Ink and Ashes (11 page)

“Did you see anything
underneath
the trunks?” Parker asked. He stood up, pulled down the back of his board shorts, and mooned us, wiggling his white cheeks until Avery stood and kicked the moving target. Parker tumbled face-first into the couch.

“Ugh,” I said and turned my head in disgust. “If he and Dad were like family, Dad wouldn’t have killed him.”

“For the record,” Avery said, “I have wanted to kill both of you on many occasions, even though you’re family.”

Parker pulled his shorts back up then turned around. “Right back at you.”

“Ditto,” I said. “But I don’t think any of us would actually
do
it.”

Avery moaned. “I vote we go to sleep.”

“I think all of us could use some rest,” I said.

“Let’s sleep on it, and make a decision tomorrow,” Parker said. He left and went to sleep on the floor in the hallway because the temperature was supposedly cooler there. Eventually, he’d end up in his own room.

The rest of us stayed in the same place: Nicholas on the couch facing the TV, and Forrest on the other couch at a right angle to the TV.

Nicholas slid over to make room on the couch for me, but as we had gotten older and bigger, we didn’t fit as well as we used to. Normally these days, we’d both fall asleep, half-sitting and leaning against the arms of the couch as a pillow. At some point I would usually go upstairs.

Except I couldn’t sleep. I lay there, thinking about all we learned today. The moon was high in the sky and silver streaks came through the kitchen windows.

After about an hour, everyone else had fallen asleep. While I was staring at the stars, a shadow crossed the window to the back of our house.

IF THERE HAD
been a shadow, it was gone by the time I got to the kitchen window. I ran to Parker’s room to get a bird’s-eye view of the backyard, but nothing was there. Walking back downstairs, I stopped halfway. Through the living-room windows, I saw a black SUV parked across the street. My pulse beat a notch faster.

I tiptoed to the window closest to the front door and crouched so only my eyes were above the sill. A silhouette of a man in a sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head appeared from the backside of the car to the trunk and skulked to my right, heading toward Forrest’s house.

He disappeared from my view, so I ran to the living-room window that looked out to the side of our house. From there, I could see the man standing almost on the porch of Forrest’s house. He wore sunglasses and held something in his hands. It looked like he was taking pictures, but I didn’t notice a flash, so it must have been an expensive camera.

He finished and walked farther away from both of our houses and started toward the Russos’. Their house was all the way at the end of the street. If that was where he was headed, it would take some time for him to get there and back.

Without thinking anything through, I grabbed a black marker from the kitchen and shoved on some shoes by the front door. I opened the door enough to slip through before I crept down the porch stairs and tore across the street with soft feet.

My pulse thundered in my ears. I crouched to the ground and clutched the marker to my chest, watching down the street to be sure the man didn’t see me. He’d gone so far, though, that the streetlights didn’t illuminate him. I uncapped the marker and wrote the letters and numbers of the Nevada license plate on the top of my trembling hand. From what I could tell, the man had stopped in front of the Russos’ house.

I had just capped the marker when someone grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth so I couldn’t scream. Did the man have a partner I hadn’t seen? Someone in the car I didn’t notice? I was about to bite the hand when the voice whispered, “What are you doing out here?”

Forrest. My chest was sore from the way my heart pounded. It took a moment to catch my breath.

I glanced down the street. The man was still in front of the Russos’ house.

“Come on,” I said and motioned for him to follow me. I inhaled another deep breath and sprinted back across the street with Forrest at my heels.

I tried to close the front door behind him without making a noise. To catch my breath, I hunched over in the entryway, resting my hands on my thighs.

When I felt like my lungs wouldn’t explode, I shoved Forrest in the chest. “Why did you scare me like that?”

“I wanted to know what you were doing.”

He took my arm and led me to the living-room couch. I collapsed and put my feet on the coffee table since Mom wasn’t around.

Though the last few times I’d seen it, I had managed to convince myself the car was probably nothing, I couldn’t find any arguments to chase the fear away. I told Forrest about the SUV and what I had just seen.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t make any sense,” Forrest said. “Who is this guy, and why would he be interested in us?”

I couldn’t think of anything special about the guys, and I was even more boring. “Aren’t there laws against this?” I asked. “Stalking or something?”

“Probably not if he was taking pictures in front of the house, although if he went into your backyard that might be different,” Forrest said. “But you’re not sure where he was, so I don’t know.”

Was he casing our houses so he could rob us? My heart skipped faster. What could he want?

“What if he’s a pedophile? Or a serial killer? Did you think about that?” Forrest asked. “Why would you go by yourself?”

“Because everyone was asleep,” I said, but paused to put some more thought into his question. I could have woken someone up. “I don’t know why.”

“I wasn’t asleep yet,” Forrest said.

“I know that now.” I leaned my head against the back of the couch. “What if all of this is my fault? I started seeing that car right after I found those pictures and the letter. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence. Did I raise flags somewhere when I ordered a copy of the autopsy report? My father was in the yakuza. What if I hand-delivered our address when I told them where to mail the report?”

“Maybe,” he said. “But that guy was checking out our houses too, not just yours. I think you need to tell your dad.”

In the soft light, I could only see half of his face, but his eyebrows were pulled in, and his eyes told me he was more worried or frustrated than he was trying to show.

“I will.” I needed to find a way to help fix this.

“I’ll let the guys know,” Forrest said. “We can make sure they’re watching out for it.”

He stood and extended his hand to help me off the couch. As I slid my feet off the coffee table and he pulled me up, he said, “I wish you weren’t so reckless sometimes.” Still holding my hand, he released a frustrated breath. “And sometimes I wish you weren’t so cautious.” He dropped my hand and shook his head. “I think you should get some rest.”

I expected Forrest to stay. I wanted him to say something more—wanted him to make me feel less crazy, less alone. I wanted him to say something that didn’t make me ask more questions.

But he walked back to the family room.

Instead of following him, I returned to my bedroom and wrote down the SUV’s plates so I could look them up later. Life was never as simple as Forrest seemed to think.

Dear Otochan,

I’ve been thinking a lot about death lately because Forrest’s dog, Flirt, died. Forrest and I loved that animal more than anything. She was this special bond we shared. As heartbroken as Forrest has been, he has this idea that he’ll see Flirt again when he dies. He makes everything in life seem so simple, but sometimes things like this are really hard for me to accept the way he does. I think it would be nice to believe there’s something after this life because maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much. But right now it feels like my heart is being mangled in a meat grinder.

If there is a heaven, are you watching over me? What’s it like to be dead? I wonder about things like what food you miss eating the most or if you still need to sleep. I wonder if I will get to see you when I die. If I saw you, would you look really old? Do you still smoke? Would it be awkward if we all end up together in heaven but Mom’s married to you and she’s married to another guy (aka Dad) too?

It’s not that I don’t want to see you again, but the whole idea of dying is scary. And right now, death just feels mean. I don’t know how God or whatever higher being could take people or animals away when there are people who still love them and need them.

Love,

Claire, age 13

BY MORNING, EVERYONE
had scattered to their homes or rooms to get ready for school. Mom was in the kitchen dressed in a light blue blouse and navy dress pants. As an accountant, her busiest times of the year were the months around April when taxes were due and October when people were filing extensions, so her days lately were long.

I grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat on a barstool. Mom stood on the other side eating a banana.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked.

“Last-minute business trip to Phoenix,” she said. She took the last bite and threw the peel in the garbage can underneath the sink.

“Do you think it ever occurs to Dad we might want to come along?” It would be nice to see other places. Places without mountains, places greener than here. I didn’t remember much about Hawaii, and it would be nice to see it again, or at least visit Grandpa.

“We’d just get in the way,” she said. “He should be back in time for your meeting with the principal after school. I’m sorry I won’t be there, but your dad is much better than I am at handling these things anyway. Okay, I’m off to work.” She grabbed her purse off the counter and made a dash to the garage.

“Bye, I guess.” I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the meeting. The last time I was in Principal Alvarez’s office was when I punched Chase. But I couldn’t wait to get it over with so I could get back on the field. Besides Chase, I still couldn’t think of who would have accused me of cheating.

Forrest rolled the Jeep into the driveway, ready to chauffeur us. The fall air had started to turn cold and bit at my ears. Avery trailed behind me on his skateboard, but as usual, Parker failed to grace us with his presence.

Avery picked up his skateboard and maneuvered his way to the back. Before I sat down, I wiped a clear plastic Creamie wrapper from the passenger seat and dropped it to the floor where it joined a pile of matching wrappers.

Forrest drove down the street so we could pick up Nicholas and Fed. He honked the horn, and they piled in. Fed climbed into his usual spot next to Avery and pulled out a comic book, and Forrest turned the car around to make another stop at our house. Parker jogged out of the house, his shoes and socks in hand.

I shook my head as he climbed into the car. Fed set down his book and glanced out of the corner of his eyes. “Nice of you to join us, Parker.”

Avery tightened the back of his bandana. “You took that much time to look like that?”

Forrest pulled out of the driveway, Parker still combing his hand through his wet hair. “Hey, perfection takes time. But it’s okay. No need to apologize for the bad attitude. You’re just jealous. Not my fault I got all the good genes.”

“If you had any.” Avery’s lips pulled back, and he acted like he was going to be sick.

Parker whacked the back of Avery’s head and in no time the rest of us were dodging their wrestling moves, and I was getting whiplash from their kicks to the back of my seat. By the time they settled down, we were almost at school.

A bitter feeling rushed across my skin when Forrest turned into the school’s parking lot. A black SUV was parked across the street without a driver. I could count at least twenty cars that looked similar, but they were all in the school’s lot, and this one had Nevada plates. I couldn’t see from here, but I could probably bet the ones in the lot were all Utah plates. To see if he had noticed it, I put a hand on Forrest’s shoulder. He nodded to confirm he had.

Before everyone got out of the car, I said, “Hey, do you see that black SUV over there?” I pointed across the street. “I’ve seen it a lot lately. Last night it was parked across the street, and I think the driver was taking pictures of all of our houses.”

“Why would someone do that?” Parker asked.

We all got out of the car. “I don’t know.”

Avery hiked up his shorts so they hung just below the waist of his boxers. “What’s the theory this time, Claire? Drug cartel? Aliens?” He threw his skateboard to the ground and rolled away.

“We’ll keep an eye out, Kiki,” Nicholas said. He walked ahead of us and was immediately surrounded by a group of giggly girls.

Parker nodded. “I’ll do the same.”

“Me too.” Fed stared at his older brother with a wistful expression, then snapped out of it. “See you in Bio.” He ran inside.

I hated the days when my schedule started with Bio because it required me to think too much in the morning, so I took my time getting to my locker, where I grabbed my lab book and safety goggles. I couldn’t help worrying about what the guy in the black SUV was up to, and if it truly had a connection to us. I had gotten the license number, so I had a place to start. I just didn’t know where to go from there. A few minutes later I was headed to the lab at the end of the hall with a mission in mind. Fed was the perfect guy to help me figure this out.

The smell of formaldehyde overwhelmed me when I walked through the door of the biology lab. The room was decorated with animal skeletons and skulls hanging on the walls; the counter on the far wall had a row of jars with eyeballs, brains, and other animal organs.

Fed was already there. Chase stopped me as soon as I stepped inside. “It’s about time you got here,” he said. “The kid’s been waiting for his babysitter.”

I glared at him. “Fed may only be a sophomore, but he’s way smarter than you’ll ever be.” Even though Fed was a year younger, we had similar schedules because he was a lot smarter than most kids his age. “In fact he’s so smart that I’ve never had to punch him for saying something stupid.”

“Temper, temper,” Chase muttered.

I wasn’t positive he was the one who had accused me of cheating, but even if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t make me like him any better. I pushed past him and continued on to meet Fed at our usual table. He was seated on a barstool, and his long legs were swinging back and forth. His shirt bore an infinity symbol with the caption, My brain has no limit.

I slammed my books on the table. Fed jumped like a feather swept up by a gust of wind and almost knocked over the test tubes in front of him.

“Hey, Nerdus Maximus,” I said, diving right in, “you know all that computer information in your head? And how it’s like, just a waste of space right now? Well, I need your help—”

He rolled his eyes. “So, is this like the time we thought your dad was royalty, but he had to keep it secret ’cause he had run away from home to avoid an arranged marriage?”

I dropped into the stool next to him. “Okay, so we were wrong about that. But I
was
in the third grade.”

He laughed and rocked back on his stool. “Hey, no need to explain anything. I mean, how often do we even see your dad? Add a few ogres and katanas, and I’m pretty sure I would’ve come up with the idea myself.”

Before I turned on the gas, I made sure the hose to the Bunsen burner was attached securely. “Well, he does travel a lot, so it made sense. And how was I supposed to know what his company does? I mean, the obvious conclusion was that he was secretly visiting a brother or sister who had been banned from seeing him.” The smell of natural gas floated in the air, and I lit the burner.

“Obviously.” He filled the test tubes with hydrogen peroxide, then looked up at me. “Goggles.”

I pulled my lab notes from my backpack and put on my safety glasses.

Mrs. Kenton stood at the front of the lab in a plaid flannel shirt and tan corduroy pants, her lab coat almost as long as she was. “We’re doing the same thing as last time, people,” she said. “Make sure you mark this as trial number two in your notes.” She went to her desk and sat at her computer.

“So are you going to help me or what?” I asked. Fed was the only one who never thought my ideas were crazy. And if anything, he found ways to take the madness even further.

“Depends,” he said. His safety glasses started to slip, so he adjusted them, tightening the sides until they about popped off his pale skin. “We’re supposed to be testing different plant and animal tissues to see if they contain the enzyme catalase, not plotting a harebrained scheme.” He handed me a test tube.

“Fed, I’m serious. I need your help.” I wasn’t really begging, but it was pathetically close. “Let’s face it. You’re totally a super genius when it comes to computers. I mean, you’re the only person I know who, if you wanted, could list ‘evil super villain’ as a possible career choice. Without a doubt it would be
my
top choice if I had your brains, and I guess your goal of becoming an aeronautical engineer is also admirable, but—”

“Claire. Stop.” He raised his thin almost-invisible eyebrows. “Who said ‘evil super villain’ was crossed off the top of my list? Just tell me what you want.”

“I have the license plate of that SUV, and I want to figure out who it is.” I bent my head forward. “It’s a Nevada plate, so I think we’d have to get into the DMV’s system there.”

Fed’s brown eyes widened and his eyebrows went from raised to furrowed. “You mean like hack in?”

“Um, yeah. That.” With steady hands, I dropped tissue samples into the tubes and boiled them over the Bunsen burner.

“No way,” he said. “Have you heard nothing I’ve said? I told you to leave this thing alone. In
Son of Tokugawa
—”

“I was listening.”

Fed sat straight. “Do you know what would happen to us if we got caught?”

I bent over and recorded some data in my notebook. “But we’re at a school with hundreds of students. No one will be able to trace it back to you.”

Fed sucked in his hollow, freckled cheeks and blew out a slow breath of air. “It’s not gonna work.”

He blubbered about firewalls, security, which all sounded like
blah, blah, blah
to me because my head was too clouded to think straight. I remained still.

We worked in silence on the lab project for several minutes, talking only about the numbers we needed to record and what we’d need to report. When it came time to clean up, though, Fed said, “Claire, I don’t think this car is anything, ’cause that would be crazy. And we’ve had crazy ideas before, but super exciting stuff doesn’t happen to people like us. But if something ever did, you know all of us would do anything to help you, right?”

He managed to force a smile out of me. “Thanks,” I said.

“How are you doing?” he asked. “Like, really.”

I shrugged. “I still need to talk to my parents. I think I have a better shot of getting information from my dad, but I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m going to say. Is there a good way to accuse someone of lying to you your whole life?”

He balled up a paper towel and threw it in the garbage can like a basketball. “You’re always quick on your feet. I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

“I’d trade you for Avery any day.”

“And I’d trade you for Nicholas.” He laughed, and then he stopped and his face shifted into a thoughtful expression. “I have an idea, if it will make you feel better.”

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small white disk the size of a quarter. “This is a GPS tracking device. If this car keeps following us around, we can find a way to stick it on the car. It’s magnetic, so it should be easy as long as no one sees us do it. We can keep track of it with an app on our phones, and if we watch where it’s parked at night, maybe we can get an address and figure out who it is. The app has historical data and everything, so once it’s there, we can look at any timeframe we want.”

“That’s brilliant. But . . . why do you have a GPS tracking device?”

“I know it’s brilliant. And Mom’s paranoid,” he said. We gathered our test tubes and took them to the sink.

“Can’t she keep track of you with the GPS on your phone?”

“Yeah, but she got this before I had a phone, and now she wants me to carry both even though it’s technically for a girl. They call it GPS jewelry, and you can wear it as a pendant. She never checks it though, so we should be fine.” He used the long wire brush to clean out the tube, then handed it to me to rinse. “There’s a possibility this could backfire, though, ’cause it works the reverse way too. So if I lost my phone but had the disc, I could press the button on it and it would set off an alarm on my phone until I found the phone. Which means if the owner of the SUV found the disc, he could find you.”

“When you say alarm, what kind of alarm are we talking about?” I ran the tubes under the water.

“The app lets you choose between options of a message that flashes as a banner across your phone’s display screen, an actual alarm that sounds like the kind you hear when a spaceship is about to self-destruct, or both. Mom chose both. But don’t worry. You have to push it pretty hard before it does anything, so accidentally setting it off shouldn’t happen.”

“Got it,” I said. I set the tubes on the drying rack. “Is your mom going to be mad that I have it?”

“Only if she finds out. For right now, if she happens to check it, it shouldn’t matter because we’re pretty much together all the time anyway,” he said. “And I’m not saying you should use it. Remember, this can backfire in a bad way. This is the absolute last resort. But if you know you have an option, your mind can stop spinning.”

We wiped down our table. He gave me the disk and programmed the app in both of our phones before the bell rang.