Authors: Gina Ardito
“Really?” The child’s eyes widened with wonder.
“Really. So? Do you want to try it?”
“Can I meet the lady first?”
He hadn’t expected that. “Why?”
“Because I want to see her for myself.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that, Uncle Shane. It’s just that…well…I want to
see how big she is…you know…compared to me.”
“I won’t lie to you, Tyler. She’s a little bigger than you.”
He clucked his tongue. “I hope so. Otherwise, she’d be a
pretty small grown-up.”
“So then why do want to see her?”
“I want to talk to her. I want her to tell me how big was
the bad man. And how did she get him on the floor if she’s so little?”
Exhilaration tickled at Shane’s lips, but he kept the
feeling in check. For far too long, Tyler had trapped himself in a world of
monosyllabic answers and complaisance. Now, at last, with a simple discussion
about karate, he was opening up again, becoming more animated, interested.
Shane hid his pleased smile by picking at the grilled
halibut on his plate. “She said it was something called Combination Sixteen.
Let me see if I can describe it the way she told me…” He stroked his chin,
playing for time, ratcheting up the excitement for his audience. “The man had
sneaked up behind her and put a hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream for
help. But by relaxing her body, she was able to get him to loosen his hold on
her, and then she kicked him off balance, turned around really fast, and
slammed the butt of her hand into his face. I think she broke his nose.”
Tyler bounced up and down in his chair, his skinny little
legs swinging in excited arcs. “Cool! And she thinks I can learn to do that,
too?”
“Yup.”
“When can I start? Maybe tomorrow?”
Shane’s eyes glanced upward at the ceiling.
Thank you,
Adara.
~~~~
“I assure you, my dear, everything is hermetically sealed. I’m
not trying to poison you.” Amusement laced Ted’s voice, and Adara couldn’t help
but smile.
The more she thought about it, the more far-fetched the idea
of Ted as hired assassin became. “Thank you,” she said, reaching for the
cellophane bag he held out to her.
“Your detective has left you woefully unprotected for the
evening. I would think, after today’s excitement, he’d take better care for
your safety.”
She nearly dropped the bag, but fumbled for it at the last
minute. Ted’s hand reached to assist her, and their fingertips touched. In that
instant, her mind saw a forest glade and a charging boar heading straight
toward her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she cried out in fear, and the vision
disappeared as if blown apart.
“Are you all right, dearest?”
She nodded and swallowed the lump that had risen in her
throat. “How did you find me? No one is supposed to know I’m here.”
“Call it mental telepathy,” he replied with a dazzling
smile. “When I listen to my heart, it tells me where to find you.”
Fear and confusion transformed to wry doubt. Uh-huh. Sure.
She hefted the grocery bag and peeked inside: milk, coffee, bread, and eggs
just to name a few items. “Well, you must have heard my stomach growling, too.”
Soft laughter rumbled through his chest, warming the air around
them. “I’ve always loved your sense of humor.”
Unsure what to do next, Adara wavered in the doorway. Should
she invite him in? Was that inviting trouble? It smacked against her natural
inclination to slam the door in his face, but she’d never considered herself
one of those stupid women like in horror movies, the ones who know the killer’s
in the basement so they immediately head down there all alone.
“I don’t intend to intrude upon your solitude, dearest,” he
said as if reading her mind. “Go inside now, and rest at ease. Lock your door.
I shall remain here to watch over you tonight.”
“Out here on the porch?”
“I shall be quite comfortable, I assure you.”
It was a split-second decision, and she might regret it
later, but for now, it made sense. “No. Why don’t you come in? At least for a
minute or two.”
“Very well.” He smiled broadly and stepped into her room.
With what she could only describe as regal strides, he took a seat at the
little dining table. As he stared out the expanse of windows, his back to her,
he looked like a king upon a throne.
Shaking such silly thoughts out of her head, she placed the
groceries on the counter.
“I shan’t stay inside long,” he said, his back to her. “I
worried about you after the episode with Mr. Cherry’s goons and sought to
determine that you were unharmed. I am relieved to see you well, but I’m quite
distressed at Detective Griffin’s neglect. He should not leave you alone at
such a dangerous time.”
She paused, her hand holding a quart of skim milk she’d
intended to place in the refrigerator. “How did you know what happened at my
apartment?”
He rose from the table and turned to face her, remaining a
safe distance away in the living room section of the suite. “I was at the
precinct when your distress call came in. Speaking to Detective Gennaro, as a
matter of fact. I hastened to the scene, but found you already gone when I
arrived. I take it you used your karate on that dastardly man?”
“Yes.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I must say, I’m quite thrilled all those
black belts came in handy when you needed them. But then, I always knew they
would. You have the heart of a warrior, Adara.”
Hiding her face behind the refrigerator door, she silently
cursed her fickle warrior’s heart yet again. It would be so easy to fall in
love with Ted. He was gorgeous, cultured, and totally devoted to her. So why
did she still prefer a blue-eyed detective who probably only saw her as “this
week’s case?”
Story of her life, really, she thought with a sigh as she
returned her attention to the grocery bag. Never satisfied with what she had,
always fearing abandonment. That’s what had happened with Terry, too.
Terry was sweet, good-looking, and attentive. Still, it
hadn’t been enough for Adara. Deep down inside, she knew he’d someday
disappoint her. And because he was less than perfect, she’d thrown him away,
killing him in the process.
“You had nothing to do with Terence’s death, m’dear.”
She dropped the can of coffee on her foot. “Ow!” He’d
managed to surprise her again. “What do you mean?”
He quickly approached, knelt at her feet, and touched her
bare toe, soothing the hurt there with a deft rotation of his fingertip.
Flashing an encouraging smile, he looked up at her. “I shall let you in on a
little secret. Have you ever heard the story of Arachne?”
“Of course. My
Gigia
used to tell me. Arachne was a
weaver who bragged she was better than Athena. So the angry goddess turned her
into a spider.”
He stood again and wagged a finger at her. “But a very
important spider. Arachne now weaves the threads of mortal lives.”
“O…kay. What does that have to do with me?”
“Think of mortal lives as millions of spider webs in a tiny
closet. Due to the close proximity of so many webs, the threads will
intertwine, connecting and disconnecting over and over again. Yours and
Terence’s, Benjamin Cherry’s, Detective Griffin’s, even mine at the moment,
criss-crossing time and space. Your friend, Terence, was meant to die that
night. It was his fate. No matter whether or not you accepted Terence’s
proposal. He still would have died, and you still would have been left behind.
I, of course, would have perished of a broken heart at the news of your
betrothal, but nothing else would have changed. You would still be here at this
time.
“Terence’s thread ended the moment Mr. Cherry’s thread
crossed his web. Your thread intersects them both. It is the fate Arachne has
woven for you.”
Her lips twisted in a disbelieving smirk. “Gee, what did I
ever do to tick her off?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Nothing. Arachne’s handiwork
holds no malice. She cannot control the webs she makes any more than you can.
They are foretold long before we ever arrive here on earth.”
“You don’t honestly believe that, do you? I mean, it sounds
like a nice way to appease my conscience, but I prefer to think I have choices
in my life. I walk out this door, and I can choose to walk to the right or to
the left. Either way, it’s my choice.”
“Ah, but what if you wish to fly straight up instead?”
She snorted. “Puh-leez. That’s impossible.”
“Only because you’ve never tried. You see, even your choices
are preordained. Whatever has come before serves to affect the choices you make
now. They may seem like choices of your own free will, but
that
is what
we tell ourselves to appease our conscience.”
“Great,” she retorted. “So what choices is Arachne willing
to give me now?”
“What choices do you need, my angel?”
She grimaced. “I need only one—a place where I’ll be safe
from the Benjamin Cherrys of the world.”
“Ah,” Ted exclaimed. “There’s a simple solution to your dilemma.”
“There is?”
“Marry me, my darling. I shall take you far away from here,
to a place where no one could ever harm you. I promise you, our life together
would be filled with joy, love, and peace. For all eternity.”
He walked to the door, turned at the last minute, bowed, and
clicked his heels together. “I wish you a pleasant evening, Adara. I shall
remain outside all night. Should you require anything or need assistance, you
merely have to call out. Remember to bolt the door after I’m gone.”
The door closed behind him, leaving Adara alone and agape.
~~~~
The blaring phone woke him sometime around three a.m.
“Griffin,” he mumbled automatically, though his brain still
sought refuge in the fog of sleep.
“Detective Griffin?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Arnie—Arnie Simon. Commander Stewart told me to give
you a call.”
Arnie’s agitated voice pierced the haze, jolting him to a
fully alert state. In the background behind Arnie, Shane discerned the familiar
sounds of emergency activity—muffled, clipped voices, a wailing siren, and
something staticky, like heavy rain.
“You’d better get down here fast. It’s bad.”
Shane scraped his fingers through his scalp in an attempt to
rouse his senses. “Down where? What’s happening?”
“I’m at the Seven Knights Motel. The place is a freakin’
inferno.”
“Fire?”
“No, Shane, disco. Of course, fire. Looks deliberately set,
and no one’s seen Ms. Berros, including the desk clerk. It doesn’t look good.”
Numb. Every nerve ending stopped working at the same time.
The world spun in swirls of black, and the receiver fell from his grasp. Pain,
sharp as a thousand hot knives, sliced into his chest, making breathing
impossible. Jesus, they’d found her. How? How was that possible? He’d been so
careful. He should have stayed with her; he knew it. He should have insisted
upon staying at the Seven Knights Motel—no, wait a minute! Adara didn’t go to
the Seven Knights Motel.
Hope flourished in his head and heart, and he grabbed the
receiver with renewed relief. “Did you say the Seven Knights Motel?”
“Yeah,” Arnie barked. “You coming or not?”
“It’s okay,” he breathed out as much to himself as to Arnie.
“Adara isn’t there.”
“She isn’t? Well, where is she?”
“Tomorrow. Tell Jake I’ll fill him in tomorrow.”
Before Arnie could argue, Shane hung up. He still had to
check that Adara was safe, but at the moment, someone upstairs was apparently
on
their
side.
Chapter Sixteen
Adara lay in a strange bed, staring at a strange ceiling in
the strange, darkened room. She never could get comfortable away from home.
Making things worse, wild images tumbled through her brain, derailing sleep.
When she closed her eyes, she saw a poor little boy staring
in horror at a pool of blood where his parents had lain. Or a blue-eyed
detective, his pursed lips scant inches from hers as he pulled back to stare at
her in surprise. Most disturbing of all were the images of a man with thick
blond hair in a white linen suit and black shirt ala
Saturday Night Fever
,
standing at a church altar, waiting for her while a pipe organ played a bridal
march.
Darn it! Why did Ted have to ruin everything by proposing
marriage? Oh, he’d always said he intended to be her groom, but to actually go
through the formality of asking for her hand? What good could possibly come
from such an offer? Unbidden, Terry’s reticent marriage proposal played in her
mind all over again. Only this time, Terry became Ted, and the stakes grew
higher.
Marry Ted? Well, sure, she’d be safe if she moved to Cyprus
with him. But, marry Ted? She snorted. Talk about the groom who was prettier
than the bride. Marry Ted? Okay, so he was exceptionally good looking, and
totally devoted to her. But was that enough to base a marriage on?
Her mind pondered the pros and cons, checking them off on an
invisible list above her head like Bob Costas calling a baseball game.
If she married Ted and moved to Cyprus, chances were good
Cherry’s goons wouldn’t follow her all the way to Europe. Ball one. But she
didn’t love Ted. Strike one. Maybe she’d grow to love him? Anything was
possible. Ball two. Or maybe he’d grow to hate her when he realized she only
married him for security. Definitely, strike two. Was she walking straight into
the lion’s den by even considering such an arrangement? Foul tip. Still two
balls, two strikes.
Aaargh! She punched the pillow behind her head and rolled
over. This was hopeless. She’d never fall asleep tonight. Time to turn the
television on and lose herself in mindless drivel.
With a quick click of the remote, streams of bright light
momentary blinded her. Soon the light merged into a melange of colors and
sound. Heaving an exhausted sigh, she began the inevitable channel surf.
Unfortunately, her viewing choices at this hour were as appetizing as her
life’s options.