The stranger smiled at Sandy. “Congratulations, Ms. Norris. You did a great job.”
He stepped forward and handed her a small white card.
“MiraMed Technologies,” she read out loud. “Eric Kemp.” She looked up at the man. “You were watching me while I worked, weren't you?”
Kemp nodded. “When you looked at the mirror, I figured you knew I was here. But it was the only way—”
Sandy angrily whirled around and confronted the detective. “Sam, what's going on here?” she demanded.
Sam's face turned dark red. “I can see you're upset, but you've got to forgive me, kid. My boss insisted on it.”
Kemp smiled, but Sandy sensed no real warmth or friendliness in his face. “It's a long story, Ms. Norris. Why don't we find a more comfortable place to chat. I imagine you must be hungry. How about dinner?”
“Smooth and slick,” Sandy thought to herself. “Like a snake!” She cleared her throat and spoke in a frosty voice. “No thank you, Mr. Kemp. I believe my work is done here, so I'll be going home.”
Kemp's eyes narrowed. Sandy sensed that he wasn't used to people going against his wishes. His hand tightened around the brown envelope.
“Excuse me,” Sandy said, taking the envelope from his hand. She glanced at Sam, then tore the envelope open. Inside she found a blue hair ribbon and a child's sock.
Sandy was often given items like these when she looked for a missing person. The objects had to be something worn or handled by the person she searched for. Yet, as Sandy fingered the ribbon and the sock, she had an uncomfortable rush of mixed feelings. She frowned, gazing back and forth from one man to the other.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” she said at last.
Sam stiffened. The corners of Eric Kemp's mouth twitched into a tiny smile. “What do you mean?” he asked.
Sandy was repelled by Kemp's smug face. She wanted to throw the ribbon and sock at him and walk away. Instead, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
“Something is very wrong with this picture,” she said slowly. “I know the little girl was lost—I saw her. But I'm picking up other feelings, too. She wasn't really a missing child, was she?”
Sam sighed. “I don't want to lie to you, kid,” he said, taking the sock and the ribbon from her. “These belong to a child, all right. And yeah—in a sense she was missing. Well, she thought she was. But yeah, kid, you're right. We were watching over her the whole time.”
Sandy stared at Sam in horror. “Are you telling me you set this thing up? It was all a fake, and you knew it?”
“Don't blame Detective Kennedy,” Kemp said. “He was only following orders. This was just a little test of your psychic abilities. My employer wanted to see for himself whether you're as good as the cops claim you are.”
“The little girl is the daughter of one of our guys,” Sam said nervously. “She was never in any real danger, Sandy. But we needed you to believe that she was.”
“You frightened a little child for no reason?” Sandy cried out angrily. “What would make you do something so horrible, Sam? What kind of a monster—”
“For a large chunk of money,” Kemp said. “That's why the cops did it. For enough money to buy a lot of equipment this department badly needs.”
Sandy looked at Sam. He stared down at the floor. She could sense his shame. At the same time, she got a vivid picture in her mind of new computers and up-to-date lab equipment.
“Don't blame Sam,” Kemp went on. “He just followed orders. If you want to blame someone, blame MiraMed and my employer—Jonathan Wolfe.”
“I think it was a pretty low trick,” Sandy said to Kemp. “Like bribery.” She turned back to Sam. “Isn't that kind of thing against the law? Shouldn't you be arresting this man?”
Sam looked so miserable that Sandy almost felt sorry for him. She sighed. “Okay, I won't say any more.”
She stared at Kemp. “Well, now that you've had your demonstration, I hope you're happy,” she snapped. “And if that's all, I think—”
“Sandy, wait!” Sam cried. “There has been a crime. And we really do need your help!”