The silence vibrated with Ki Yong's displeasure. “Soon. Make it soon.” He hung up.

Arrogant bastard. Trask pressed the disconnect button and thrust the phone in his jacket. Ki Yong had been polite and saccharine-sweet when he'd thought he'd be able to manipulate Trask. Well, that hadn't lasted long and he didn't like the idea of Trask running the show. Too bad. Trask was in control, and they could all jump when he snapped his fingers. He had the power.

He had the child.

But the child had not performed well last night, he thought, troubled. He'd thought he had the small dish perfected, but it had behaved erratically at the Murphy house. Obviously there were some serious alterations to be done on it before he entered into negotiations with Ki Yong.

And Kerry Murphy had survived Firestorm. The knowledge was a bitter pill on his tongue. Before, she had been a mere inconvenience, a possible threat, but now she was a symbol of his failure, the child's failure. He could feel his rage begin to sear like acid.

Keep calm. Control the fury as he controlled Firestorm. He hadn't been able to rectify his mistake at the hospital in Macon. It would have been too dangerous with Silver standing guard every minute. But he would make sure there would be other opportunities.

Until then, he would think about Kerry Murphy and anticipate the marvelous destruction the child would visit on her.

Thanks for leaving Sam.” Edna gave Kerry a hug. “He was a great comfort to the kids.”

“I'm sure he loved it. You probably spoiled him rotten.”

“We tried.” Edna hesitated. “And thanks for everything else, Kerry. I don't know what I would have done without you.”

“Are you doing okay now? Anything else I can do to help?”

She shook her head. “Donna's here, and the kids love her. We'll be fine.” She tried to smile. “Well, maybe not fine, but we'll survive. That's what we have to do, isn't it?”

Kerry nodded. “You're pretty wonderful. Charlie would be proud of you.” She hesitated. Oh, what the hell. “Come on out on the porch.”

“What?”

“Just come.” Kerry opened the door and went out ahead of her. “I know it's the wrong time, but maybe it isn't. Not for the kids.” She pointed to the large mutt tied to the porch post. “This is Sandy. I called him that because he looks like that dog in Annie. I got him at the pound.”

“A dog?”

“Underneath all that dirt, he's definitely a dog. He's also definitely friendly, and house-trained—maybe. Think of it this way. It will be a challenge for the kids to—”

“I don't know . . .” Edna frowned. “I'm not sure—”

“If you don't like him in a few days, call me and I'll find another home for him.” She gave Edna a quick kiss on the cheek and led Sam down the steps.

“Everything okay?” Silver asked from the driver's seat of the SUV. “She doesn't look too thrilled.”

“He's a sweet dog. Edna's a born mother, and he'll give her something to think about. And I hated taking Sam away from the kids.”

“She's petting him,” Silver observed. “Cautiously. It may be okay.”

“I hope so.” She was wiping her eyes as she opened the back passenger door and gestured to Sam to get into the car. “You know, life sucks. Charlie's dead and his family is hurting. They'll always hurt.”

“But it will get better.”

“I guess so.” She got into the passenger seat and closed the door. “I'm trying to think so.” Sam had lunged up on the top of the seat and was trying to lick her cheek. “Sit down, silly.” But she gave him a hug before turning to Silver. “We can go now.”

“No more errands? What did you do when you had me stop at your office?”

“I had to ask a favor of one of the fire inspectors. One of the kids at the hospital is going to be released this week to his grandmother, and the nurse at the hospital wasn't sure he hadn't been abused. I needed to buy some time until DFACS could investigate.”

“The little boy, Josh.”

She smiled bitterly. “Why am I surprised you knew that? You even included him in the little fairy tale you made for me.” She gestured impatiently as he started to speak. “Have you made our travel arrangements?”

“Would I dare do anything else?” He pulled away from the curb. “A private plane is waiting at Hartsfield. I assumed you'd want your pup in the cabin with you.”

She nodded. “He doesn't like crates. I think it reminds him of the pound.”

“I can tell he's a sensitive soul.” Silver glanced at the dog. “Well, happy is sometimes as good as smart.”

“He's smart . . . sometimes. Usually when food is concerned.” She took out her phone. “I have to tell my boss I'm taking a few weeks off.” She made a face. “He's not going to like it after I spent so much time with Edna and the kids.”

“I've already had Travis call Washington and ask them to exert a little muscle to smooth the path for you.” He glanced at her. “How are your brother and his wife?”

“As good as could be expected. While you're pulling strings, can you find a decent place for Jason to take Laura when the hospital releases her?”

“No problem. I thought that a full-service hotel would be best for the first week or so, and then we'll move them to a rental property. Okay?”

She nodded. “You've thought it all through.”

“I have to make sure you're free of worry.” He added, “I'm sure you'd be skeptical if I also said I wanted them to be as happy and comfortable as possible.” He smiled sardonically. “After all, I'm an abomination.”

“Did that sting?”

“Perhaps.” He thought about it. “I think it did. I'm used to it, but sometimes a word or a particularly vicious attack gets past my guard.”

She was silent a moment. “You can't blame anyone for hating you for messing around in their minds. There couldn't be an uglier intrusion.”

“I don't blame anyone. I'd hate it too,” he said wearily. “Do you think it's fun for me? You have no idea what ugliness people hide from the world. Some people's minds are cesspools.”

“Then stay out of mine.”

He smiled. “Your mind is remarkably clean. Oh, a few sexual repressions and fantasies, but on the whole it's clean and honest and bright. Most of the time it was a pleasure monitoring you. The only problems I had were the nightmares and the barriers you hid behind whenever you thought about your mother's death. That was a cross between riding a tornado and being locked in a coffin.” He glanced at her. “I can imagine what it's like for you. You should have let Travis help you to control it.”

“I'm not interested in your opinion and I'm not looking for a crutch.”

“A little leaning until you learn how to stand on your feet isn't a weakness.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

He grimaced. “Caught. No, I was too mixed up and stubborn to let anyone help me. But you should do what I say and not what I do. It's much healthier. Life would have been a lot simpler for me if I'd had a Michael Travis during those early days.”

“He told me you weren't actually part of his group.”

He shook his head. “The only thing I had in common with Travis or his friends was that the talent came to me in the same way. I was injured in an automobile accident when I was thirteen and in a coma for almost a year. When I came out of it, everyone thought I was normal for a long while. Everyone but me. I knew I was screwed up, but I had no intention of letting anyone else know I believed I was being sucked into other people's minds. I thought I was going crazy, and I intended to live every minute of my life to the fullest before they shut me in the booby hatch. My parents were too busy pushing my brother Cam's political career to pay much attention, so they let me go my own way. And my way was to indulge in every excess under the sun and invent what I couldn't find available.” He shook his head. “Talk about black sheep.”

“Michael said that you and your brother were close. I'm surprised he didn't step in.”