by A. L. Tyler
“Sure. Shoot.” She said, settling for a talk that was most certainly engineered to cheer her up but probably wouldn’t.
Devin’s eyes lit up. “Okay. Okay, so here’s what we’ve got so far. We sneak into his place late some night and hog tie him with duct tape. Then we chuck him in the trunk, we get an enormous vat of cooking grease and an electric shaver—“
“Have you spoken with Howard lately?” Cheryl cut in. Devin stopped; he looked to Lena expectantly.
“No.” Lena mumbled, dunking a piece of chicken into the gravy dish and then stuffing it into her mouth. “Why?”
“I think he needs to talk to you.” Cheryl said, taking a large gulp from her soda and then staring with wide eyes. Lena shook her head slightly; it was no wonder Cheryl was awake so early and sleeping odd, cranky hours. She had hit the caffeine harder than either Lena or Devin since they had left, and she wasn’t used to it. Soda was a treat, and not a staple at Waldgrave.
A silence fell over the room as Devin glanced nervously over at Lena, waiting for the outburst. Too tired to fight it any longer, she merely grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand, found Howard’s number in the speed dial, and called it.
“This is Howard Collins.”
Lena sighed, rolling her eyes at Devin. “Hi Howard, how are you?”
He took a long time in answering. Lena was beginning to think the call had dropped when he finally spoke again.
“Have you gotten to your email yet?” He asked, his voice so low and deep that Lena wondered who was in the room with him.
“No.” Lena said, worried by the serious tone his voice was striking. “Who died?”
“I sent you some information and I’d like you to check it out if you can.” His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. “Buy a laptop on the card if you have to. Switch hotels, and don’t keep to the itinerary. Your phone is for emergencies only.”
“Okay…” Lena said slowly. She felt the adrenaline surge in her veins and a tight stitch in her chest that she usually associated with speaking in front of a large crowd. “I guess I’ll shoot you an email later then?”
“Sounds great. Bye.”
“Take care, Howard. Bye.”
She shut the phone and turned back to her companions. Devin was giving his lopsided smile. Cheryl was watching her with doe eyes; she swallowed what she had in her mouth before speaking. “And?”
Lena looked around the room once more. It was obvious they were on vacation—clothes strewn everywhere, fast food wrappers on the floor, towels hanging off the ends of the beds. “Try to clean up, okay? I need to go buy some things, and then we’re switching to a different motel when I get back.”
Devin and Cheryl exchanged confused looks as Lena grabbed the car keys off the dresser and went out to the car. It was setting up to be one of those days. Howard hadn’t said anything in response to her query about who had died, which probably meant that someone actually had. She stopped at the first computer store she could find and badgered a salesperson until she found a laptop that was small enough to travel with easily but had a strong wireless connection, a carrying case, backup power cords and extra batteries.
She went back to the motel room to find everything necessary back in the bags, which were waiting by the door, but food wrappers and trash still scattered around the floor.
Lena sighed. “Geez, Dev…What did I ask you to do?”
“Hey! I am on vacation here, and I’m not doing shit that I have to do when I’m not on vacation!” He said sternly.
Lena had Devin take everything back down to the car while she fired up the laptop and got onto the wireless connection offered by the motel. Howard had sent her no less than five emails over the course of the last twenty-four hours; luckily, one of them was labeled “READ FIRST”:
Lena—
Get to an ATM and take out as much cash from your debit and credit as it will let you, then switch hotels and don’t follow the itinerary. STOP USING THE CARDS. Don’t answer your cell phone, and don’t make calls out unless you absolutely have to. Do not tell anyone where you are or where you intend to go—including me. Only emails from now on, and I’ll find a way to get some money orders to you if you need. Don’t talk to anyone, and stay away from public areas. Don’t try to come home until I tell you to.
Howard
Lena sighed. She didn’t have time to read the other emails just then, but she knew it was going to be bad. Why did it always have to happen when she left Waldgrave?
She loaded everyone back into the car and did exactly as she was told. They found an ATM and she maxed out as much as she could into cash, stuffed a little into each suitcase, gave some to Cheryl and some to Devin in case they became separated, and then they drove to the opposite side of town to find a motel. Even though she informed them she would be paying cash, she agreed to let them hold the room against her credit card until she checked out because they were in a hurry; she wasn’t sure if this would be traceable by anyone looking for her or not, but since they were going to be out of the room that evening anyway she decided to let it slide. She probably would have left town right then if she didn’t already have an appointment with Warren Astley, but with any luck they would be able to leave that night after making contact with him.
They settled into the new motel and Lena told them not to get comfortable. Cheryl didn’t even bother taking her stuff out of the car; she was so calm it was disturbing. It was quite a change from the panic and fear she had exhibited the night before, and Lena wasn’t sure what to make of it—Cheryl was a veritable roller coaster of emotions lately. But now she had bigger worries. She pulled the laptop back out in the new motel and was very briefly back in her email account, reading over the excessively long emails Howard had sent to her while Devin and Cheryl sent her nervous glances as they pretended to watch television.
The Alarids hadn’t made their travel arrangements in time for Council, and hadn’t responded to any communications Howard or anyone else had tried to send them. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that they were not living at their typical residence, and none of the distant relations knew anything about it. Like numerous other families, they had turned out the most of their servants earlier in the year; those rumored to have remained were also missing. Everyone in the household had disappeared; no one was taking credit as of yet.
It had sparked a frenzy amongst the other families, who were all busy pointing blame and hiding their children. The Perrys had gone into hiding, but were at least still planning to be present for Council, and no fewer than twenty other families were in a similar state. Most troubling was the fact that once the Alarids had turned up missing, Howard had launched an effort to check on everyone else just to be sure; some families might have given non-response as part of a hiding effort, but he seemed to suspect that the Alarids might not have been the only ones to have gone missing.
And in the last five hours, bodies were starting to turn up. Among the confirmed dead were Nicolas Alarid and his wife, and a list of twelve names from a family Lena had never heard of—the Lintons. Howard informed her in the email that they were more prominent in Europe and England specifically, but had recently been attempting to branch into the US. The bodies of Nicolas and his wife had been discovered in a hotel in Santorini, where they had been vacationing; the Lintons had been discovered unceremoniously heaped in their own cellar. Given the fact that no one was claiming the kill yet, and the fact that there were no notes or other messages attached to the bodies, Howard read Lena’s mind by saying it wasn’t Rollin. These were territorial dominance killings—Council members removing other prominent figures from the picture as they bounded towards the top.
With Master Daray dead, and Griffin coasting, the position for executive leadership was up for grabs.
Lena read over the emails several times to be sure she hadn’t missed anything, and then looked up at the clock. It was already five—they were due to meet Warren in two hours. And it clearly wasn’t safe to stay
where they were; different motel, same city. Same car. There was enough to track her down if anyone really wanted to, and while she didn’t think she was a target, experience had taught her that people liked to lash out at figureheads in times of crisis.
If it wasn’t a time of crisis now, it was clearly about to be. And Howard, for whatever reason, thought she was going to be able to handle it by herself—he had indicated he didn’t want her coming home, which probably meant there was some shady behavior amongst the early arrivals for Council.
Shit. She thought. Shit, shit, shit…
“What did he say?” Cheryl said loudly. Lena looked over to see her eyes, big and round as dinner plates, staring at her.
Lena tried to seem calm, but knew it wasn’t working. “Nothing. It’s just…some people are missing, and—“
“Dead?” Cheryl squeaked. “People are dead?”
“Some people are dead; no one we know. And it’s not even in this country, so we don’t really need to worry about it. I’ve got it under control. Excuse me.” Lena stood and went to the bathroom; her bladder suddenly felt far too full.
When she came back out, she stood in front of the mirror to regain her composure before going back out into the main room. She looked at her reflection in the mirror; it was time for a haircut. Ever a creature of habit, she hadn’t done anything different with her hair since arriving at Waldgrave—it was the same shoulder length that it had always been, pitch dark and lying flat on her shoulders. She suddenly felt compelled to hack it off, making it short. Maybe just passed her cheeks. Maybe shorter, not even hanging; now that she knew someone might have it out for her, she was even tempted to bleach and dye it. Blond—no, brunette—blond was too easily spotted in a crowd. She looked down at the counter, as if expecting to find a pair of scissors there, but instead there was only the typical collection of toothbrushes, combs, and other toiletries.
Cheryl’s travel bag was situated right next to her own, and slightly open. Lena squinted with interest as she saw the slightest bit of an orange bottle sticking out. Curious, she reached down and turned the bag so that it opened; it rattled with the noise of so many pills rolling against the curved inner surfaces of over the counter and clear orange containers. There had to be at least five bottles in there.
Lena carefully removed them one at a time. Sleeping aids. Caffeine pills. Allergy medications. Pain killers. And a bottle of what appeared to be assorted vitamins, but Lena couldn’t be sure.
“Cheryl?” She called.
“Kelsey.” The girl responded. “What?”
Cheryl walked around the divide between the bedroom and the sink vanity area. She looked at Lena, and then at the line of bottles on the counter.
“What’re all these for?”
Cheryl sighed. “I got them from Rosaleen. It started after…well, it started with Rollin. I had a little trouble falling asleep, and then I started having trouble waking up. It’s been really bad on this trip because I can’t always get to them in the car, and all of the caffeine…”
Cheryl shrugged as if this settled the matter.
Lena pressed on. “And what are the rest of these? Allergy pills? I mean, you’re Silenti, you don’t have allergies…”
Cheryl looked stunned, she crossed her arms and tilted her head. “I’ve always been on those. The doctor gave them to me. They make you sleepy, and then the sleeping pills keep you asleep. I’ve been taking them for years—since back before I came to Waldgrave. The doctor gave them to me to help me sleep at night and stay up during the day, and they level me out because I’m so sensitive to other people. The mixed bottle is all kinds of natural stuff that I tried to take to help me focus and relax, and then the pain killers are for the headaches. Why is this such a big deal?”
“You have headaches?” Lena questioned.
“Yeah. From all the pills I guess. I don’t think I’ve had any sober sleep since the whole thing with Rollin started.” Cheryl said quietly. “My schedule has been all messed up since we came on this road trip. I haven’t been taking them the way I usually do.”
Lena stared at all of the drugs on the counter. What a collection. And yet, there had been so many nights Lena could have used these exact implements. All she could do was stare at them on the counter—it explained Cheryl’s mood swings.
“You can have some, if you want. I don’t mind.” Cheryl said.
Lena looked at Cheryl in the mirror. For a brief moment, their eyes met before Lena looked away. “You shouldn’t be using these, Cher…Kelsey. You just shouldn’t.”
“Why?”
Shaking her head, Lena almost laughed. “Because this is probably the reason you’re having weird dreams and sleep walking! I mean, geez, you’re a Silenti…your brain is hyped up enough without whatever the rest of this is doing…”
Lena looked back up to catch Kelsey shifting uncomfortably and looking at the floor. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Lena shuffled the bottles back into Kelsey’s overnight bag; Kelsey didn’t seem at all convinced, but Lena was trying to let it go. She had no idea if the pills would or could affect a Silenti brain, or how. “Okay. So what are you wearing tonight? When we go?”
Kelsey sighed deeply. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think to dress up.”
“You should wear that blue thing!” Devin called from the bed. “The thing with the other thing on it? You know what I mean.”
Lena rolled her eyes. Kelsey smiled weakly. Well, I guess I’ll be wearing the thing with the other thing on it, then. Any objections?
Lena shook her head and almost laughed. Almost. “Would you, I mean either of you, want to cut my hair before we go tonight?”
Kelsey shrugged. From the bed, Devin was yelling enthusiastically. “Sure! I’ve never cut hair before, but how hard could it really be?”
Before Lena knew it, she was seated on the suitcase stand in front of the sink. Kelsey was standing behind her with a pair of scissors and a box of hair dye that Devin had run out to buy at a local superstore.
“Okay.” Kelsey said nervously. “How short did you want it, again?”
“Just…shorter. Just go ahead and start cutting, and I’ll tell you when.” Lena said.
“But what if I cut it too short?” Kelsey said hesitantly.
“It’ll grow back. Seriously, it’s not a big deal.”
Kelsey scoffed. “But what if I cut it too short?”
“Okay, look.” Lena took the scissors from Kelsey and hacked off a chunk of hair. She hated to admit it, but she had just cut it very much shorter than she had wanted. She sighed it off. She wasn’t cutting it to make a fashion statement. “Now just even it out. We’ve only got an hour and a half before we have to make it to our meeting.”
She let the lock of her own dark hair drift down to the floor where it settled, lifeless as a murder victim. Kelsey looked at it, shocked that Lena had taken so much off, and then took the scissors back and started to work. She evened out the mess, leaving Lena with a length that fell about two inches above her shoulders. Lena wasn’t sure if she liked it or not—it made her face look skinnier and her neck look too long. She had always felt scrawny, and the added effect the short hair had wasn’t helping.
Oh well, She thought. She grabbed the box of dye on the counter and thrust it at Kelsey. “Dye me.”
Kelsey obliged, and with Devin’s help, they managed to finish the job in only ten minutes with only two spills onto the carpet below. Devin smeared some of the dye across Lena’s eyebrows as an afterthought. Lena let it sit as long as the box said was safe, sure that her dark hair wouldn’t take it. After she had showered and dried it, however, she found it had worked only too well.
“Well, at least no one will recognize you.” Devin said, covering his mouth with one hand as Lena tried to use the motel drier to get ready faster; they were down to twenty minutes to seven. “Can we do blond next time? I’ve always wondered what you would look like as a blond.”
Lena glared at him and switched the dri
er off. Her hair now smelled like motel drier air, and the dye had sufficiently dried her out enough that her new look had the texture it had previously lacked. It was the color of milk chocolate mixed with charcoal (from the places where the dye hadn’t taken correctly) and it was extremely puffy—Lena hadn’t seen anything like it since the last eighties music video she had seen while flipping through channels on the television. But Devin was right; no one was going to recognize her now, not even Warren Astley. Probably not even Howard.
It was colder than anticipated that evening, so Lena threw on a baggy, comfortable sweater. They packed back up into the car and Lena checked out; the clerk gave her a funny look, obviously recognizing that she had dyed her hair. Lena was now sweating bullets. She had checked out a room for only a few hours, she had changed her appearance drastically while using the room, and she was paying cash—if that wasn’t suspicious, she didn’t know what was. She tipped generously hoping no phone calls would be made on her behalf, and went back out to the car.
They were thirty minutes late arriving because Devin couldn’t read a map, and then ten more minutes late because Lena couldn’t parallel park. Lena threw her cell phone into Devin’s lap as she popped the door open and got out.
“Stay here,” she said. “I’ll call from the restaurant and tell you when to come in.”
Devin looked at her like she’d said something crazy. “Why?”
“I just want to be sure it’s really him, that’s all.” Lena grumbled. If it wasn’t Warren, she didn’t know what she was going to do.
“Well, I’m not letting you go in there alone if you think—“ Devin started anxiously.
“Dev, calm down. You’re staying here with Kelsey. I’m the only one he knows and the only one that can recognize him.” Lena took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “If I’m not back in thirty minutes, or if anything suspicious happens, go home. Without me. You’ve got the cell phone, and I’ll call if I need you to come back.”