North stood, envelope in hand. “Are you okay?”

“Hurts like hell but I’ll be all right. If it helps, I can tell you a few things about the killer.”

“Talk.”

“Whoever it was is unstable.”

“How unstable?”

“Without being able to see a reflection of the person’s aura in a mirror, I can’t give you a lot of details. All I know for sure is that the shooter’s aura is pretty messed up.”

CHAPTER 23

To be honest, I didn’t think Sheriff Kincaid was going to buy that government-issued identification you showed him,” Sierra said. “But he seemed thrilled with it.”

She and North were finally warm and dry and ensconced in front of a fire in room 210 of a local inn. She had not protested when North had decreed that they would share a room. It was a pragmatic decision. They now knew for certain they were chasing a killer. They needed sleep and they needed to watch each other’s backs. The most effective way to do both was to remain in close proximity.

She and North had stayed at the scene of the Garraway murder until the sheriff and his team had assessed the situation and taken their statements. It had soon become apparent that all four orderlies had vanished, leaving no one to manage Riverview. That presented a host of additional problems.

North had contacted Victor and Lucas to give them a rundown on the rapidly evolving situation. Victor had dispatched a forensics team from Las Vegas to take charge of the investigation and some members of the Halcyon Manor staff to assume control of Riverview. They were expected to arrive midmorning. In the meantime the sheriff had called in a retired doctor and a couple of former military medics who lived in the area. They had agreed to keep the situation at the asylum under control until the medical team from Las Vegas could get there.

It was clear the local authorities could not wait to hand all the problems connected to Riverview to the agents of the Foundation.

“Sheriff Kincaid didn’t question my ID for two reasons,” North said. “The first is that it’s legit. The Foundation is a genuine government contractor.”

“What’s the second reason?”

“Kincaid is smart enough to know there’s no upside for him if he gets involved in the investigation. Think about it—Garraway and the orderlies are from out of town and are widely disliked by the locals. The Riverview hospital makes everyone around here nervous. And now a card-carrying agent of a government contractor says his employer will be arriving to make all his problems go away. No one is going to be happier than Kincaid when the Foundation teams get here.”

“I see what you mean. But our problems are just beginning.”

“No,” North said. He contemplated the machine he had taken from Loring’s lab. It was currently sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. “We have a lot more information than we had at this time yesterday.”