by Doug Solter
Ryan shrugged. “Me neither.”
“Why don’t we skip lunch and do that tour now?”
“Let me clear my schedule first.” Ryan looked forward, almost like he was in a trance. Then he blinked. “Done. Let’s go.”
Emma laughed.
The boy yanked the wheel hard and Emma gripped the roll bars as the ATV spun a 180. Ryan drove the vehicle down the trail and out of sight of the mansion. He continued down the trail until he turned on to a tiny walking trail and followed it. The ground was rocky and uneven here, bouncing the ATV up and down. Ryan parked it near a large tree and killed the engine. He pointed above them towards an ancient tree house, where only a rotted wood-plank floor and one standing wall remained.
“Welcome to tour stop number one. My tree house…or what was my tree house. It had four walls and I would drag my small telescope out here to do some sky watching. The city lights don’t reach out this far, so you can see plenty of stars.”
“It does look like a peaceful kind of place to contemplate the meaning of the universe,” Emma said.
“I also loved watching the lake. There’s a good view from up there.”
“Do you like viewing nature?”
“Yeah, there’s plenty of nice views here. Some are naturally beautiful.” Ryan met her eyes. “Others are just beautiful.”
Emma’s cheeks burned. She couldn’t keep from smiling.
Ryan grinned and looked off into the forest. “We should continue the tour. Wanna drive?”
“Oh, I’ve never driven one of these before.”
“I’m always up for a dose of fleeting danger.”
Ryan didn’t know how true Emma would make his statement. They swapped seats. Emma turned on the machine and hit the pedal. The ATV bumped and jolted back up the walking trail to the main trail. She then pulled a hard right, lifting two of the four wheels off the ground. The ATV plopped back down on the trail and Emma sped off, throwing dust and dirt into the air. Emma followed the trail as it snaked around the lake, tracing the path she took with Mr. Raymond. But this time Emma was behind the wheel and enjoying the drive with her handsome passenger. She noted another small trail branching downhill from the main one.
“What’s down here?” Emma yanked the wheel and took the small trail before Ryan could answer. The ATV raced down the hill.
“This is a walking trail. I wouldn’t take this down—” Ryan jumped about two feet, but the seatbelt held him down as the ATV bounced over a series of large rocks. “You’re going kind of fast.”
The ATV jumped and shimmied and bounced all over the place. Emma loved navigating her way through it. She reached the bottom and raced the ATV back up the other side because it was fun. They hit more rocks and kept bouncing. Emma pressed the pedal as far down as it would go, and the ATV picked up speed as it climbed up to the edge of the ridge.
“Ease up. There’s a drop—”
Too late. The ATV jumped into the air as the land dropped away from under its wheels.
Emma and Ryan dropped into their seats in unison as the vehicle hit the ground again. She laughed and hit the brakes, causing the ATV to spin out to a stop.
Ryan shook his head. “Are you like a stunt girl for the movies? You drive like a complete maniac.”
“Did I actually scare you?”
“No, it was awesome. Like a hillbilly roller coaster.”
Emma gripped the wheel. This wonderful tingling sensation came all over her. Emma realized it was the first time she’d been this happy since her dad had passed and she didn’t want it to end. “Do you know where we are?”
“Go ahead and cut through this clearing here. It’ll take us back to the lake.”
Emma hit the gas and spun out the tires.
“Here we go again,” Ryan said.
Emma laughed and guided the bouncing ATV through the clearing as fast as she could. She then drove the ATV back to the main trail. Ryan directed her back to the lake and had her park near a small beach. By California standards it wasn’t much. There was no sand to speak of; it was more like gritty rocks covered with mud. Ryan climbed out of the ATV, so Emma killed the engine and joined him.
“There’s a place right over here.” Ryan stepped on a series of large, chalky rocks that jutted out into the lake. He jumped over the water to reach a flat boulder just big enough for two. Ryan offered Emma his hand. She took it and jumped over too.
Ryan sat on the edge of the rock, allowing his legs to dangle and his shoes to touch the lake. The view was awesome here. Emma could see Mr. Raymond’s large ranch-style mansion in the distance, a small pier that could be accessed from the house and patches of forest. A small island rested in the middle of the lake, not much bigger than a house. The water appeared clear and cool. Emma removed her shoes and sat next to Ryan, letting her toes dip into the water. The slight chill racing up her legs was exhilarating.
“I was going to take off my shoes, but…” Ryan stopped.
“But what?”
He chuckled. “It’s too embarrassing.”
Emma nudged his shoulder. “Now you have to tell me.”
Ryan gazed at the lake and smiled. “I didn’t want to gross you out if my feet smelled.”
Emma laughed. “Go ahead. I’m tougher than I look. But if I pass out from the smell, you better jump in the water and save me.”
Ryan stood on the rock and ditched his shoes. He plunged his feet in the water. “Ahh, good and cold. This lake never gets warm. But that’s what I like about it.”
“Do you swim here a lot?”
“My dad prefers the swimming pool, but…yeah, I like swimming in the lake. Feels more natural. What about you?”
“Not really. Back in New York we had a few beaches. Either I went to Coney Island or some of the beaches on Long Island, but I did more tanning there than I did swimming.”
“New York, huh? We don’t travel much,” Ryan said. “Well, Dad travels all over the world on business, but not me. New York City would be on my list.”
“Your list of what?”
“Places I want to see. Like Japan, New Zealand, England…oh, and the Egyptian pyramids. I’ve always wanted to see those.”
“So your dad never took you anywhere? No family vacations to Disney World or the Grand Canyon? No offense, but I get the impression your family could afford it.”
“My dad doesn’t exactly do family things. Not since my parents divorced. My mom lives in Wichita. Some weekends I’ll drive down there to visit her.”
“It’s great to have a mom to visit.”
Ryan shifted his body on the rock. “Damn. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
Emma touched Ryan’s arm. “You didn’t. I just think it’s awesome that you visit your mom.”
Ryan’s eyes drifted towards the cool water.
Emma’s did the same. Underwater, she noticed a fish wiggling along on its merry way. It had whiskers like a catfish.
There was another fish she thought was a bass.
The wind picked up, blowing tiny ripples across the water.
“For a girl you don’t talk much,” Ryan said.
“Sometimes I like peace and quiet,” Emma said. “When you live in a big city, a place like this is hard to find.”
“My ex-girlfriend would ramble on about all kinds of problems she was having. And when I would try to help her solve them, she got all upset. What is that about?”
“Maybe she just wanted you to listen.”
“Guess I didn’t do it enough.”
“Did she dump you?”
“She wanted to be just friends. So yeah.” Ryan sighed. “You seeing anyone?”
Emma grinned at the water. “That’s not the right question. Do I need to see anyone in my life? That’s more accurate.”
“All girls need a boyfriend.”
“Oh, do they?” Emma squinted at him. “I don’t think so. Some girls need to find themselves first, and a boyfriend won’t help them with that.”
“Depen
ds if they find the right boy.”
Emma knew Ryan was putting on the full-court press to charm her, and according to Emma’s mission, she needed to “surrender” to him.
This wouldn’t be difficult.
Emma drifted her foot over to his, allowing them to touch underwater. “Do you have any suggestions? Any boys I should be checking out?”
“No need to look around because the best one is talking to you right now.”
Emma loved his confidence. She scooped up a dead leaf with her toes. “You can’t be my boyfriend yet because you haven’t asked me on a date.”
“What, this isn’t a date?”
“It’s a social outing with your family. You don’t get to cheat me out of a real date.”
“So you’re a traditionalist, huh?”
“Dinner, something fun to do after. Yeah, I want all that.”
“It’s hard to do that when I don’t live in California,” Ryan said.
“True.” Emma gazed over the water.
Ryan watched her a moment.
Emma didn’t react on purpose.
“So I should make the most of this opportunity, huh?”
Emma shrugged. She knew Ryan was into her. And acting like this just reeled him in.
Ryan took out his digital music player and two headsets. He then attached an extension that allowed both headphones to plug into the same player. “Would you like to hear more Beatles?”
Ryan came prepared and Emma liked that. She nodded and slipped on one of the headphones. Ryan did the same with the other pair.
“Let’s start with Revolver. Next to Sgt. Pepper it’s one of my favs,” he said. “Ready for John Lennon to blow your mind?”
“Please,” Emma said.
Ryan pressed play. Heavy drumbeats started; then crazy-sounding laughs swirled around them as John Lennon told them to relax and let their thoughts flow down a stream. Emma let the music carry her above the lake. Above the ground. Above the sky. Above the world.
The music was beautiful.
Haunting.
Strange.
Wonderful.
Ryan and Emma swayed in unison.
Tapped their feet in the water in unison.
Began to dance on the rock in unison.
During “Eleanor Rigby,” Ryan squeezed Emma’s hand when Paul McCartney sang about a world of lonely people.
The sun fell from the sky.
And the music kept playing.
They went from Meet the Beatles! all the way to Abbey Road. And they didn’t talk. They didn’t need to talk.
Because they got each other.
Chapter 21
The moon reached in to the large guest room, casting ominous shadows across the wood-paneled walls and furniture. Olivia and Nadia slept in their makeshift bedding on the floor, while Miyuki mumbled in her sleep as she shared the large bed with Emma, who couldn’t sleep. She watched the shadows on the ceiling and kept thinking about Ryan.
There was something…familiar about him. The way he talked about his dad. The way they both grew up as rich kids who isolated themselves instead of becoming celebrities on TMZ. Emma understood the guy. She could see the dark flaw in him because the same flaw was in her. This was the one boy who could understand her. But the huge question for Emma was where did Ryan fit into this conspiracy?
When they came back from the lake, Olivia told Emma that Miyuki and Nadia had found nothing during their search of the mansion. Nadia had even gained access to Mr. Raymond’s computer and found nothing that linked him with Venomous or the man Bertrand Petit. The only link was that Raymond Foods owned AgEurope and Mr. Raymond placed Jacqueline in charge of it five years ago. Olivia asked Emma about Ryan. She wanted to know what he knew. Emma explained about Ryan’s relationship with his dad and how they’d listened to music the entire day.
Olivia wasn’t happy.
“This isn’t a romance novel. Use those acting skills of yours to manipulate Ryan. Compromise his mouth so he’ll talk. That’s your job on this team.” Nevertheless, Olivia wanted Emma to stay close to Ryan and see if she could gain closer access to Mr. Raymond. But she also gave Emma a warning. “Keep an eye on your back, love. Next time Mr. Raymond might give you something more dangerous than a defective rifle.”
Emma remembered her finger on the cold trigger. Her nervousness of firing the rifle. She’d almost pulled it. Emma could imagine a loud bang and shards of jagged metal spinning at her face, turning her head into—she paused.
Did that shadow on the ceiling move?
No. It was still for the moment.
Did Emma need to see an eye doctor? Maybe her eyes were just acting weird.
But the shadow moved again.
All right, Emma tried to make sense of it. Was it a tree branch moving with the breeze?
No, the shadow looked solid. It moved down the ceiling and inched towards the window.
Emma was still. It wasn’t a tree. Could it be an animal? A curious squirrel?
She rolled to her side and peeked around the corner of her bed for a better look at the window.
The shadow covered the glass. It had a long object in its right hand. A pistol?
No, pistols weren’t that long. Then Emma remembered that silencer Mrs. B had screwed on to the end of her pistol. It had made the weapon appear long. Just like the shadow’s.
The large window creaked open.
Emma cursed at herself. She was looking out the window earlier and forgot to lock it. Now this man was coming inside to kill them.
Emma slipped out of bed and hid beside the baseboard. Her heart pounded. A sense of panic came over her body, making it stiff and paralyzed.
It was too dark to see his face. But the dark outline of the man easing himself down from the window was unmistakable. He was quiet and patient as a cat.
He hesitated, looking at each of the three girls in the room. Olivia had insisted that all the girls sleep together in one room. For once, Olivia’s paranoid mind was sound.
Emma pushed against her fear. None of the girls were awake. If she didn’t do something soon—Emma tightened her fists, resting her thumbs on top of her fingers. She remembered her karate punches. Her first two knuckles would take the brunt of every blow. Once Emma attacked, the girl had to bring on the hurt. Punch this man relentlessly and without holding back. If she hesitated at all, Emma knew she might freeze up and the man would kill her.
The shadow lifted the long pistol and took aim at Olivia snoozing on the floor.
Emma screamed as she launched herself at the man. He stumbled back in confusion as Emma threw a series of karate punches to his gut, backing the man up against the wall. She punched and punched. The girl couldn’t see exactly what part of his body she was hitting, but they felt soft and vulnerable.
The man struck Emma in the mouth. Her chin screamed in pain as the force of the blow knocked her to the floor.
The shadow aimed the long pistol at Emma.
She braced for the shock.
But another leg swung in, and a foot struck the man’s wrist hard against the wall. Emma heard something metallic drop to the floor as the man turned on his new attacker. Emma could see long dark hair flying in the air and knew it was Miyuki as she unleashed a circle kick that connected to the man’s cheek, throwing him against the wall.
The lights came on. It was the man with the goatee, Bertrand Petit. Both him and Miyuki squinted from the sudden light.
Emma saw the gun on the floor and jumped for it.
Bertrand tried to reach for it too, but tripped over Emma. He then stumbled towards the window on all fours like a dazed cat.
Olivia and Nadia flew past Emma and tried to grab Bertrand. He came to his senses and shoved Olivia into Nadia. Both of the girls crashed into the dresser, which toppled to the floor.
Bertrand unsheathed something near his waist. The moonlight flashed on the long, jagged blade of a serious hunting knife.
Olivia and Nadia jumped up from the floor.
Bertrand pointed the knife at them and backed up to the window.
The girls hesitated.
Bertrand slipped out the window and down the roof.
Miyuki was halfway out the window when Olivia grabbed her.
“Put on your shoes first and we’ll hunt that little twit.”
Nadia threw a robe over her T-shirt and shorts. Miyuki and Olivia didn’t bother but put on their shoes.
Emma stared at the gun in her hands. If the man with the goatee had stayed for another two seconds…
“Emma, put on your shoes.” Olivia finished tying hers and slipped through the open window. Miyuki followed her and both girls slid down the roof.
Emma stuffed the gun in a deep pocket of her sweatpants and quickly slipped her running shoes on as Nadia waited by the window, tying off the waist of her robe while watching the other girls running in pursuit. Emma joined her, and Nadia climbed out of the window.
Nadia slid down the roof as Emma emerged from the open window. Down below she could see Nadia scrambling to her feet as the entire area was flooded with light as alarm bells clanged all over the estate.
Emma pushed off and slid down the roof. Her butt scraped against the wooden shingles, as her sweatpants offered no protection from the splinters that jabbed her butt. When the roof ran out, Emma tumbled forward as she hit the grass. A pop and a spark came from Emma’s sweatpants leg. Emma blinked and checked her sweatpants for something hot burning her leg. She removed the gun from her pocket. The silencer portion was hot and she could smell gunpowder.
Emma panicked. Did she just shoot her leg off?
She did a closer inspection of her sweatpants, which now featured a large smoldering hole in the fabric. Emma could see her bare skin right through it. Luckily, her skin was only a tiny bit red from the heat. She then noticed her big right toe sticking out. There was a large hole torn across the side of her running shoe. So that was where the bullet went. Emma cursed at herself for being so careless. Didn’t guns have a safety switch?
Emma found the safety switch, flipped it, and stumbled to her feet. She could barely make out Nadia ahead of her. The girl ran out to the edge of where the floodlights reached. Emma ran as fast as she could to catch up, holding on to the gun so it wouldn’t drag her sweatpants down to her knees. She reached the edge of the floodlights and noticed a forest, the trees still visible thanks to the full moon. Voices carried through the forest as Olivia screamed orders from the left side while Miyuki answered from the right side. She then yelled something in Japanese.