Kiss the Sky

by MK Schiller

  “During our climb.”

  “The night on the side of the mountain.”

  “I was scared, but I had you in my arms. I knew where you were and I had some control. It was the moment before though, the moment when I heard the rope snap and you didn’t respond. The moment I called your name in the dark and prayed you could follow the sound of my voice. The whole time I felt helpless not being able to get to you. Then there were the gunshots at the hospital and not knowing where you were for that brief instance. The gunshots in that subdivision in Albany.” The whole time he had felt a void of loss so deep and fierce he was sure it was a hole he’d never crawl out of.

  “Farah Nawaz, I fell in love with you before then. It happened in our small intimate moments and talks. Even when we didn’t talk, and all we did was hike for hours in silence. They say a Specter of Brocken is a once in a lifetime sight. Don’t get me wrong, it was special. But you are my once in a lifetime.”

  Chapter 39

  They were silent as they walked off the trail, trying to locate a remote area to bury the diamonds. It was miraculous to think how these diamonds could have traveled from India to Belgium to Pakistan to right here in rural North Carolina. Men had fought and died for them.

  He just hoped he wasn’t one of them.

  As usual, the fresh air and long walk helped to clear his head. They had been so busy running and working with no knowledge, there was no time to link all the connections they had made. Not that he could connect them. All he knew for sure was that he loved this woman who walked beside him. They had gone through hell and back and survived. Now, they were nearing an end. He wanted to plan a life with her, but first, they had to get through this.

  The thoughts scattered in his head, knocking around like ricocheting squash balls. It felt like the closer they got to the truth, the farther away from it they were. He felt foolish. They had managed to travel with that snow globe without knowing what they were carrying. Then again, it went through customs and airport security, not to mention the police station in Hunza, without anyone realizing what it was.

  We met at Kala Patthar.

  My grandfather died on the mountain. His expedition left him to rot.

  The dead deserve respect.

  Edelweiss, Malcolm. Lino, Bjorn, Rana. All of them were dead. If the diamonds did come from Grandpa E, why the hell had he taken them up into the remote mountains?

  The answer hit Tristan with sudden clarity.

  “There’s one part of a mountain that never changes its topography, Farah.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “The summit. The summit of a mountain never changes.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Maybe that’s why Grandpa E was taking the diamonds there. Maybe he needed to hide them. And he chose the most remote place in the world to do it.”

  “That’s possible I suppose. It sounds far-fetched though.”

  “Well, I don’t think he was a sane man to begin with. He stole diamonds from Hitler, after all.”

  “True. I doubt we will ever know what he was doing on that mountain with the diamonds.”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

  Not that any of it mattered. What mattered was that Malcolm killed the others and then someone killed him. Scratch that, the real question was that whoever had shot Malcolm was now after them. After the diamonds. That was the missing piece.

  “Here,” she said.

  He stared at the ground and then back at her. It was a good spot, secluded and out of the way. He hit the shovel against the ground. The rains had made it soft. She checked the area against the GPS for the coordinates. They dropped the metal box containing the jewels inside. Tristan wasn’t sure if he wanted to see them again or never see them again.

  “Farah, I’m going to see Elliot alone.”

  “What?”

  He placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “Listen to me. I’d rather you not be there. We have no idea if someone is waiting for us. I need you safe.”

  She shook her head. “I’m going with you.”

  “No, sweetheart, you’re not. I won’t take that risk. I’ll make sure Elliot takes care of you if anything happens.”

  “Don’t do this, Tristan. We’re better together. You said so yourself.”

  “There’s no part of me that’s better by putting you in danger. We don’t have time for arguments. This is not a choice to debate. We’re partners, you and I, but in this, I have to go alone.”

  A single tear fell down her face. “I love you. I’ll do this for you. But if anything happens to you, I’ll kill you.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Chapter 40

  Farah had agreed, but she had waged a silent protest the whole way to the station. He kept scanning the area. It didn’t appear anyone was following them, but then again, he wasn’t an expert at these things. At least an avalanche gave you a few seconds notice so you could brace for impact. In this situation, they were sitting targets.

  He bought another prepaid cell phone from a shop in the terminal. He purchased five tickets for the farthest routes they had—Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Denver. She stared at the tickets and back at him.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’ll explain.” He reached into his wallet and handed her a wad of bills. He’d asked Liam for a cash loan. The man had given him the personal combination to his safe. He handed her the money.

  “Get on one of these buses. Don’t tell me which one. Whichever one you choose, don’t take it to the final destination. Get off somewhere in-between. Check into a hotel and wait for me.”

  She stared at the tickets and cash. “You’ve watched too many movies.”

  “I never said it was a great plan. It’s just the only one I have.”

  “Where will you be?”

  He’d either be in jail or dead or coming back for her. He prayed it was the third option. “I don’t know yet.” He handed her a business card. “This is Liam’s personal number. If you run into trouble, you can call him. I want you off the grid for now.”

  “How will I find you?”

  “I’ll call that number.”

  “This isn’t right. I’m a witness too. I can help.”

  If Farah came with him, there was a strong possibility they would send her back. He’d taken many risks in his life. Hell, he’d made a career out of risk-taking. But he refused to take a chance when it came to her safety. “Don’t argue anymore. There isn’t time. Just kiss me.”

  He tilted her chin. The kiss was deep and long. He wasn’t one for public displays, but he had so much to tell her in that kiss.

  I’ll be back for you.

  We’re almost at the end.

  I’m going to start a life with you.

  You. Are. My. Lady.

  I love you.

  Chapter 41

  Tristan drove to the Georgian-brick Tudor Elliot kept in Richmond. Before he rang the doorbell, he shoved his hands in his jacket pocket, grateful for the tiny pebble that was there.

  “You look like hell,” Elliot said.

  “I feel like hell.”

  “Come in.”

  The two men embraced.

  “I’ve been trying to reach you for days,” Elliot said. He looked outside toward Tristan’s rental.

  “Farah isn’t here. I wanted to come alone.”

  “I need to know where she is. I’ve staked my reputation on her visa.”

  “I understand. I have a lot to tell you first.”

  Elliot led them to the living room. Half the furniture was still covered in sheets. “Well, let’s get started then.”

  “I need your help again, Elliot. Farah and I are caught up in something that’s too big for us. We need to sort it all out.”

  “So
mething more than the hospital shooting?”

  “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

  The two men sat at a table. Elliot had arrived shortly before Tristan. He’d set up the chessboard in the kitchen.

  Elliot moved a piece. “I would offer you something to drink, but as you can see, it’s all still a work in progress.”

  “You unpacked the chess set.”

  “Indeed. It helps me to focus to move around the pieces. Now, tell me everything. I need to know every single detail.”

  Tristan took a deep breath and began. The story was much longer than he anticipated. It started in Hunza when they first saw the snow globe and ended when he dropped Farah off at the train station. He recounted each detail and all the strange theories they had from mountain curses to Nazi diamonds to loosened ice screws. The whole time, even he questioned if it all really happened. When would the Savage Mountain leave them alone?

  Elliot was quiet, fingers steepled, the whole time Tristan spoke. He absorbed all the information, occasionally asking a question or two.

  “Who else knows all of this?”

  “Just you.”

  “Not your friend, Liam?”

  “He only knows I need to protect Farah.”

  “I see.” Elliot stood and stretched. “Your theories are interesting, but it’s all circumstantial. You don’t have evidence to support it. You should have come to me as soon as you found the diamonds.”

  “I know.”

  “We need to go to the police on this. Whether you meant to or not, you illegally transported stolen diamonds across international waters. You’ve been a key witness in several murders and have withheld information. I’m going to make some calls starting with my friend, the Attorney General. I’ll explain you’re willing to cooperate.”

  “Will they deport Farah? I don’t want her in any danger.”

  “I can negotiate to keep her here until the investigation is over. That’s protocol.” He took out his cell phone. “Oh, one more thing. Where are the diamonds now?”

  Tristan remained silent.

  “Tristan?”

  “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to reveal that. It’s the only evidence we have.”

  “I’ll need to give them the location as a sign of good faith. We need the diamonds to corroborate your story.”

  Tristan looked at the chessboard. For a moment, he saw all the pieces. Not the ones on the chessboard, but the ones in his life. Then it went blank. He was a boy again in his grandfather’s study, playing on an antique Staunton board. He could see two moves ahead, maybe three.

  There had been only three rules for the expedition: go with a group, go home when it was over, and of course, don’t die. Rules Elliot had created. He’d even made the contact with Rana.

  The most obvious explanation was usually overlooked.

  Fuck.

  Tristan nodded. “We buried them in the woods off the I-85. I’ve memorized the longitude and latitude lines.”

  Elliot chuckled. “Buried treasure?”

  “Something like that.” He rambled off the long rows of numbers to Elliot, who jotted them down on a piece of paper.

  Elliot patted Tristan on the back. “I’ll be back.”

  There was no time. Tristan took out his phone and made a call. The man on the other end had always been prepared for even the worse news. Tristan prayed he would just do what he asked.

  “Send the police to Elliot’s house in Richmond now. I can’t explain. Stay on the line.” Tristan put the phone in his back pocket. He ran to the kitchen. He searched around the room and went through every drawer until he found a knife. A knife was not ideal. He’d have to be close. Much too close.

  Elliot’s footsteps padded down the hall. He stuffed the knife into his back pocket and turned around as he entered the room. “How did it go, Uncle?”

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “Got thirsty.”

  “The water isn’t turned on yet.”

  “Yeah, I figured that out.”

  “Well, we can get a drink after this. We deserve it. I told him the gist of it. Of course, the story is much too long for me to get through all the details. He wants to meet us at his office.”

  “Now?”

  “Of course now. We’ll need to locate Farah. Both of you should make your statements together. No worries. I’ll be right there to act as your counsel. I’ll do everything in my power to get you immunity.”

  Tristan turned his head toward the window. He saw the black car with the dark tinted windows. If he got in that car, he’d be getting out a dead man.

  “What’s wrong?” Elliot asked.

  “I’m not resigning, Elliot. You haven’t checkmated me.”

  Elliot was silent for a moment, his brow furrowing. The smile that followed spelled doom all over it. It was a triumphant smile. “Haven’t I though?” Elliot shook his head. “I was hoping this would be easier. I really don’t want to do this in here.”

  The chessboard had helped him figure it out. This whole time he’d searched for that missing piece on the board. But the piece he sought was never on the board to begin with. It was the invisible hand moving all the other pieces.

  A tall dark-haired man walked in and stood next to Elliot.

  “How was the drive from Albany?” Tristan asked Malcolm’s imposter brother.

  “Rough.”

  “Did you kill his brother’s family?”

  It was Elliot who answered. “That’s really not my style, Tristan. Only make moves that are necessary to the game. Didn’t I teach you that?”

  “Is that what this is? A game?”

  “It’s much more than that.” Elliot took out the gun and pointed it at Tristan. “At least the furniture still has sheets over it. How did you figure it out?”

  Elliot, the consummate player, needed to analyze the game. Thank God for that because Tristan needed time more than anything else. “Kala Patthar. It was staring me in the face. You were there at the same time as Edelweiss and Malcolm. Then I thought about how we carried that damn snow globe through all those checkpoints. Hell, the police station in Hunza practically thrust it upon us. That was all you. Your man, Shaw, made sure we got through customs without a hitch. Why didn’t you just take it yourself?”

  “And risk everything? I don’t think so.”

  “So the three of you were partners this whole time. Was Rana in on it? Bjorn?”

  “Just the three of us. That idiot, Edelweiss, loved to talk. One night when we sat around the campfire, he tells us this incredible story about his grandfather who stole at least a hundred mill in diamonds from Hitler. That’s insane, right? I didn’t buy it at first. But the research checked out. We figured, what could it hurt to see if the diamonds were still on the old man? So I staked Edelweiss and Malcolm on the expedition. If the diamonds were there, the plan was to split them three ways.”

  “The plan wasn’t for Malcolm to kill Edelweiss?”

  “Not originally, but let’s face it. The man couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Who can trust someone like that? Malcolm felt he had no choice. If the accident caused others to die, well, collateral damage can’t be avoided in these cases. Just so you know, Tristan, you tagging along wasn’t planned either. If you want to know the truth, I wanted you to go home, but you were just a thorn in my side that would not go away.”

  “You’re saying it was all a coincidence?”

  “Don’t you know anything about strategy? When a piece presents a problem, you make it work for you. I didn’t trust Malcolm and Edelweiss. But you… You I could trust. If anything went wrong up there, you’d report it back to me. Without even knowing it, you’d be my loyal pawn. It’s kind of brilliant.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  “If it’s any consolation, it was never supposed to be you. Malcolm
was going to transport the diamonds, but then he lost his damn leg and a little of his mind too. I couldn’t wait months for him to recuperate. Truth is, I had very slim hope the diamonds were even real. I mean, Drew was really out of it when he gave us the coordinates for the body.”

  Blood rushed through his ears. “Drew?”

  “The timing was perfect. Drew was headed up there anyway. So I just asked him to check the general vicinity where the man was last seen. Sure enough, there was a body there.”

  “What the fuck did you do to my brother?”

  “I couldn’t have him tell anyone else. Finding a dead Nazi on a mountain is liable to invite a shit storm of media coverage. I begged him to keep it to himself, but he wanted to go to the police. He wanted to tell you.”

  Tristan backed up, shaking his head. “He died of an aneurism. You didn’t kill him.”

  “Do you think it’s that difficult to pay off a doctor in a third world remote hospital?”

  His head throbbed, and he could not breathe. A chill flooded his veins. He could barely focus on Elliot’s voice.

  “I thought about cutting you in, Tristan, but you wouldn’t go for it, would you? Money never meant anything to you. So this way, you could help me indirectly. All you had to do was deliver the package to Albany. I took care of everything else. It was so simple and brilliant.”

  “I’m going to kill you, Elliot.”

  “Are you? Doesn’t look that way from where I’m standing.”

  Tristan felt the shot before he heard it. The pain didn’t register for a few seconds. He clutched his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. Thick blood pooled against his hand and seeped out from his fingers.

  Elliot stared at the gun in his hand as if he couldn’t believe what happened. “It feels like I have the upper hand here.” He was a terrible actor. He was struggling. His hand shook and his face was pale.

  Tristan’s legs could no longer hold his weight. He slumped to the ground. Elliot lifted the gun again. Tristan held out his hand. “Elliot, I wouldn’t do that.”