Whisper of Memory (Whispering Woods Book 2) by Brinda Berry Read Free Book Online

over to the side. I was a lot taller than Em and dressed my usual T-shirt with jeans. Em wore a short skirt and long matching top that screamed “mall purchase.” Standing side-by-side we illustrated contrast.
    “We don’t even look like we came from the same planet. That’s what I see. Two girls who don’t match.” I smiled to take the edge off the words. “You look ready to hit the runway, and I look like I’m on the run.”
    “Not hardly.” Em twisted her thumb ring and tilted her head before shaking her head in denial. She turned back to the screen. “Same blonde hair, same age, standing close together. I’m leaning in talking to you, so a person could guess we know each other. Lots of similarities. Differences? I look like I’m having fun and you look unhappy. Maybe not that. You look distracted like you are looking for someone or something. “
    “See that guy? He’s the one who was obnoxious in that session on setting up a tournament. I hate gum smackers.” I bobbed my head.
    “This guy here is the one you thought was following you.” She touched the computer monitor, resting her finger on his head.
    “He was following me, Em.”
    “That’s what I meant. Anyway, here’s the one I noticed.” She pointed at a person holding a camera. The man looked through what appeared to be something more than a regular digital camera. The lens was extended for magnification at a distance.
    “The camera lens is pointed at Pete over here. See?” Em stared at me to see my reaction.
    “Oh.” The implications of this new discovery raced through my mind. “He was looking for Pete.” I sat on the bed and watched Em use a software drawing tool to circle the screen around the man in question.
    “Were they looking at Pete because they knew you would be there, or was it the other way around? There are some more people in this video to study. Here’s someone who’s obviously people watching and that would be normal with the flash mob.” Em stopped the video again before continuing. She clicked a still frame of the image and drew another circle.
    “How do you know he isn’t someone who was there for the conference?”
    “No conference bag. It had lots of goodies from the vendor. We paid enough for it. Can you believe that we got a promo game from Celeron Dreams? I played it last night.”
    “The guy, Em? What about the guy?”
    She smiled. “Sorry. He isn’t carrying a bag, and while it’s possible that he decided he didn’t want to hang onto it, it’s unlikely. Deduction? He’s a bad guy out scanning the crowd for you. Or Pete.”
    “I can buy that.”
    “The question is why Pete if not you?” Em tilted her head to look over her shoulder.
    “He’s on the run from someone. It has to be these people. My instincts tell me that this is still tied to Dr. Bleeker.”
    “You can assume that, but we don’t know for sure. Please don’t get mad at me for what I’m about to say.” Em stopped talking and waited for my response.
    “Go on.”
    “No, promise me that you will consider this without getting all excited.”
    “OK. You have my word.” I had no idea what would bring on this degree of concern.
    “What if it is someone looking for Pete, someone besides Bleeker…since we thought he would only be looking for you. We know the IIA wanted Pete for their own purposes. What if he is running from them?”
    “Regulus and Arizona have nothing to do with the thugs who followed us around at GameCon.” My hackles were up before I could stop my reaction. I saw from Em’s face that she expected as much. “Em, Regulus almost died from the trap that somebody set at my house while I was gone to GameCon. You know that.”
    “Right. But could it be possible that Dr. Bleeker set the trap? And the IIA didn’t send Regulus and Arizona, but other agents, to Dallas?” Em waited for me to soak in the possibility before speaking again. “I’m not saying that this is what I think. I think it is a