Enamel

by Tim Sabados

  “They must,” Aryssa confirmed. “How else would they know?”

  “More like, how else would Sammy know?”

  The puzzle pieces began to fit together. That conversation outside the dressing room emerged from her memory. Sammy and Ariek talking about the banks, the shipment and the need for money for some payoff. “Those two had to be the ones Sammy hired to ‘take care of things.’” She compressed her frustration into her fists. “They must’ve recognized me and then told Sammy.”

  “And he called you to try to confirm it,” Charlie said. “Did he say anything specific about the banks or those coins?”

  “Sort of,” Aryssa answered. “He mentioned the police were looking for some of the girls’ personal things. Stuff like clothes and things they might’ve taken to bed.” She paused. “Like a teddy bear or a blanket.” The balloon of anxiety began to inflate in her gut. “That’s when he said he wanted to pick me up.”

  “Come over here and get you?”

  “No, not here,” Aryssa said. “Somewhere of my choosing.”

  “That was a slick attempt to deceive you.” Charlie rubbed his cheek. “He knows that you’re not going to tell him where you live.”

  “I’m not.” Aryssa folded her arms against her stomach. “He wanted to share the reward money with me.” Aryssa waved her hand. “Said he knew the neighborhood where those girls went missing.” Bowed her head and mumbled. “Kept saying something about getting his face on the news would help his business.”

  Charlie slowly exhaled. “Definitely yanking your chain.”

  Aryssa massaged her temples to pacify her sudden headache. “Well, he thought he could find them before the cops did.” A nervous tremor rippled across her hands. “You know what else he told me?”

  Charlie tipped his chin as a way of encouraging her to continue.

  “Said if the cops figured out who had them, that person would go to jail for the rest of their life.” She shivered anxiously. “I can’t go to jail.”

  “You’re not going to jail,” Charlie affirmed in a calm tone.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because…” Charlie hesitated. “You and I both know that he was lying to you.”

  “Well, it worked,” Aryssa responded. “He said that whatever belongings the kidnappers had would be used as evidence.” She tented her fingers over her heart. “I kind of froze and then I hung up.”

  Charlie sighed. “I’m surprised he hasn’t called you back.”

  Aryssa held up her phone. “Three times. I turned off the ringer so I wouldn’t hear it.”

  “That’s smart of you,” Charlie said. “I don’t think he’s going to stop, though.”

  “He won’t, and neither will the cops,” Aryssa said with alarm. “What happens if he tells them?”

  “He won’t,” Charlie stated.

  “He could. Then the next thing you…”

  “Think about it,” Charlie interrupted. “If he wants those banks, there’s no way he wants the police involved.” He paused. “He wants you to believe he will call the police, but I know for a fact he’s not saying a thing to them. Trust me on this.”

  Aryssa smiled. What Charlie had said made sense. Still, there was a part of her that clung to the fear of being arrested. Clung to the chance that Sammy and his friends could find her and the two girls. Find the banks and the coins. “What should we do?”

  Charlie turned toward Mackenzie and Zoe. “Let them sleep a little longer. They need it.” He rubbed his brows with his forefinger and thumb. “Just before most of the world starts waking up, we could take them….”

  “Where can we possibly take them?” Aryssa asked with worry coating her voice. “I’m not going anywhere near a police station.”

  “It would be the easiest.”

  “No way,” Aryssa stated sharply. “I’m not taking that chance.”

  “Well…” Charlie paused. “We could take them to the hospital. I’m guessing that their mom was taken to the emergency room—most likely the one closest to her home.”

  “What happens if she’s not there? Then what?”

  Charlie yawned. “It shouldn’t be that big of a deal if she isn’t.”

  “Not a big deal? We can’t just walk in there and find out.” Aryssa uneasily ran her fingers through her hair. “Cops tend to notice kids. Especially ones that are missing.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Charlie said reassuringly. “We’ll just show the girls where they need to go.”

  “You mean abandon them?”

  “We’re not going to abandon them.” Charlie’s face scrunched with exasperation. “We point them toward hospital security. The girls tell them who they are and before anyone can figure out what’s going on, we’re long gone.”

  Aryssa sighed. “I don’t know about this.”

  “Would you rather try to explain things in person?”

  “You’ve got a point. “Aryssa glanced at the pile of coins. “What about those?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Charlie said. “Just in case something happens, I think it best that we keep them. When this finally blows over, we can give some back to the girls.”

  Aryssa slid back into the recliner and let the footrest lift her feet. “I’m good with that, as long as they get to keep a few.” She fluffed the pillow behind her head. “I just hope you’re right about all of this.”

  19

  Sammy grumbled. Tapped redial. Listened as the phone rang and rang and rang once more until it finally went to Aryssa’s voicemail, yet again.

  “Damn it,” Sammy mumbled. He paced back and forth in the hallway as he mulled over what to do next. Call again? Go to the cops? Shook his head to the contrary. Drive around and try to find her? If that wasn’t like looking for a black cat in a coal cellar. What about cancelling the shipment until this blows over? The Network would never go for…

  “No luck?” Ariek was standing in the doorway to his office.

  “I had her,” Sammy said proudly. “She was about to tell me.”

  “Tell you what, exactly?”

  “Where those kids and the banks are.” Sammy glanced at his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed a call. The screen was blank. “That is, until she suddenly freaked out and hung up.” He pressed redial and put the phone to his ear.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Ariek reached for Sammy’s cell. “What are you doing?” he asked in a tone filled with alarm.

  “What does it look like?” Sammy said condescendingly. “She’s got to pick up.”

  “Not if she knows what you’re trying to do,” Ariek replied sternly.

  The call clicked to voicemail. Sammy grunted. He ground frustration in his clenched teeth. “This is bullshit.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Ariek confirmed. “But we’ve got to come up with a better plan.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Ariek answered. He gestured at Sammy’s phone. “You’ve proven what we had expected. She knows about all of it.” A pause. “The more you try to call, the more desperate it makes you look. And that just gives her more of a reason not to answer.”

  Despair took Sammy’s finger and nudged it toward redial. What Ariek had said made sense, but it wasn’t solving the issue at this very moment. Sammy needed to do something, anything, but be patient. “There’s too much at stake to do nothing.”

  “We’ve got to be smart about this,” Ariek advised. He held his office door open. “Put your phone away and get in here.”

  There was no way Sammy was going to slip his cell into his pocket. He instead gripped it tightly and held it up for Ariek to see. “Just in case she calls.”

  “I wish she would,” Ariek said. “It would make things so much easier. Just don’t call her.”

  “I won’t,” Sammy said as if he had just been scorned by a parent. He despised being talked to like that. A sigh. It was the right thing to do, though. He took a deep breath and forced himself to step across the threshold into the office.


  Ariek quietly shut the door. The two brothers hadn’t moved from their spots on the couch. That damn burnt odor still permeated the air. Ariek’s head was bowed, making it appear as if he were deep in thought. He slowly walked to his desk, sat in his chair and took a swig from his drink.

  Ice cubes rattled against glass. It was late. The taller brother yawned. Exhaustion clung heavily to the mood inside the office. Sammy shifted uneasily in his chair. After a minute or two, Ariek shook away his thoughts and glanced at the group. “I have an idea.”

  20

  Aryssa lowered her head and cocked it sideways, away from the street. She buried her face deeper into the hood of her sweatshirt. The oncoming headlights grew brighter. The sound of rubber spinning over concrete became louder. The car wasn’t slowing down; the driver must not have seen her or maybe he didn’t care. Either way, it passed by and disappeared into the distance. Aryssa sighed with relief and lifted her gaze.

  Streetlights dotted the sidewalk that led the two or three blocks to the hospital. Traffic lights were blinking their cautionary yellow. She could just make out the glowing red sign that pointed toward the emergency room. Zoe and Mackenzie were huddled close to her side, their arms wrapped snugly around their animal banks. Slumber dulled the sheen in their eyes and weighed heavily on their cheeks.

  “Why do we have to be up so early?” Mackenzie questioned.

  “Yeah,” Zoe chimed in. “It’s still dark out.”

  Aryssa gestured to the sky, which had lightened to a shade below midnight blue. “It’ll be daylight soon enough.”

  “But it’s not now,” Zoe said.

  Aryssa gently rubbed Zoe’s shoulder. “It’s better this way.”

  “No, it’s not,” Zoe countered.

  A wave of guilt washed over Aryssa. She had struggled with the thought of waking them so early. Now, she forced them to walk down the street before the sun had even peeked over the horizon. They should be in bed, preferably their own.

  “Are you sure Mom is going to be there?” Mackenzie asked.

  Aryssa was slow to answer. “You have to trust me on that.” She looked at each girl in order to give them a sense of reassurance. “Do you remember what I told you to do?”

  Mackenzie stared blankly at Aryssa. Zoe yawned and then picked at her bear’s fur. Neither girl uttered a sound.

  “Come on, you two,” Aryssa commanded. “Help me out. What are you going to do once you get inside?”

  Mackenzie rubbed her cheek. “Why couldn’t Charlie come with us too?”

  “He’s watching from the car.”

  “He could’ve driven us to the front door and then we all could’ve gone in together.”

  Aryssa quietly sighed. “It’s too risky to pull the car up in front of the hospital. It’s just better if I walk you most of the way.

  “No, it’s not,” Zoe said. “If you’ve walked us this far, you should be able go all the way.”

  Aryssa wrapped her arms around each of the girls and pulled them close. “I don’t think the police would understand why I brought you. They would end up asking way too many questions.”

  Mackenzie nestled against Aryssa. “What kind of questions?”

  “Oh, you know.” Aryssa’s mind blanked. “Umm, stuff like who am I? How do I know you? Why are you with me?” A pause. “Kind of makes me look suspicious.”

  “But you’re not. You’re the tooth fairy,” Zoe said. “Everyone likes the tooth fairy.”

  “It’s not that easy.” Aryssa kneeled next to her. “Let’s stick to the plan, okay?” A pause. “Who are you going to talk to once you go inside?”

  “The security people.” Mackenzie smiled with satisfaction.

  “That’s right,” Aryssa answered. “Who else?”

  “A nurse,” Zoe said.

  “Good girl.” Aryssa caressed the arms of both girls. “And what are you going to tell them?”

  “That we’re looking for our mom, Mary,” Mackenzie said. “She was in a house fire.”

  “Very good.” Aryssa could feel her cheeks scrunch into a smile. “And if your mom isn’t in there, will the security people help you find her?”

  “That’s what you told us,” Mackenzie said.

  “I did.” Aryssa looked down the sidewalk toward the hospital. Someone stepped out from the other side of the hospital sign and walked across the street. Another car passed them on the opposite side of the road. Nothing else was moving. It all appeared safe and sound. Maybe this was going to be easier than she’d thought.

  Aryssa gave her surroundings one last scan. As far as she could tell there were no security cameras scrutinizing her movements. No one peeking from the side of a building or a nearby window. A couple of blocks behind her Charlie was watching from inside his car. Aryssa quickly waved and then made sure the hood was covering her head. “Okay, ladies. Let’s go.”

  “If you say so,” Zoe responded with a slight scoff in her tone.

  Aryssa ignored it and nudged them forward. “Aren’t you excited to see your mom?”

  “I am,” Mackenzie answered.

  “What about you, Zoe?” Aryssa asked in her best chipper voice.

  “Of course I am,” Zoe said. She was quiet for a few seconds. “But I like you, too.”

  “Will we see you again?” Mackenzie questioned sincerely. “And it doesn’t count when we lose a tooth.”

  Admiration melted Aryssa’s heart. “Of course you will.” She stopped at the street corner and glanced left, then right. “And it won’t be because of a tooth.”

  “Promise?” Mackenzie held Aryssa’s hand as they crossed the street.

  “I promise,” Aryssa happily answered. She stepped up onto the curb and continued to lead the two sisters down the sidewalk.

  “You need to swear on it,” Zoe stated.

  Aryssa bit her lip with uncertainty. “Swear on it?”

  “Yeah,” Zoe said. “Pinky swear.”

  Confusion coated Aryssa’s tongue. “How do I do that?”

  Zoe held up her hand and extended her pinky finger toward Aryssa. “Lock yours with mine and say you promise.”

  Aryssa wrapped her fifth digit around Zoe’s smaller one. “I promise I’ll visit you.”

  Zoe gripped tighter. “And it won’t be because of a tooth.”

  Aryssa nodded. “I promise to visit and it won’t be because of a tooth.”

  Zoe smiled and unclasped her finger. “Now you’re bound by your promise.”

  “You have to do mine.” Mackenzie held up her hand.

  “Okay.” Aryssa started to extend her finger when a pair of headlights filled her vision.

  A dark SUV raced up onto the sidewalk. Tires fought to grab the concrete as the car screeched to a stop. The passenger door flung open and a man dressed in black jumped out.

  Mackenzie and Zoe screamed with fear.

  Panic flooded Aryssa’s veins. It flowed into her arms and legs. She desperately grabbed the two sisters and pulled them behind her.

  A black bandana covered a chunk of the man’s face. Was this the man from the…? He ran right toward Aryssa. Laser-like beams of anger shot from his pupils.

  Aryssa backpedaled as quickly as she could. She tried to create some distance between herself and the attacker. Tried to find a moment to regroup and think. It was all happening too fast.

  The man was practically on top of her in no time. There was nowhere to run. She had no choice but to stand her ground. Aryssa shoved Mackenzie and Zoe farther behind her. Set her feet underneath her and lifted her fists to her face.

  “You damn bitch!” the man grunted. His arm cocked, fist clenched. It shot forward in a blur of movement.

  Thwack! The punch caught her above the left eye. Thrust her head backward. Her brain smashed against the wall of her skull and sent static spilling across her vision. Her legs buckled. Balance teetered. She slumped to her knees and grabbed the sides of her head to try to steady the wobble. It wasn’t helping. A wave of darkness smashed against Aryssa a
nd caused her to fall forward.

  “Leave me alone!” One of the girls yelled.

  “Help!” the other screamed.

  “You’re coming with me, now!” The man demanded in a voice that rumbled through his clenched teeth.

  Aryssa fought to push herself up. Her arms felt as if they were made of melted plastic. She struggled to get her feet underneath her, but her strength faltered. She collapsed back toward the ground.

  “No!”

  “Get in there.”

  The rustle of unwilling bodies. The screaming. The sobbing. A plea. Aryssa needed to save Mackenzie and Zoe. She frantically tried to get up. Roll to her side. Her equilibrium wavered. Stability betrayed her.

  A car door slammed. Then another. An engine revved. Tires squealed.

  What had just happened?

  * * * * *

  Charlie watched Aryssa, Mackenzie and Zoe stop at the street corner. He purposefully mimicked Aryssa’s movements. Looked left when she looked left. Then right when she did. As far as he could tell, the streets looked perfectly harmless. Quiet and unthreatening. Aryssa must have felt the same, because she started to lead the girls across the street.

  Static trampled over the song on the radio. Charlie grunted his annoyance and fiddled with the dial. It took a few seconds to retune the station, except the music blared from the speakers. What’s wrong with this damn thing? He reached for the volume, but something rerouted his attention, forced him to look up and…

  “What the…”

  A dark SUV jumped the curb and skidded to a stop right in front of Aryssa. Someone dressed in black clothing leapt out the passenger door, ran up and punched her.

  Charlie stomped the gas pedal. Car wheels spun mercilessly. The scream of the engine filled the interior and clashed with the yelling that filled his head.

  Mackenzie and Zoe were thrown into the back of the SUV. The figure dressed in black slammed the door and jumped into the passenger seat. How was Charlie going to save them now?

  He gripped the steering wheel tightly. Aimed his car right for the SUV. The speedometer quickly accelerated. The distance closed fast, but the larger vehicle wasn’t backing down either. It was a game of chicken. Would the SUV swerve out of the way? Would Charlie? What would happen if they both turned the same way?