by Ciana Stone
Nikki nodded and took his hand. “Sorry. Now, if I can find my way back to what we were talking about…”
“You were about to divulge the great secret to me—the definite pattern that’s woven through all of the myths and legends.”
“Oh yeah, that.” She shook her head, chuckled uncomfortably, cleared her throat and fell silent.
“All right.” He let her off the hook. “Enough said. Except of course the point I was originally trying to make, which is despite who this Gaspar is—and by the way you still haven’t told me squat about him—only his fifteen times great-grandfather or whatever. But despite what he said, you don’t have anything that’d lead you to believe he could be telling the truth. Come on, you’re a scholar. You know that just like in science and math there are steps to be followed. You can’t jump from point A to Z without something in between.”
“I agree. No really, you’re one hundred percent right. It was lunacy to believe him. And even if he was right, how the hell would I ever find it? You think someone as rich as this Weston guy would just leave it lying around? No way. So yes, you’re right, you’re right. It was a dumb move. But I took it and here I am, so now I’ve got to figure out what the heck to do!”
Ben leaned his head back and blew out his breath long and slow. “And there we have the crux of the problem, don’t we? First you let this de Troyes put a bee in your bonnet over some mythological artifact, then out of the blue Professor Bernard wants to see you and asks if you’ve spoken with de Troyes. Upon which the two of you get chased all over the city and he ends up doing the complete unexpected and offing himself. And now this Robinson guy claims Bernard and de Troyes are part of some group that’s responsible for killing people, and you have what?”
“A mess,” she groaned.
“Not just a mess, but what sounds like a potentially dangerous mess with a lot of conflicting stories. And…” He held up his hand as she opened her mouth. “Not to mention the second element in the twofold problem I see. This thing isn’t about some artifact, or even a fat bank account. It’s about the guy. Maxwell. Something about him does you in a way no one else ever has and it’s driving you nuts because you have no idea how to handle it. First of all, you’ve never been there before and secondly, when you finally do reach the point you have, it’s with some guy who’s not playing with a full deck.”
“That’s unfair.” Nikki knew which battle to choose. She fought for Max, which diverted attention from her. “You can’t make that kind of judgment.”
“Okay, maybe this Max guy is smarter than everyone realizes, but still—all the shit he’s done to you? I don’t know how to put it in a nice way, but it seems to me he’s a twenty-megahertz machine in a terrabyte game.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“And the reason?”
Nikki looked down at their clasped hands on the table, trying to find the right words to make him understand something she was not sure she did herself. She looked up at Ben. “Remember when Jimmi first moved in next to Catherine and me?”
Ben laughed. “Yeah, she really went off, didn’t she?”
“To say the least. She got one look at his dreads and was sure we were being invaded by either Jamaican drug runners or voodoo ‘head shrinkers’ as she put it.”
Ben’s smile faded. “Her paranoia just about got all of us—well, me and Tony, anyway. But not you.”
“That’s not important. My point is, Cat just saw what was on the outside—his appearance and the fact that he didn’t dress or act like the rest of us and she made a judgment on only that. It’s the same with Max. Everyone treats him a certain way because they’ve been told to. Everyone on the staff’s terrified of him except the butler Osgood and his wife Louise and they treat him like he’s got the IQ of a turtle.”
“And you don’t think they’re right.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Okay, but can I ask why?”
She smiled at him. “The same reason I knew I was right about Jimmi, or about you. I see it in his eyes.”
Ben studied her face for a moment then gave her hands a squeeze. “How can I argue with that?”
“I’m hoping you can’t.”
“Okay, I won’t. I know you see things not all of us do, Nik, but I’m still concerned. See, I remember how things were with Jimmi, and me, and Tony and Tom and even Bill. But this time it’s different. You’re different.”
“How?”
“Your eyes.”
Nikki had no reply. Was it that obvious? She looked away and Ben gave her hands a tug.
“Come on, you don’t have to hide. I’m not judging and I’m not telling you it’s wrong, I’m just concerned. In all the years I’ve known you—what is it now—five years? Anyway, in all that time I’ve never seen this look in your eyes. You don’t fall easy. You always hold something back and you always have your door locked. You’ve never let anyone get inside that room, no matter how much they care. I’ve never asked the reason and I don’t expect you to tell me—we all have our demons. But there’s no closed door this time. It’s like you’ve opened—no, you’ve knocked down the door. Is this guy really that special?”
Until that moment Nikki hadn’t faced the truth about herself and her feelings for Max. Now she realized that Ben was right. There was something in Max that made her want to let someone inside. She wanted to trust Max, to let him be what she believed in. But why? Why Max and why, if it was true, could she not admit it to herself? Was she that afraid or just that unsure?
“I guess so,” she finally answered, then laughed in a self-deprecating way. “Wouldn’t you know? I finally find someone I think could be Mr. Right only there’s a good chance he’d be a better fit as a kid than a…”
“Lover?”
She nodded and pulled her hands away to lower her face down into them. “What am I doing?”
Ben smiled and pulled one hand away. “Taking a chance, maybe?”
She groaned and lay her head down on her arms on the table. “What am I going to do, Ben? What if I’m wrong about Max?”
Ben laughed and she looked up at him with a hint of irritation. He grinned and rounded the booth to engulf her in a hug. “Don’t worry, if it blows up in your face, you always have me.”
Nikki nestled up against him, taking solace in the feel of his arms around her. She prayed what she was about to do wouldn’t blow up in her face. It wasn’t just for herself. There was someone else involved who stood to be hurt.
“I need your help, Ben.”
Ben pulled away. “Why’s my stomach suddenly in a knot?”
Nikki shrugged with mock innocence.
“Okay, what do you need?”
“A copy of the college entrance exam.”
“What?”
“Look, I got a sample IQ test and I’ve modified it, but I need more.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know just where his strengths and weaknesses are. Ben, I’ve been doing some experimenting. For example, I took a dictionary and picked words at random—simple words at first. I’d read the definition then give Max words to choose from to match the definition. He had no problem, so I increased the difficulty. Still no problems. You wouldn’t have believed it. I gave him definitions of words I don’t even know and he never missed. Not once! We did that for over an hour.”
“How’d he get such a big vocabulary if he can’t communicate?”
“He can read, remember? I told you. And it isn’t like he always had this problem. I didn’t realize until last night that he apparently has a photographic memory. He remembers everything he ever saw or heard. Complete recall. It’s kind of spooky. I mean, imagine having all these memories and experiences and not being able to communicate your feelings about them.”
Ben nodded. “I see what you mean. Not a place I’d wanna be.”
“Me either. So, will you get me a copy of the exam?”
“Shit, Nik, why don’t you just have me break into NASA an
d schedule the shuttle for the weekend. Yeah, that’d be phat. Stock up on champagne and strawberries, some CDs—kick back, watch the stars, maybe catch a comet. You could come along.” Ben grinned wickedly.
Nikki rolled her eyes at him. “Does that mean you’ll do it?”
Ben ignored the question. “Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll ask someone else. Someone more…affectionate.”
“Ben!”
“Okay, okay,” he laughed. “I’ll do it. Just remember, if I get busted, it’s on your head.”
“You won’t get caught. You never do.”
Ben grinned again. “You mean so far.”
Nikki pushed him from the booth. “Up, up. Let’s go.”
“Go? Where?”
“To your place.”
“You mean you want it now?”
“Yeah.”
Ben looked down at the bill on the table then at Nikki. “And I guess I’m paying too?”
She took it away from him and hurried to the cash register. Less than a minute later they were on their way to his place.
Bill, the soon-to-be lawyer, was in the living room reading when they walked in.
“Nik, hi.” He got up to give her a hug. “I’ve missed you.”
“Same here.”
“What’re you guys up to?”
“Nik wants me to hack into the university system and—”
“No! No!” Bill held up his hands. “Don’t tell me. Keep your illegal activities to yourself.”
Nikki laughed at his antics. Ben just shook his head, muttered “paranoid conservative” and headed for the computer.
Nikki took a seat on the couch and talked to Bill while Ben performed his magic. Less than half an hour later he walked in the room with a disk and a stack of printed pages.
“Exam, answers. Printed and on disk, Your Majesty.”
Nikki grinned and jumped up to throw her arms around him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re a genius.”
Ben grinned over her head at Bill who muttered, “And soon to be an imprisoned genius if he doesn’t straighten up.”
Nikki released Ben to look at Bill. “Well, at least he’ll have excellent representation.”
Bill gave her a mock growl and tossed a pillow at her. She caught it and dropped it on the couch. “Seriously, thanks, Ben. I owe you.”
“Indeed you do, my pretty.” He wagged his eyebrows comically. “Oh, and I added a little something extra. Look at the last page.”
Nikki flipped to the last page of the printed papers. “What’s this?”
“A formula. If he’s the hot-shot brain you suspect, then ask him to tackle that.”
“Looks like Greek to me. What’ll it mean if he can do it?”
“Let me see.” Bill held out his hand.
Nikki handed him the page. He looked at it then up at Ben. They both laughed.
“What?” Nikki did not get the joke.
Bill gave her back the page and Ben solved the mystery. “Let’s just say that if he can solve it, he’s one of about a dozen people in the world.”
“Oh.” She shrugged. Leave it to Ben to come up with something that was impossible. “Listen, I really do appreciate it. I better get going.”
Bill stood to give her a hug. Ben walked her outside to her car.
“Thanks again.” She gave him a kiss.
“Just do me a favor and don’t let this,” he put the tips of his fingers over her heart, “get the best of this.” He then touched her forehead.
“When do I ever?”
Ben rolled his eyes and kissed her on the forehead. “Point taken. Go on, get outta here.”
Nikki got in the car and rolled down the window. “See ya.”
“Yeah, later. Hey, let me know how the tests turn out.”
“Will do. Love ya. Bye!”
Driving back to the estate, Nikki wondered what the tests would reveal. It never occurred to her that she was only taking Max’s intellectual capacity into account. The question of his emotional maturity never crossed her mind.
—
Nikki waited for the oncoming car to pass before she turned in to the entrance of the Weston estate.
“What the—” A jab of adrenaline caused her to jump when the oncoming car suddenly stopped, blocking her way. Newspaper, radio and television warnings to women about being alone at night suddenly popped in her head.
The relief she felt when Gaspar de Troyes rolled down the window was like the first breath of air after swimming underwater too long. He motioned for her to back up.
Once she was parked alongside the road, he pulled up in front of her and got out of his car.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as he slid into the passenger seat beside her.
“Nikki, you must stop in the course of action you’ve chosen.”
“What? Have you been following me?”
“No.” He looked directly into her eyes as he answered. “But you are being watched.”
The drop in anger she’d momentarily felt vanished in an instant. “What gives you the right to have me watched? Just who the hell do you think you are anyway? Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t work for you so just where do you get off—”
“It’s for your own protection!”
“Protection? Oh yeah, right. Against what?”
“Richard Weston for starters.”
Nikki’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Did Gaspar know about the overtures Mr. Weston had made and if so how? Could he know what Mark Robinson had told her? And could Robinson be right about Gaspar? She didn’t think so, but what if he was fooling her?
“What makes you think I need protection from him? In case you’ve forgotten he’s out of the country.”
“But his eyes aren’t.” Gaspar reached over and turned the key to kill the engine. “Nikki, listen to me. You may think this is a game, but be assured that it is not. Richard Weston wouldn’t hesitate to give the order to have you terminated. It would be neither the first nor the last time.”
“What’re you saying? That’d he’d have me killed just because I turned him down?”
Gaspar shook his head. “No, he’ll continue to pursue you until you surrender to him. It’s his nature. Never has he been rejected. But that’s a fight meant for you alone. However, don’t think that if he suspects your motives for taking the position are anything less than what you told him, he’d hesitate to discover the truth. And should that truth be discovered, I fear that your demise would shortly follow.”
“You son of a bitch!” She lashed out and punched him in the face. “You sorry sack of shit!” Her voice rose as she pelted him with blows. “You know why Christian died, don’t you? You got him involved in something that ended up with him dead and me in some…some mess where everyone’s saying the other guy’s the bad guy and a murderer and I don’t know who the hell to trust and…and…you rotten bastard!”
Gaspar dodged and deflected her blows until finally he managed to capture her wrists. “Enough!”
Nikki glared at him hatefully, her chest heaving with exertion. “Let go of me right now.”
“Only if you give me your word you’ll listen to what I have to say.”
She jerked, trying to break his grip but could not. “Fine.”
“Your word?”
“Yes.”
He released her and pulled out a handkerchief to dab at his face. “I understand your anger and you have my word that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure no one suspects your real motivation for taking the position. However, it hardly makes my job easier if you insist on drawing attention to yourself in this quest you’ve set upon.”
Nikki’s first inclination was to light into him about nosing into her business, but something else demanded her immediate attention.
“How about you tell me exactly how you plan on protecting me, Gaspar? Are we suddenly going to become joined at the hip, or how is it you’re going to protect me while I’m in there and you’re out here?”
Gaspar
sighed. “I must ask something of you.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “You can’t be serious.”
“Yes, very.”
“What?”
“When you return to the estate, make sure you are not being observed and go to the third floor of the west wing.”
“How about I just jump off the damn roof? The stairs to the third floor end at a locked landing and guess what? I pawned my secret-agent lock-pick set to buy lunch.”
Gaspar seemed to take no notice of her dark humor or sarcasm. “The door will be unlocked.”
“Oh really? And just how are you going to accomplish that, Houdini?”
“Please, just do as I ask. I promise you that if you do this, your faith in me will be restored.”
At that moment Nikki thought she had managed to get mixed up with a real kook. But despite her efforts, she couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
“Okay, fine.”
Gaspar smiled. “In fifteen minutes, be on the landing.”
He got out of her car. She watched as he returned to his own vehicle. After he had pulled around her and headed away from the estate, she started her car. It seemed that she’d done nothing but deal with nut cases since she’d lost her last job. What kind of weird plan did fate have in store for her? If she had any sense, she’d return to the estate, pack her things and get the hell out.
Instead, fifteen minutes later she found herself at the top of the stairs on the third floor of the west wing, feeling foolish as she lightly tapped on the door.
A metallic click preceded the door swinging open. Light spilled out onto the dark landing. Hesitantly, she stepped inside the door.
Gaspar smiled at her. “Thank you.”
In astonishment she turned a half circle, staring at him as he closed the door behind her.
“How’d you get in?”
He gave her an enigmatic smile and gestured for her to accompany him. She followed him through the small foyer and into a large, well-appointed room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a massive fireplace that burned in spite of the warm weather, supple dark leather furniture and deep cushiony Persian rugs.
In front of a massive picture window was a wheelchair. She could see nothing of its occupant but the back of his head. His silvery hair danced with light from the fire.
