Spirals

by Scott Bergin

  "I don't have anyone else." Robert said.

  "That isn't what you just said." She replied.

  "You've had enough." He insisted. "That's what I'm saying now."

  Dana tried to fight with him for control of the bottle. The alcohol didn't help her battle any, and within seconds she lost the bottle. When she looked up to see where the bottle had gone, all she saw were Robert's empty hands. She turned to her right when she heard a loud smash. Robert had tossed the bottle into the kitchen, and it shattered against the plain white fridge. Even with her blurred and distorted vision, she could still see what had happened.

  "What did you go and do that for?" Dana asked, not noticing that her speech was starting to slur.

  "Because you've had enough." Robert replied.

  "Thanks mom, but I'll decide when I've had enough." Dana said. "And when I decide that I've had enough, then I'll stop."

  "You want more?" Robert asked. "Go lick it off the floor."

  "I was done anyway." Dana replied.

  "Good." Robert said. "Now why don't you go and get some rest."

  "What so you can go sneak off with your whore?" Dana asked.

  "Gabrielle isn't my whore." Robert insisted.

  "I didn't mention her name." She replied. "But since you did, we'll assume that you're sleeping with her."

  "What did I just tell you?" Robert asked.

  "Right." Dana replied. "I understand. She's not your whore, because you don't have to pay her. So we'll call her your tramp. Doesn't that sound like a lovely title?"

  "Call her whatever you like." He said. "Even though I'm not sleeping with her, I probably should be."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Dana demanded.

  "It means that you already think I have." Robert said. "And it means that I don't get anything around here."

  Dana didn't have a response. She knew what he was getting at. They hadn't made love in over two years, and Dana felt solely responsible. She had been the one to grow apart from him. That was also when she started to make frequent trips to London. She told Robert that it was for shopping, and he didn't mind. A couple of months later, World Portraits put out its first edition. Dana saw the fledgling company as her way into a new life. If she could make a carrier for herself, then she wouldn't be dependent on Robert any longer. One day she could just disappear without a trace, and Robert would not be able to find her. Now Dana doubted if that would still be possible. She had instantly thought that Gabrielle had told Robert everything about the magazine, but now she was having second thoughts. Robert had not mentioned the magazine at all. Usually when he rips into her about her drinking, he doesn't hold back. The comment about not getting anything from her, led Dana to believe that this was one of those times. If Robert failed to mention the magazine by the end of the evening, Dana thought that he might not know about it. The only problem that remained was keeping Gabrielle quiet about it in the future. Dana didn't know if Gabrielle would value her job over Robert. If they were really lovers, her job wouldn't mean that much to her.

  "Are you still in there?" Robert asked, prying Dana's eyelid open.

  "What do you want?" Dana asked, just starting to realize that she had been nodding off.

  "If you want to keep me from seeing other women, there are things that you could do." Robert replied.

  "Never mind." Dana said. "Screw whoever you want. It isn't worth that much."

  "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Robert demanded.

  "Maybe it means that I'm afraid you'll give me one of your tramps' diseases." She said.

  "I don't have any diseases." Robert insisted. "But if you don't wake back up, I'll give you something else."

  "Like what?" She asked, letting her eyes fall shut again.

  "Like this." He replied, striking her right cheek with his fist.

  "What the hell is wrong with you." Dana asked, coming fully awake after the blow.

  "I don't know." Robert replied. "Maybe I'm going crazy. Maybe you think I'm having all these affairs because you're the one who is really having them, and you're starting to feel guilty."

  "I think you're right." Dana said. "I think you are going crazy."

  "No." He replied. "I don't think so. I think you are having an affair with some snotty London socialite, and I think he's married too."

  "You really have gone mad." She replied.

  "The man I've had follow you to London must be going mad as well." Robert replied.

  "What?" Dana asked, half stunned and half frightened.

  "Yes." Robert said. "I've had a man tail you through London several times. He says that you only shop for a few minutes, then you take off for the same office building every time. We deduced that you must be having an affair with a married man, or you'd simply go to his flat. His wife must be very suspicious, to make you both go through all that trouble."

  "That's preposterous." Dana said, laughing.

  "Is it?" Robert asked. "Then how would you explain it?"

  All at once Dana realized that she could not explain it without telling him the truth, which would reveal the secret she had been keeping for so long. Dana was not relieved that Robert knew nothing of her secret life, because of the problem it now posed. She could either tell him the truth and ruin her chances of escape, or she could say nothing and take her punishment.

  "I can't explain it." Dana finally admitted.

  "Then you are having an affair." Robert replied.

  "No, that's not it." Dana insisted.

  "So what have you been doing for this man?" Robert asked, ignoring her.

  "There is no man." She insisted.

  "What has he taught you in all this time?" He asked, running his hand inside her blouse.

  "There is no man." Dana repeated, forcing Robert's hand back out.

  "You want it rough?" Robert asked. "Is that how he likes it too?"

  "If you want anything from me, you're going to have to rape me." Dana replied, then started to get up from the couch.

  The wine was really starting to get the best of her. Dana lost her balance, and had to catch herself with the arm of the couch. When she tried to stand up again, she felt her body lift off the ground. She seemed to float effortlessly over the back of the couch. It wasn't until she felt her legs hit the couch that she looked up at Robert. When her eyes lifted, she saw him withdrawing his fist from her chin. Dana hit the floor behind the sofa. The wind went out of her, but she remained conscious. She now regretted what she had said about him raping her. As ruthless as Robert could be, Dana never imagined that he was capable of this. Her eyes fluttered in disbelief. Before she knew it, Robert had come around the end of the couch. Dana felt her body being lifted off the floor. Robert picked her up by her arm pits, and shook her. She wished that she could have had a little more of that wine, so she could pass out and not feel any of the pain. Robert threw her limp body across the room. Her feet landed first, at the edge of the kitchen. She fell onto her back into the kitchen, not onto the floor, but onto the shattered wine bottle. Dana screamed as she felt hundreds of glass shards shoot into her back. Robert quickly ran to her. She thought that he had come to his senses, and he was going to help. After several solid punches to the face, Dana lost that idea. She also lost consciousness. Her lack of screaming seemed to satisfy Robert. He stopped punching her, and let her lay on the floor in her own blood and red wine.

  As Dana lay on the floor, she drifted back to the single conversation that started everything. Not the fight that she just had with Robert, but to another conversation that she had with a man two years ago, a man named Charles Silthe. The man was one of Robert's business partners, and he was visiting for the weekend. The three of them had just finished diner, when Robert unexpectedly stepped out for a couple of minutes.

  The man took Robert's absence as an opportunity to talk freely with Dana. At first Dana took to the idea, until the man explained what he wanted to speak so freely about. She couldn't believe her ears, as the man went on and on about his bus
iness dealings with Robert. Charles explained how he would be working with Robert to become one of the largest ivory smugglers in the world. He paid no attention to the look of horror on Dana's face, as he continued to assure her that she would become extremely wealthy from the venture.

  When Robert returned, the conversation had already been over for several minutes. It had ended with Dana having to promise Charles that she would not mention their conversation to Robert, or anyone else. Dana wondered if Robert had actually left only to give them an opportunity to talk. After that little talk, Dana could never look at Robert the way she once had. She no longer saw him as her husband, lover, and friend. She only saw him as a murderer, smuggler, and liar. Within a month, she devised a plan to escape from Robert, and she planned on taking Christine with her when she left. Now Dana wondered if Christine would come home in time to save her life. She doubted it.

  Chapter 48

  April 19

  9:50 p.m.

  Nice, France

  Alex and Gabrielle decided to call it an evening early, though neither of them was very tired. The main reason for giving up on the search so early was to keep the neighbors from becoming suspicious. There was always a chance that Thomas told someone he would be going away for a while. They didn't want to be caught for searching the place, just because they had to turn a light on. Shortly after it became too dark in the townhouse, they left. After a quick meal, they arrived back at the hotel.

  "Now what are we going to do?" Alex asked, as they walked from the parking lot toward the hotel.

  "I thought we would just pick up where we left off." Gabrielle replied.

  "That sounds great for tomorrow." Alex said. "What about the rest of tonight?"

  "I was talking about tonight." She replied, walking straight at him.

  "I don't understand." Alex admitted.

  "Maybe this will clear things up a little." Gabrielle said, gently pressing her lips to his.

  "Oh, that clears things up." Alex replied, wrapping his arms around her.

  "Right." Gabrielle said. "We're going to pick up where we left off in Cameroon."

  "Shall we go to the beach?" Alex asked, after kissing her softly several times. "It would be like heaven, under the moonlight, on the sand."

  "It will be like heaven no matter where we are." Gabrielle assured him.

  They walked silently into the hotel, Alex's left hand intertwined with Gabrielle's right. The two continued through the lobby, and into the elevator. Alex pressed the button for the fifth floor, with his free hand. Then he brought the hand up, and brushed back the hair covering Gabrielle's right ear. He leaned in, and kissed her on the neck below her ear. Gabrielle tilted her head to the left, exposing more of her neck. Alex took the offer, and kissed her neck again and again. She let go of Alex's hand, but her arm did not fall to her side. Gabrielle pressed her hands on Alex's cheeks, and forced his head away from her neck. She brought his face to hers, and his lips to hers. This time, when she kissed him, there was nothing gentle about it. Gabrielle kissed him firmly, and passionately. Alex responded by swinging her around the empty elevator. He pinned Gabrielle up against the back wall, and returned her passion filled kisses with his own.

  The elevator shook as it came to a stop. Neither of them noticed. The doors opened, revealing the empty hallway beyond.

  "What do you say we take this to our room?" Alex asked, giving Gabrielle some breathing room.

  "I say that's a great idea." Gabrielle said, running passed him into the hallway.

  "What are you running for?" He asked.

  "Last one in has to take the bottom." Gabrielle said, as she ran down the hallway.

  "That sounds fine." Alex replied, waving the room's only key at her.

  "Don't tell me you're not in a hurry for this." She said, stopping at the door to their room and trying the handle.

  "We've got all night." Alex said, slowly walking down the hallway toward her.

  "Maybe this will speed you up." Gabrielle replied, laughing.

  Gabrielle crossed her arms in front of herself, and grabbed her blouse at the waist. After quickly untucking it, she flipped it over her head. She kicked off her shoes in a matter of seconds. Throwing her blouse against the door, Gabrielle started unbuttoning her pants. Alex was already sprinting down the hallway. Before she got any further along, he reached the doorway.

  "That's far enough." Alex said, taking her hands in his to keep them busy. "That is for me to do."

  "Then you had better get that door open in a hurry." Gabrielle replied.

  Alex fumbled with the lock for only a few seconds, then the door came open. When he turned to see how much more Gabrielle had gotten off, he was relieved. She had spent the time gathering her clothes. Alex entered the room, and held the door open for Gabrielle. She walked in, and let her pile of clothing fall to the ground, just beyond the door's path. The spring loaded door closed itself, as Gabrielle and Alex embraced again.

  Gabrielle and Alex made love, on and off, for several hours. By four in the morning, they both lay on the sweat soaked bed, waiting for sleep. Gabrielle was now more thankful than ever that she had not lost Alex forever in the jungles of Africa. All Gabrielle could think of were the wonderful experiences that they would be sharing in for the rest of their lives. They would not have their jobs anymore, but they would still have one another. There was nothing Dana Mason could do to prevent that. There was nothing anyone could do to prevent that. Gabrielle felt completely content with the changes in their relationship. That contentment and happiness made it impossible for her to fall asleep. As she lay quietly in the dark, Gabrielle could not recall feeling so overcome with happiness on any Christmas Eve. That was the only night she could compare with this one. It was the only other time she ever stayed up so late. However, on Christmas Eve, she didn't go through such rigorous exercise before trying to stay awake.

  Alex had trouble sleeping for another reason. He was worried about his dreams. The thought of Maria appearing in his dreams might give him a heart attack. Alex stared at the blackened ceiling, and tried to recall what Maria had said to him. All he could remember was Maria telling him that nothing was over until you let it be, and that he would find something out when he got to France. What he found out was that he could love somebody as much as he had once loved Maria Douglas, so many years ago. Alex wondered if that's what his dreams were trying to tell him, that it was okay to have those feelings again. Then Alex started to wonder how Thomas fit into the equation. He remembered Maria saying something about Thomas, and about the jungle. Alex didn't dare dismiss it, not after how real the dream had been. The dream on the airplane was enough to give him a bad case of the shakes, and sweats to go with it. That was the other reason Alex was afraid to fall asleep. He didn't want Gabrielle to see him like that. Alex figured if he could understand his dreams, then he might stop having such vivid nightmares. Having forgotten to ask the stewardess, Alex didn't know if he had talked in his sleep. If he fell asleep next to Gabrielle now, and called out Maria's name in his sleep, Gabrielle would never believe how he truly felt about her. Gabrielle would always feel like she was trying to fill the shoes of someone she'd never even met.

  Alex decided that he could not afford to fall asleep. If he ended up talking in his sleep, he would stand to lose too much. He had repeatedly told Gabrielle that he loved her, during their love making. If he slept now, and called out Maria's name, all that would be lost. Alex realized that Gabrielle wouldn't have any idea who Maria was. She might even think that Maria was his current love, a love that he was being unfaithful to. Alex could have a lot of explaining to do if he fell asleep. If he stayed awake, he could explain the situation to her in the daytime, and prepare her in case he talked in his sleep. Alex thought that Gabrielle would have said something to him if he had been talking in his sleep, unless he was revealing how he felt about her. Gabrielle might not tell him if it was her name that he mentioned in his sleep. He dismissed the thought. He was certain that if he spoke i
n his sleep, it would only be during nightmares like the one he had on the airplane. Alex swore to himself that he would not fall asleep. Within thirty minutes of that promise, he was sound asleep. Gabrielle made no such promise, and she remained wide awake. She did not care if she fell asleep or stayed awake, she was content either way. Knowing that Alex would be a part of the rest of her life, was enough to make Gabrielle extremely delighted. However, such overwhelming knowledge was not at all conducive to sleep.

  Chapter 49

  April 20

  5:30 a.m.

  The Mediterranean Sea

  As the morning light grew stronger on the horizon, Thomas LaRue awoke from his latest catnap. Thomas checked his watch. He had only slept for an hour. He hoped that would be enough to last him the rest of the journey home. During the night, he passed Gibraltar, and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Once inside the Mediterranean Sea, Thomas knew that he would be free from the storm's path. The bad weather would push out over the Atlantic Ocean, and away from him. One quick look at the clear morning sky told Thomas that was exactly what had happened.

  Thomas checked out the ship's status. The tank was nearly full, and one drum of gas remained. The engine still seemed to be running smoothly. Thomas was amazed, and thankful that the engine had lasted as long as it had. At first, Thomas thought that it might be the result of Hector's laboring over it. Then, after recalling what an idiot Hector was, Thomas decided it was just dumb luck that it continued to work at all. If Hector had done anything to the engine, it probably didn't help its performance. A quick glance at the control was all Thomas needed to see that the ship was doing fine without him. Knowing this, Thomas focused his attention on what lay ahead. Thomas could still make no sense of the page. Whatever Leonardo Da Vinci had kept a secret for the last five hundred years would be kept for at least another day.

  Thomas' thoughts immediately changed to Alex. He certainly had showed spirit, following him into the jungle after such a terrible car accident. In escaping from the jungle, Alex had also showed that he was quiet resourceful. The only question that remained, was why had he lied. He could have told the police everything he knew about the museum bombing. Alex could have told them the truth, and he would stand a much better chance of catching him. The fact that he had lied made Thomas very worried. The only thing Thomas was certain of, was that Gabrielle was dead. Alex was after him for revenge, but there was still the problem about lying to the authorities. If Alex wanted to avenge Gabrielle's death, he could only do it if he could find Thomas. If it had been anyone else after him, Thomas would dismiss the lying. He would believe that the person would be acting out of rage, without a clue how to find him. Alex was different. He was smarter. Thomas had given something away when they talked in Waza, something that made Alex suspicious enough to follow him into the museum. Thomas could not imagine what it was that he had said. Alex was also smart enough to keep his suspicions quiet. Thomas had no idea that Alex was even the least bit curious, until he caught him snapping pictures in the museum. Thomas could not imagine how Alex had escaped that blast. It showed Alex's resourcefulness, even when facing certain death. Alex somehow managed to elude death time and again. That worried Thomas, but not as much as the lying. There was only one reason Thomas could find to explain Alex's lying. Alex believed that he stood a good chance of finding Thomas on his own. Thomas hoped Alex would be looking in Florida, or at least in the United States. Though, he doubted if his clothing had been a sufficient decoy. Slowly, Thomas came to the realization that he would be meeting up with Alex again. Maybe in a month, a year, or more, but someday. Thomas would have to prepare himself when the time came. He could not let Alex continue to live. He knew too much about what happened in Cameroon, and he would have to die for it.