by L. T. Ryan
She cried when they passed him.
He set her down by the front door and instructed her to not turn around. Bear walked back to Bernie, untied her, told her to call the police at once.
“Please stay, Uncle Riley.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Cops will slow me down.”
Bernie said nothing. She clutched the phone tight in her hands.
“And don’t tell them I was here.”
Bernie nodded, wiped her face with her sleeve, and pressed nine-one-one and brought the phone to her head.
Bear got up, went to the front, grabbed Mandy and brought her outside. He put her in the front seat of the car and buckled her seat belt. He got in on the other side.
She turned to look at him. Tear tracks stained her pale cheeks. “Ms. Cathy says I’m supposed to sit in the back seat.”
“Do you want to sit in back?”
“No,” she said. “Where are we going?”
“Florida,” said Bear.
“What’s in Florida?”
“We’re going to pick up a friend.”
“In Florida?”
“Well, an island nearby,” Bear said.
Mandy shook her head. “How far is it?”
“Pretty far, kid. Going to be a long drive.”
“Can’t we just fly?”
Bear thought this over on the way to Montana. Too risky to fly right now. The old man had many people on his payroll, and most likely had someone who could notify him the minute Bear and Mandy showed up on a computer screen. Hell, he probably already had a team on their way to Salt Lake City.
“It’s not a good idea, sweetie. We’ll just have to drive.”
She sighed. “I’m going to need some books, markers, and an MP3 player.”
Bear laughed. “An MP3 player? You don’t like talking to me?”
“No, I don’t like that rocker roller music you play.”
“Don’t even think I’m going to put on some teenie bop music, kid.”
“What’s teenie bop?” Mandy asked.
Bear laughed. “We’ll stop in Billings.”
He pulled out on the road and pressed the gas pedal down as far as it would go. An ambulance flew by in the opposite direction, followed by three sheriff vehicles. He watched them in the rear-view mirror until they disappeared from sight.
Bear pulled the car into an empty spot in the parking lot, got out and led Mandy into the superstore. “Let’s get you some clothes first.”
“OK.” She pulled his hand and led him toward the girl’s section.
“Know your size?”
“Mmhmm, yes I do,” she said.
“Go ahead and grab what you want. Fill this cart.”
Mandy’s eyes widened and she smiled for the first time since he’d taken her from the house. She went to work picking out outfits.
Bear watched with a smile on his face.
“OK, done.”
“That’s all you’re getting?” Bear asked.
Mandy nodded.
“OK, what else did you want?”
Mandy led him to the electronics department. She stopped at the MP3 players.
Bear shook his head.
“Please?” Mandy said.
“Fine, which one you want?”
“This one,” she said.
“Put it in the cart.”
She did.
“What else?”
Mandy led him down the main aisle until they came to the book section. She grabbed a couple books to read as well as a couple activity books. She threw a box of markers into the cart.
“OK, let’s get out of here,” Bear said.
He headed toward the front of the store. Mandy followed. They found an empty line and put everything on the belt. Bear looked around the store. His eyes settled on a tall man with black and silver hair. He looked familiar.
“What’s wrong?” Mandy asked.
Bear didn’t realize that he hunched over the cart and was squinting. “Nothing. Stay behind me.”
Mandy grabbed onto Bear and stood behind him.
“Sir?” the cashier said. “Sir? How will you be paying?”
Bear looked over his shoulder and handed the cashier a credit card.
“We have a machine for that,” the cashier said.
“Just run it,” Bear said.
“Fine.”
Bear finally recognized the man as James Reston. The last time he saw James, the man had partnered with Russ. Bear turned back to face the register.
“Sign the machine,” the cashier said.
Bear signed, grabbed the bags and picked up Mandy. He left the cart at the register, headed for the door, taking one last look back over his shoulder. James was gone and he didn’t see Russ.
“What’s going on, Bear?”
“Nothing,” Bear said. “We need to get out of here.”
Bear bolted for the car. He put Mandy in the car and told her to buckle up. He threw the bags in the backseat.
“Hey,” she said. “What about my stuff?”
“Get it in a bit,” Bear said as he got in the car. “We need to go.”
What the hell were they doing this close? Did they think he might come this way?
Bear rationalized the situation. They weren’t following him. No way would they be standing in the middle of the store like that if they were. More than likely they were waiting for further instructions from the old man or Charles. They’d camped out in Billings, closest thing to a big city for hundreds of miles. Seeing them was just a coincidence and a reminder that Bear needed to put as much distance between themselves and Montana as possible tonight. There would be a time and place to deal with the men, but not now and not here.
He started the car, left the parking lot and merged onto the highway a few miles down the road.
6
Clarissa slipped through the door and onto the deck of the cruise ship. She leaned against the rail, stared out across the Atlantic Ocean, watched the sun rise. Miles of blue and orange watery desert spread out before her.
She thought about the day ahead. Yesterday she had spent the majority of the day walking on the track that wrapped around the sixth deck. The more ambitious passengers jogged by her, but none of them spent six hours circling the ship like she had. A few of the joggers acknowledged her. Most passed by without a word or a smile. Felt like home.
She couldn’t help but be bored by the floating city. She had no interest in gambling, just a waste of money as far she was concerned. Drinks were free, but she didn’t want to be caught in a situation where her instincts weren’t intact. She could see a show, but then she’d just feel bad about dropping out of Juilliard and giving up her real performing career.
The food was good, too good, in fact. After two weeks of hospital and hotel food she could barely stop herself from sampling everything the ship’s chefs had prepared. And for that reason, she’d spend another six hours or so walking around deck six today. Probably every day of the cruise, for that matter.
Thinking about food made her stomach growl. She stepped back inside and took the elevator up to the tenth deck to grab breakfast.
She picked her way through the buffet and found an empty table in the corner of the dining room. She sat with her back to the wall so she could watch everyone.
A man walked up. She guessed he was older than her, maybe forty judging by the strands of grey mixed in with his light brown hair. Expensive sunglasses sat atop his head. He had tan skin with distinguishing lines etched into his forehead.
“This seat taken?” he asked.
“Yes,” Clarissa replied.
The man sat down.
Clarissa blinked at him. “I said it’s—”
“I love these transAtlantic cruises. Know what I mean?”
“No,” Clarissa said. She took a bite of her eggs.
“Seven days at sea, crossing the mighty Atlantic. Such a rush.”
“Yeah,” Clarissa said. “It’s a real hoot
.”
“What’s your name?”
“Sam,” replied Clarissa.
“I’m Mike.”
“I didn’t ask.”
Mike laughed. “Feisty, aren’t you?”
“Don’t you have a wife to get back to, Mike?”
He smiled. “Single.”
“Well, I’m not. And if my very tall, very strong, very jealous boyfriend sees you sitting here talking to me, he’ll probably beat your old ass.”
Mike laughed. “You’re not here with anyone. I saw the big guy drop you off. You didn’t board with anyone. You haven’t dined with anyone.”
Clarissa stopped chewing her food. Her eyes narrowed as she sized up the man.
“Well, I better get going. Busy day at sea and all that.” He rose. “Maybe see you on the shuffleboard deck?” He turned and walked away.
What the hell was that?
A wave of panic washed over her. She scanned the room. No one seemed to be paying attention to her. She lost sight of Mike. She searched her memory, but he didn’t seem to fit. His accent wasn’t local to her, either. In fact it was pretty neutral. Still, Charles and the old man had quite a reach. Had Mike followed her and Bear from La Spieza?
Clarissa folded a napkin around the knife on the table and slipped it into her pocketbook. She took a deep breath, steadied herself. If Mike was going to do something, he already would have. He no longer had the element of surprise. Surely the old man or Charles would have warned him about her. That warning would have been enough to keep him from revealing himself the way he just did.
Probably just a psycho stalker.
Clarissa smiled. She looked at the food on the table, picked up a slice of bacon, folded it once and stuffed it in her mouth.
No point in letting this go to waste.
After breakfast, Clarissa took a three hour walk around the sixth deck, and then ate lunch. She followed up lunch with a four hour walk. Walking was the only thing that cleared her mind. She’d always been able to get into a rhythm and just go. She’d heard it called moving meditation on a TV program. Whatever it was, it worked for her. She finished her walk and went to her room and took a quick shower and a nap.
She woke and looked at her watch and frowned when she realized that she didn’t know which time zone she was in.
Clarissa threw on a pair of shorts and a collared shirt then left her room. The hall was similar to a hotel hallway, with the exception that it was narrower and it rocked side to side. By this point she had become used to the persistent rocking. She knew that once she got back on dry land she’d continue to sway for a few hours, maybe a few days.
“What time is it?” she asked the first ship employee she found. He was young with blond hair poking out from the edges of the silly hat the cruise line made him wear. “Better yet, how long until dinner?”
“Dinner will be available according to your dining schedule, ma’am.”
“I can’t wait that long.” She smiled, wondering if he’d picked up on the fact that if she didn’t know what time it was, she wouldn’t know when she was to eat.
“Top deck has a twenty-four hour buffet,” he said. “I suggest that.”
Clarissa winked at the man and jogged to the elevator. The door opened. Mike stood inside.
“For Christ’s sake,” Clarissa said. She stepped in without acknowledging him and pressed the button for the top deck.
“What a coincidence. I was just thinking about you, Sam.”
“Lame.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Neither of them moved.
“Your stop, right?” she said.
“No, I’m going wherever you are,” Mike said.
She took a deep breath. Just a psycho stalker. That’s all.
“I’m going to jump overboard from the top deck. You go first. I’ll meet you in the ocean.”
Mike laughed.
She looked at him in the gold plated mirrored doors. His mouth formed a smile, but his eyes didn’t match. His brows were furrowed and his eyelids narrowed over his brown eyes. She looked away.
The doors opened and she stepped through. “Leave me alone, Mike.”
Clarissa pushed her way through the afternoon crowd and checked over her shoulder. He was gone. She turned around. He stood in front of her.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked.
“I told you before. My name is Mike.”
“Get away from me.” Her voice rose. “I’m serious.”
“I’m just getting in line for dinner.”
A muscular bald man in a yellow tank top walked up to Clarissa. “Is this guy bothering you, miss?”
“Yes,” Clarissa said.
The muscular man got in between Mike and Clarissa. The men were the same height, but the guy in the tank top was twice as wide.
“I think you should leave the lady alone,” Muscles said.
“I was just leaving.” Mike winked at Clarissa and pushed past the muscled man.
“You know that guy?” Muscles asked.
“No,” Clarissa replied.
“Why don’t you come eat with the family?”
“I’m getting something to go.” She turned and walked to the buffet, loaded her plate and found a seat at the back of the sectioned off open air dining room. She scanned the deck as she ate. It didn’t take her long to spot Mike sitting on a lounge chair at the edge of the deck near one of the pools. He stared in her direction. She lifted her hand and pressed her middle finger against her cheek.
He smiled, nodded and rose. She lost sight of him as he pushed his way through the crowd around the pool.
She returned to the track on the sixth deck after dinner. Had no choice. Three slices of cheesecake was two and a half too many. She figured it would take at least thirty laps to work her indulgences off.
The ship had a concert going on that night and the track was empty as a result. It didn’t bother her. It was easier to clear her mind with fewer people around. She made her way around the rear of the boat and along the other side. She came to the tunnel that wrapped through the bow of the ship. Lights in milky colored glass fixtures adorned the ceiling every ten feet or so. Heavy machinery lined the passage, exhibits of parts of the ship’s engine. Although not working, the replicas were interesting nonetheless. She had stopped and read the plaques next to each piece her first day on the ship.
“Hello, lovely,” a voice said as she approached.
She slowed down and craned her neck to get a glimpse of who the voice belonged to, although she already had a pretty good idea.
Mike stepped out from the shadows, smiled at her.
“Christ,” Clarissa said. “Why don’t you drop dead already, asshole.”
He laughed. “Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you.” He took two steps toward Clarissa and pointed a gun at her.
She gasped.
“Got anymore smart ass remarks, Sam?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“If you don’t shut the hell up I’ll be the last person you ever see.”
Clarissa took a step back. She figured she was fifty feet from the tunnel exit. Thirty of which gave Mike a clear shot at her. No way would she make it.
“Stop,” he said.
Clarissa froze in place.
He walked toward her. “Turn around.”
She turned.
He stuck the gun in her back. “You are going to walk forward. Not too fast, not too slow. Turn at the first door and step inside. Find the elevators and press the down button. When we get inside the elevator, press three.”
He stood inches from her, his breath hot on her neck and foul in her nose.
“Understand?” he said.
She nodded and started walking.
Please someone walk by.
No one did.
Clarissa felt her heart pounding in her chest. She managed to keep her breathing at a regular pace and kept her muscles loose. No time to panic. She needed her wits. With everything she’
d been through the past three weeks, she’d be damned if this psycho stalker asshole was going to take her out.
She came to the first door leading inside.
“Here,” he said.
She grabbed the handle, opened the door and stepped inside. She held her breath as she scanned the hallway and elevator lobby, looking for help.
Not a soul in sight.
She stopped in front of the elevator doors and pressed the down button, as instructed. They waited for the elevator to arrive. He pressed the gun to her back again, perhaps as a subtle reminder.
A chime sounded and the elevator doors opened. She stepped in and he followed close to her heels. She reached down and pressed the button labeled three.
The doors closed and she stared at herself in the mirror. Her dark red hair matted against the side of her face. Sweat covered her brow. Eyeliner streaked down her cheek. She couldn’t make herself any less desirable. However, judging by the hard bulge pressing against her hip, Mike didn’t agree.
His grip on her tightened.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath while waiting for the elevator to stop and the doors to open.
7
Clarissa felt the elevator slow to a stop. She knew she had to act. She pressed back against Mike and moaned. His grip around her stomach loosened and his hand clawed at her skin. The gun pulled away from her back.
The elevator door opened.
“Get out,” he said.
Clarissa stepped into the hall.
“Wait a sec,” Mike said.
She turned her head and saw him tuck his gun in his pants. She scanned the open lobby. Empty. Everyone was busy with other activities, not hanging around below deck.
Mike stepped into the lobby. He pointed down the hall. “That way.”
“We’re on the same floor,” Clarissa said. “I have a balcony. It’s private.”
“Wait a minute.” Mike eyed her and tapped at his chin with his index finger. “What gives? Ten minutes ago you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“Danger excites me.” Clarissa grabbed his shirt and leaned in and licked his neck. She felt his hands squeeze her waist. One slid up her side and moved toward her breast. She grabbed his hand. “Not yet.” She led him to her door.
An elderly couple approached from the other end of the hall. They walked slowly, feet shuffling. The old man looked straight ahead. The old woman made eye contact with Clarissa. They both smiled. The old woman nodded. Clarissa broke eye contact and tried to stay in front of Mike. She hoped the couple wouldn’t remember him.