“So what’s the game plan for today?”
“The first thing we’ve got to do is hire ourselves another car. The second, I need to visit an Internet café to see if I got any replies to the e-mails I sent out yesterday. If I have, I hope we’ll learn of a safe place to hide for a while. If not, I can’t help but think the best bet is to head back to Santa Barbara, no matter how strange that seems. Seth had in his possession a disk, which both Joe Alletti and Angus O’Leary believe you’ve somehow inherited. I personally think Seth would have placed the disk in something he was certain you’d never part with.”
“When you say a disk, you mean a computer floppy disk?”
“That’s right, just a small black stiffy; the kind that goes into the A drive of your computer. What did you do with all of Seth’s belongings?”
Julia shrugged sadly. “Paul and I went through his clothing and gave most of them, as well as his stereo and some of his furniture, to a local Catholic charity. Your family was Catholic I believe?”
“Yes, my mother was quite devout.”
“All the furniture in the main part of the condo I asked my brother to keep. Seth had donated it originally to the condominium and I just felt he would have wanted my brother to keep it. Do you think Seth could have placed the disk inside the furniture?”
“No, he wouldn’t have felt that attached to just furniture. Was there anything else?”
Julia thought for a long time. “Of course! There’s at least one item I know he would never have parted with and after his death, I kept.”
“Yes…?” Simon let the word dangle.
“I’d given him a sketch at Christmas taken from a photograph my brother snapped when we were decorating the house. A local artist made an ink sketch for Seth and I had it framed.”
“And what happened to this sketch?”
“I couldn’t bear to part with it so it’s hanging above my bed.”
“Do you believe there’s any chance he may have somehow hidden the disk behind the picture?”
“Well…, it’s certainly worth a try since the only other things I kept from Seth were a few books. I believe there was a Lord of the Rings, a copy of The English Patient, and some architectural books, but I’ve looked through them many times and there’s definitely no disk in any of them.”
“And his computer?”
“I donated it to the architectural firm because it contained most of his architectural programs. They seemed very happy about it.”
“And his hard drive was comprised during the robbery,” said Simon, snapping his fingers. “It isn’t there. No—it’s got to be hidden inside the painting. If we find it, we may have given Angus the ability to put Alletti away for years.”
“And if it isn’t there?”
“I can’t believe that’s a possibility,” said Simon confidently, watching her brown-flecked eyes closely. “You know, they originally wanted to put you in Witness Protection even though you didn’t have a clue you were in danger. Would you have considered it?”
The appalled expression clamping over her face was enough to tell Simon everything. Julia had her family, her friends, her job; she just wouldn’t run and hide with her tail between her legs. That was not the life for her and he cringed inside. Their options were thus limited unless he could convince her otherwise, since Santa Barbara would likely no longer be a safe haven for the woman he loved.
The waitress interrupted his dark thoughts by delivering two overburdened plates housing huge stacks of buckwheat pancakes swimming in butter, as well as a generous helping of bacon and eggs. She also thumped down several kinds of syrup and the check.
“Whew,” exclaimed Simon. “I do believe the service is a bit abrupt here.”
“I wonder if I they have a meter running on this booth?”
Simon smiled back and reached for the maple syrup. It was good to laugh with her, to see the expression of pleasure flit across her face as they both tucked into their hotcakes with gusto. Forty-five minutes later they stood in front of the rental car counter.
“The only thing I have available is a Chrysler LeBaron; will that do?”
It was a bigger and flashier car than Simon would have preferred, but he nonchalantly signed the forms and gave the red-suited clerk his credit card. Julia’s eyes widened, but she said nothing at the alias. Simon’s false credit card was just one of his many surprises.
Whistling shakily under her breath, Julia strolled over and picked up an auto magazine, pretending to read the ratings for the upcoming year’s SUV’s. Later, seated behind the wheel of the black sedan, Simon retrieved his Dodger cap and tugged it low over his ears.
“How do I look?”
“Like an avid fan. I bet you can hardly wait until spring training.” Simon frowned across at her.
“There’s something I forgot to do this morning Julia; something I need to remember to do each and every morning when I wake up and find you near me.” He reached an arm across the console and pulling her close kissed her soundly on the lips, snatching that brief moment to give her a heartfelt hug.
“I’m here with you sweetie,” he promised, “and I’ll protect you with my life.”
“Because you owe it to Seth?” she asked shakily. Both Hayes boys were mighty fine kissers.
“No, because I want to. Yes, I owe Seth many things. I’m glad he found you, but from now on, it’s not any obligation to Seth influencing my actions or feelings toward you. I just wanted you to understand that no matter what happens over the next few hours or days, I want you to trust me Julia, and if you can, grow to love me.”
“I do trust you Simon,” she said hastily, not willing to go any further than that. She pulled away from him, and clearing her throat, buckled her seat belt. “I’m ready I think,” she said cheerily.
“And if your last bout of driving was any example, I’d better remain buckled up.”
The Internet café was amazingly crowded for a Sunday morning and Julia pulled up a chair behind Simon as he punched in his hotmail address and hoped for replies. There were none.
“Damn,” he murmured under his breath. “Then there’s no other choice, we have to head back to Santa Barbara tomorrow. I think this bodes ill for us Julia. God knows where Stan is and why our e-mails aren’t being answered.”
“Can we approach the local law enforcement agency?”
“That was the problem up in Toronto. Joe had too many of them in his pocket and it was impossible to know who to trust. The fact that he managed to get rid of Seth even while in prison doesn’t sit well with me. I’d prefer to stick to Stan, Angus, and Mandy for now. I guess we’re on our own until we hear from them, so that means we’ll have to make another stop. It will just take a moment.”
Julia waited in the black sedan as Simon slipped into a beauty supply shop. Upon his return he thrust a white plastic bag into her hands.
“I’m going to pull into the gas station over there and I want you to don that thing.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve always wanted to make love to a brunette,” chuckled Simon.
“There’s no way!” she exclaimed at his outburst of laughter.
In the dingy bathroom Julia pulled and tugged at the oversized wig, the brunette curls tumbling around her face and over her shoulders. She studied her reflection in the warped gas station mirror. Simon had also purchased a pair of dark obscuring sunglasses, which she placed over her dark green eyes. She literally didn’t recognize herself in wig, glasses, and blue windbreaker, and when she slipped into the passenger side of the LeBaron, Simon gave a low wolf whistle.
“Ow baby,” he howled, as she punched him on the arm.
“It’s too early to head back to Santa Barbara right now. I’d rather wait until dusk. Let’s drive back to the motor lodge and I’ll park the Pajero far away, maybe in Sierra Madre or something. You wait in the room until I come back. I paid for an extra day—so we can leave anytime we want this afternoon.”
He parked the bla
ck sedan near the Pajero and nonchalantly got out, his gray eyes sweeping the parking lot.
“Let’s go. I’ll walk you to the door just to make sure we don’t have any unexpected visitors.”
The only person in sight was a blue-uniformed cleaning lady who hovered near the far end of the motor lodge, dumping used towels into her cart’s laundry hamper. Simon nodded to Julia, who slipped the pass key into the lock and waited until the light turned green. Simon edged inside and checked out the room.
“All clear,” he whispered. The maid has already made up the bed and straightened the bathroom. “You’ll be alright?”
“Just fine Simon. Please… just hurry back.”
“I will, my love, but it will take awhile since I’ll probably have to walk a ways after I park the car. Maybe I’ll get lucky and catch a bus.” He leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss. “Stay safe lady. I’ll rap on the door five times, then pause and rap two more times. That way you’ll know it’s me.” He gave her tense shoulders a strong squeeze and headed off as the rain continued its deluge.
Julia valiantly tried to amuse herself over the next hour as she waited impatiently for Simon to return. She flicked through late morning religious stations and finally settled upon a talk show about people who had left their vast fortunes to their pets. Ninety minutes later she was pacing the room impatiently. Julia had had a great deal of time to think and once again spoke to Seth.
“I think I love your brother,” she whispered into the dancing TV screen. “I hope you don’t mind so very much Seth, for I’ve been so lonely. Something about him seems so right.” She tried to send out a message to her lost lover and as always, the moment she did, a fiery response slammed back. Her body tingled as her heart ignited and she could almost hear Seth’s melodious voice.
“I want you to live and love, sweet lady. Love my brother-it’s alright with me.” The message resonated through the room and heated her heaving chest. Grateful tears streamed down her face as the soul housed within gave her permission to love someone he had once loved. She lay back upon the crumpled spread and cried, finally dozing off only to be awakened by several sharp raps upon the motel door.
Five taps, then two, and Julia flung open the door, throwing her anxious body into his arms, her chest burning in unrestrained response to his love. Simon was sodden but she didn’t care, and finding his lips kissed their chilly firmness. He grinned down at her and she had to laugh at his disheveled state. His raven hair, plastered under the now dripping cap, spiked comically while raindrops slid off the tip of his straight nose. His pants were so damp they shone darkly and his black leather jacket was even shinier with damp, the rain puddling about his frozen feet.
“I think I’d better change,” he suggested, giving an uncontrollable shiver.
“And take a hot shower.” She helped him remove his soaked jacket and he left his Rockports right beside the door.
“I’ll be out in just a few minutes. I’ll hang my wet things on the wall heater and hopefully they’ll be dry within a few hours.” He swooped down, retrieving his only other clean outfit from the sports bag and hurried into the bathroom.
The rain continued to pour, punctuated by occasional flashes of lightning accompanied by thunder from the not-so-distant Sierra Madres. Within fifteen minutes Simon re-entered the main room, drying his hair with a small white towel.
“Are you better now?” Julia asked, noticing his cheeks were rosy from the hot shower.
“Much.”
“The car?” she queried.
“I parked it in Sierra Madre, behind an apartment building. I chose the spot because I’d noticed a bus stop only a few blocks away and thought it would prove convenient. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and I was soaked by the time I made it to the bus stop. I stood there for at least fifteen minutes waiting for the pokey bus. Then, it dropped me two full blocks from here and I had to run in the pouring rain. I was never so happy to see the flashing lights of this motel in my whole life!”
Julia laughed. “Well, you’re safe and warm now. “Why don’t you come over here and I’ll warm you up a bit more?”
Simon gulped, his eyes flitting to the burning lamps. Julia stretched out her arms to him and he melted into her embrace, kissing her long and hard.
“I want to see you,” she whispered, her eager hands playing with the buttons of Simon’s blue jeans. His hands stilled hers. “The accident…,” he stammered. “It… it disfigured me horribly Julia. Not only was my leg mangled, but I suffered a severe injury to my back. You may have felt the scar?”
Julia had indeed sensed the raised scar tissue, but the glimpse of it held no fears for her. “I don’t care what it looks like,” she said truthfully. “I only care about you. Scars fade with time, but not how I feel about you.”
“Or Seth?”
“Or your brother Seth.” Her heart flared and burned as her brown-flecked eyes studied him, acknowledging his uncertainly. “I will love him always Simon, but there is room in my heart for another. Seth has allowed there to be room. His love burns through me as I touch you and I know I have his blessing. I will always love and miss him, but he will never supercede you.”
The words were so sincere that Simon wanted to weep, but he had to stay focused in order to deny her what she requested.
“Please, at least for a while, let us love in the darkness. I need the darkness Julia, to hide my scars and my pain; pain I have not completely shared with you and am unready to do so as of yet. Please indulge me, love.”
Julia hesitated and gazed up into his dark eyes for a long moment until finally reaching up to stroke the strange white streak dividing the crown of his head and moving to the scar near his mouth. “Alright, but only if you call me by that name again.”
“My love?”
“That’s it. Say it again Simon,” and she kissed him full on the mouth.
“My sweet, sweet love,” he repeated obediently, and pulled away from her for only an instant to switch off the table lamps, plunging the room into blessed darkness as the heavy lining of the curtains turned the room into night as the storm raged outside.
His hands sought her silky hair in the darkness as his nostrils inhaled her sweet clean scent. Her own hands played with the dampness of his hair and he lowered her upon the made-up bed, no longer able to hear the drone of thunder or pounding of the rain. Simon could only feel and hear Julia. He kissed her deeply, allowing her to remove his shirt and explore the warmth of his chest. Her hands stilled at the scar on his back, but he urged her on.
“It’s an old wound my love. Never mind it.” His lips lowered to her breast and he savored the feel and taste of her.
The thunder drowned out her cries as he loved her first with his mouth, kissing her so passionately and desperately that she thought her heart would burst from the very sweetness of it. Then his lips trailed downward, finding the sweet joining of her legs and teasing her with his tongue, causing her to cry out once, then twice as he brought her to fulfillment. Julia’s hands desperately removed his restraining trousers and pulled him atop her and Simon moved slowly, almost languidly inside of her, enjoying the feel of her damp body and wanting to prolong the joy of the moment. Finally, he could hold back no longer and with a cry, collapsed above her, convinced she would forgive him for everything.
They slept long and deep into the afternoon, Simon eventually pulling the sheet and blankets over them to ward off the creeping chill. He nearly roused once to pull on his briefs and jeans, but sank back further into sleep before that important task was accomplished. And so the afternoon approached, as the rain slackened and the titter of the common sparrow could be heard outside their door followed by the barking of an impatient dog. Julia stretched and snuggled against Simon, the memory of his passion and fulfilling love causing her to lift her head and kiss the hard point where his shoulder jutted toward her. He slept deeply, his breathing even and relaxed, and Julia allowed him to continue his peac
eful slumber, rising ever so quietly to retrieve her discarded clothes.
Julia headed into the bathroom, enjoying a long wash before returning to the dimly lit room to find the gym bag she’d hurriedly thrust clean clothes in the evening before. Simon shifted and pushed the restraining sheet away, sleeping half on his side to leave his bare chest completely exposed. The imp in her reared its mischievous head and stealthily she slowly slid the sheet away, wanting to revel in his beautiful male nakedness. He twitched, turning upon his back as the sheet lowered. Julia couldn’t believe her eyes as the light from the open bathroom door poured into the room and over his still figure. She moved closer and actually reached out a finger toward the betraying mark, a cry involuntarily rising from her overwrought throat.
Simon bolted upright, one hand instinctively reaching for the covers, his other groping for the revolver he had laid upon the nightstand earlier. His eyes found her mortified face and started. She pointed shakily.
“Where did you get that… that tattoo?” her voice shrieked.
“Tattoo?” he repeated dumbly, following the accusatory path of her finger. There, nestled directly to the right of his left hipbone, and perfectly placed between it and his maleness were the delicate colors of a simple tattoo depicting two rose bushes, one pink, one crimson as they intertwined and trailed upward to become one. Upon the thorny base of the main stalk, the initials SMH rested above the letters JAM; the pair encased in the delicate outline of a heart. It was the same design found in the envelope behind Seth’s chest of drawers over ten months prior.
Simon gulped as all color drained from his beloved’s face.
“Seth drew that design,” Julia gasped, trying to comprehend the implications of that artistic impression on Simon’s abdomen, her chest burning painfully.
“I know,” he said simply, not seeking to deny it.
“What’s it doing there?”
“I had it done after… after I met you.”
“After you met me? Isn’t that taking your vow to protect Seth’s lover a bit too far?”
Love Never Dies Page 20