out,” I said. “I was afraid to make a sound. I couldn’t see and didn’t want any strangers calling the police and connecting me with the robbery.”
“Robbery?” Aidan asked.
To tell my story properly, I needed to sit up. As soon as I tried to use my hands to prop myself up however, the sharp pain in my injured shoulder caused me to wince.
“Careful,” William said soothingly.
With William’s assistance, I pushed myself upright on the bed before I began to speak. “I went downtown early to work on a poll with R.J. When I was finished, I intended to drive to Palo Alto. I stopped for a quick lunch before getting in my car. As I was walking to the parking garage, I noticed something, a sort of buzzing in my ears. I felt like I was walking toward an energy field. I was curious, so I followed the sensation until I got to the corner of Post and Grant, in Union Square. As soon as I made it to the corner, a black Audi sedan came careening toward me. It jumped the curb and crashed into Peabody Jewelers.”
“Was it an accident?” William asked.
I shook my head. “No, they meant to crash into the store.” I said. “When the car stopped, four men with guns got out and smashed every display case inside to bits and took the jewelry.”
The three men exchanged grim glances at each other.
“Did the men see you, Olivia?” Aidan asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was knocked down by the force of the car crash, that’s how I cut my hands and hurt my shoulder. I managed to crawl up to a side window to peek in. I wanted to see who was inside. It all happened quickly…the whole robbery was probably completed in less than three minutes. I don’t know if they noticed me. I pushed out toward the energy, and that’s when my head began to ache and it got hard to see.”
“Can you see now?” Gabriel asked, stepping into my line of sight.
I nodded. “Yes, but my eyes feel sore and scratchy.” At that moment Elsa, who must have slipped out of the room earlier, returned carrying a tray with a mug of something warm and a small mirror. She handed the mirror to William who turned to face me.
“Don’t be alarmed, but you look a bit like a zombie,” he said holding the mirror up to my face. I gasped at my reflection, startled to see two red dots staring back at me; whatever had been tracking me used enough force to burst the tiny blood vessels in my eyes so that the pupils were barely visible through pools of crimson.
“They were trying to blind me,” I said, “Will this heal?”
“I think so, to both things,” Aidan said. “Someone in the robbery party was an Other and knew there was a empath nearby. My guess is they never actually saw you, they only felt your presence, the same way you could feel theirs. That would explain the nature of their attack.”
“Are you saying that if they had seen her, they would have attacked her physically?” William asked.
Aidan raised his hands in frustration. “I am merely speculating,” he said. “I cannot say for certain what would have happened if they’d actually seen her, but I think we can all guess it wouldn’t have been pleasant.”
“Who were they, the guys who drove into the jewelry store?” I asked.
“From what you have described, it sounds like the Serbian mafia,” Gabriel said.
“The Serbian mafia? Here?” William asked. “Isn’t this a bit far afield, even for them?”
Aidan shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Since the war, they have branched out far beyond Europe. This kind of robbery has become a signature of their work.”
William’s face was grim as he faced Aidan and Gabriel. He regarded them both, a deep look of frustration upon his face. “We need to make sure she doesn’t show up on any video. Someone needs to begin searching now. I know a person that can help us delete any footage without leaving a mark.” His response caught my attention, if only because it sounded so tactical, as if he had done something similar before. I wanted to ask him, but I knew better than to bring it up in front of everyone.
“Can I have some eyes drops?” I asked interjecting myself into the conversation. “My eyes feel like someone ran a rake over them. And maybe some ice for my shoulder.”