“I’ll show this convict to his cell, Pops.”
Having freshened up in the guest en suite, Wolf was amazed at how easy it had been to get close to Henry Brubaker. Too easy, he told himself. He needed to stay vigilant and not let his guard down, no matter how much he liked Megan. The old doctor was beginning to appear less formidable to Wolf and that was a dangerous thing. Someone knocked on the bedroom door.
“Can I come in?” It was Megan’s voice.
“It’s not locked.”
Wolf looked around as she entered.
“You look great. You certainly get changed quickly, for a girl.”
She did a quick twirl.
“Why, thank you sir. You’re not so slow yourself, for a guy.”
Megan insisted on driving them to town in her grandfather’s car, telling Wolf he was supposed to be resting for the evening. Before going to the cinema they ate some food in her favourite Mexican restaurant and discussed which movie to watch. The drive home was quiet, both of them having talked so much there was little left to say. It was a comfortable silence that lay between them, as if the evening had been just one of many they had shared before. When they entered the house, Wolf noticed a light shining under the study door.
“Pops is burning the midnight oil again,” Megan remarked.
“Is he waiting up for you to come home? Maybe we should knock and let him know we’re back,” Wolf said.
Megan told him her grandfather did not like to be disturbed when working so late and that he probably heard the car pull up outside anyway. She walked Wolf to his room, which was downstairs, thanking him for a lovely evening.
“Would you say we just had our first date?” she asked.
“You really are straight talking aren’t you? Are you implying that we have more to look forward to?” Wolf teased.
“More dates? Of course we do. Why not? We had fun, didn’t we?” Megan appeared confident on the outside but inside she was shaking.
“I like your dress, the colour suits you,” Wolf touched the fabric, then traced a finger along one of her brows.
“It brings out the blue in your eyes,” he said.
Megan was thrown by the sudden change of subject and the way he was looking at her.
“It’s new, I bought one for my friend, Amelia, too. Remember I told you earlier that I was driving down to visit her soon? Maybe we could meet up when I’m there, I could introduce you. You live near Guadalajara, don’t you?”
“I’m sure she will love the present. I might not be able to see you when you visit as I have a trip coming up I need to take, goes with the job, I’m afraid. I’m sorry, I didn’t answer your question,” said Wolf.
“What question?” asked Megan.
“About us having more dates.”
“Well, if that’s what you want, sure, we could do that.” Megan tried hard to keep a straight face.
Wolf laughed at the way she had turned things around. Taking hold of her hands, he drew her in close. It was a gentle kiss that said a lot.
“See you in the morning,” Megan whispered as she walked towards the stairs.
CHAPTER NINE
Megan’s skin was burning, the flesh on her lower arm glowing pink through the wet sleeve that clung to it. She began to pluck the fabric away from the scald, then remembered it was the wrong thing to do. Running to the sink, Megan ran cold water from the tap over her arm. The coolness numbed the pain and she waited for ten minutes before removing it from the flow of water. As soon as she did so, the stinging returned. The first aid kit in the kitchen contained ointment and gauze, which she used to cover the scald but the injury was more serious than she first thought. Megan knew her grandfather was working on a very important project, as he had asked her not to disturb him that day, at least not while he was still at the clinic. He promised they would have supper together later. She found herself wishing that Wolf had stayed for just one more day.
Running to the study, Megan searched for the spare key card for the clinic. She could let herself in and go straight to the dispensary, her grandfather didn’t even have to know she was there. Finding nothing in the desk or anywhere else in the study she remembered how Henry always went to his bedroom as soon as he got home, so she decided to look there. Megan felt relieved to find the door unlocked but guilty as soon as she stepped inside.
It was a man’s room in every way. Dark furniture with a simple, divan bed that stood on a pale green marbled floor. The plain white walls served as a backdrop for just one large painting. The portrait of Megan’s grandmother was so lifelike that the eyes seemed to follow her accusingly around the room as she searched for the key. An antique jewellery box sitting on top of a desk looked out of place in such a masculine setting. It had belonged to her grandmother.
Megan picked it up and opened the lid. An old tune began to play and she remembered, as a child, being shown the ballerina turning gracefully. As she carefully placed the box back down in the same spot, a thought struck her. The first time she had seen the ballerina her grandfather told her it was a magic box. There was a secret compartment that only he could open, where Henry kept his wife’s wedding ring. At times, he had shown it to his impressionable young granddaughter. She had forgotten all about that over the years. Megan picked up the box again and turned it upside down, trying to move the sides and the bottom but it was no use.
She recalled how the music had been playing each time her grandfather took out the ring. Her arm was beginning to throb with pain, no longer just a stinging sensation. As she lifted the lid, her fingers went numb and the box fell onto the hard, marble floor. The music continued to play as the tiny ballerina tried to turn. There was a small opening around the circular base where the dancer’s toes rested. When Megan picked up the box the small figurine leaned to one side. Realising she had broken one of her grandfather’s treasured possessions she carefully pulled the base away from the velvet platform, exposing a shallow cavity. Inside was the keycard to Henry’s clinic.
With the pain in her arm getting worse, Megan needed to get to the clinic quickly so she took her grandfather’s car. Not wanting anyone to see it parked outside the building, she drove in behind some storage sheds. The gauze on her arm was unravelling and got caught in the car door as she closed it. Quickly unwinding the dressing, Megan left it hanging there and ran towards the back entrance of the clinic.
It was time for ward rounds and the staff, including her grandfather, would be busy with the patients. This meant she had a good chance of getting to the dispensary unseen. Now that the air was getting to her blistered skin the pain was increasing. Megan swiped the keycard, heard a click and pushed open the door. It had been a couple of years since her last visit there with her grandfather. The clinic was a place he rarely invited her to. She knew how to get to the dispensary from the front entrance but she had never used the back one before.
There was a linen closet just inside the door leading Megan to believe she must have come in through the staff door. She pulled on one of the neatly folded white coats and piled her hair up into a disposable cap. Megan wondered if she was being overly dramatic as she pushed a cleaning trolley along the corridor. She hid her face behind a large mop-head that was attached to the side of the cart.
Her grandfather had been very preoccupied lately and she knew how angry he would be if she was found sneaking around. On top of all that, she had just broken one of his treasured possessions. Megan knew that if she could get to the dispensary and use a light machine on her scald it would ease the pain and help the healing process. She could then return to the house and nobody would know where she had been. Her plan was to call the clinic later, leaving a message for her grandfather to bring the machine home with him.
“Hey, you there.” A voice shouted out behind Megan, stopping her in her tracks. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
“You don’t have any gloves on, is there a box on your trolley?” Megan looked around the various items and found it. She held it up, keep
ing her back to whoever was behind her.
“Room 22 needs a clean-up. A patient has been sick on the floor. Be as quiet as you can, they may be sleeping.”
Listening to footsteps fade away behind her, Megan slowly let out the breath she had been holding. She could see an open door nearby. There was no need to check the number as the smell told her it was the correct room. A young woman lay in the bed, sipping water.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t make it to the bathroom. Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”
Trying to conceal her face as she mopped the floor, Megan replied that she had just started work in the clinic as a summer job.
“I thought you seemed quite young, most of the staff here are ancient. It’s nice to meet someone nearer my own age. Could you come back when you are on a break, just for a chat, please?”
Looking up, Megan smiled, promising she would do her best to return and bring some flowers with her. As she backed out the door, pulling the trolley with her, Henry Brubaker walked by, right behind her. Neither one of them saw the other.
Leaving the clinic by the staff entrance, the doctor was weary and needed fresh air. The last trial he had carried out had gone wrong and frustration was beginning to get the better of him.
“Ah. There’s nothing like some fresh air to revive the spirit,” he said to himself as he inhaled deeply.
Taking a brisk walk to clear his head, Henry noticed something strange as he approached one of the storage sheds. It looked like a car was parked behind the building. Thinking it unusual for any of his staff to have left their vehicle there, he went over to have a closer look. Shocked to discover it was his own car, Henry looked around to see if anyone was watching. He wondered if someone was playing tricks on him. A light breeze blew some white gauze hanging from the closed car door.
“Megan,” he whispered, “She must be inside the clinic.”
Henry raced back as fast as his legs could take him. In his hurry to get to the one room he feared she might enter, he almost knocked over one of the cleaners. Having impeccable manners, Henry would normally have stopped and apologized. This time he just shouted back that he was sorry and ran ahead.
Megan staggered against the wall when someone collided with her from behind. As he carried on running along the corridor, she realized it was her grandfather. She thought that one of his patients must be in trouble, making it safe for her to continue on to the dispensary. As she neared her destination she noticed the door wasn’t fully closed. Taking a mop from the trolley, Megan pretended to clean the tiled floor. She could see her grandfather swiping a lock with his key card before disappearing through a doorway. The room across the corridor was empty and Megan pulled the trolley inside, closing the door over, leaving just enough of a gap to see through.
A few minutes later, Henry reappeared, carrying a tray of food. He had a look of thunder on his face. Megan wondered what had him so angry. Making sure the coast was clear, she ran across the corridor into the dispensary. The pain in her arm was forgotten as she examined the lock on the mysterious door through which her grandfather had just emerged. She tried swiping the keycard she had found in the jewellery box but nothing happened.
Noticing a keypad, Megan tried various combinations, birthdays, names, addresses but the door remained locked. A tune her grandfather often hummed came to mind and she realized that it was the same one the jewellery box had played. Humming it softly to herself, Megan was glad she had taken music as a subject in school. Placing the card in the slot above the keypad, she pressed the letters that corresponded to the first few notes of the music. There was a click and she pushed the door open. Afraid to lock it again, in case she couldn’t get back out, Megan closed it over.
There was a long, narrow corridor in front of her that led to an elevator. Curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to investigate. The lift went down quite deep into the ground and when the doors opened Megan saw a white room, well lit, with some chairs and a desk. It looked like a waiting area. There was only one door off it, so she went through and found herself in a windowless, dimly lit room.
On one side there was a row of cubicles, with curtains pulled across them. On the opposite wall there were glass doors, reinforced with wire. Megan cautiously tip toed over to the first curtain and peeped around it. What looked like a large, glass tank sat on top of a long table. There was nothing inside but it had a lot of wires attached to it, which were hooked up to various monitors.
Megan was braver with the next cubicle and pulled aside the curtain with a wide sweep. This time the glass box was not empty. In it lay a young teenage boy, a light sheet covering his body. His breathing was shallow and he seemed to be in a deep sleep. Tubes and wires were connected both to him and the monitors. In the cubicle beside him lay an older woman, Megan guessed she was in her sixties. There was something very familiar about her and as she leaned in closer to examine her features, a sudden movement caught her eye. A shadow had flickered across one of the glass doors on the opposite side of the room.
Her heart racing, Megan crossed the room to look inside and was surprised to see another teenage boy, this time sitting on a bed looking back at her, very much awake. She smiled and waved at him but he drew his legs up onto the bed and shrank back against the wall. He looked terrified and Megan knew she should try to open the door and see if he was okay. The keycard and the code she had previously used worked again and within seconds she was inside the small room, standing in front of the boy.
His mouth opened as if he was about to scream and his eyes looked just over Megan’s shoulder, fear written all over his face. Without turning around, she knew it was her grandfather standing behind her. He was so close, she could feel his angry breath on the back of her neck.
Henry could not believe his granddaughter had found his secret chamber, hidden deep below the clinic. There was no way he could allow her to tell her parents or anyone else about her discovery. As Megan turned to face him, Henry stepped back and shouted at her to sit down and listen to him. It was the first time he had ever been angry with her. He needed time to think and make a plan. It was hard for him to look her in the eye, so he told her that he would explain everything later.
He demanded she hand over the keycard, which she reluctantly did. It was then he noticed the scalded skin on her arm and could see it needed to be treated. Leaving the room, Henry promised to return with some medical equipment.
Megan sat staring at the floor, trying to make sense of it all. The boy never said a word. In no time, Henry was back with a small light machine and some dressings. He placed his granddaughter’s arm under the LED bulbs and a pinkish red light beamed across the damaged skin.
“I can leave this here with you for now. You know how to use it, don’t you, Megan.” It was more of a statement than a question.
Nodding her head, she took the sterile dressings and gauze held out to her.
“You will have to be confined to this room, just for a few days, sweetie. I need to think about the situation and decide what to do for the best. You understand, don’t you?” Henry’s voice had softened as he spoke.
“No, Pops, I don’t understand. You’re scaring me. Why are you leaving me here, and why is this boy terrified of you?”
“I’m sorry, Megan. I promise to explain everything to you in good time. Try and get some sleep. I’ll come back in the morning with some food.”
As he walked towards the door, Megan ran forward, hanging out of his arm sobbing and pleading for him to take her with him. A tall man she had never seen before stepped into the room, glaring at her. Henry roughly shook her away and she fell onto the floor, remaining there, as the door was closed and locked. The boy came over and helped her up onto the only bed in the room. They both sat there, side by side, backs against the wall, not speaking a word to each other, tears running down their faces.
CHAPTER TEN
Kaden looked across the table at his parents’ beaming faces. They were holding hands and looked as
if they were about to explode with happiness.
“So, what’s this good news you have for me?” he asked.
Estelle smiled at Lloyd and said he should be the one to tell him, “After all this wouldn’t have happened without you.”
“You played a pretty important part in it yourself, hun,” was his reply and they both laughed.
“Son, we are about to have two new additions to the family,” Lloyd said.
“You’re pregnant. Its twins. I can’t believe it,” Kaden gasped.
At first, a look of shock swept over their faces, then Lloyd burst out laughing. His wife joined in until they were both gasping for breath. Estelle was first to regain her composure.
“I’m not pregnant. Your two young friends are on their way from Antarctica,” she said. “We just got confirmation of it this morning. We wanted you to be the first to know.”
Kaden jumped up, hugged his father and picked his mother up, spinning her around the kitchen. He ran for the door, then stopped to look back at his parents.
“It is okay for me to tell the others, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is, Kaden, go on out to them, before you burst,” laughed Estelle.
The following day, there was great excitement at the Lake Chapala Vineyard and Market Garden. Paco and Radar were due to arrive in the evening, so a welcome party was organized for them. Jake Matthews had flown in from Chicago with Duke accompanying him, which surprised everyone. Estelle insisted they cancel their hotel booking and stay with them. Jake had made sure all the documentation was in order so there would be no last minute complications.
“Time to go, Kaden,” Lloyd said. “I think you and the boys should be the first to meet your friends when they arrive. We’ll wait here at the house.”
Waiting for their two young friends to come through arrivals, Kaden and the boys joked among themselves, keeping their eyes on the stream of passengers, most of whom carried only hand luggage. One tall, muscular teenage boy caught Wolf’s eye.
“That’s Paco,” he said, waving his arms and calling out the name. Almost a year had gone by since their escape and the sight of the grown up fifteen year old surprised them all. A huge smile spread across Paco’s face as he ran towards the cheering group. The boys wrapped themselves around their young friend.
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