Somewhere in Time

by Alyssa Richards

  He wasn’t there. No one was there. I didn’t need to open the door to check.

  But I would.

  First I leaned against the door with both hands and searched through the fisheye peephole I’d had installed before I left town with Blake. Unless Mitch was hiding at the end of the hallway, no one was there.

  Then I searched the hallway, half expecting to see Otto standing there. My psychic sight wended its way down the hallway and around the building. No one around. With my sight wide open I scanned the area where I left Mitch and unexpectedly noticed a few tiny white sparkles in the space. The outward sign that energy work had just been performed.

  One little sparkle. And then a few seconds later there was another one. And then another. Tiny remnants of magic held in the air. Adrenaline sprinted along the wires of my nervous system.

  Otto had pushed Mitch to leave his guard. I was alone.

  My hand hung on the doorknob after I closed the door, and a heavy gust of Otto blew through me. He must have left his own hand on the knob long enough to leave an imprint. This would be my chance to fact check him, and to see if I could find out what happened to Mitch.

  As if I could slow the pace of information by limiting the amount of hand I used, I limited my touch on the door knob to two fingers. Quick as lightning, a vision of Otto stood before me, looming in my formerly hallowed home. His thick, tanned, manicured hand hung on the knob, turning it all the way to the right with a gentle creak before closing the door so as not to alert me.

  He was confident that Mitch was out of the way. Cocky that he had me all to himself. Didn’t even remotely feel pressed for time. I didn’t know what he did with Mitch, but I knew he wasn’t coming back. I was on my own.

  The loose key nudged out from his other hand, his eyes brimmed with plot and poison while he searched for me, planning his surprise approach. He anticipated my reaction the way a vampire dreams of the first taste of new blood on his tongue.

  Does he know where my father and grandfather were? If they were alive, could he really bring them back?

  Otto’s eyes moved coldly across the rooms laid out in front of him. He searched for me, with a singular focus to prey upon my weaknesses, my vulnerability. I followed his footsteps to keep in touch with his energetic trail.

  With the stealth of a leopard he stalked me through my own home, then stopped at the doorway to my bedroom. When he nodded once I felt him move a proverbial piece on the chessboard of his mind. It unnerved me to think he might have seen a vignette of Blake and me together.

  The me of an hour ago took a deep breath as I laid in the library, and Otto’s eyes shifted in the direction of the noise. When he was certain he hadn’t been seen he finally moved and I followed his path. He walked like a thief in the night, taking no chances, and then rejoicing at his fate that he should find me alone, asleep and eyes blanketed with a washcloth.

  After staring at me for a few eternal moments, he took his seat on the other side of the room and the action began. Essence of Otto pulsed through me, body, mind and soul and was akin to the effects of rat poison in my morning coffee.

  He studied the library like he visited an old friend. And then he did it. He thought of my father and grandfather. He didn’t remember them. He thought of them, and wondered how they were doing. Not affectionately, but curiously.

  The living room was one clean area he hadn’t visited. I sank into the ivory couch to stay out of the way of Otto’s presence which still hung in the air. His trail wended through my home like a steam of polluted water.

  The marshal was gone and he wasn’t coming back. And my father and grandfather were alive. Or at least Otto believed them to be. I lowered my head until it rested in my hands. I had to figure out what to do next and how to do it now that Otto was free.

  Chapter 8

  Blake felt the pain first. The one that raged against the inside of his skull in fast, metered beats. Then he noticed the small, sharp gravel against his cheek. Lying down. Why was he lying down? Something was dead wrong about this moment and his mind searched for all the reasons why.

  If only he could open his eyes.

  The biting wind swept down the alleyway and Blake winced as it sailed across his uncovered head, sent its frigid fingers down through his body. The icy pavement beneath him called next. One sensation at a time, he was gaining new awareness. And strength.

  He willed his hand to move and found it unreasonably heavy and awkward. When it finally reached his face, he used his thumb to physically lift one eyelid. Nothing was familiar.

  A police siren sent off a warning somewhere behind him. The courthouse. Right. He was at the courthouse.

  “Damn it!” he whispered.

  Blake pushed himself to a sitting position and leaned against the courthouse building behind him, his eyes still uncomfortably closed. He was supposed to be inside this building and giving his testimony. The cold from the wall seeped through his jacket and Blake shivered.

  “Have to get to Addie,” he said.

  Blake felt his pockets for his phone, but it was missing. He rolled onto all fours and reached for the wall. Instead his hand landed on cold glass.

  “A window,” he said. He banged on the glass with the heel of his hand. As the muscles in his eyelids worked again, he stared at the face of a wide-eyed young Asian girl who opened the blinds on the other side of the courthouse basement window.

  “Help,” he said and hit the glass again. “Help.”

  Chapter 9

  Huddled in ear muffs and a heavy, down jacket against the cold and the wind, I stood next to the endless stream of cars and horns that rushed past Alexa’s apartment building. I felt oddly brave. Completely free. Rather numb.

  Otto’s freedom killed the hope I had for Blake’s and my future, and fueled my pathological worry that he was destined to fling Blake and me apart and destroy us.

  I waited under the green awning with two Starbucks cups in my hands, and my box of treasured possessions at my feet. The fact that I hadn’t yet spoken to Blake about Otto was a missing step in my day. I assured myself that he was okay. That he would call as soon as he could. Though nothing would take me forward until I could hear his voice, know that he was all right and tell him what happened.

  Lex wasn’t answering her phone, either. I let my awareness drift up to her apartment for the twentieth time. I knew she was in there. I’d left several messages and decided to stand out on the bustling New York sidewalk.

  Which I determined the safest place to be.

  Considering Otto’s access, I figured I was safer in public, around so many…witnesses. If Otto was going to drive up in his black limo and yank me into the back seat, maybe someone would call for help. Not that many New Yorkers would, but someone might. Maybe a tourist.

  Chills ran down the upper part of my back, the standard sensation I felt when someone watched me. I searched the area but only saw the usual New York City street crowd—a random mix of every representation possible. And none of them seemed to be looking in my direction. At least not for more than a moment or so.

  My phone rang and I cradled one coffee while I dug my phone out of my jacket pocket. “Elizabeth, Hi.”

  “I just heard about Otto on the news,” Elizabeth said. “Are you all right?”

  Elizabeth and I developed a close friendship when I worked for Otto. She was the director of acquisitions for two departments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the only person in the art community who was willing to show me the ropes. We hadn’t spoken to one another since Blake and I left town six months ago.

  “Oh, Elizabeth,” I said and braced myself when the cab next to me slammed its screechy brakes. “He got out of it. He fucking got out of it.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Standing outside of my sister’s apartment, just waiting for her to buzz me up.”

  “Did you testify today?”

  “I was supposed to tomorrow. Not anymore obviously.” I poured a long gulp of coffee down
my throat.

  “Addie, you need to be careful. Otto holds grudges and he would know that you were in line to testify against him. Can you and Blake leave town again for a while?”

  I decided to just blurt it out. “Otto says he knows where my father and grandfather are. He did something that made me think that he may be right. I can’t really leave until I know for sure if he’s telling the truth.” A horn blared nearby and I clenched my eyes shut. I could feel every inch of Elizabeth wanting to tell me not to believe him.

  “Remember it’s his trademark to lead someone down the primrose path. You know you can’t trust him. And I assume he wants you to do something for him in return for his telling you where they are?”

  “Work with him on some project.” I decided not to mention the Gardner art.

  “Which, I would guess, is illegal,” she said.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Because Otto is at the center of it. I don’t think you should believe anything he says. I know that telling you what to do isn’t going to do any good. So just be careful. Otto ruined my career because I wouldn’t testify for him. I can’t imagine what he has in mind for you since you were prepared to testify against him.” Elizabeth puffed an audible sigh.

  “He ruined your career?” I asked.

  “Well, the long and the short of it is that right after I declined Otto’s attorney’s offer to testify as a character witness, I was told by my boss that I was going to be relocated to a more suitable position within the museum. It came down from the board of directors.”

  “And you think it really came from Otto.”

  “He has a long reach,” Elizabeth said.

  “I know what you mean.” I surveyed the sea of cabs which had become prisoners of traffic, though throngs of New Yorkers coasted down the moving sidewalk. The pedestrians lived their real lives while they pushed strollers, carried coffee cups, talked on their phones. While mine was caught at a crossroads.

  “Tonight I have to go to the Beyond Fashion exhibit,” Elizabeth said. “Which is normally surreal. This time I'll spend the entire event wondering who is a friend of Otto’s. I think this is my last fete before I’m shuffled off to God-knows-where. Sorry, this call was not supposed to be about me.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry you’re caught up in all of this.”

  “You too, sweetheart. Let me know what you decide to do or if you need anything. I’m here for you.”

  We were at similar crossroads. Both our lives had been capsized by Otto and we were unsure of what to do next. Elizabeth and I made plans for drinks, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep the date. I’d either be running for my life or enslaved in service to Otto.

  A chill fluttered down my spine. Things were going to get worse, I could feel it.

  Cameron, the thin, Irish doorman with the slight limp finally appeared from wherever he’d been. “Miss Addie! How lovely to see ya, dear. Are ya lookin’ for your sister, now?” He blew into his cupped hands, then rubbed them together.

  I turned slowly from the end of the covered sidewalk, picked up my box, and sauntered toward the front door, almost as slowly as if I’d had a glass of wine or two. I did feel a little drunk. The kind of tipsy you feel when you think things can’t possibly get any worse, and you can’t quite feel the ground beneath your feet.

  “Hi, Cameron.” I balanced a Starbucks cup in the box. “I am. Would you buzz her for me, please? I’ve called but she didn’t answer.”

  “Of course, my love. Come with me.” He lifted the box from my arms and carried it to the semi-circle cherry desk on the side of the lobby, where he picked up a landline and called Lexie.

  Cameron developed a crush on Lexie the moment she moved into the building. He was adorable, puppy-dog cute, with slightly shaggy reddish-brown hair and a sweet ever-readiness about him. Lexie barely noticed him, but he kept hope alive.

  “She may still be sleeping, Miss Addie,” he whispered. “Or something. She came in rather late, and with a handsome mister.” He twisted his face into a comical “don’t tell her I told you, but…” expression.

  “Ah.” I winked in return. “That explains it.”

  On the fifth call Cameron gave up. “I’m no’ supposed to do this, Miss Addie. But seein’ as I know ya. And Miss Lexie should probably be checked on. Don’t tell her I said that to ya’. There’s jus’ a lot o’ strange people in the world these days.”

  “Thank you for understanding, Cameron.” I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I needed my sister this afternoon.

  Cameron walked me to the elevator and blushed fresh crimson when he relayed a few gory details about Lexie’s adventures from the night before. “She must o’ forgotten about the cameras in the lift. Would ya’ please mention them to her? I do’ think I could.” Cameron ran a freckled and slightly shaking hand across his knitted brow.

  I said I would. And I wondered how many times the security guards would replay the tapes for their own entertainment.

  “If that recording should—could, get lost, perhaps?” I suggested.

  “I’m already workin’ at that, Miss Addie.” Cameron stood taller, as though he reported for duty, or plotted to rescue his princess.

  I thanked him and kissed his warm-as-cinnamon cheek. When I arrived at Lexie’s floor I stood outside the elevator and felt the energy of the area for a moment. There was definitely someone new on the floor. Someone I hadn’t read before.

  Hers was only one of two apartments on the floor and so sensing the energy of someone new wasn’t difficult. It was sort of like the scent of an unfamiliar food wafting through the air. This fragrance put the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end, though I wasn’t sure why. Something was off.

  Honor your instincts, I reminded myself. I fought the feeling that I might be wrong, or not be wrong and about to see something I didn’t want to. Neither was motivating. I shifted the box to my other arm and started to knock, when I heard Lexie give a distant cry.

  “Oh… Oh!” And then giggle.

  Great.

  I turned to walk away, to head back to Blake’s apartment. Then stopped. I didn’t want to be alone. I wanted Lexie’s help and needed the love of my sister. It wasn't early, so whoever was in there with her would probably be leaving soon, and clearly she’d reached the other side of the rainbow. So I waited what I thought was an appropriate amount of time and knocked.

  When I knocked again Lexie finally answered, wearing an oversized white T-shirt and a dreamy glow, her hair tossed around like someone had ridden roughshod over her.

  “What in God’s name are you doing here?” Alexa inspected the hallway, then grabbed my arm, jerked me inside. “Are you okay?”

  A statuesque 6 foot 4 inch, naked male frame passed in the background. When he caught us staring at him he smirked and waved.

  “I need your help.” I reached into the box and handed her a cup of coffee.

  “I didn’t think you were supposed to be out?” Lexie took the coffee and locked the door behind us. “Why in the hell didn’t you call me? I would have come to you.”

  “I did call, Lex.” I walked into the living room and put the box on the floor. The curtains were open, revealing one of the nicer views of New York. I rested my hand against the couch. Sketchy scenes of their night before began to put on a show for me, and I figured that Lex probably never closed the drapes from the day before.

  Alexa rubbed her hand across her forehead and glanced around the room. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know where I put my phone. Are you okay?”

  “So, that’s tall, blond, and handsome? He’s ‘the one’?” I asked. The shower turned on in the background and I tried to figure out how to tell her what was going on with Otto without flipping her out.

  Alexa tossed a few pillows around and discovered her phone buried beneath the couch cushions. “Yes, that’s Todd. His sister owns the gallery that’s doing my show. I can’t believe you’re here just…out in the open, that’s insane. I thought you were
staying hidden away until after the trial.” Alexa shot over to the wall and closed one half of the drapes. “What if he sees you?”

  “Oh. Um, speaking of being seen, you shouldn’t do anything in front of an open window that you wouldn’t want on YouTube. And Cameron asked me to remind you that there are cameras in the elevators.” I said it as delicately as I could, but with Lex sometimes direct was best.

  She stood still for a silent moment, surrounded by a puddle of winter sun. Her thin legs stretched long and lean beneath the T-shirt and she appeared as she did when we were about eight. Headstrong and naive, and with too many smarts that yielded a false sense of security in the world. Then she realized the night’s events might not have been as private as she thought. She said it quietly. “Oh.”

  I drank a long gulp of coffee and waited for the news to sink in.

  Lexie finally shrugged, a blush climbing up her neck and beyond, and I could tell her newfound feelings for the boy were still scrambled with endorphins. His energy had engulfed her in a bubble and she seemed content to live there, even without knowing how she really felt about him. Like so many women, she liked being liked.

  “Are you sure about him?” I nodded toward Todd’s general location.

  Lexie stared at me with her mouth open, as if I’d just asked a blindly stupid question.

  “Because I think he’s hiding something,” I said.

  “You think everyone is hiding something.” Alexa waved her hand.

  “Well, I’m not usually wrong about that.” I could feel Lexie’s defenses go on the rise and I braced myself. Her green eyes, which were soft and moony when I arrived, took on a sudden sharpness. I decided to just skip ahead. “Otto came to the townhouse this morning. Actually, he came into the townhouse, while I was there collecting some things. I can’t find Blake and I really need your help.”

  With those words my worry hit fever pitch and I decided I’d had enough coffee for today. Caffeine, like any other drug of choice, only gave a certain amount of respite from the things that needed to be figured out.