In the Shadows of Fate

by Rick Jurewicz

  As the two men set foot on the concrete landing strip, a waiting car approached the aircraft. The driver exited the car, a silver late model sedan, and approached the men as the sounds of the aircraft drifted slowly into the background.

  “Which one of you would be Mr. Skye?” asked the driver of the vehicle, a short man with dark, curly hair and a nose too large for his face.

  The man with the shaved head spoke without movement or expression, save for his thin, stern lips.

  “I am Mr. Skye,” he said.

  The little man shuttered for a moment in the baleful presence of Mr. Skye.

  “I…um. Yes, sorry. Were you requiring a driver, or will you be taking the car on your own. Everything has already been taken care of …”

  “Yes, thank you,” said the man with the glasses. “You’ll have to excuse the shortness of my friend here. It’s been a long flight, and he is not a fan of turbulence. It makes him very irritable.”

  The little man nodded, with a try for a smile at Mr. Skye, who still stood without expression, staring at the little man. The smile on the little man’s face disappeared as quickly as it came. He looked back to the man with glasses.

  The man with the glasses extended his hand to the little man, who noticed the silver ring on his right middle finger. Even in the darkness the ring glistened, catching any and all light that it could, accenting the inscription of an almost circular crescent moon with points that meet at a single star. In the center of the circular moon was a single point that looked as if it may have been encrusted with a small diamond.

  The little man reached out to the hand of the man with glasses slowly to shake it, but before the hands met he was cut off by the man.

  “The keys. I will take them,” said the man.

  The little man backed his hand away slowly without saying a word, and reached into his pocket and handed the man with glasses the keys to the sedan.

  “Thank you,” said the man with glasses. “I am Mr. Cain. We won’t be needing a driver. We like to take in the sights as we go along. Please, thank your supervisors for us in providing accommodation on such short notice.”

  “I will, certainly,” said the little man, nervously. “Anything else you need?”

  “No,” said Skye abruptly.

  The little man nodded, and turned back towards the terminal walking rather quickly. The two men watched as he walked away, turning only once to look over his shoulder as if to make sure the men were not right behind him as if they were going to jump out and frighten him. Mr. Cain turned towards his associate.

  “Charming as always,” said Cain to Mr. Skye. Skye only grunted in response. “If you cannot be somewhat amicable, then perhaps you shouldn’t say anything at all. You’re a professional. Try and blend in a bit, will you?”

  Skye said nothing, just a slight nod. He was a man of few words, speaking more with his actions, and in his line of work, his actions spoke volumes, mostly to individuals who either wouldn’t dare breathe a word to anyone about anything he instructed them not to speak of…or of those who would never speak or be heard from again.

  The men got into the car, Mr. Skye now behind the wheel. Mr. Cain pulled out his cell phone and pulled up the messaging screen.

  TO: ENOCH

  We have landed. Instructions?

  TO: CAIN

  Head to Arlo. Meet with Thornton – I will send you contact information. Collect all data. He has tracking information. Take care of details.

  TO: ENOCH

  And the girl?

  TO: CAIN

  Follow her for now. Keep me informed as to her movements and those she makes contact with.

  The next message was Harry Thornton’s cell number. Cain dialed the number and waited through a few rings.

  “Hello?” Harry answered, groggily.

  “Is this Mr. Thornton?” asked Cain.

  “Yes? Who the hell is this at this hour?” Harry demanded.

  “This is a gentleman whom you were told would be contacting you regarding Miss Stratton. Are you awake and paying attention now, Mr. Thornton?”

  Suddenly Harry seemed awake and attentive to the man on the phone.

  “Yes. I’m sorry. What can I do for you?” asked Harry, apologetically.

  “Are you still keeping a close eye on the girl now?” asked Cain.

  “She headed into the place where she is staying hours ago. It’s called the Wellman House, a bed and breakfast here in Galestone,” said Harry. “I would imagine that she is asleep.”

  “Good,” said Cain. “And do you have any idea of where she may be headed when she leaves this place she is staying?” asked Cain.

  “After she went into the Wellman House, and it looked as if she might be in for the night, I stopped to speak to my friends at the Buckshot Tavern. She was inside for only about 10 or 15 minutes, not really enough time for a meal, so I went in later to see if I could find out what she was there for. Mary Ann Carlson, one of the owners, spoke to the girl and said she asked about the nanny that lived with the Gales at the time of the fire, Aimsley Carter. She lives in Arlo now; I looked into her from here, and she owns a bookstore called 'The Book Stops Here!' Cute name. I drive past the place almost every day, but I’ve never really paid much attention to it. I'm not really a big reader. Anyway, I’m a betting man, and I would bet for sure that if she is looking for answers, that’s the next place she will go.”

  “You have the GPS tracker in place?” asked Cain.

  “Yes, I do. Do you want the app access code?” asked Harry.

  “Not over the phone. In person. We also need everything else you have gathered,” said Cain.

  “But I could just send you everything that I have through an e-mail…” said Harry.

  “Our employer insists that we meet and do the exchange face to face. No electronic transfers. Besides, how else will you get your money?” stated Cain. “Do you have a private place that we can meet?”

  Harry hesitated at this. He knew who he was working for, and that alone caused him great trepidation. However, he did not know these men. But he also was well aware that $250,000 was a lot of money, and being the betting man that he was, he needed the money to pay off other scary men that he owed a portion to. Those men had already implied threats against his family, so Harry wanted to put all of that behind him and move on.

  “I…have a hunting cabin on Bear Lake. It’s a large lake, just southeast of Arlo. It’s a five acre piece of property, heavily wooded so it’s very private. 1439 Bear Lake Road. We can meet there whenever you’d like,” said Harry.

  Mr. Cain entered the address into his cell phone's GPS and quickly found its location off of the main highway to Arlo.

  “Is it empty?” asked Cain.

  “Yes, why do you ask?” Harry asked, nervously.

  “My associate and I have had a long night. We are still about 2 ½ hours from Arlo by car, and we’re looking to find a place to stay for the night. Somewhere we can remain relatively unnoticed. I am sure your cabin will do nicely. You stay where you are and make sure your guess is correct as to which direction the girl will be traveling in the morning. Follow her from a distance, and if she is truly going to Arlo, we know where she will be going, so let her go and you go to your cabin. We will meet you there in the morning, if all goes as assumed,” said Cain.

  “That is kind of irregular…I’m not sure I am comfortable…”

  “Mr. Thornton, this is not a request. Do not confuse this with the idea that there are options involved here for you. If you want your money, you will do as you’re told. I won’t even go into what could happen if you interfere and try and warn the girl of the interest in her,” said Cain, his voice firm and direct.

  Harry frowned. “I’m sorry. That’ll be fine. There is a key underneath the left side of the front porch on a nail, near the house.”

  “Thank you. We’ll see you in the morning, Mr. Thornton. You have our number. Call us immediately if anything changes,” said Cain. The line disconnecte
d.

  Harry felt a pain in his stomach. He was starting to feel as if this may have been a huge mistake on his part, allowing these people to know of Miranda’s coming to Galestone. But all he was seeing were dollar signs, and focused on a quick fix to the problems that he had gotten himself – and his family – into. He reached into the glove box and grabbed a bottle of antacid tablets, knocking back three or four to ease the burning sensation inside. It helped only a little. He wanted this over with as soon as possible, and tried to keep his eyes open and on the Wellman House and Miranda’s car. But soon, he was asleep again, dreaming about back room poker games that he actually was winning for a change. Harry continued to win, if only in his dreams, until the sun rose at dawn.

  Miranda awoke even earlier than she had planned, around 5:45 a.m. It was just as well though, she thought. She wanted to get on the road to Arlo early, and depending how things went today, she considered heading home and coming clean with her parents as to what she had actually been doing the last couple of days. It had crossed her mind that if she had gotten a start later than expected, she might stop by and apologize to Mary Ann for the way she had reacted the night before. Mary Ann only seemed to have her well-being in mind, even though the thought of the people of Galestone almost letting everyone in that house burn appalled her to no end. Now, it was a matter of why such a thing could have happened. Also, she felt that someone wanted her to find these things out, but she still didn’t have a real clue as to who that may have been, or why now after all these years.

  The shower felt good, and helped her to relax. She tried to imagine what it might have been like growing up in a family like that, especially here in the middle of nowhere. Living in Native Springs itself had always made Miranda feel somewhat out of touch with the rest of the world, and Galestone was that much further off the beaten path. There was also the fact that the Gales lived a closely guarded life, and kept much to themselves, especially after the mines had closed. Thinking about that struck a chord in Miranda’s mind, being that she herself kept things guarded, letting only a few close people really get to know her. The Gales, she was sure, had their own reasons for this, given their position in the town. But perhaps there was more? This thought was beginning to seem more and more evident the further she went down this road in search of who she was and where she had come from. Even with the love of her parents back home, she had found herself for years struggling with a sense of personal identity. There was a part of her that simply wrote it off to being quirky and marching to the beat of her own drum. But at the same time, even when she was very young, she always felt there was something – something deep and inherently important – that was missing from her life.

  At around the time she was nine-years-old, she had started reading some of her father's old superhero comic books she had found in the basement of the home she had grown up in. Miranda almost expected that one day her parents were going to come to her and tell her that they had found her in a cornfield in a crash landed rocket ship, and that she was from a far away planet, destined to be a great and powerful hero. Obviously, that had never happened, but now instead of a distant planet, she had found a forgotten little all-too-human part of the world that had been touched by something dark and mysterious.

  Miranda packed her things and was heading out the front door by 6:30 a.m. Bev and Tom had not yet awakened, so she left them a little note of thanks for their hospitality, and promised to let others know back home what a beautiful place they had. That was what they had hoped for the most, and she was more than happy to oblige in whatever way she could. There was always the possibility that this whole adventure could become a story someday, especially with the twists and turns she had experienced already. She decided not to have high hopes for her meeting with Aimsley. If this turned out as nothing, she would stop trying to dig into her past and put it behind her. She would come clean with Robert and Lorri, and she would agree to speak to a therapist about her nightmares.

  When she came to the end of the road leaving Galestone, she stopped for a moment and turned on her blinker to head south, the direction that would take her home to Native Springs. After a moment of hesitation, she switched the direction of the turn signal to the north, and turned up the road to Arlo. She did not notice the Escalade in the distance behind her. Harry was being as careful as possible not to be too obvious. He turned to follow her up the road, staying a fair distance behind her to try and not attract her attention.

  Harry continued to follow the car for about 10 miles until he reached the turnoff onto Bear Lake Road. He made a right turn, and followed it past the first two-track driveway a quarter of a mile down the road, and then made a left turn into the drive that led to his cabin. The property was heavily wooded and secluded, and he began to feel a bit jittery as he approached the cabin.

  Harry noticed the silver sedan in front of the cabin and parked the Escalade along side of it. He walked to the front door and tried the knob. It was unlocked, so he quietly proceeded into the cabin. As soon as he stepped into the cabin he was grabbed and pushed face down into a couch in the cabin's front room. He turned over quickly, scared out of his mind, which hit an even higher note of fear when he saw the barrel of a gun pointed directly at his face, only inches from his nose.

  “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” Harry cried, throwing his hands up as he laid back onto the couch. “I’m Harry…Harry Thornton! I talked to you last night…please…”

  Mr. Skye held the gun steady at Harry’s face. Mr. Cain walked out from the bathroom, pants on and shirtless, with a towel around the back of his neck hanging over his shoulders.

  “Mr. Skye, I don’t believe that is necessary right now,” said Cain, calmly. “Mr. Thornton, it might have been more appropriate to knock before entering, don’t you think?”

  “But…it’s my cabin,” said Harry, his eyes quickly shifting back and forth between the two men. Mr. Cain raised his eyebrows at this, and gave a quick glance at Mr. Skye, who did not respond to Mr. Cain’s glance.

  “Well, anyhow, please, sit down and have some coffee. I am sure we all have lots of things that we would like to be doing today. No time to be lying around on the couch all day. Allow me a moment or two to finish getting dressed. I am sure Mr. Skye and you will find lots to talk about while I am finishing up,” said Mr. Cain.

  Harry slowly got up from the couch and walked around the opposite side of it to the round table in the small dining room of the cabin. He didn’t take his eyes off of Mr. Skye any more than Mr. Skye took his eyes off of him. Harry sat down at the table, and Mr. Skye brought a cup of black coffee and set it down on the table before Harry.

  “Th…thank you,” said Harry. Mr. Skye only nodded, which was more than Harry had expected at that point. He had still not heard the man say a single word since he had entered the cabin and Mr. Skye threw him down onto his couch. He thought of how undignified that was for a moment, only to remember that it could have gone a lot worse than it did.

  Mr. Cain walked down from the short hallway to the bathroom again, fully dressed as he was the night before. He reached out his hand and shook Harry’s.

  “Now,” said Mr. Cain. “My name is Mr. Cain, and this is my associate, Mr. Skye. I am the one you spoke to last night.”

  “Yes…” said Harry. “Hi…”

  “Yes, I think we are passed that now,” said Mr. Cain. He then nodded to Mr. Skye, who retrieved from the kitchen counter one of the two briefcases he had in his hands when he left the plane. He placed it on the counter and rotated it in the direction where it could be opened up to Harry. Mr. Skye reached around it and clicked both locks open on the case, and revealed the contents to Harry. The briefcase was full of fifties, twenties, and ten dollar bills. A huge smile came to Harry’s face and his hands reached out to touch the cash. But just before his fingers could reach the case, the lid slammed shut in front of him. He jerked his fingers back, and for an instant scowled at Mr. Skye, only to wipe the scowl from his face just as fast when he gl
impsed the menace in Mr. Skye’s eyes.

  “I assure you that this briefcase contains the $250,000 that you were promised for your services,” said Mr. Cain. “However, your services are not yet complete. Do you have the information that we requested?’

  “Yes, I do,” said Harry. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a flash drive and handed it to Mr. Cain. Mr. Cain retrieved his own laptop from the messenger bag he carried and loaded the contents of the flash drive onto the computer. He reviewed the information from the drive, and then closed the lid shut on the computer.

  “The access code for the tracking app is 881956,” said Harry.

  “The information you retrieved for us. Where did it come from?” asked Mr. Cain.

  “The law firm I work for has a man we pay to look into these things. He doesn’t ask questions, he just gets results,” said Harry.

  Mr. Cain smiled at this. “Sounds like my kind of guy. And the computer that you have with you. Is there a copy of the information on it now?”

  “Yes…it was e-mailed to me, and I put it on the flash drive for you,” said Harry.

  “It is in your vehicle?” asked Mr. Cain.

  “Yes, why?” asked Harry, feeling agitated again.

  Cain nodded to Skye, and Skye went out to the Escalade and retrieved the computer as Harry just sat by and watched. Mr. Skye brought it back into the cabin, and set it on the table near Harry.

  “Now, just one last thing and we will be on our way,” said Mr. Cain. “Is there any other information we need to know that you haven’t shared with us?”