by Willow Rose
“You’re welcome,” he whispers lovingly. “Only the best for your majesty.”
Long giggles. She loves it when Danh calls her that, when they pretend she is a princess.
“Let’s eat,” their mother says and claps her hands.
Her face is growing new wrinkles every day, it seems to Danh. He knows she is concerned by what is happening to their country these days. Everyone is afraid of the Communist Government and what they might do next. Danh understands some of it and sees it on his parents’ faces, but he feels certain they are very safe. Their dad is a respected person in the area. He has always kept all of them safe.
Danh looks at the table with all the food and smiles again. Unlike many others, they have money enough to live well, even though they can’t get the supplies they usually do, they manage to get by anyway.
“Did you hear what happened to Uong?” his grandmother suddenly says when everyone has started eating.
Danh looks up and sees his parents’ reaction. Uong is the man who lives only two houses down the street. Danh hasn’t heard what happened to him.
“Not now, mẹ,” his mother says.
“I would like to hear it, bà ngoại,” Danh says, adressing his grandmother. He has known Lan Uoung since he was born and likes to hang out around his store. “What happened to him?”
Danh’s mother shakes her head. “Not now, Danh. Today we’re celebrating.”
“But…”
“Không! No! I said not today, Danh.”
Danh can tell by the look on her face he has to let it go. He sinks into his chair and goes quiet. Still, he can’t stop wondering what it is they won’t talk about. Sometimes he hates being one of the young ones. His older siblings all know when to stay quiet and when to speak. Danh never does. At least he isn’t the youngest anymore.
They eat in silence. Long doesn’t look as happy any more and Danh makes a few funny faces at her to cheer her up. It is, after all, her birthday.
Long giggles and clasps her mouth. Danh feels better when he sees her happy. As long as she is happy, there is nothing wrong with the world.
Not until the door is kicked in.
They all hear it, but it goes so fast, Danh hardly realizes it before they have them surrounded. Ten police officers storm inside, guns pointed at them. Danh’s mother starts to scream when they throw themselves at Danh’s father and hold him down while putting him in handcuffs.
All Danh can think about is Long. He grabs her in his arms and covers her eyes.
“It’s all part of a game, your majesty,” he whispers in her ear. “They’re here to celebrate your birthday and they’ll just get upset if we don’t play along.”
The policemen order all of them to sit on the floor in the living room, while they drag their father away. Danh’s mother tries to stop them, but is knocked down and beat up by an officer. The grandparents and siblings scream and cry for them to stop. Finally, they do. Bruised and beaten, their mother crawls back to her family.
Danh closes his eyes too and tries to imagine being in his favorite spot, in a canoe on the river, fishing with Long by his side. While the policemen trash the place and steal all their belongings, Danh whispers stories in Long’s ears of the many times they have been fishing together, trying to get her to stop crying.
“Remember the time you fell in the water? Do you?”
“Vâng. Yes,” she whimpers.
“We couldn’t stop laughing, remember?”
“I remember,” she whispers, and he feels how she calms down in his arms, while the sound of glass shattering becomes nothing but a distant noise.
Hours later, when the sounds slowly disappear, Danh dares to open his eyes again and look around.
Everything is gone. All their belongings are either gone or destroyed. Nothing is left. A note on the wall tells them the house now belongs to the government, along with the family’s other houses.
They have one day to leave.
Chapter Five
April 2016
My dad’s house is so quiet. Salter is still in school, my dad is sleeping, and so is Snowflake. I am sitting in front of the computer wondering if I can shake this morning’s fight with Joey. I don’t understand why he gets to me the way he does. Well, if I am being perfectly honest, then maybe I can. I am so angry with him for moving on and for acting like a teenager in love all of a sudden, not living up to his responsibilities.
After leaving him with Salter’s sports bag in my hand, I had to drive to Subway and buy a sandwich for Salter and take it to the school. Call me controlling…I don’t want him eating that food in the cafeteria.
The blank page is staring at me from the computer. I am trying to write an article about a democratic senator that has been travelling to spots around the globe on trips sponsored by private people, people that were known for conservative views. I am sitting on the story, since no one else has discovered this. Chloe is actually the one who gave me the information. Apparently, the guy is also known to be active in the websites and chat rooms she observes for use of child porn. She tracked him down, then broke into his computer and found all the material we needed to take him down publicly.
I, for one, can’t wait.
I make myself another cup of coffee, push Joey out of my head, then start writing. Seconds later, the keyboard is glowing, and I can’t stop. The material is so good and I can’t wait to publish it and see this guy taken down. I know this will be a big story, one that the newspapers will have to quote us on in the morning.
Snowflake wakes up as I press publish, and someone is at the door. I get up and open it. It’s Marcia. I smile happily.
“You have time for coffee?” she asks.
“Always. Come on in.”
I make a new cup for myself and one for Marcia, then find some cookies in the cabinet that I bring out with it. We sit in the living room overlooking the glittering ocean. The waves aren’t very good today. There is too much wind for it to be fun. Suits me well enough. I needed the time to write.
“So, how’s it going?” I ask, with a cookie half eaten in my mouth.
Marcia smiles. “I’m getting the kids for the weekend,” she says.
“Really? That’s amazing!”
She nods. It’s been a long time since I have seen that kind of light in her eyes. It makes me happy. She is doing really well on her medicine and with the help from her sister.
“Carl finally agreed to let me have them for three days in a row after my doctor called him and told him I was ready.”
“I am so happy to hear that,” I say, and put a hand on her shoulder. “And you’re sure you can handle it, right? It’s not too much? Four kids for three days can be a lot with all you’re going through.”
“My sister will help me,” she says. “I just want to be with my babies again. I have seen them only a few hours here and there since they moved back with their dad. I miss them so much. I miss being a part of their lives, you know? I miss noticing the little differences every day as they grow older.”
“I understand. I have to get used to being without Salter for several days in a row. I’m not sure I’m doing so well on that part,” I say with a light laugh. “I’m not doing well with any of this, having to give up Joey and see him with that…that girl. Knowing they’re together as a family with Salter when it should be me. It ain’t easy, I tell you that.”
“I hear you met someone?” she asks.
I grab another cookie. “You mean Tom? Yeah. We’ve been on a few dates. I met him through Tinder. I can’t believe I tried that, but Chloe persuaded me to. He seems like a nice guy. Not a local, which is good, since we know all of them from back then. Moved here four years back from South Florida, works at the Space Center. Something with the weather stations, I am not quite sure I get it. He’s tried to explain it to me several times, but I just pretend like I understand. Basically, he’s the guy who tells them if the weather is good enough for a launch or not. That’s how far I am.” I laugh again an
d eat yet another cookie. Marcia follows me, which pleases me immensely, since I hate eating alone.
“Have you heard from Sandra lately?” Marcia asks.
I shake my head. “No. Not in a really long time. I have a feeling she’s avoiding me. She’s probably fooling around with Alex still.”
Marcia stares at me and I clasp my mouth. “Whoops.”
“She and Alex are fooling around?”
I make a grimace. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Me and my big mouth.”
“That totally explains everything,” Marcia exclaims. “I’ve noticed how they look at each other, but always thought it was all about them longing for each other, since they can’t be together. But they’re both married?”
“You’re telling me. I’ve tried to explain that to them. I even threatened to tell their spouses, but they still continue this charade behind their backs. I can’t get myself to meddle in it, though. They’re grown-ups; they’ll have to deal with it themselves.”
“Wow,” Marcia says, and leans back on the couch with her coffee between her hands.
“I know, right? To be frank, it’s actually nice to have told you, because now I’m not the only one who knows.”
“Speaking of betrayal, are we getting any closer to catching that brother of yours?” she asks.
I grunt. I hate talking about my brother, Blake. He is the one who poured acid on Sandra’s face, making her lose her modeling career and destroying her marriage. He is a killer on the run, and I want to get him so badly.
“There’s nothing new since Naples, where they found the body of Olivia Hartman,” I say. “Detective Fisher has tried to work with the local police over there, but so far they haven’t found any traces of him. He was long gone when they found the body inside the mattress at the motel. They’re looking for him in the area, but there is no way he’d stay there after he killed her. He’s not that stupid.”
“Where do you think he is now?” Marcia asks.
I shrug. “Chloe is trying to track him, but he is being very clever. Doesn’t use any credit cards, not any in his own name. His picture has been shown in the news over there, but they have no idea where he is. He is gone, again.”
I grab another cookie, deciding if I make this my lunch, then I am allowed to have a couple more. Talking about Blake always makes me want to eat.
“So, what’s the plan?” Marcia asks.
“There is no plan,” I say. “We wait. We wait for him to make a mistake. Which he will sooner or later. I know that much about my dear baby brother.”
Chapter Six
April 2016
The wind feels warm. The strong engine of the silver Ducati lifts the bike off the road as it roars into the wind. Blake laughs out loud and speeds up. He zigzags between cars and trucks on the road. The motorcycle rockets forward. Blake yells when feeling the power beneath him.
This is the way to ride!
He stole the bike outside a restaurant in Naples right before he left town. He bought himself a helmet in Fort Meyers, a black one with a black visor. He looks badass when he wears it.
When Blake reaches a busy intersection, all the cars around him slow down. Blake doesn’t. He turns the throttle, picks up even more speed, and barely avoids crashing into a stopped car as he zigzags between them across the intersection, speeding through the red light. A car hits the brakes and honks the horn aggressively. Blake doesn’t give the driver the time of day. He is doing seventy-five, steering straight towards a building. The wall is approaching rapidly, but Blake doesn’t brake. He aims the bike closer and closer, while the adrenalin is pumping through his veins; while imagining the collision, he sees the faces of the girls he has killed. He sees their eyes, the fear as they scream, and he feels it all over again, feels the torment, the intoxicating power.
At the last possible second, he steers the bike and spins it hard to the right. The bike tips to the side and screeches across the asphalt. Panting, he manages to get it to skid to a stop before he turns the throttle again and accelerates back onto the road, heart pounding heavily in his chest. He yells out into the air as he continues to zigzag between driving cars.
Never has he felt this free, this invincible. So many lives he has taken, so many lives destroyed, and still they haven’t caught him yet; heck, they’re not even close. They have no idea where he is or what will be his next move.
Freaking idiots. They’ll never know. I am always gonna be one step ahead of them. Ha!
Blake zooms across the road and hits the bridge where the air shifts to the fresh salty air coming from the ocean. He takes in a deep breath. How he loathes that smell. How he hates this place.
He approaches ninety miles an hour as he crosses the bridge. The traffic is getting heavy now, as he gets closer to the island.
Freaking tourists.
The traffic is soon blocked up and Blake is going so fast he can’t stop. He sees the rear end of a Toyota pick-up truck approaching fast. He can’t go left or right. There is no way out.
In the last second, Blake yanks the bike across the road and is now driving against the oncoming traffic. He speeds up, the engine roaring loudly as he sees the approaching car, flickering its headlights, honking its horn. Blake is standing up on the bike now, yelling and screaming as he faces death, prepares himself for not surviving this, until the second before the car hits him…he turns and ends up in between the cars going in each direction. Knocking their side mirrors off one after the other with his fists, he drives straight through the line of cars until he can get in front of them and back onto the road.
Blake is laughing loudly at the blaring horns as he gets ahead of all of them and reaches the end of the bridge. Running another red light, he makes a turn and drives onto the island, speeding up across A1A.
As he reaches the house on the corner of 7th Street, he finally hits the brakes. The tires screech on the asphalt and the bike slips underneath him, making him turn really fast.
He is stopped.
He stares at the new house they have built that looks a lot like the old one, only bigger. In there. Behind that gate, behind those doors and walls, lives his father. His poor and helpless father, the man he has hated for his entire life, along with the sister he has always wanted dead.
Chapter Seven
April 2016
Danny drives up to the man standing on the corner of Barton Boulevard and Huntington Lane. He rolls down the window and the guy approaches him.
“I saw your ad on Craigslist,” Danny says.
“Yeah? So what?” the man asks with a sniffle.
“Personals.”
The man’s fingers drum on the car. He has a lit cigarette in his other hand. He smokes it and the smoke enters Danny’s car.
“All right,” the man says, and nods in the direction of a building. “Apartment number 245. The code is 111 for the gate.”
Danny rolls up the window and drives to the gate. The complex is nice. Not among the most expensive ones around, but not cheap either. The type you’d expect retired people to live in when they come down here for the winter. It has a pool with a hot tub, a tennis court, and a small clubhouse.
No one would ever suspect what this place really hides.
Danny punches in the code and the gate opens. He drives inside and parks the car in front of the building. It’s been painted in nice bright colors, in the Key West-style that many use in Florida to make it look exotic.
Danny takes in a deep breath, then walks down one of the hallways. He finds the elevator and rides to the second floor. When he gets out, his phone rings. He picks it up.
“Hey, Junior,” he says, keeping his voice low.
“Dad, we’re out of milk.”
“I’ll grab some when I come home,” Danny says.
His teenage son sighs from the other end. “When will you come home? I’m really hungry.”
“Maybe grab some toast instead, huh? This might take a while. How was school today?”
&nb
sp; “Boring.”
“Got any homework?”
“What do you think? I’m graduating in a month. Of course I have tons of homework.”
“Then go do that, and I’m sure I’ll be home to make some dinner.”
“You don’t sound sure. Where are you, anyway? I thought this was your day off from the fire station?”
“Yeah, well, I had some paperwork I needed to finish up. I’ll be home soon. Do your homework.”
Danny hangs up and looks at the display for a few seconds before he puts the phone away. He thinks about his son and the fact that he will graduate high school in just a month. He can’t believe his son is growing up so fast. Life has been hard on Junior since his mom died, but at least he has his school. And then what? Junior has shown no interest in college. Will he move out? Will he get a job? Danny might be able to get him something at the fire station. He always wanted for his son to follow in his footsteps, but he has shown no interest in becoming a firefighter. Lately, it’s like nothing really interests him anymore.
Danny takes in a deep breath and walks to the door with the number 245 on it. He knocks and the door is opened.
“I’m here about the ad,” he says.
The woman at the door nods and he follows her inside. When the door is closed she looks at him. “Money first.”
Danny nods, grabs the envelope in his pocket, and hands it to her. The woman’s face lights up as she counts the many hundred dollar bills. The apartment smells bad. Like cigarettes and sex.
“She’s right in here,” the woman says, and walks ahead of him towards a door. She knocks on the door and a big guy opens it. “New client,” the woman says.
“We’re just finishing up,” the big guy says. He looks at Danny. “He can watch if he likes.”
Danny walks inside. Just as he enters, another man walks past Danny towards the door. They don’t look at each other or exchange glances. They don’t want to know who the other one is. They never want to see each other again.
