They were quiet for a few beats, both apparently fascinated by their laps. He glanced at her. “What do we do now?”
“Now we find the treasure,” she said. Without letting herself think about it she took his hand and pulled him toward the radiator.
He laughed, following her. “What treasure?”
“The one James stole from the Pharmacist.”
“You mean there really was a treasure?”
Sadie nodded. “I’m pretty sure. And Bucky sent you the key.”
“Bigfoot?” Ford pulled the bill out of his pocket.
“Radiators always get left behind, you said it yourself,” Sadie reminded him. “I think the radiator is the safe, and the numbers on that bill are the combination.”
“You mean where it says ‘#41 of 120’?” Ford asked.
Sadie pointed at the thermostat on the radiator. “He said it was for safekeeping. Try it.”
It was the third combination that hit it, 4-11-20. With a sigh the thermostat slid to one side, revealing a large space behind it.
Filled with hundred-dollar bills. A lot of hundred-dollar bills.
“How much is there, do you think?” Ford asked Sadie. “Thousands?”
“Maybe hundreds of thousands. I guess the Pharmacist did pretty well.”
Ford stared at the money. “This is where I make a crime-does-pay joke, but I’m in shock.”
Sadie laughed. “Me too.”
“Do you think I can use it?”
“I’m not going to tell anyone. But I think you should move it. Hide it somewhere only you know about.”
“I trust you.”
“It’s not that,” she said. She was having trouble meeting his eyes. “It’s just that it’s time for me to go.”
“Go?” he repeated as if the word was unfamiliar.
She laughed, trying to make it seem light, easy. Pretend to be her old self. “I came to meet you because I needed to understand what happened and answer some questions. But there are rules, and—” She put out her hand and was horrified to see it was trembling. “Goodbye, Ford Winter.”
He took it, but instead of shaking it, he held it. “I don’t want you to go.”
“It’s really better if I—”
He said, “You’re breathtaking.”
Sadie’s voice caught in her throat. She searched for anything to say, what her old self would have said. But she had only the truth. “You too,” she whispered.
“There was one night, in the tree house.” He looked at their twined hands. “I don’t know how to put this.”
She let her thumb brush his wrist. “I know. I was there. With you.”
“In the mirror. It was like we, you and I were—”
Her hand slid out from under his so that only their fingertips were touching. “Together,” she finished.
He nodded, and his eyes found hers. “It was extraordinary.” They stared at one another. “I want to touch you. For real.”
“I want you to.” She was breathing hard, unable to look away.
He dropped her hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. He looked at her, into her, locking his gaze onto her eyes. “Meet me at the lake. Pirates’ Cove.”
“That’s impossible,” Sadie told him sadly.
“Do it anyway,” he urged. “The first Saturday in August.”
“I won’t be there.”
“I will,” he promised.
She let herself have one last glance at him. “Goodbye, Ford.”
He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them both. “Goodbye, Sadie.”
She inhaled quickly and turned, not wanting him to see her cry. She stumbled back through the ruins of Bucky’s lair, tripping over everything, the lump in her throat making it hard to breathe, tears rolling down her cheeks. He’d said her name. He’d kissed her hands, and he remem—
Her name. Sadie froze. Willy’s killer had thought, “Watch this, Sadie,” before pulling the trigger. But Ford didn’t know her name when she was in his head.
It couldn’t have been Ford.
She laughed out loud with joy. She’d been right about him. Only she’d had one thing backward: He wasn’t the one who’d been out of his mind. It was her. She had watched someone else kill Willy and thought she was still in Ford’s head.
She’d been blind but it was so clear now. Only a Mind Corps employee could have switched her out of Ford’s head. And, as she pushed open the door and stepped outside, she realized there was only one person at Mind Corps capable of pulling that off. It had to be C—
She felt a sharp jab and, pitching into the arms of the Serenity Services officer in front of her, lost consciousness.
CHAPTER 33
Good, you’re awake,” Curtis said, standing up as Sadie opened her eyes.
She was on her back, staring up at a matte gray ceiling, her wrists bound together. It was windy, and turning her head she saw blue sky and the tops of buildings, unobstructed by glass.
“Is this the Barrington Building?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“How did we get up here?”
“I had them turn on the freight elevator. I know the owner.” He chuckled.
“MRP?”
“Exactly.” He bent and slashed the cable ties on Sadie’s wrists. “Those were just for transport.” He flashed her a gun. “This is to make sure you behave now.”
Sadie’s heart was pounding. Her mouth had a bitter taste, and her lips were dry from whatever had been used to drug her. “I thought Serenity Services took me.”
“I asked to borrow you. I’m a patron of theirs.” He pulled her to her feet and stood her with her back to one of the squat square columns that lined the floor. “Don’t move.”
“What are we doing here?” Sadie’s eyes left the gun to scan the area the way Ford would, taking in the square columns, curled-up scraps of carpeting, and an empty water bottle rattling around. Nothing useful.
“I’m going to tell you a story,” Curtis said. He radiated restless anticipation, pacing back and forth in front of her, the gun in his hand. “Once upon a time there was a girl who saw a boy commit murder. By law and, even more important, by contract, she should have turned him in, but she didn’t. So now she has a choice. She can either call and report his crime to the police. Or”—he pointed the gun at the open side of the building—“say goodbye.”
All the gears in Sadie’s mind clicked into place, and she saw her chance. She looked from the side of the building to him and said, “Okay. Can I use your phone?”
Curtis handed it to her with a reassuring smile. “It’s the right thing to do, Sadie.”
Sadie shivered, staring at the screen. “I don’t know. Turning him in will destroy him. Destroy his whole family.”
Curtis became paternal. “You know you’re not doing his family any favors if you shield them from the truth of who he is. I’m not asking you to do anything but obey the law and the rules of Mind Corps.”
Sadie continued to stare at the phone screen. “Ford isn’t guilty.”
“You have no proof to the contrary.” His voice was soft, almost apologetic. “You really do have to tell them what you saw, Sadie.”
Sadie dropped the phone to her side but held it tightly in her hand. It was her only weapon, and she didn’t want to lose custody of it. “What if I say I wasn’t in my right mind?”
Still apologetic, Curtis said, “They’ll think it’s a metaphor.”
“But it’s not. I did see Willy get killed, but I wasn’t watching Ford do it. Willy knocked Ford out and while he was unconscious Catrina switched me from Ford’s mind to the killer’s.” She looked at him. “Yours. Tell me, Mr. P, did you enjoy knowing I was in your mind?”
“I did.” Their eyes met, and Sadie was repulsed. She couldn’t believe she had once found him so attractive.
Talking fast, so he wouldn’t see how she really felt, she said, “It was genius. You waved the truth about your identity in front of everyone’s eyes the whole time, but no one saw: MRP, Mr. P, Curtis Pinter. The true brains of the City Center operation. That’s how Willy got the information from the chips for his incentive program. He was nothing, a pawn. The Pharmacist is just a smoke screen. You were the only one who could have pulled this off.”