by Teya Tapler
“I’m sorry,” Mary said, “I didn’t mean to disturb him. I thought he was okay with the plan.”
“He didn’t want to go ‘back to school’ in the first place … Besides, he bumped into Kevin Mort at gym class.” Emil said and made a long pause before continuing. “So, guys what’s new today?”
“I have a meeting with the Shtuttgart’s in two weeks, right after the annual conference of the Swiss Archeological Society. They wanted to discuss with me something related to their recent discoveries.” Mary said.
“One down!” Emil said.” But two weeks is a long time. Zander was just telling me that we might have to speed up.”
“It sure sounded like it.” Peter raised his eyebrows.
“I’m a control freak. Sorry.” Emil confessed.
“You are doing what you can.” Mary patted Emil’s shoulder. ”He’ll be okay. Don’t worry about him.”
“There was an interesting conversation going on in the Mort’s house.” Peter changed the topic. “Do you want to hear the summary or listen to the recording?”
“Give me the summary please.” Emil said.
“Zull and Kevin are planning to steal the pearls. They think that the professor keeps them in the museum vault.” Peter said. “Zull mentioned an alternative plan if the pearls are not in the vault - but he didn’t clarify the details before leaving.”
“Were you able to bug their vehicles?” Emil asked.
“Not the new ones.” Peter said.” We had the two Mercedes covered but after Zander’s vacation in Mexico Mort replaced them.”
Chapter 15
Evan was so angry that Kevin and Amanda drove to the school together the first day that she went to and from school with the bus for a whole month. Kevin was trying to soften her by buying her small gifts. She would find a special flavor bubble gum or a beautifully wrapped expensive piece of chocolate at her place on the lunch table every day. Then she would sense Kevin looking at her and their eyes would meet for a second before he would look away.
Zander was still attending the same school, sharing a few classes with Evan, but they had never shared the same desk again nor had she thought of him the same way as that first day. Whatever change she felt in the beginning of the school year had faded away fast. Kevin’s gifts were keeping her attention stuck to Kevin and she had quickly filed Zander back under the header of helpful focusing her world around Kevin.
The pleasant surprises seemed to have worked, because her attitude towards Kevin had considerably softened. A couple of weeks after the series of gifts started, she wasn’t pushing him anymore when he tried to steal a kiss in the corridor. She also came back to his table during the lunch break and even went on a few dates with him to the Hamptonville milkshake place. Kevin was confident that with that approach Evan would continue being his girl for as long as he needed her.
“Hey, gorgeous!” Kevin greeted Evan as soon as she left the school. “You feel any better today?”
“Hi, silly. I’m fine. It's just school, you know. I had that math test today I was all worried about. Let's get out of here. Let’s drive!” Evan smiled and pulled Kevin toward the parking lot. She was happy she’d made it through the first month back at school and had just remembered that Kevin had a new car. The thought of the wind in her hair excited her.
The Maserati was at the usual place where Kevin parked it every day in the morning: the last car in the third row, bordering the boxwood bush on one side and the school nurse’s car on the other. It was standing out like a flower in a dumpster. The other cars in the lot were neither new, nor modern, nor as sporty and spotless as that one.
“OMG. This is a gre-ea-at car,” Evan said, gently caressing the top of the car with her fingertips.
“Do you want to try it?” Kevin asked, but Evan didn't hear him. She was still busy admiring the car: its color, the shape of the front lights, and the design of the taillights.
“Do you want to drive it?” Kevin stood next to her with his left arm bent at the elbow and the car keys dangling from his index finger. With his unbuttoned jacked and baseball cap, he looked like a race-car driver, proud of his possession.
“May I?” Evan smiled and grabbed the keys. Kevin opened the door at the driver’s side and held it open until she sat comfortably. He then quickly shut the door, ran to his side, got in and bucked up as well.
“Just go easy on her.” He looked at Evan and smiled.
She turned on the car, then shifted into gear and gently pressed the gas pedal. The car took off and they cruised out of the school parking lot, slowly swirling around the corner or the gym.
Evan was happy again. The school day was over. She was with Kevin again. She was driving his car and that car was much better than the other one, and—her happy thoughts were interrupted. She felt Kevin’s hand on her right knee. When her knee warmed under his hand, Kevin started rubbing it gently and moved his hand slowly up her thigh. Evan felt the warmth move up her skinny jeans. She abruptly took her right hand off the steering wheel and pushed Kevin’s hand back while keeping her eyes on the road. Then she continued to drive, pretending nothing had happened.
Soon his hand was on her thigh again, rubbing it gently and moving slowly up her leg. She pushed his hand away, looked Kevin in the eye and shouted angrily, “Stop it!” The car went off the road over a low stone wall and stopped in the middle of a meadow. Evan got out of the car yelling, “Stop it! Stop it!” she ran away, distancing herself from Kevin and his car as fast as she could.
Kevin was caught by surprise. He hadn’t expected Evan to react that way nor for them to end up off the road. The first one meant that he might have to earn her trust again and the second one clearly spelled more troubles with his father. Kevin sighed and got out of the car slowly. He looked at the Maserati. The expensive and fancy car didn’t look expensive or fancy anymore. The front was badly damaged and the chassis was obviously dented from their jump over the stone wall. Kevin walked around the car and looked at it from every angle, hopelessly spreading his arms every time he saw a damage. At the end he sat down, pressed his back on the car and dropped his head in his hands. He was the epitome of desperation: his silly grin was gone. Even his blond hair looked gray. Kevin shivered just thinking about bringing the news of the car accident to his father.
Evan finally stopped walking away, turned back, and looked at Kevin. She wasn’t angry at him that much anymore. He was a boy and that was what boys tried to do. Megan had told her all about it last year. But Megan and Steven were at the drive in movie while today Evan was driving on the open road. What was he thinking? No, what was she thinking? It was stupid of her to go with him like that. She wasn’t even sure whether it felt nice. She only knew that she had been stupid, very stupid.
Evan slowly returned to the car and knelt next to Kevin. She put her right hand on his shoulder. “For what it’s worth,” she said softly, “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”
Kevin moved his shoulder abruptly and her hand fell off. He looked away, his lips pressed hard.
“I don’t have much money,” Evan continued, “but with my part-time job in the supermarket I’ll pay for the repair. I’ll share the blame. Let me go and talk to your father. He’ll understand.” Evan wasn’t sure whether she could face Kevin’s father but didn’t want Kevin to take all the blame when she was the one driving. She tried to calm him down, to give him hope and make him smile.
Kevin looked at her, then got up and started pushing the car silently to the road. He then got in the driver’s seat and bucked up. Evan came running behind him and was barely in the car when Kevin started the engine and sped away, leaving tire marks on the loan. The car accelerated as Evan quickly shut the door and buckled up. She silently peeked at Kevin. He was driving to his house, looking numb, his mesmerized gaze following the curves of the road.
When they arrived, Mr. Mort was just getting into his car. The Maybach Convertible was clean and sparkling as usual. The forecast was calling for rain later in
the day and the top was up, protecting the expensive and tasteful interior.
Kevin pulled the Maserati to the side, got off and headed to the Maybach. Evan got out and ran after him, not wanting him to face his father alone.
When Mr. Mort saw Kevin and Evan, he got out of his car and turned toward them. “Hey, Kevin!” Mr. Mort tried to smile. “Hey Evan!” he said, and then he saw the Maserati. The front of that car didn’t look as it had been designed. Mort's anger came quickly and Evan saw how his usually pale and freckled face gradually turned red. The color started filling it from his chin up to his ears. He looked at Kevin and shouted, “How could you?”
Mort raised hand to slap his son, but Evan ran and quickly caught it in mid-air. Holding the weight of his anger, she looked Mr. Mort in the eye, grinned stupidly and, after letting his hand go, said timidly, “Mr. Mort, It wasn’t Kevin …it was me.”
Mr. Mort was surprised by her courage, something he hadn’t noticed in her parents. He was well known for not being tolerant of mistakes, even when they were stupid ones or frankly admitted. In his world, every mistake had to be punished. He looked at Evan, then looked at Kevin and asked sternly, “Is that true, Kevin?”
“Ye-yes.” Kevin said.
Evan couldn’t believe her ears when she heard him stutter. She expected Kevin to share the blame with her. After all, he was the one who started it. Had he kept his hands to himself, she wouldn't have veered off the road.
“You!” Mr. Mort shouted, looking at his son. “You go to your room!” He paused and Evan imagined him letting steam out of his ears as he was trying to find the right punishment for Kevin. “You are grounded forever! You will go to school on the bus like everyone else until you graduate and find a job!” Mr. Mort pointed to his son and then to the house with his left index finger. Kevin didn’t wait for another reminder and slowly shifted toward the house, leaving Evan alone with his angry father. “And you, missy.” Mr. Mort pointed his right index finger at Evan and she felt his anger shooting into her forehead. “You, don’t ever come back here … ever again!” Mr. Mort redirected his right index finger toward the front gate. “I don’t want to see you, or your father, or anyone from your geeky family ever again!” Mr. Mort kept on shouting as Evan headed to take her backpack from the Maserati. His index finger was still pointed to the open gate, and she felt how his anger pushed her outside their property as she slowly walked away.
It was a long walk from the Morts’ residence at Thunder Gate Mill to her house on Pebble Drive. Evan walked, backpack on one shoulder, thinking about what had just happened. She chewed her gum more and more furiously. It was now her turn to be angry at Mr. Mort. How could he tell her all those things? He didn’t even give her a chance to explain herself or offer to pay for the damages. Then she became angry for not standing up for herself. She could have really done what she told Kevin and pay for the damages. But then no one expected the wrath unleashed by Mr. Mort … or maybe it might have softened him. She was replaying the incident in her mind playing “what if” scenarios: what if she had said that, what if she hadn’t said that, never even thinking about what if Kevin had said or done something different. She was taking him out of the picture. Unconsciously, she hadn’t relied on him at all. Evan was disappointed by her Prince Charming.
Oh, he had so much charm and a nice car but … but … but he was lacking something. She couldn’t say what. She just felt betrayed and alone. It felt as though he had left her to die alone and forgotten. Evan had thought that Kevin would drive her into the sunset. Wasn't she naïve and stupid?
Evangeline Shtuttgart, what is going on with you?
She felt alone … like Robinson Crusoe on the deserted island, like a wounded bird left behind to spend the winter alone when everyone else flew south. Her eyes watered. She looked up to prevent the tears from overflowing. The white, playful clouds looked smudged. Evan stopped, wiped her eyes, took a deep breath and continued her lonely walk home. Her strides became wider and her steps more frequent. Unknowingly, she started running, running away from the betrayal.
After few yards, her heavy backpack reminded her of its existence. Evan stopped and put hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. The deep breaths of fresh air started to calm her down. She straightened her posture, adjusted the backpack strap on her shoulder and looked up. Whatever happened back there … it had ended. She should look ahead. It was a beautiful day. The sky was just like that day when… she fell into the pyramid … and Zander saved her.
She took a deep breath and smiled remembering that past summer. Every time she got into trouble Zander had been there for her. He even took the blame for her, hiding the truth from her father. Evan hadn’t said anything then to share the fault and responsibility.
That was how Zander must have felt. Mr. Mort had thrown him out of the dig because of me and he had kept my secret like a real friend. Her thoughts shifted and Evan smiled, thinking of how Zander had made her feel safe when the water gushed into the pipe and how embarrassed she was when she realized that he had hugged her so close. As her feet brought her closer to her house, her thoughts carried her back to the few moments she and Zander shared together. Evan hadn’t experienced anything like that with Kevin. But again, that was just Zander, the guy who cleaned his dirty hands off on his clothes. She corrected her thoughts. Yes, now he’s in my school and had cleaned up nicely but it’s still … just Zander.
Yet, deep down in her heart, she felt a nice warmth when she thought about him, and that was something she had never experienced before.
Chapter 16
“Professor I’m sorry for bothering you at this time of the day,” the man at the door said. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt and a black tie. His suit and hair bore the marks of the rainy weather. A black SUV with twenty inch tires was parked on the driveway headlights toward the road. “I’m agent Smith from the FBI,” the man flashed his credentials in front of the professor’s face.
“Come in, sir,” the professor was in his pajamas with a warm throw around his shoulders. He looked as if he was asleep a minute ago and was still trying to wake up. “It rained for three days now. Can you believe this? The weather’s more like end of November,” the professor tried to strike a conversation with the agent as he walked in and cleaned the water off his clothes. “Please sit down,” he pointed to the furniture in the living room.
The agent sat on the sofa. His suit and crisp white shirt and the way they fitted him implied the intervention of a skilled tailor. The man obviously cared about his appearance because he sleeked back his hair and tried to smile at the professor.
Instinctively professor Shtuttgart considered him a bearer of bad news and distanced himself. He sat on his favorite armchair, “How may I help you?” he asked politely.
“Professor, when was the last time you visited the vault in the Archeological Museum?” the agent asked.
“Hm, probably this spring? Why?” the professor asked in return.
“I'll come to your question, a little bit later. Could you show me your pass for the vault first?” the agent said politely.
The professor stood up and went into the next room. From the opened door the agent heard and saw him fumbling thought the room. After a while the professor’s actions sounded more like he was ransacking the place. He had even started to mumble something inaudible, sounding disconcerted, troubled and uncomfortable.
“Sir?” the agent showed up at the door and saw the professor dumping the content of yet another drawer on the top of his desk. He tried to tidy up the paper piles as the agent walked in then put his hands to the side of his body and stood next to the desk. Professor Shtuttgart looked like a boy who had just broken his mother's favorite vase and was expecting his punishment.
“I do apologize if you have felt threatened,” the agent said.
The front door opened quietly and Evan sneaked in. She was smiling. The girls’ night out had gone well. She, Megan and Brittany were at the milkshake place close to the Ha
mptonville station. Megan had just dropped her off after a night of giggles and gossip. The three best friends had talked for hours about boys, the not so popular girls and their personal plans for the future. Evan felt normal again, for the first time since the car accident. She was still excited when she realized there were too many people awake in the house at that late hour. She noticed the gathering in her father's office, quickly kicked her shoes behind the door, gently put her umbrella in the metal bin and started tiptoeing towards the stairs.
Hearing his daughter coming in, the professor looked at the clock on the wall, then grinned at the agent, “Excuse me sir,” and peeked into the corridor. “Evangeline, do you know what time is it?” he said sternly with a serious look on his face.
She showed him her bare wrists and said, “I lost my watch,” then continued slowly up the stairs.
“Evangeline Shtuttgart! Go to your room! You are lucky we have a guest tonight. We'll talk about your behavior first thing tomorrow morning!“ The professor said with an uncompromising tone in his voice and returned to the living room where the agent was waiting back at his seat.
“There has been a robbery in the Archeological Museum vault and we wanted you to look at the security footage,” the agent said. “May we use your VCR?”
The conversation in the living room made Evan stay and listen.
“Of course. Let me get the remote for you,” the professor said and Evan heard him move around. She went down the stairs and stood close to the living room door. Her father was still searching for the remote. He never learned that they kept it on top of the TV next to the other remotes. In the meantime, the agent had put a tape into the VCR and hit the play button. Evan heard the familiar hum from the beginning of the tape. She curiously moved even closer. From her new location she could see the TV screen. It showed what she thought was the vault photographed from one of the corner cameras close to the ceiling. Then four figures came through the door: three men and a woman all dressed in tight black clothes with some kind of a Batman type masks on their faces. They opened safe 1001.