Free After Dark by Jayne Castle

from Sylvia. He disappeared a few hours after he got that call.”
    â€œDo you know what the lines signify?”
    â€œNo. I’m looking into it. But the fact that someone used a ghost to burn them into your wall tells me they’re probably important. And possibly dangerous.”
    Absently she tapped the piece of paper on the tablecloth. “It also tells you that I probably don’t know what happened to your cabinet or to Quinn after all, right?”
    He shrugged. “It did strike me that if someone had risked warning you off with an illegal manifestation, you might be in danger because you’d started asking questions. And if you had to ask questions, you probably don’t know where my cabinet or my nephew is.”
    â€œGuess that explains the phone call I got at work this morning,” she said reluctantly.
    â€œWhat call?”
    â€œI thought it was a crank call.” She moved one hand in a dismissive gesture. “It was a man’s voice. A young man, I think. I didn’t recognize it. All he said was, ‘No more questions.’ Then he hung up.”
    â€œDamn it, why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
    She glared at him. “I just finished explaining that I thought it was a crank call. It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t connect it to my inquiries about your missing cabinet.”
    â€œThe hell you didn’t. You’re too smart not to have figured out the connection.”
    Annoyance strained her voice. “Okay, okay, I admit the possibility crossed my mind. But I was afraid that if you thought I might be in danger, you’d fire me.”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I’m going to do. It’s pretty clear now that I miscalculated. You weren’t involved in this until I involved you.”
    â€œYou think you can un-involve me be reneging on our contract? Is that it?”
    â€œI want you out of this, Lydia.”
    He was prepared for the stubborn anger that blazed in her face. What surprised him was the flash of something else. Desperation?
    â€œEven if you’re right, it’s too late,” she said quickly. I’ve talked to some dealers. The word is out that I’m looking for the cabinet.”
    â€œTomorrow morning you can put the word out that your new client fired you and you are no longer looking for his heirloom.”
    â€œWhat makes you think that will work? The word is already out in the antiquities community. I can’t cancel it just like that. If someone knows anything about the cabinet, I’ll be contacted, whether or not you fire me.”
    â€œTell your contacts to get in touch with me.”
    â€œThe ones who are most likely to know anything useful won’t want to talk directly to you.” She leaned forward, determination vibrating around her in an almost palpable energy field. “I know this crowd. They trust me, but they don’t trust outsiders. You need me, London.”
    â€œNot badly enough to put you at risk.”
    â€œYou didn’t mind putting me at risk when you thought I might be in cahoots with Chester.”
    â€œThat was different,” he muttered.
    â€œIt was a very small ghost.”
    â€œEven the weak ones can cause a very unpleasant reaction. They can freeze you, knock you unconscious for as long as fifteen or twenty minutes.”
    â€œFainting or temporary paralysis are common, transient side effects of direct contact with a weak UDEM,” she said primly. “Permanent damage is rare.”
    â€œYou sound like you’re quoting from a textbook or an emergency room pamphlet. Do you know what it really feels like?”
    â€œYes.” Her eyes were cool. “I know what it really feels like. It feels like all of your psychic senses have been rezzed to the breaking point. Everything is too bright, too hot, too cold, too dark, too loud. Sensation overwhelms you and you pass out. Unless, of course, you’re a very strong