Owen's face went completely white. His hands trembled as he gripped the conference table.
"You're... you're not a debt collector," he whispered.
"No," I said simply. "I'm not."
Chloe stared at me with wide eyes. "Hayes, what's going on?"
"Mr. Kent," I continued, ignoring her question, "when did you start wearing that Buddhist tablet around your neck?"
Owen's hand instinctively moved to his chest, where a small bulge was visible under his shirt. "How did you know about that?"
"Answer the question."
"About... about eight months ago. A friend brought it back from Tibet. Said it would bring good luck."
"And at first, it seemed to work, didn't it?"
Owen nodded slowly. "Business picked up immediately. Contracts I'd been chasing for months suddenly came through. It was incredible."
"When did things start going wrong?"
"Wrong?" Owen's voice cracked slightly.
"The nightmares. The cold spots in your house. The feeling of being watched."
