by H. D. Gordon
That was an understatement. I’m not afraid of heights, obviously, but stepping into Dr. Cross’s office was different from standing on the edge of a rooftop, or leaning over a cliff. The floor was completely see-through, giving the illusion that you were stepping right out into open air, the contents of the office floating on an invisible sea before you.
I found myself gripping Gail’s arm tighter out of instinct, and she let out a throaty laugh that I bet men just loved. “Told you,” she said. “A little disorienting the first time.”
Dr. Cross and his two sons moved past us into the room. The doctor, his face handsome but cold somehow, gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Or his aura.
“Not to worry, Miss Fae,” Dr. Cross said. “This floor is made out of the sturdiest plastic available. It could hold one hundred times our weight.”
“Neat,” I said, the sensation of not standing atop anything still making me unsteady. Everyone laughed at this response save for Chris, Caleb’s brother, who always seemed to be eying me every time I looked away.
“Why don’t you show her the view from the Sky Hole, dad,” Caleb said, slipping his arm around my waist.
Caleb turned to me with a smile that brought out his dimples, and I understood what he was doing. We’d discussed this beforehand. Whoever was more likely to get away with it would plant Sam’s device. He was making me the distraction so that he could do the planting, so maybe I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the way Chris had been watching me.
I leaned in and kissed Caleb’s cheek while discreetly slipping the device from my pocket. Caleb grinned and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear while I folded the device into his hand. With my eyes, I tried to give him courage, but his aura was growing more and more anxious the longer we were here.
We needed to get this thing done and get out of here.
“Oh, you’ll love the Sky Hole,” said Gail. “It’s got the best view in all of Grant City. Isn’t that right, Chris?”
Chris nodded and accepted Gail’s hand when she held it out to him, and we all moved to the center of the room, where there was a silver tube as large as an elevator that led out of the highest point in the slanted ceiling, right out the top of the cube.
It was, in fact, an elevator, and as we all stepped into it, Caleb stepped back off again. “You guys go on,” he said. “I need to use the restroom.” He smiled at me. “You’ll love it. It really is beautiful.”
I nodded, watching Caleb’s handsome face disappear behind the sliding silver door of the elevator, leaving him to betray his father’s trust while I rose to the top of the Cross Corp building to take in the view.
CHAPTER 28
On Monday, the deed was done; the device was planted. On Tuesday, I didn’t hear from Caleb all day.
He’d been completely silent after we’d left the Cross Corp building, only nodding once to confirm when I’d asked on the ride back to my apartment if he’d managed to put Sam’s device on his father’s computer.
Tuesday morning I awoke hoping to hear from him, concerned that he was drowning in guilt, but he didn’t text or call, so I texted him instead. I told him good morning and asked how he was doing, and he didn’t respond. Caleb always responded to me right away on the rare occasions that I texted him first, so I supposed his silence was a response in itself.
I told Sam of my concerns as we ate lunch in the school courtyard. The days were steadily getting warmer, and planted flowers that ringed the area were beginning to bloom, so it was a bit crowded out here today, but we’d managed to snag our usual spot on a bench beneath one of the trees.
“It was his choice,” Sam said. “We didn’t make him do it. Caleb was digging into his father’s affairs before we even got involved.”
I sighed, shoving a chicken finger into my mouth. “Yeah, but I was the one who suggested going in and… doing what we did, and I knew he was conflicted about it. I could have tried to talk him out of it.” I checked my phone. “And he still hasn’t responded to my text, which is total butt cheeks.”
“Well, I got in,” Sam said. “To his computer, I mean. I did it before school this morning. Downloaded every bit of information it had on it. It’s just waiting until tonight, and we’ll open it together.”
“I have to work at Roses after school,” I said. “But I’ll be there. It’s funny, because even though it could really help us out if our hunch about Dr. Cross is right, you know, could stop us from always being two steps behind, I actually really hope we’re wrong. For Caleb’s sake.”
Sam tipped me a smile that was edged with sadness. “Things are never easy when you really care for someone, are they?”
I considered this. “Yeah, but the alternative is no picnic, either.”
“Well, we’ll know tonight if the doctor is hiding anything.”
I nodded. “I guess we will.”
***
“Nothing? You’re sure? Nothing at all?”
Sam shook her head, as surprised as I was by the find. Or rather, lack of find. “If it was there, I would’ve found it, but most everything is pretty mundane. Employee lists and pay grades, plans for meetings and upcoming company events.” She shrugged. “Nothing that indicates anything sinister. Dr. Cross pays his taxes on time and keeps really good records, but there’s not even any weird Internet searches.”
I stared at the screen, standing behind Sam where she sat before the computer bank we’d set up in the lair. “It could just be that the computer in his office isn’t where he keeps the kinds of information we’re looking for.”
Sam agreed this was possible. “Where is Caleb, by the way? I thought he was going to be here.”
Shrugging, I checked my phone for what felt like the millionth time today. “I haven’t heard from him. I think he’s having a hard time with… all of this.”
Matt came over from the snack area, munching on some hot Cheetos, and only rolled his eyes when I snatched the bag from his hand and tipped it up to my mouth. “That’s understandable,” he said. “If my father was an evil genius intent on destroying the world, I’m not sure I’d want to know, either.”
“You have a point,” I said, “but maybe I should swing by his house and check on him. Just to make sure he’s okay.”
Sam snorted. “House? You mean mansion? You better be careful. There’s a curfew out, remember?” She looked at the clock on her computer. “It’s seven-thirty. We’re all supposed to be safe in our homes in thirty minutes.”
I shrugged. “I’ll be careful.”
We said our goodbyes, and Sam and Matt headed out through the door of the warehouse while I took to the roof. I climbed out into the cool night and took a deep breath before getting a running start and leaping over to the next building. As I sailed over the city, I noticed that nearly every block had a patrolling police car. Seemed the mayor hadn’t been kidding when she’d implemented the whole curfew thing.
It was almost eerie, the way the streets had cleared out and the businesses and bars had shut down early, clicking off their neon signs and leaving only the dim orange glow of the street lamps. I could hear the gentle swaying of the bay to my east in the silence that fell over the place as the eight o’clock curfew drew nearer, could picture the citizens crawling into their beds early, maybe catching a late night show on television before drifting off to sleep.
I knew it was sort of inappropriate, but I always liked to look into the windows when I travelled among the rooftops this way, to get a stolen glimpse into the lives of the people who lived there. Somehow it seemed to bring me peace when I would catch sight of a child and a mother sharing a bedtime story, a character nightlight glowing on the nightstand, or a bachelor standing at his bathroom mirror, brushing his teeth and adding hair-growth product to his prematurely balding head.
The small, repetitive tasks of these human lives would tie together to equal a lifetime, each moment leading into the next with a sort of slow motion blink. Something that ran out before they’d even realized it
had started. Often in the past few months, while the Masked Maiden had been on hiatus, I would climb out onto the rooftops and watch people for hours, my mind making up stories to go with the scenes that I spied on, my heart aching just because I knew my own life would never be the same as theirs. And like my wise little friend Samantha Shy had said, we all wanted what we didn’t have.
This was the state of my thoughts as I entered the nicer part of Grant City, where Cross Manor resided. At no surprise to me, the police force in this area had been increased even more heavily, because everyone knew that the lives of the wealthy outweighed the lives of the poor. Mustn’t let anyone with deep pockets be harmed.
Being extra careful not to be spotted, I moved as close as I could to Caleb’s house, taking cover within the branches of a large oak tree, climbing to the top like a monkey. As I settled in, feeling more than at home surrounded by the greenery, I tilted my head as I closed my eyes and picked up the steady heartbeats of four different people that I couldn’t get eyes on, surrounding Cross Manor at intervals.
I scanned the darkness, looking for aura signatures, and found what I sought. Dressed in all black and packing weapons that looked like high-powered assault rifles from this distance, I saw that the four heartbeats belonged to armed guards that patrolled the Cross Estate.
What the hell did Dr. Cross need that kind of security for? Was it because he was protecting himself and his family from the Blue Beast, and unlike most of the rest of Grant City, had the funds to hire extra protection? Or was it that despite the fruitless peek into his office computer, the man had some evil stuff going on that could not be so easily stumbled upon?
I didn’t know, but I knew I needed to find out. I spotted Caleb’s car in the driveway, and felt a little flash of relief that he was likely just at home, feeling down and not wanting to deal with the world, including me. While this made me feel a little sad, it was better than the crazy scenarios I’d come up with involving his father finding out about our treachery and locking his youngest son in a dungeon somewhere. Or worse.
When I saw Caleb and his older brother, Chris, exit the tall front doors to the main house and climb into Chris’s brand new Range Rover, I hesitated only a moment before jumping to the ground and following after.
Seemed Caleb wasn’t locked in a dungeon somewhere, but rather taking a nighttime trip with his sketchy older brother while there was a citywide curfew in effect.
CHAPTER 29
By the time they were nearing the city limits, I kept thinking they were going to stop, but instead, the Range Rover containing Caleb and Chris just kept on going, and it became apparent that I couldn’t keep up with them on foot.
While they were stopped at a light near the edge of town, I hesitated a moment before shooting a text to Thomas, telling him my location and demanding he hurry up. I kept updating my position via text, and less than ten minutes later, I heard the rumble of his motorcycle as he pulled up to the curb where I waited.
Caleb and Chris had just rounded the corner two blocks ahead, and I told Thomas we needed to be stealthy as I slid on his bike behind him, accepting the helmet he gave me and securing it over my head.
“Your boyfriend’s up to no good, huh?” Thomas said before pulling away in a roar of engine.
I was going to tell him to shut up, but knew he wouldn’t hear me anyway, so I just laid my cheek against his back and let the wind lift my hair, closing my eyes and taking a moment, letting myself forget that I was tailing someone who was supposed to be my friend.
I’ve found that I enjoyed small moments like these, where you could be flying down the street on a motorcycle, but nonetheless stagnant, the rumbling of the engine in your ears, and yet, surrounded in silence. You had to savor these moments, because it was in these moments that life passed you by.
Thomas was careful to keep a good distance back from the Range Rover while maintaining the tail. We rode for what had to be nearly half an hour, exiting Grant City and passing through the suburbs that lay on the outskirts, and further still, going by blueberry farms and orchards, riding shotgun to the tall, endless sea of trees that made up the New Jersey Pinelands.
I could smell the air losing its salty quality the further inland we rode, and just when I was beginning to think we would never reach a destination, the Range Rover pulled off onto a side road and trundled along in the darkness, no street lamps lighting the path.
Thomas brought the bike to a stop, pulling off the two-lane highway and killing the engine. He removed his helmet and looked at the receding red taillights of the Range Rover.
“I think we should go on foot from here,” he said.
Knowing that there was no way to continue on down that dark side road on the motorcycle without being seen or heard, I dismounted the bike and removed my own helmet. There were tall stalks of grass on this side of the road, and Thomas pushed his motorcycle into them, concealing it from view. He returned to me, where I was standing beside an old wooden sign that marked the entrance to the side road.
“The Crossroads Farm,” I read aloud, studying the innocuous appearance of the posting. It sure didn’t seem like anything ominous was going on. Then again, the path toward the farm was awfully dark.
“Are we going in?” Thomas asked.
I swallowed, nodded. I knew Thomas understood that this whole endeavor made me feel shady, but we’d already come all this way, and there was no way I could deny my curiosity. I had to see what Caleb was up to.
As if sensing the need to guide me, Thomas took my hand into his, and together, we began cutting through the field adjacent the road. Above our heads, every star in the black night sky could be seen, a stark juxtaposition to the light-polluted sky of the city we’d left behind. I couldn’t help but crane my head back and bask in its infinite glory, allowing it to make me and all my troubles feel small, insignificant.
The dry grass of the field crunched softly under our feet, insects jumping out of our path and bouncing off the bare skin of my arms, fluttering through my mane of reddish-brown hair. Thomas kept hold of my hand the entire way, and I let him lead me, his grip calloused but firm, sure in a way that I wasn’t.
After about ten minutes of pushing through the high grass of the field, Thomas came to a stop, halting me along with him. I opened my mouth to say something, but he held a finger to his lips and nodded his head. My gaze followed his gesture, and I saw that there was a large red barn thirty yards or so up ahead, just visible in the light cast by the lone bulb mounted to the front of it. In this circle of light, bugs flittered and buzzed, thick enough to be called a cloud, even from this distance.
“Are they inside there?” I whispered.
Thomas lifted a brow, looking over at me. “I don’t see where else they would be,” he said, and nodded toward where the black Range Rover was parked beside the barn.
I gave him a little nudge to let him know I didn’t appreciate his subtle ribbing. “We have to get closer. We have to find out what’s inside the barn, what they’re doing in there.”
Thomas nodded, and duck-walking through the grass, he motioned for me to follow, which I did. In this manner, we circled around to the backside of the barn, where Thomas pointed out a high window. It was twenty-five feet up from the ground, and likely let into the hayloft area of the barn.
“Can you get up there?” Thomas asked.
I considered the height. Due to my superior strength, I could leap pretty high into the air, and could probably reach the ledge of the window if I gave it my all. The tricky part would be opening the window and getting inside without making too much noise.
“I can try,” I said.
Thomas placed a hand on my shoulder, the two of us crouching side by side in the tall grass like the couple of conspirators we were. In a swift move that nearly stole my breath away, he leaned forward and placed a small kiss on my forehead, brushing my hair out of my face with the tips of his fingers.
“We can still go back,” he whispered.
In answer, I released a low breath and told him to signal me if anyone approached. Then, I crept forward, out of the cover of the high grass, and pressed my body against the back wall of the big red barn. Heart pounding like thunder in my chest, I leaned my head against the wooden red wall and listened, picking up two sets of heartbeats inside.
I took a few steps away from the wall, eyed the window above, and licked my lips. Then, I bent my legs and leapt upward as hard as I could. As I shot through the air, I locked in on the edge of the windowsill as my target, and managed to grip it with my fingertips. I brought my feet up quickly, resting the soles of my boots against the wall in an effort to keep from thudding against it with my body.
Hanging there, I paused, waiting for some sort of alarm to sound, but it was only the night bugs that carried on chirping, and the gentle breeze that tugged on the tall grasses, bowing them slightly under its force.
The windowsill was roughly four or five inches wide, and it was not easy to pull myself up onto it, but I managed, grunting a little with the effort. I balanced there for a moment, crouched in the square of the window like a thief in the night, gazing up at the face of the almost full moon as it stared back at me, witness to my every move.
Ignoring its judgmental gaze, I signaled Thomas that I was okay, and examined the window. It was obscured with grit and dirt, but I could see through it enough to tell that it indeed let into the hayloft. I gave it a small push, and to my relief, it swung inward without much protest. I fully expected it to creak and groan, but as I nudged it further, the window opened without a sound, as if it was aware of what I was doing and allowing me access with its silence.
With one last look at where Thomas was still concealed in the high grass, and another glance up at the accusing moon, I slipped into the hayloft, moving forward on my hands and knees. When I came to the edge, I saw that Caleb and Chris were indeed inside, and like the terrible friend that I was, I held my breath so that I could eavesdrop on their private conversation.
