Red

by Richard P Rigoli

  Emma leveled a look at Rai that should have ignited his hair.

  “Okay, it was M—something. Give me a second.” He fluttered his hands in front for self-defense as Olivia plucked another napkin from her tray. “I think it had the letters L, S, and M in red.”

  “Are you sure?” Emma asked, taken aback.

  “Yeah, ninety-nine percent on this,” Rai said, chagrined.

  “Okay, I’ll Google it during Art,” Olivia said matter-of-factly. “Meet up at Flower after school.”

  15

  TAKE ME TO CHURCH

  The three friends met at the red VW after the final school bell. Emma and Olivia waited with matching smirks under matching sunglasses when Rai walked up.

  “Found something?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Oh, yeah,” Olivia said as Emma nodded. “We’ll see if what we found is anything good.”

  “Is Jade coming?” Rai asked, looking around.

  “I texted her,” Olivia said, and Emma couldn’t stop a giggle from escaping.

  “And?” Rai asked, getting in the back seat.

  “We didn’t get a text back.” Olivia said with a snort.

  “No, not a text,” Emma added, her shoulders shook with silent laughter.

  “What’s up?” Rai asked suspiciously. “What’s so funny?”

  “We got a butt-dial callback.” Olivia started cracking up and held up her phone to Rai. There was a live call showing on the screen with faint “making out” sounds coming from the device.

  “Oh!” Rai exclaimed and poked the phone to close the call. “Eww! Why would you want to listen to that!?”

  It was almost a full minute before Emma could answer. “Well, apart from being happily excited for Jade—”

  “—We really wanted to see your face when you heard it,” Olivia finished.

  “Yeah, that too,” Emma admitted.

  “You guys are so mean sometimes,” Rai complained, shaking his head at them.

  As Olivia slotted her phone into the dashboard cradle, Rai turned to Emma. “Speaking of ‘hookups,’ don’t you have a date today?”

  “It’s just coffee,” Emma replied in an exaggerated tone.

  “Yeah, and ‘The One Ring’ was just a piece of jewelry,” he said with a laugh.

  “Oh, whatever!” Emma said. “He’s got practice today, so we’re not meeting for coffee only until later.”

  “Should I expect your butt-dial around eight, then?” Olivia said as she activated her navigation program with practiced ease.

  “Keep it up, Livs, and no details for you!” Emma threatened.

  “Details for ‘just coffee,’ huh?” Rai cut in.

  “Oh, shut up!” Emma hollered.

  ***

  The friends headed east of Wimberley proper along Old Kyle Road. Coldplay set the theme music for the trip as the girls ignored Rai’s repeated grumbling about song-choice and questions about where they were going.

  Almost an hour later, Olivia parked in the lot of an Alamo-mission looking church. They got out and made their way around to the front of the building and Olivia pointed up at three arches, which each held a mission bell. Hanging on the empty space near the door was a white banner with familiar golden trim. The red embroidered lettering of LoSM was positioned under the central emblem of a Templar Cross that read: League of Saint Michael.

  “What the heck?” Rai said aloud, comparing his fabric shard to the standard, which were identical. “Why would my dad keep an old church robe? He doesn’t collect religious stuff at all.”

  “Well, it is an old church,” Emma offered and tested the front doors. “Maybe it was more for antique value than anything religious?” The door easily swung open, and they walked in.

  It wasn’t a large place as missions went but was well-kept. All the original limestone blocks that were used to construct it looked solid. Emma expected the inside to be rustic, old, and dark, but it wasn’t. Eight large, iron medieval chandeliers hung from tooled, wooden beams along the ceiling. At one time they might have held candles but now appeared to be converted to electricity. All the wood window panes and overhead beams were stained with a red-colored varnish. Overall, the building was a quaint chapel, and the kind of place for weddings, small services, or even historical reenactments.

  Still inside the the entry portico, they noticed a rectangular cart that held stacks of leaflets, programs, and various reading materials. A pile of flyers, emblazoned with the emblem of the League of Saint Michael, detailed a charity drive to aid disaster relief. The more recent dates were pleas to help raise funds to aid people affected by fires, floods, and storms in different counties and some in other states.

  Emma and Olivia poked through the flyers, showing each other the ones with the logo.

  A smooth Spanish accented voice echoed from behind them, “Welcome to Saint Michael’s. May I help you?”

  Emma turned to regard a tall mature man dressed in black pants and long-sleeved, dress shirt complete with a priest’s collar. Emma noticed the man’s sharp and striking features. He was very tan, as if he spent most of his time outdoors. His hair was combed straight back and was black as his shirt except for at his temples and neatly trimmed beard, which were a starkly contrasting silver.

  “Um, no sir,” Rai answered as he fumbled with his papers, “Err, no your holiness.”

  Olivia stepped forward. “Good evening, Father.” She elbowed Rai as she moved between him and the Priest. “Really? ‘Your Holiness’?” she hissed at Rai. Rai shrugged at her in return. “I’m Olivia. These are my friends Rai and Emma.”

  The Priest smiled with perfectly straight teeth. “I am Father Montega, the Pastor here. How may I help you this evening?”

  “We were wondering if you could help us with something,” Olivia replied.

  Emma took the piece of cloth from Rai and held it up to the priest. “Do you recognize this?” He glanced at it curiously for a moment.

  “Please bring it inside and we’ll have a look, shall we?” he asked. They all moved out from the entry into the main chapel where the light was better. Father Montega removed a pair of glasses from his breast pocket and held the cloth carefully as he inspected it. “Yes, yes,” he said resolutely, “This appears to be from one of the League tabards.”

  “Isn’t this place the League of Saint Michael?” Rai asked. The Priest handed the cloth back to him and returned the glasses to his pocket.

  “The League of Saint Michael is a charity group that uses our church offices and facilities. I am a member myself. It’s interesting that you brought them up because…”

  Father Montega was cut short as the heavy doors behind them swung open. The group turned to see a tall man with closely cropped hair step inside. Emma stared in surprise as she instantly recognized the man as Jade’s dad.

  He paused when he noticed them but recovered quickly and closed the door behind him. He nodded a respectful greeting to Father Montega before heading into the main hall.

  “Hi, Mr. Jones,” Olivia announced and gave him a friendly wave.

  “Good evening, Father,” he said. “Hello, Emma, Olivia, Rai. What are you kids doing here?”

  “Father Montega is helping us with something Rai found,” Emma answered and noticed Mr. Jones looking around the empty church expectantly.

  “Jade isn’t with you?” He asked after a moment.

  “She’s with Greg,” Olivia answered.

  “Who’s Greg?” Mr. Jones asked in a low tone.

  “They’ve been kinda going out lately,” she said brightly and Mr. Jones’ face tightened. It became obvious to Emma that Jade’s dad didn’t know anything about Greg. “Oops!” Olivia muttered and then snapped her mouth shut.

  “So, where is my daughter, exactly?” He asked with calm disapproval underlying his concerned parental face.

  “Well, Greg’s just a guy from school,” Rai supplied in an obvious attempt to diffuse Olivia’s unintentional revelation. “We’re not buddy-buddy or anyt
hing, but he’s an okay guy.” Rai paused as Mr. Jones frowned more severely. “I mean, he’s not a criminal or anything even though he did step on my copy of X-Men one-forty-one in the sixth grade. I’m sorry. I don’t know where she is, I swear!”

  “Rai,” Emma interrupted, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  “Sorry, he said it was an accident, but I guess I’m still mad about it.” Rai shrugged. “And I tend to ramble.”

  “I’m sorry, Father,” Jason said, turning away from Rai, and addressing the priest. “Can we reschedule our appointment?”

  “Of course,” Father Montega replied. Mr. Jones gave a nod to the small group, and quickly left through the same doors he had entered. The sound of squealing tires echoing from the parking lot made it clear that it was not going to be a good night for Jade.

  Rai cleared his throat audibly and was the first one to turn back to Father Montega. “Yeah, so, anything you can tell us about these tabards?”

  “The modern versions are jackets, actually. Nothing really fancy like the original tabards they are modeled after. I have one in my office if you would like to see it.”

  ***

  It was a few minutes into the drive home that a suspicion started forming in Emma’s mind. Was he the same Jason that her mom had been yelling at over the phone? Emma shuddered to think that something might be going on between them. He’s Jade’s dad! He’s married!

  Rai’s voice interrupted her musings, “So, after the fire, I was there. I’ve been going over it again in my mind, but I don’t remember any charity groups being around. I can definitely say I didn’t see anyone wearing white jackets with the red and gold trim.” He crossed his arms and slumped down in the back seat. He appeared dissatisfied with the answers from the chapel.

  “What is it, Rai?” Emma asked, looking over her shoulder towards him.

  “Em,” he muttered and looked at her squarely, “I have a feeling that something is really off about this whole thing.” Rai shifted his gaze to Olivia’s eyes in her rear-view. “And Olivia… You’re not allowed to talk to any more parents!”

  Emma turned back around and used her fingers to count through the information they had so far. “The fires were set deliberately. Someone broke in and evidence was left behind that points to the League of St. Michael, but we don’t know if any of the members are involved.”

  Olivia sucked in a breath loudly and shot her glance. “A conspiracy?”

  Emma mused thoughtfully for a few seconds. “Anything is possible,” she said. “According to Jade, your dad had something in the warehouse the Radcliffs wanted to buy. We need to figure out what it was.”

  Rai sat up. “I can get my hands on my dad’s inventory. But that list is huge.”

  “If you can get it, we’ll help you go over it,” Olivia said, nodding.

  “I guess that’s our next move,” Emma agreed.

  “Did you need me to drop you at home or the Cypress, Em?” Olivia asked, and Emma had to pause for a moment before she realized what her friend was talking about.

  “Crap! I almost forgot I had a date tonight.” Emma said.

  “Thought it was just coffee,” Rai said with a snort.

  “Not helping, Rai!” Emma turned to scowl at him then back to Olivia. “Do I need to go home first? How do I look?”

  “You look fine,” Olivia assured her. “Besides, he’s already seen you all decked out, so he knows how hot you can look when you try.”

  “That was all you.” Emma muttered.

  “Hey, I’ve never had a guy break up with someone just because I walked into the room.” Olivia laughed.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Emma sighed. “But thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Olivia assured her.

  16

  THE DATE

  Jordan Riley was running late. Practice had gone long, and he’d forgotten to pick up his dad’s prescriptions like he’d promised. Now, he had to make up some time in getting to the Cypress. The back wheel of his motorcycle fish-tailed, slinging gravel across the lawn as he exited the driveway. He had finally secured a date. Claims of ‘just coffee’ aside, it was an actual date with Emma Vanora, and he was already ten minutes late. He hit the dip on Woodcreek Drive fast enough to get both tires off the ground and relaxed the throttle a bit. Late was better than not getting there at all because he bounced into a tree, or worse, a person.

  Doing his best to keep his speed reasonably close to the posted limit for the rest of the trip, Jordan parked a few steps from the door to the Cypress Cafe. Tossing his helmet onto the sissy bar, Jordan took his gloves off as he stepped inside. Scanning the room, he immediately saw Emma sitting at one of the small tables by the window—with Connor Connors. Connor waved his hands in an animated fashion while he spoke, and Emma was wiping at her eyes and laughing. Jordan wanted to punch him.

  “...and that’s how I got home from Kendra’s party!” Connor finished as Jordan walked up to the table. Emma looked up at Jordan, taking a moment to sip from her cup.

  “Hi there,” she said. “Everything all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” he replied. “Sorry, practice ran late today.”

  “Can’t believe you left her sitting here like this for hours, man!” Connor said, getting up from the seat opposite Emma.

  “Wait, what?” Jordan asked, feeling a thread of panic. “Hours? We were meeting at seven, weren’t we?”

  “Wow, just wow.” Connor tsk-tsked! and shook his head. “You don’t know what time your date was?”

  “Be nice,” Emma scolded.

  “Okay, okay!” Connor waved his hands in a surrender gesture. “I’m just yanking your chain, man. But jeeze your face when I said, ‘hours’ was the best!” He slapped a five down next to a half empty glass of Coke and headed for the door. “You two have a good time but not too good. You’re lucky I’m letting you pick at my leftovers, Riley. And Em? You got my number when you’re tired of waiting for this guy.”

  Connor headed out and Jordan took a breath. “I miss him already,” he said with sarcasm-lacing his tone and sat down. “Again, sorry I’m late.”

  “I got your text,” Emma said. “It’s all good. I understand the Rockstar lifestyle you football jocks have to endure.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Jordan said with a nod. “Tripping over tires is very jet-set.” He paused for a moment and couldn’t help himself as he said, “You didn’t really call him, did you?”

  “Who? Connor?” Emma asked, shaking her head. “No, no. He was already here when I came in. He was keeping me company.” Jordan nodded and then tried to think of something else to say while Emma took a sip of coffee, watching him with an expectant expression.

  Okay, it’s getting awkward. She’s sitting right in front of you and you’re blowing it! A server walked up and interrupted his inner self-flagellation. He ordered an ice tea and she walked away, leaving him alone with Emma again and a profound case of brain-lock. Why was this so difficult?

  “Are you, all right?” she asked, tilting her head in a curious manner. There was a stray lock of hair that had come loose from the big clip she wore, framing the left side of her face beautifully. Jordan felt himself smiling like an idiot. But then something wonderful happened, Emma smiled back.

  “I think I’m good,” he replied. “It was a rough day, but I’m good now.”

  “Me too,” Emma said.

  17

  JUST COFFEE

  The following morning, Emma sighed as Mr. Biggs lectured on the stock market in Economics. This topic held a great deal of interest for Rai and Mr. Biggs, and no one else in the room.

  “I had a great time last night,” Jordan said, half turning toward her.

  “I did too,” Emma agreed. After the initial awkwardness, the evening did go well. A little light conversation on favorite books and movies followed by a few not-too-personal questions went with the good coffee. He even sat with her on the outside patio until her mom picked her up. Jordan ha
d offered to give her a ride home, and although Emma didn’t have a problem accepting a ride when Jordan drove his dad’s car, she had no intention of getting on the back of a motorcycle.

  “Not too good a time, I hope,” Connor muttered, sitting beside Jordan in Kendra’s old seat. This was going to be an issue. “I mean, it was ‘just coffee,’ am I right?”

  “They got busy over coffee?” Ryan Dunn asked, leaning in from two seats over.

  “I don’t know,” Connor answered him. “I’m trying to find out how much action ‘just coffee’ equals these days.” Other people began paying more attention to them than to the debate Rai and Mr. Biggs had going on about stock prices.

  “Come on, you guys,” Jordan pleaded.

  “We’re curious. That’s all,” Ryan said.

  “It was just coffee,” Emma said.

  “Just?” Jordan asked, turning toward her with a more serious question in his eyes. Now she was on the spot. Most of the class looked at her, including Kendra.

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Emma said cautiously.

  “How did you mean it?” Jordan asked.

  “Can we not do this here?” Emma asked, and Jordan frowned as the words came out. She didn’t want to discuss any of this in the public forum the class had become, but her word choice could have been better. “Look, can we talk after school?” Emma added quickly.

  “I have practice…” Jordan began.

  “Is my class interrupting your conversation, Mr. Riley?” Mr. Biggs said in an annoyed tone. Emma sighed as Jordan turned back around and class resumed.

  ***

  Jade’s dad finding out about Greg caused heavy fallout for her. Mr. Jones grounded her and even pulled her out of school. Emma knew that he was strict, but this level surprised her.

  At least Jade still had her phone, and in a constant stream, texted Emma relentlessly. At first, Jade was mad at Olivia, but it was impossible for anyone to stay mad her for long. In Olivia’s defense, nobody knew Greg was supposed to be a secret. Restricted or not, Jade was finally ready to joke about it.