Lady Sativa by Frank Lauria Read Free Book Online Page A

room appointed with a full-sized four-poster bed. Near the bed, next to a ceiling-high window, was a bookcase holding an assortment of volumes. A door in the far wall led to a bathroom and shower. Orient undressed, put oh a terrycloth robe, unpacked the rest of his clothing, and then began working on the equipment.
    He’d just begun to wipe the moisture from the laptop casing when he heard a light knock. The door opened slightly. “Are you awake?” a high voice asked. ,
    The door opened wider and Sybelle peeped in past the edge, her eyes wide under an orange-flowered bed hat. “Marvelous darling,” she whispered, “I was hoping you’d wait up.”
    “Wait up for what?”
    Sybelle closed the door behind her and came over to the bed. She pulled her quilted pink robe tighter around her and sat down. “There’s something that bothers me about all this, Owen,” she announced.
    “It must be quite a shock.”
    Sybelle lowered her voice and leaned across the bed. “Carl would never use a rifle. He detested violence. And certainly he wouldn’t have used his brother’s rifle. And there’s something else, too.” She waited until a murmur of voices outside the door had passed before going on. “The thesis in his will. The Lycanthropic Schizophrenia experiments,” she whispered triumphantly.
    Orient unscrewed the back of the screener. “Must be an interesting study; the myth of the man-beast has been around for a long time. Even a few cases in modern psychiatric records. But nothing definitive. Still rare and incurable.”
    “I knew Carl for ten years and he never mentioned a word about his research. Sybelle jabbed Orient’s shoulder. “And Daniel Hazer told me the same thing.”
    “We were friends for a long time before you knew I was involved with telepathy,” Orient reminded as he began wiping off the main tubes. “And Professor Hazer seems to be a forgetful sort.”
    “Yes. He is absent-minded.” Sybelle tapped her forehead. “He’s so completely involved with his healing that he’s sometimes unaware of time. He’s helped thousands of people all over the world. I’ve been to his clinic in Brooklyn. He takes ordinary snapshots people send him and from the vibrations makes accurate medical readings. Simply stunning. He cured an aunt of mine of terrible stomach cramps. He located a small clamp that had been left inside her after an operation. It had been there for years. Never showed up anywhere. But Daniel found it through a photograph I gave him of my aunt. Her bad side. I called her doctor in St. Louis and when he checked he found the clamp.”
    “Still doesn’t follow that Hazer would know everything about Carl’s work. Hannah and Neilson seem to be satisfied it was suicide.”
    “I just don’t like any of it,” Sybelle insisted, “especially Anthony being here.”
    Orient opened the case that held the CDs and began to sort them. “He does make it unpleasant. It will be a pleasure to leave tomorrow.”
    “We must stay for the séance,” Sybelle stated emphatically. “I wouldn’t dream of going without fulfilling poor Carl’s last wish. I’m sure he wants to tell us something.”
    Orient wiped the moisture off the CDs and replaced them in the case. “What about Lady Sativa?” he asked casually. “You didn’t tell me about her.”
    “Interested?” Sybelle teased. “She’s the competition.”
    Orient smiled at her. “Did Germaine mention what sort of project she’s working on?”
    “No he didn’t, but I’ve seen her before. She’s been in all the magazines in London. They call her the Moon Lady because during the full phase of the moon she can foresee the most amazing things. She called the Los Angeles earthquake to the day.”
    “Sounds hard to beat,” Orient observed as he began placing the equipment back in his suitcase. “Don’t let your mind wander too far or you’ll have to hock your fur to get us home.”
    Sybelle stood up. “Perhaps you’re right, Owen,” she