Page 18 of Shattering Dawn

Gideon’s brows rose. “Probably?”

She handed him the baggie with the key inside. “I’ve made several trips to Lucent Springs. On one of them I found that room key in the ruins of the old clinic. As you can see, there was a plastic tag attached at one time that may have had some identification on it. You can make out the number ten and what looks like a partial sketch of a barrel cactus.”

“Does it look like an old Lucent Springs Hotel key?”

“No. I’ve come across a few of them in what’s left of the lobby. They are very different in design.”

Gideon studied the key for a moment and regarded her with a thoughtful look. “What made you think it might be important?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Probably the fact that I found it in the burned-out clinic and it’s charred. That means it was dropped before the fire, not by some curiosity seeker who arrived afterward. For some reason—”

“For some reason you thought it might be important. Sounds like you’re going on intuition, and that’s more than enough to make me think this key is important.”

“Really? You trust intuition that much?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“So does Aunt Cybil.”

“Good for Aunt Cybil. I hate to be a demanding houseguest, but would it be too much to ask for a blanket?”

It occurred to her that he was rapidly taking control of everything, including her apartment.

“This is a one-bedroom unit and my sofa is too small for you,” she warned, clutching at straws.

“I don’t need a bed. This chair will work just fine.” He settled deeper into the recliner. “Very comfortable.”

She cleared her throat. “Look, I’m grateful for the new information you just gave me and I am very sorry you were injured tonight, but let’s be honest. You are in no condition to continue working my case.”

“Someone tried to kidnap you or maybe intended to murder you.”

“Murderme?”

“Neither would have been a good outcome. You were right when you said you needed a bodyguard.”

She swallowed hard, grappling with the possibility that the stalker might want to kill her. “You’re not exactly the bodyguard type, are you?”

“I realize I have failed to make a good impression but I’m not quite as pathetic or useless as I appear.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There’s a reason I was on Uncle Shelton’s list,” Gideon said. “He was conducting research, remember?”

“Yes, but—”

“He needed a control subject, someone he knew for sure possessed genuine paranormal talent.”

She got an electric ping. “So?”

“So, he used me as his control.”

“And just how did your uncle prove you had some measurable paranormal ability if he didn’t have a reliable way of actually measuring it?”

“Unlike a lot of talents, mine is fairly easy to demonstrate.”

“Is that right?” She folded her arms. “What do you do? Bend spoons or talk to ghosts?”

“When you opened the door tonight you asked if I had fallen down the stairs. I told you that you should see the other guy.”