Falling Into Place (2 page)

“This is the old homestead,” Joshua said as they got closer to the house. “I had it built to my own specifications. I hope you like it enough to become a frequent visitor.”

“It’s amazing, of course, but the place doesn’t have any bearing on that,” she replied seductively, running her right hand over his check and neck. “I like the man who owns it enough to visit him anywhere.” Joshua caught her hand in his and kissed her palm gently.

Without another word, they walked arm-in-arm up the five marble steps to the one-of-a-kind, hand-carved mahogany door.

There was a mailbox to the right of the doorframe. Joshua opened it, revealing a keypad. He punched in a six-digit code and then opened the door. Always the gentleman, Joshua allowed her to enter first. The room was almost pitch dark, so Jessica cautiously made her way to her right, half expecting to trip over whatever mess Myles had left behind.

“Are there stairs inside, sweetie?” she asked coyly, knowing full well there weren’t.

“No, darling, but let me turn on the lights so we don’t have any accidents.”

When Joshua threw the light switch, Jessica gasped a split second too soon. For a nanosecond, she worried he’d noticed until her eyes adjusted, and she saw a bigger problem. The room was in perfect condition, everything in its proper place with no sign of a break-in. Confusion played over her face briefly before she pulled it together.

“Is something wrong, my dear?” Joshua asked. “Don’t tell me you find French Provincial design shocking.”

“No, no...it’s not that,” Jessica stammered, trying to find a good reason for her outburst. “It was the light...the sudden light just gave me a start is all.”

The house was impeccably decorated and, while furnished in almost all French Provincial décor, it adhered to the very model of Feng-Shui as well. She began to meander slowly around the room, swaying her hips back and forth, moving her hands over her body.

“There’s such a marvelous space in this room. A person could do almost anything in here.” It was a calculated attempt to get his mind back on her charms and not on her ill-timed gasp.

“Any number of things spring to mind,” Joshua said through an enormous grin. He hadn’t moved since entering the house, but now he casually removed his blazer and draped it over the back of the couch. He then walked into the center of the room, watching her body’s sensual dance. “But, first things first. May I offer you something to drink, dear Jessica? A glass of Cognac, perhaps?”

Jessica stopped gyrating and looked around the room. She knew the hidden wine closet was behind the row of bookcases on the north wall and decided to be bold. She stared into Joshua’s eyes, holding his gaze while she licked her lips.

“I think I’d do anything for a glass of wine as good as that Rothschild.”

“I can absolutely accommodate you there. Please, have a seat, and I’ll get it, my dear.”

Jessica made her way to the sofa and eased onto it like a cat settling into its bed, finding just the right spot after a series of supple movements. She stretched out seductively, never taking her eyes off his.

Despite the casual facade, Jessica’s mind had not stopped racing since the lights came on. It was filled with unanswerable questions. Had Joshua changed the codes? Did Myles fail to get into the vault? Did he get in and just forget to trash the place?

She tried to calm herself by looking at the bright side. Obviously, Myles didn’t get pinched or the cops would still be here. Worst case scenario: he failed to get into the vault and just decided to get the fuck out of there. She knew once Joshua got into the wine closet, things would become a little clearer.

Joshua walked to the third and last bookcase before sliding the entire bookcase to the right, revealing a hidden door. There was a keypad to the left of the door with a red light blinking above. Joshua punched in the five-digit code and the light immediately turned green. Instead of opening the door, he then went back to the bookcase and opened the spine of a fake edition of Charles Dickens’
Great Expectations.
A biometric fingerprint analyzer was hidden inside with another blinking red light. Once he pressed his left thumb into the device, the sensor’s light changed from red to green. Joshua replaced the faux tome and then opened the door to the wine closet. He wore a self-satisfied smile.

“It will just be a moment, my dear,” Joshua said. “I have a very special surprise for you.” He disappeared into the wine closet.

From where she was sitting, Jessica had seen everything he’d done. In fact, she was sure he’d been showing off, which allowed her an unobstructed view. The code Joshua entered was the same one Myles had discovered while hacking into Constantine’s personal laptop. However, neither of them knew about the biometric analyzer. She knew it was the reason things had gone wrong. Myles wouldn’t have been able to open the door without it, so he must’ve hightailed it out of there as soon as the code didn’t work.
No harm, no foul
, she thought to herself.
Things could be worse.

Suddenly, it dawned on her that it was entirely possible she would actually have to sleep with Joshua tonight. She joked to herself,
Oh, well. I guess I’ll have to take one for the team
.

Just then, Joshua returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Jessica noticed that there was absolutely no sign of distress in his face. In fact, he was positively elated. That settled it. There was no way Myles made it into that wine closet; Joshua would’ve seen the evidence. Jessica was all at once annoyed and relieved: annoyed that Myles had failed to discover the added security measure and thus, failed to do his part, but relieved that she finally knew what was happening and could adjust accordingly.

“I believe you’ll find this even more delightful than the Rothschild.” Joshua beamed as he set down the glasses and opened the bottle. “This little gem is a 1978 Domaine Romonet Batard-Montrachet. I managed to purchase seven bottles right after making my first million. I’m confident you’ll agree it was the best one hundred seventy thousand dollars I’ve ever spent.” He poured them each a glass.

“This is the last bottle I have,” Joshua continued. “I only open them for special occasions like tonight.” He handed a glass to Jessica and kept the other for himself.

“Mmmm, sounds heavenly,” Jessica answered. “Thank you for considering this such a special evening. If you keep this up, you’ll turn a girl’s head.” She took a long drink from the glass. It soothed her frayed nerves, and she could immediately feel her body start to relax. She sank deeper into the couch cushions as the stress completely left her body.

She suddenly felt slightly drunk and tried to remember the number of cocktails she’d had at dinner. The number wasn’t forthcoming. Her brain seemed to be malfunctioning and her limbs now felt like overdone spaghetti. She tried to sit up, but her muscles weren’t responding. She felt her heart beating rapidly.

“Oh, it’s going to be very special, Linda,” Joshua said, his voice suddenly cold. “Perhaps the most special night I’ve ever had.” He took the glass from her hand just before she dropped it.

Jessica’s mouth felt dry, but she was unbelievably thirsty. She tried to clear her head, but it was as if a swarm of bees had taken residence there. She licked her lips repeatedly and struggled to focus her thoughts.
Wait a minute! He called me Linda!
she thought right before everything went black.

She awoke with a jolt, turning her head from the smelling salts Joshua was waving under her nose. He was standing over her with a Cheshire cat smile on his face. All the warmth had left his eyes. Now, they were pools of steely blue liquid, devoid of human emotion.

“What the fuck! Jesus! What’s going on? Did you roofie me, you sick bastard?” She wasn’t sure if any word other than “fuck” came out recognizable at all. Drool spilled out of her mouth as she lay there, slack jawed.

“Now, now, Linda,” Joshua said casually. “If you can’t control yourself, I’ll be forced to gag you. Be a good girl, and we can converse like civilized people.”

He definitely called me Linda again
, she thought. Somehow Joshua knew her real name, but what else did he know? Did he know about the grift? About Myles? Her stomach lurched at the prospect.

As Joshua moved away from her, she could see he had a half-filled brandy snifter in his right hand. He swirled the amber liquid inside the glass as he walked back and forth. When he noticed her staring at it, he said, “You really should have had the Cognac, my dear. It makes this moment even more delicious.”

“What did you give me?” she muttered, her voice like a sandpaper whisper. She tried swallowing, but her throat felt raw and swollen.

“Just something to make you more, shall we say, agreeable.”

“Why?” she said quietly, managing to enunciate the word properly.

Joshua used his feet to guide the ottoman gently from an antique chair across the room. When he’d maneuvered it three feet away from the sofa, he sat facing her.

“Why?” he repeated in an almost jovial manner. “I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you to know that’s the question I hear most often. It never ceases to amuse me. The capacity of the human mind to ignore the very reality facing it, all the while attempting to decipher its causality. It’s really quite absurd.” As he spoke, his cold eyes surveyed her body from head to toe, making Linda feel naked and exposed. Finally, he locked his gaze on her again and said, “However, you deserve a response, my dear. In terms you can understand, the answer is...because I can.”

Joshua walked to the mantle and placed the snifter next to his “Seattle Humanitarian of the Year” award. He picked up a remote control device and made his way back to the couch.

“I think you’re really going to like this,” Joshua said. “Let’s get comfortable and enjoy the show.”

He lifted her legs up and sat on the couch before lowering them so that her feet were on his lap. He hit the remote control and a sliding panel in the wall revealed a big-screen television as the lights automatically dimmed. The set’s soft, blue light bathed the room. Joshua took off Linda’s shoes and began rubbing her feet, as if they were a long-time couple settling in to watch a movie on a Friday night. Even though his touch now made her skin crawl, she was incapable of stopping him.

“Pay attention, darling,” he said. “You know how I hate to rewind when you miss something.”

As the first image appeared on the screen, Linda’s blood ran cold. It was her high school yearbook picture. Her mind reeled. The next image was her graduation day. Then a shot of her standing by her new car at age 20. How did he get these? A series of pictures from spring break, various parties, holidays and other get-togethers. Joshua said, matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it awful when someone pries into your affairs? Invades your privacy? That kind of thing is the ultimate betrayal, wouldn’t you say?”

A newspaper article about the car accident that killed her mother flickered onto the screen. Joshua gently rubbed Linda’s calf as if to offer condolences. “She was so young,” he said with false sincerity. “Only 53. A tragedy really.”

Finally, on the screen appeared a slideshow of pictures featuring her and Myles on their wedding day. Linda felt light-headed, and her heart beat so fast that she feared it would burst from her chest like the creature from
Alien
. She desperately tried to look at Joshua, but she still didn’t have full control of her body from whatever he’d slipped in her wine.

“We’re coming up to the good part,” he whispered as he once again began to massage her feet.

On the television screen, a video feed appeared. It was a clear picture of the entrance to Joshua’s house. Linda could see the marble steps and mahogany door she’d entered barely a half hour ago. Had it only been that long? Suddenly, Myles entered the frame. Was this live? Had Myles come back? Should she yell out to him?

From the video, she heard the song “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. It was the ring tone Myles had assigned to her in his phone. Myles reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. She saw him smile broadly before answering with “Yeah, who is it?” Linda instantly realized she was reliving their conversation from earlier that evening, but this time from Myles’s point of view. She tried not to think about the implication of such a thing.

Just after Myles hung up on the video, Joshua paused the playback. He leaned over and, with a hint of menace in his voice, said, “Just FYI, my assistant is allergic to flowers. I’d go with a nice edible arrangement for her birthday.” Joshua leaned back with a small chuckle and restarted the feed.

Linda watched as Myles made his way into the house after entering the code into the mailbox keypad. Suddenly, the camera view changed to the very room Linda and Joshua were sitting in. Myles quickly but cautiously made his way to the bookcases, sliding the last bookcase to reveal the hidden door. After a quick check of his notes, he inputted the five-digit code for the wine closet entrance. Linda expected to see Myles fail to gain access to the wine closet, thanks to the biometric sensor neither one of them knew existed. However, much to her shock, Myles opened the door easily. She watched with horror as he disappeared inside. Her mind couldn’t comprehend what it just saw. If Myles got into the wine closet, where...?

Joshua paused the video feed again. “Now it’s getting exciting, isn’t it? I bet you can’t look away. Unfortunately, from here on in, we don’t have an audio feed, but I think it’s still compelling footage. Let’s watch, shall we?” He restarted the video.

The video changed views again. This was a room Linda had never seen before, but it wasn’t hard to tell it was the interior of the wine closet. Myles absentmindedly looked over the various bottles before putting down his bag and taking out a few tools, a portable laptop and his notes. Inside her head, Linda was pleading for him to get out of there, impotent to help her love.

Then she saw him react to something behind him. He raced across the room a moment too late. The wine closet door had sealed. Myles futilely pounded on the door in silent rage on the video, but Linda could lip read the obscenities he screamed as he tried to open it. Again, her mind reeled with questions. Why did the door close? Is he still in there? What happened to him?