Page 59 of The Other Lady Vanishes

“The moonlight highway leads this way,” she said.

Jake concentrated for a beat and then became riveted by something only he could perceive.

“Oh, yeah,” he whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’ve been here before,” she said. “When the tide is out like it is now, there are some caves above the waterline. We can hide in one of those if someone decides to look for us.”

Fortunately, Jake did not seem inclined to argue. He shook his head again, as if trying to clear it.

“Caves at the edge of midnight,” he said.

“What? Never mind.”

“I’m hallucinating, aren’t I?”

She was astonished that some part of his rational brain had managed to break through the delirium. But that was exactly how she hadsurvived, she reminded herself. The trick was to cope with the real world and the hallucinations simultaneously. It took an enormous amount of willpower. The experience was disorienting. It was also exhausting. Ultimately the desperate attempt to steer a logical path through the strange inner cosmos of the Daydream-drugged mind led to a growing sense of panic that could easily slide into full-scale paranoia.

“Yes,” she said. “Just remember that nothing you see is real.”

“Except you.”

It was not a question.

“Except me,” she agreed. “Concentrate on sensations you can feel. Rely on your sense of touch because you won’t be able to trust your eyes.”

She switched on the flashlight. The descent to the beach wasn’t very steep, but it was a tricky maneuver at night because of the loose pebbles and rocks. When they reached the bottom, they would have to move carefully to avoid the tide pools.

Jake followed close behind her. Even in his delirium he had no trouble keeping his balance.

Adelaide heard the roar of a car engine in the distance just as she and Jake reached the rocky beach.

“The person who drugged you might be in that car,” she warned.

“There’s still time for me to kill him.”

“It might also be an innocent motorist who will stop to try to help. You don’t want to kill an innocent person, do you?”

“Nope. Just the bastard who wants to hurt you.”

“Right, so we will stay out of sight until whoever it is gives up and goes away.”

“You look like a fairy-tale princess,” Jake said matter-of-factly.

“It’s the shoes.”

“I like the shoes. They’re made of moonlight.”

“They’ll never be the same again after this little hike.” She aimed the flashlight toward the far end of the beach. “The caves are in that direction. Hurry. Whoever is driving that car might stop, and if he does, I’ll have to turn off this light.”

They wouldn’t be able to trust any stranger who stopped, she thought. She was still trying to come to grips with the fact that Conrad Massey was in Burning Cove. If he was there, maybe Gill was, too.

With his easy, natural coordination and sensible masculine footwear, Jake did not have any problem navigating around the tide pools. She was the one who was in constant danger of slipping and falling. The silver dancing shoes and the turquoise evening gown were not made for beachcombing.

Jake caught her twice when the heels of her sandals skidded on wet, seaweed-draped rocks. When it happened a third time, he scooped her up in his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she yelped, startled.

“Faster this way,” he explained.