"Where?"

"England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Germany. He scattered his family over most of the civilized countries of the world. He thought it safer for them. They were supposed to lose themselves in the culture of the country until they could go back home."

"The Ledger," she prompted.

"Jose knew that it was possible that the family members might lose touch with each other. He didn't want that to happen. He believed in the strength of unity. So he created a Ledger that listed names, addresses, relationships, even talents. It would have been disastrous for it to fall into the hands of the Inquisition, so he sent the Ledger out of the country in the hands of his brother, Miguel. Miguel was the only family member to know the exact locations of all the havens. His job was to maintain the Ledger and every five or six years, visit the different branches of family and get new information about births, deaths, etcetera. In that day and age anyone with a psychic gift was in constant danger of extermination. Most people think the Inquisition was short-lived, but it lasted over three hundred years in one form or another. If there were problems, he was to help the branch of the family in jeopardy to resettle in a safe area. He grew to look upon it as a sacred trust."

"Like Edmund."

"These days it's usually a volunteer who accepts the responsibility of maintaining the Ledger. The descendants are so widespread and so much time has passed that most of them don't know about each other or their history. The story has been passed down only through the core family descended from the first Miguel Devanez. Though from what I can gather that branch is large enough. Evidently it's a very fertile family."

"And how do you know all this? Are you one of the Devanez family?"

He shook his head. "I didn't know they existed before about fifteen years ago. Michael Travis has a library he's been gathering for years about everything to do with psychic phenomena. He came upon a document written by the priests who were given the task of investigating the Devanez family during the Inquisition. It was a report on the heathen activities of the family and mentioned the Ledger in some detail."

"How did they know about it?"

"Not all members of the family escaped Spain. Another of Jose's brothers, Ricardo, was captured at the border. He was tortured and eventually revealed everything he knew about the exodus, including the existence of the Ledger." His lips twisted. "The holy priests were as good at torture as Molino. It was lucky that Ricardo wasn't in Jose's confidence regarding the location of the havens set up for the family. He knew about the Ledger but nothing else of value to the Tribunal. Of course, they didn't believe him and he died on the rack."

"What about Jose Devanez?"

"He stayed at the estate until the last family member was safely away."

"And then?"

"He heard the priests were on the way to arrest him. He killed himself before they could question him."

"Just as Edmund did."

"Jose became a martyr in the eyes of the family. He'd saved them, given them new lives, and then protected them by taking his life. The job of being Keeper of the Ledger became not only an honor but the stuff of myths. Galahad and Lancelot had nothing on them in the regard of the family. But myths tend to fade and become forgotten with the march of progress."

"Edmund didn't forget."

"No, he had a gentle soul and was full of ideals."

"How did Molino find out about the Ledger?"

"I told you that he raided Michael Travis's headquarters to try to find information about your mother." He paused. "He found her records in the same file with a transcript of the report from the Tribunal on the Devanez family."

She stiffened. "What?"

"Michael was fairly certain that Sarah was a descendent of the Devanez clan."

"Why?"

"She had certain potential talents that were... unusual. He'd only heard of them in connection with the Inquisition report. He'd already sent investigators to try to track down the core family and there were preliminary reports in the file."

"On Edmund?"

He shook his head. "It's taken me years to locate a logical candidate for a Keeper of the Ledger. I can't tell you how many false leads I've followed. The family protects itself. Finally, I got a break by following news reports of supposed psychic phenomena. If it hit the press, then there was a chance that it might be a family member who didn't know they were Devanez and just discovering their talent. And who would be there but a member of the core family to help and find a way to suppress the story or make it seem phony?"

"Edmund?"

"No. It was a different individual every time. But I watched and made notes and I gradually compiled a list of possible family members. Most of them appeared not to associate with each other but I found one man who was different. He seemed to know everyone and was constantly on the move."

"And that's how Molino found Edmund too?"

"I don't know. He might have started that way. But I suspect his men found one of the core family and made them talk." His lips twisted. "It was quicker. Molino located Edmund Gillem two days before I did." He muttered a curse. "I was just two damn days too late."

"Molino has to be crazy, you know. I've never seen anyone that vicious."

"Ugly. Very ugly. And obsessed with finding the Ledger. So far Peter Sienna has gone along with Molino, but I think it's because of the bank accounts."

"Bank accounts?"

"There are rumors that the Ledger also contains a list of numbers of Swiss and offshore bank accounts of the Devanez family. I told you that the Devanez family did very well with investments. Over the centuries you can imagine how much wealth they were able to accumulate. That amount of money is dangerous. It attracts attention and that's the last thing the family wanted. They siphoned it off and buried it in anonymous accounts in case it was needed."

"And anyone who has the Ledger would have access to those accounts," Megan said. "It would be like tapping a gold mine."

"And I'd bet Sienna would love to do that," Grady said grimly.

"I've heard reports he's working toward snatching enough cash to set up his own network. He doesn't have a gang background like Molino and he's something of a snob. He thinks he's too smart to work for anyone but himself. But Molino doesn't give a damn about the accounts."

"You said he believes in vendettas?" She shook her head in disbelief. "He'd want to destroy any member of the family he can find listed in that Ledger?"

"He hated your mother. He hates you. Yes, and I think he'd kill anyone connected to you. He'd enjoy it. As I said, it's become an obsession with him. His son, Steven, was the only person he loved and Sarah took him away from him."

"He did enjoy hurting Edmund," she said in a low voice. "I couldn't understand it. That kind of emotion is …alien to me. It was so different than what Edmund was feeling. He was just trying to hold on and not betray his duty."

"Is that how he looked at the Ledger?"

"Yes, he kept thinking that he couldn't break. He had to protect them all." She could feel the tears sting her eyes. "He was like Jose. He gave his life for them."

"And you're hurting like hell because he did," he said roughly. "For God's sake, you didn't even know him."