“I can tell you for certain that if someone has found a cache of paranormal weapons, the artifacts will be worth a fortune on the underground market.”

“That’s true,” North said. He blinked away a few more ghosts. “But using such a weapon would be extremely problematic.”

“The tuning issue?” Sierra said.

“Yes.”

Sierra poured coffee into two cups. “You said firing a weapon that was not properly tuned would destabilize the shooter’s aura.”

“That’s the theory,” North said.

A terrible restlessness was coming over him. He began to pace the small space. Sierra handed him one of the cups. The warmth felt good, because he was starting to shiver.

“We are definitely running into indications of aura instability in this case,” Sierra said. “Would the end result be insanity or death?”

“Probably. Assuming the experts are right.”

“If Delbridge Loring is Crocker Rancourt’s direct descendant, he would probably know the risks involved,” Sierra mused. “He would most likely be very cautious about firing any weapons he found.”

North tried to focus on that. “Yes, he would. He would be very careful.”

Sierra’s locket sparked again. North felt another whisper of calming energy. He stopped shivering and managed to drink some of the coffee.

“That might explain the Puppets,” he said.

“The orderlies?”

“Yes. Hell, it could explain the existence of Riverview. If Loring has found some paranormal weapons and if he is descended from Crocker Rancourt, he would know better than to take the risk of trying to fire the devices himself. But the promise of a psychic gun would be a lure that could be used to attract some useful test subjects.”

“Puppets who would then become his dedicated bodyguards because they believed he would endow them with the perfect weapons—guns that leave no trace.”

“Right.”

Another wave of hallucinations danced at the edges of his vision. He stopped talking and concentrated on suppressing the ghosts.

It was going to be a very long night.

CHAPTER 26

Ralph sat behind the wheel of the SUV. Joe was next to him in the passenger’s seat. Seth and Walt were in the rear seat. They all watched the windows on the second floor of the inn. The blinds were pulled shut, but firelight flickered on the shades.

Chastain and Raines were inside, but Ralph had concluded there was no way to get at them without setting off the inn’s security alarms. There was also the problem of the psychic gadget the woman had used on Joe earlier that evening. Ralph knew enough about paranormal weapons now to be wary of someone who seemed to be able to use one.

But the real issue was that he and the others could not hang around long enough to try to take out Chastain and Raines. They were now suspects in the murder of Garraway. They all had to keep moving. The project was in serious jeopardy.

“We’ll get another shot at them tomorrow when they leave town,” Seth muttered.

Ralph gripped the steering wheel with both hands, fighting a toxic mix of frustration and fury. “What went wrong at the hospital?”