by Sarah Rubin
‘Sorry. Bad habit.’ My shirt was starting to stick to my back and the gaffer tape around my chest was making it hard to breathe. ‘Can you keep going?’
I felt Kevin nod his head.
We shuffled in silence.
When we finally got to the corner, it took us another two minutes to scoot backwards enough so that the edge of the metal plant pot pressed against my wrist. I started to push my arm back and forth, sawing away at the silver tape.
‘I never thought I’d appreciate modern art,’ Kevin said.
I counted, in my head this time, as I sawed. At 57 the duct tape was starting to fray. At 86 it snapped. My arm flew out, crashing into the pot. The sharp metal sliced through my skin. Blood dripped down from the gash in my arm, but I didn’t care. I was free.
‘Are you OK?’ Kevin tried to turn around and the tape pulled tight against my chest.
‘I’m fine. Just give me a second.’ I used my free hand to unwind the tape on my other wrist. ‘Lean back as far as you can. I’m going to try to wiggle out of the chair.’
Kevin pushed himself into the back of the chair and I slipped down in my seat, pulling the tape off of my shirt and away from my body. The edge of the seat scraped against my spine as I slid free. I pulled the tape off of my ankles and went to help Kevin.
‘Your arm!’
‘It’s nothing. Sit still.’
I’d got his left arm free when the sirens blared once and then stopped. The flashing lights stopped too. Officer Ross was leaving.
‘Wait here,’ I said. I ran across the room and peered out of the window. Dr Learner’s fire-escape balcony faced the Delgado-Learner Building. I could see police cars in the car park across the street.
‘Hey,’ I shouted, opening the sliding door and waving my arms above my head. But I was too far away. The sound of falling rain swallowed my voice.
‘What are you doing?’ Kevin asked as I ran past him and grabbed the blanket off of the couch. I didn’t answer, I just dashed back on to the fire escape, waving the bright red cloth like I was looking to fight a bull.
The cars were moving now, out of the car park and on to the road. I’d only have one chance to catch their attention as they drove past. I wiped the rain out of my eyes with the back of my hand, and then dried my palms against my shorts. I put one foot up on the lowest bar of the railing and hoisted myself up, leaning over the side of the balcony so that I could hold the red blanket over the edge. The worn treads of my shoes slipped worryingly against the metal.
‘Are you crazy?’ Kevin said. ‘Get down. Just come untie me, we can get out of here and call for help.’
‘There isn’t time. Once Andrew gets his money from Chronos, he’ll leave the country. Then they’ll never be able to catch him. And what will happen to Dr Learner?’
I climbed another rung. My shins pressed against the top of the railing. I leant a bit further out, holding the side of the ladder that led to the balcony above me. The blanket was so wet it felt like lead. The police cars were coming around the bend now. All I could think about were word problems. Two police cars travelling at thirty miles an hour. They’d only be able to see me for about fifteen seconds before they drove out of sight. I leant out as far as I could and waved, yelling at the top of my lungs trying to get their attention.
For once in this whole rotten case, luck was on my side.
The first police car braked, fishtailing on the wet road. The other car swerved to the side. I saw the lights go back on and the car door open.
‘Up here,’ I shouted. My throat was raw. ‘We need help!’
I turned back to Kevin. He’d got his other hand free and was working on his feet. ‘They stopped. See. I told you this would work.’
I should have climbed down before I started to gloat.
Maybe it was the relief, maybe I just couldn’t hold on any more, but my fingers slipped on the wet metal ladder rung. The weight of the soaking red blanket in my other hand tipped me forwards, and I pivoted on my shins over the edge of the balcony and arced a perfect circle into the air.
I fell slowly. I had plenty of time to imagine all of the I told you sos Kevin would come up with once he stopped screaming. I could hear the police officers yelling too. A raindrop hit my cheek and seemed to push me toward the ground faster. I’d forgotten about the ground. I let go of the red blanket and watched the wind whisk it away.
I hit hard. The air rushed out of my lungs. I could feel the gentle tap of rain on my skin and hear the footsteps splashing towards me from the road. The police swarmed, asking questions I didn’t have the energy to answer.
I managed to squeak out ‘Apartment 213’ and then I closed my eyes.
My dad was going to kill me.
I opened my eyes expecting to see clouds, but instead I saw white, square industrial tiles. The kind you get in dentist offices, or hospitals.
‘Alice?’ It was my father.
I could hear him moving away from me and opening a door, but I couldn’t turn my head to see what he was doing. Someone had taped it to the table between two orange foam blocks. I groaned. Not more tape.
‘She’s awake,’ Dad called into the space beyond the door. Then he came back and stood next to the bed.
‘Hi Dad.’ My tongue felt two sizes too big for my mouth.
I could feel him squeezing my hand gently. ‘I thought I told you to leave the Delgado business alone. What were you thinking?’ Dad’s voice was a mixture of anger and relief. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that I was going to be grounded for the rest of the summer.
The room started to fill with doctors and nurses all poking me in different places. I felt like some sort of science experiment. Everyone was testing me for something. I counted three different nurses checking my pulse. Or maybe it was just one nurse checking my pulse three times. It was hard to tell when all I could see was the ceiling.
‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I really didn’t think it would be dangerous. But I found Dr Learner.’
Dr Learner. I managed to get my head a centimetre off the bed before the tape snapped it back.
‘Can you take this off?’ I asked one of the white coats. He didn’t respond.
‘I need to talk to Officer Ross. She needs to find my phone. Tell Mr Delgado Andrew is a spy.’
‘Calm down, Alice.’ Dad leant over me and put his hand on my forehead. He looked even worse than when I’d seen him that morning. ‘Kevin told the police everything. They tracked your phone and picked up Andrew and those other men going north on the I-95. Dr Learner was there too. You did it, sweetie. I’m proud of you, but promise me you’ll never do anything like this again. OK?’
Dr Learner was safe. The police had Andrew and the two men from the silver Mercedes. I was so relieved I forgot the tape and tried to nod.
‘Don’t worry, Dad,’ I said grimacing. ‘I won’t.’
Dad squeezed my hand tight and leant forward to kiss me on the forehead.
‘I’ll bet you get the OK to write that exposé now, though,’ I said.
‘I already got it. A two-page Sunday spread.’ He couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice. ‘The editor wants me to write up your story too. You’ll make it an exclusive, right?’
‘Anything for you, Dad,’ I laughed. It was good to have my normal reporter-dad back.
One group of white coats was replaced by another. Dad went to fill out some forms and I was left staring at the ceiling. I’d counted the tiles above me three times when someone came in and took off the tape. It was the best moment of my day.
I sat up slowly. Every inch of my back was sore, but nothing felt broken. I could wiggle all of my fingers and toes. I was testing out my neck, turning it from side to side, when I realized who was there. It was Della.
She was standing in the corner of the room, in the small triangle of space that would be behind the door if anyone opened it, clutching a thick stack of papers to her chest. It looked like a manuscript.
‘Did you get the part?’ I mana
ged to croak.
Della stared at me, one eyebrow raised in artful disbelief.
‘You idiot,’ she said. Then she rushed across the room and threw her arms around me. ‘I was so worried.’
‘Ouch, Della,’ I winced. ‘Careful, I just fell off a fire escape.’
She hugged me a bit tighter and then let go, holding me by the shoulders and looking at me from arm’s length. I could sort of see her taking a mental picture, so she could use this later when she needed to play the role of someone visiting the sick. I smiled. That was my sister all right.
‘I’m sorry we fought,’ I said.
‘Me too.’ Della leant on the side of the bed, half sitting, half standing. ‘I got so crazy about the audition. I was horrible to you, and to Dad. I’m really sorry.’
‘It’s OK.’ Even when she was being the world’s biggest diva, Della was still my sister. ‘I tried to get your earrings back. But I was kind of taped to a chair.’
‘Alice, it’s OK.’
‘But I bet you’ll get them back soon. Dad said Officer Ross caught the men who broke into our house.’
‘Alice, I said it’s OK. I didn’t need them.’
She stared at me, waiting for a response. When I didn’t answer soon enough, Della made a show of sighing and rolling her eyes.
‘I got the part.’
She plunked the pile of papers she’d been holding triumphantly on to my lap. It was a script for Annie.
‘You did?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’s amazing,’ I said, relief flooding my veins. ‘I was worried you wouldn’t get it after I told you “good luck” this morning.’
Della glared at me, and then smiled again.
‘It was OK, I kind of deserved it. Besides, you said it outside the theatre so I just had to spit on the street and swear three times before I went inside. Dad practically turned blue when he heard me. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I learnt it from Mom.’
I laughed.
‘And speaking of Mom,’ Della said. ‘She’s worried about you.’
I groaned, but Della showed no mercy.
‘She made me promise to get you to call as soon as you woke up.’
‘But it’s the middle of the night over there,’ I tried.
‘I promised. As soon as you woke up.’
Della took out her phone and handed it to me. Then she waited. I sighed. I was going to have to talk to Mom at some point. I guessed there was no time like the present. I pressed the call button and listened to it ringing.
‘Della?’ Mom picked up before the first ring had even finished. Her voice sounded too close to be coming from Italy. ‘Is there news? How is she?’
‘Hi Mom,’ I said. ‘It’s me.’
‘Oh, Alice! I thought you were your sister. How are you? Are you hurt? What on earth did you think you were doing? You’re just a girl, you shouldn’t be out chasing criminals.’
I probably could have put the phone down and had a full set of X-rays taken and she never would have noticed I was gone. But instead of disappearing, I interrupted her.
‘I’m OK, Mom. Really.’
Mom went quiet. I could tell she was trying not to cry. Della got her dramatic genes from Mom’s side of the family.
‘Mom, I’m honestly fine. Don’t worry.’
‘Don’t worry?’ Mom snorted. I could practically hear her shaking her head from all the way across the Atlantic. ‘You just wait until you have a daughter. Then you’ll understand.’
I didn’t have anything to say to that. I never did.
‘Well, I’m just glad that you’re all right. And that you aren’t hurt. Will they let you out of the hospital soon?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I think so.’
‘Did Della tell you I want you girls to come out and stay with me for a week or two at the end of the summer?’
‘She did.’
‘Well, what do you think? Doesn’t it sound like fun? Florence is so beautiful, I just know you’ll both love it. It’ll be good for you to get away for a while.’ Mom paused hopefully.
‘Yeah,’ I said slowly. ‘Italy sounds like fun.’
‘Oh, honey, I’m so excited. I’ve got so many plans. There are so many places I want to take you and your sister. Wait till you see the theatre I’m working in. Just breathtaking. And the stores here . . . Oh, I’m just so excited. The three of us are going to have such fun.’
My heart sank. Shopping and shows it was, then. Or was it? I took a deep breath, it couldn’t hurt to ask.
‘It sounds nice, Mom. But do you think maybe I could pick out some things for us to do too? You know, more my kind of things?’
‘Oh. Of course, honey. Whatever you like. I’ll get the plane tickets and you make a list of all the things you want to see.’
‘OK.’ I couldn’t believe it. All this time trying to make Mom happy doing what she wanted to do, and she didn’t bat an eyelid when I asked for something different. Kevin would crack up.
‘Well, I’ll let you get some sleep now. You call me as soon as you’re home. I love you honey.’
‘I love you too, Mom.’
I hung up and handed the phone back to Della.
‘So we’re going to Italy,’ she said.
‘It looks like it. And Mom says I get to pick some of our outings.’
Della’s falling face was a masterpiece of mock horror.
‘Nice try,’ I said. ‘Prepare yourself for an education.’
‘How about this? I’ll do my best to have a good time doing whatever it is you like to do, and you don’t complain when we do what I like to do.’
‘That sounds like a deal.’
We even shook hands to make it official.
I spent the rest of the evening being wheeled in and out of rooms getting every inch of my body checked for damage. Apparently Mr Delgado was footing the bill, and he told them to spare no expense. They seemed to be taking him seriously. In fact, I think they may have invented some new tests just for me. By the time it was dark, I’d had more scans than I cared to count. And that is a lot of scans.
There was nothing much wrong with me. The doctor said that I had a mild concussion and some bruised ribs so they’d have to keep me in for a few days for observation. But it wasn’t anything serious. I wondered how much ‘observation’ cost Mr Delgado per hour. But from where I stood, a hospital bed beat another night on the couch.
When visiting hours were over, Dad didn’t want to go home. He kept insisting the nurses bring him some pillows and he would make himself comfortable on the floor.
‘How can I leave you? Something might happen. You might need me in the middle of the night.’
It was like being a three-year-old again. Not that I could get upset with him, not after everything I’d done. But sleeping on the hospital-room floor was going too far. Della stood waiting in the corner, holding her script and Dad’s coat.
‘Dad, she’s fine.’
‘If I need anything I’ll press the buzzer for the nurse. I’m Mr Delgado’s personal guest. I bet a whole team will come running.’
Dad didn’t move.
‘What about the Sunday spread? Don’t you want to get started on that?’
Still nothing.
Della pushed herself off the wall and took Dad by the arm.
‘Come on, Dad. There’s a lot of stuff we need to do to get the house ready for Alice to come home.’
Dad gave a startled snort and turned to look at my sister. After that, she had him in the palm of her hand.
‘Think about it,’ she said. ‘We need to go shopping and make sure there’s food, and maybe some new maths books for Alice to read while she’s resting or some DVDs to watch.’
Dad looked horrified that he hadn’t thought of it himself.
‘And I was thinking.’ I could tell Della was going to hit him hard with her encore request. ‘Maybe you should move your computer up to your bedroom.’
‘Move my computer?’
<
br /> ‘And your desk. Alice and I are getting a little old to be sharing a room.’
‘But you two always share when you come to visit. I thought you liked it.’
‘Well, it’s fine for a weekend or so, but no one should have to sleep on an air bed for more than a week. And now that I’ve got a starring role I need my own space.’ Della winked at me. ‘It’s part of my process.’
Dad looked at Della, then at me, then at Della again.
‘So you see, there’s a lot to do at home. We’ll be able to help Alice more by letting her get a good night’s sleep here while we go home and get things ready for her.’
Dad nodded thoughtfully. My sister was a magician.
‘You’re absolutely right,’ he said. ‘Are you sure you’ll be OK by yourself, Alice?’
‘I’m sure, Dad. I’ll be fine.’
‘All right. I’ll be back to visit first thing in the morning. I love you, sweetie.’ He kissed me on the forehead.
Della pushed Dad quickly out of the room before he could change his mind. She turned once she got him into the hallway and gave me one last wink.
I mouthed the words thank you.
Della smiled and nodded her head. A small bow to mark the end of a perfect performance. Then the door swung shut and I was alone at last.
After Dad and Della left, I laid the bed flat and stared back up at the ceiling. It was a lot earlier than I usually went to sleep, but it had been a very long day. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Dr Learner was safe, Andrew was in custody, all was right with the world.
It shouldn’t have taken me more than a minute to fall asleep, but for some reason my brain wouldn’t stop whirring. Sure, it seemed to say, you found Dr Learner, but you didn’t solve the equation, not really. Show your work, Alice. How did Dr Learner get out of his office? And why? Is there an invisibility suit? And if there is, where the heck is it?
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. I told myself not to think about it. I counted the ceiling tiles in groups of ones, twos and threes, but it was no use. I needed to know the truth. I sat myself up and pulled my bag off the bedside table and on to my lap. One of the police officers must have brought it to the hospital with me.