducked his head and extended his fist to Elyse, then me. “I’m Scrim. Security said you wanted a walk-through?”

“Madison,” I said, stifling my sigh of relief that we didn’t already know each other as we bumped knuckles. “Just a quick check on the lower levels. We detained two people trying to gain entry with a false story. I’m thinking they’re after wedding gossip, but with Quen out, I want to be sure Mr. Kalamack’s more sensitive endeavors are not at risk.”

“No problem. I can take you down.” Utterly oblivious to possible danger, Scrim led us into a small, empty lobby. The air was stifling after the pleasant breeze outside, but they probably didn’t run the air-conditioning on the weekend. “Wow, a break-in.” The man casually hit the call button for the elevator. “Those usually don’t happen until after dark. I don’t even think the dogs are loose in the day.”

Oh, God. The dogs,I thought, stifling a shudder. “I’m sure they were hoping to catch us sleeping, with Kalamack off the grounds.”

“You’re lucky I was here,” he said, then lurched into the elevator when it opened. “I came in to check on the shrimp. I’m out in an hour.”

“We should be gone by then,” I said as I followed him in.

“Shrimp?” Elyse asked, and Scrim hit the button for the lowest level.

“Mr. Kalamack runs his toxicology studies on freshwater shrimp,” he said as the elevator began to descend. “They’re very sensitive and have a reasonably fast generational period. Anything special you want to check?”

We were almost too low to reach the ley lines, but I could feel Elyse was pulling on one, her potential energy prickling over my skin. Suddenly I realized her gaze was fixed on Scrim with a predatory gleam.

“No!” I shouted, and the man jumped. Elyse’s attention flicked to me, and I scowled at her as Scrim nervously laughed. “Sorry,” I ad-libbed as the elevator descended and we lost the ley line entirely. “I just had this conversation with Bob on the way up from the gate. Let’s start on the lowest level and work our way up. You have access to everything, right?”

Scrim shrugged as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. “Yep.”

“Great. That’s why we need you,” I said, talking to Elyse as we followed him out.

He laughed, but it sounded nervous this time, and I gave Elyse a look to behave herself. I recognized the hallway. The expected camera at theceiling was missing, and I wondered if it had been put in because of this little stunt. “So is it just you?” I asked.

Scrim bobbed his head. “I haven’t seen anyone all day. Research and development got a three-day weekend. Unfortunately I’m essential, but it’s only a half day.”

“Security never rests,” Elyse said, and Scrim shrugged good-naturedly.

“Hey, someone told me about a magnetized resonate, resonator…or something down here,” I said. “Said it could pull your watch right off your wrist.”

Scrim perked up. “The magnetic resonator? Yeah. We got one. It’s on this floor, actually.”

Elyse batted her eyes at him, probably forgetting she looked like Bob. “Can we see it?”

“Ah, sure.” He hesitated, probably thinking more about “Bob” flirting with him than anything else. “This way,” he said, turning down an empty hall. “I’m kind of glad you’re here, actually. This place gives me the creeps when everyone is gone.”

“It’s bigger than I expected,” Elyse said softly. “There’s what? Eight floors?”

Scrim grinned. “That we know about. There’s a couple of buttons in the elevator that don’t work when I push ’em. You’ve never been down here?”

Elyse lifted a shoulder, but I was not surprised. Maybe she had been thinking that Trent was piddling around in a one-person lab. It had taken a Fortune-500-class business to keep his species going until we recovered a drop of ancient, pre-curse elven blood and patterned a cure. That one act had ended—or would end, rather—a lot of misery, not just for the elves’ children but for those Trent blackmailed for the money to keep the scientific advances going. Funny, I couldn’t recall what I got in return for helping him. I’d done it because it was the right thing to do.Or is that just how I remember it?

“It’s through here,” Scrim said, bringing my wandering thoughts to a point, and we came to a halt at a thick glass wall that looked in on a largeapparatus. “Seems okay,” he added as he gazed in at the quiet keyboards and dark screens.

It wasn’t running, and I reached for a ley line, not able to find it.Crap on toast, how am I going to do this?“I want to go in,” I said, and Scrim snorted.

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