Death of an Adept

"With some minor modifications to allow for a sharing of the work, we repeat this exercise at regular intervals, in the hope of catching Adam in a moment of wakefulness," Philippa replied.

"Isn't that a bit hit-or-miss?" Harry asked.

"It's very hit-or-miss," Philippa retorted, a little more sharply than she had intended. "But until and unless I can come up with a better approach, it's better than doing nothing."

She had Humphrey set up a pair of cots in the downstairs parlor, so that Julian, Christopher, and Victoria could keep up the search through the rest of the night, taking turns as two of them trolled on the astral for traces of Adam's unique psychic resonance while the third kept watch for their physical welfare. Ximena, exhausted both physically and emotionally, was sent upstairs with orders to sleep or else face the likelihood that Philippa would insist on a sedative. She did not argue the wisdom of the order, for all of them knew that fatigue might well prove one of their worst enemies, but neither did she manage to sleep much - though Julia accompanied her upstairs and lay down beside her, and she, at least, dozed.

Once the two of them had retired, Humphrey was sent to retrieve Adam's briefcase from the Bentley, so that McLeod, Philippa, Peregrine, and Harry could examine lolo McFarlane's dream journal. Though the four of them worked well into what remained of the night, trying to fathom what might have sparked Adam's telephone call to McLeod, no enlightenment was forthcoming. Toward morning, they, too, retreated for a few hours' sleep.

First light saw Huntsmen and Hunt Followers gathered in the library again for brunch and a morning briefing, save for Julian, who remained on astral duty in the parlor until relieved by Christopher. Philippa had phoned John Graham immediately after rising, and knew he also had his resources focused on finding Adam.

The phone started ringing shortly thereafter, and McLeod soon was embroiled in liaison functions with the official police investigation now picking up speed. Donald Cochrane arrived later in the afternoon to assist McLeod, shortly after Ximena announced with horror that she had just remembered that her mother was already en route to Scotland for a wedding that now might well never take place.

"Dear God, she left San Francisco two hours ago," Ximena said with a groan, as she looked at her watch. "I'd forgotten all about it. She'll be here first thing in the morning. What am I going to tell her?"

"We'll decide closer to the time," Philippa replied, hugging the younger woman close. "I haven't told Adam's sister yet, either, though I suppose I'd better ring her. Try not to worry, darling. We aren't beaten yet."

The rest of Saturday crept past without any definitive leads, official or private. The press had a field day with the Adam Sinclair kidnap case, positing motives that ranged through demands for ransom, the possibility of retaliation by a former mental patient or criminal Adam had helped apprehend, and even the desperation attempt of some jealous former love interest to thwart the upcoming wedding.

The police did their best to keep press speculation from becoming too outrageous, but could provide no hard news to replace it, as detectives doggedly pursued the conventional side of the investigation and kept turning up blanks. A taxi thought to have been used in the abduction was discovered overturned and burnt out in a cul-de-sac just west of Edinburgh; but even when McLeod brought Peregrine and Harry into the police impound yard where it had been taken, neither was able to pick up any residual resonances.

Meanwhile, using lolo McFarlane's dream journal as an additional focus, Philippa directed the members of the Hunting Lodge to extend their search to McFarlane as well as Adam - for if McFarlane had also been taken by Raeburn, as increasingly seemed the case, his captors might not have felt the need to shield his whereabouts as carefully as Adam's.

The logic was sound, but the widened search yielded no better results. At the end of the first full twenty-four hours following Adam's abduction, his would-be rescuers were no closer to finding him than they had been when they started.

Chapter Thirty-Two

THE passage of the second night brought no change in the status of the Hunt. While the rest of the house caught what sleep they could, Victoria kept the last watch of the long early morning hours, Christopher by her side. Sunday dawnedveold and blustery, with a hint of snow on the air.

First light found Philippa and Ximena making their way Wearily downstairs, where Harry Nimmo was already tucking into a plateful of scrambled eggs and bacon, ready to drive Ximena to the airport to collect her mother. McLeod, Peregrine, and Donald Cochrane were just finishing breakfast with Harry, and headed off to police headquarters while Philippa tried to coax Ximena to eat at least a little.