The Messenger: A Novel (8 page)

A
manda gave him a look that said she was onto his ploy but said, “The reason you might expect. I was bitten by one.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Ron said. “Tell him the whole story.”

Tyler waited.

“When I was nine,” Amanda said, “I was playing near our house, along the hillside. I believe I was building a fort, doing some digging. The sort of thing that always displeased my mother. Anyway, I was digging away with a toy shovel when a large stray dog came out of the trees and started growling at me. I stood up, told it to go home, to shoo, all the usual. It barked at me. I tossed the shovel at it and shimmied up a tree. It stayed and watched me. If I tried to get down, it barked and snapped at me.

“I called for help. No one came.”

She paused, remembering her terror, her unheard pleas.

“I began to get cold,” she went on. “I decided to snap off the biggest stick I could manage to find on the nearby branches. I got hold of a good one. I broke it off. Unfortunately, I also lost my balance and fell from the tree.” She smiled. “A klutz from an early age, you see. I’ve always thought that fall would have been the funny part if the dog hadn’t been there.”

“Well, it’s not funny,” Ron said. “And the dog was there.”

“Yes. At first, I think my falling like manna startled him, but it also knocked the wind out of me, and I broke one of my arms. He charged at me and I—well, I guess it was instinct that made me protect my neck, but he bit me hard on the face. I still had hold of the stick, and that was the arm that wasn’t broken, so I hit him as hard as I could with it. He didn’t let go. I hit him a second time, on his muzzle, I think, although I couldn’t really see by then, and that time he released me. I remember hearing him yelp and run away.

“I managed to get to the house. I must have nearly been in shock by the time I reached the kitchen door—our cook took one look at me and started screaming at the top of her lungs. That’s the last thing I remember very clearly before I got to the hospital.”

She traced the scar near her brow. “I guess the plastic surgeon did a good job. This is the only scar you can see now.”

“They didn’t find the dog,” Ron said tightly.

Tyler frowned. “Didn’t find it? But then—”

“Yes, I had to have the rabies shots.”

“Good God.”

She sighed, then looked at Shade. “I have tried not to blame all creatures in your species, Shade, and I know you and other dogs are good dogs, but it’s still very hard for me not to feel afraid.”

Shade stood and moved toward Amanda.

“Shade!” Tyler called to him, unheeded. “If you’d rather I put him up in my rooms—”

But Shade had dropped to his belly, as if to make himself smaller, and moved at a crawl toward her. When he reached her feet, he laid his head on her shoes and moaned.

“I think he just apologized on behalf of all doghood,” Ron said.

She hesitated, then reached down and stroked his long, soft fur. “Well, of course I see that you are nothing like that mean fellow in the woods. And yes, I’d like to be your friend. I just spook easily, all right?”

He wagged his tail.

She looked up at Tyler. “So now Shade and I have settled our business. I believe it’s your turn.”

A silence stretched. He walked over to the fireplace and, looking into the flames said, “You’ll have to forgive me for being hesitant. In part, that’s because it’s not just my story to tell. But I have been given permission by the others involved to explain what I can.”

“Was that the call you made in the van, the third one?” Amanda asked.

“Yes. Without boring you with the details, I helped a man in Missouri—call him Max—who was dying. He wanted to find a man who had once been his best friend, Sam. There had been a falling-out between them.

“I sometimes believe that the end of a close friendship can be as difficult or more difficult than a divorce. Think of the emotions—they are much the same. At the end, former friends feel betrayed. They act out of hurt and anger, take ill advantage of their intimate knowledge of each other, and sometimes divide whole camps of connected friendships in the wake of their separation. While couples will go to marriage counselors, there is really nothing adequate to help friends steer their way through difficulties.”

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t good reasons to end friendships,” Ron said. “If someone isn’t trustworthy, it’s smarter not to have anything to do with them.”

“Certainly, or if the friendship was destructive. But often differences arise out of petty matters.”

“Was that the case this time?” Amanda asked.

“Hmm. Not exactly. Years earlier, Sam had come to California to seek his fortune. Told his girlfriend he’d come back to Missouri to marry her one day, but he didn’t ask her to give up her life there when he might well be returning to her as a failure. A month later, he received a telegram from Max. His best friend had married the girl he’d asked to wait for him.”

“See what I mean?” Ron said. “Some friend!”

“So Sam thought. But unbeknownst to Sam, the woman he left behind was pregnant with his son. She knew that supporting a young family would be a financial burden for Sam, who didn’t seem ready to settle
down with a wife, let alone a wife and child. Max married her and raised the boy as his own. He kept her secret until he was dying.”

Tyler moved back to his chair and sat down wearily.

“Are you okay? Do you need to talk to us another time?” Amanda asked.

He needed to sleep, knew his strength had not yet fully returned, but he knew Amanda and Ron were tired, too. Easier to convince them, perhaps, if they were weary. He shook his head, but laid his head back and closed his eyes. And told them of Max and Sam talking things out, without mentioning that Max was comatose at the time.

“So what does that have to do with nearly getting killed tonight?” Amanda asked.

“Ah. Sam called me from St. Louis to say he has relatives here in California who aren’t pleased that he’s embracing a new heir. They apparently believe I’m in on some scheme to defraud him. Sam is doing all he can to protect his son, but frankly, I’m glad they came after me and not the boy.”

“Will they be arrested?”

“I don’t know. Sam will pursue things with the authorities,” he said. “Now, it’s nearly dawn, and while I enjoy your company, I must get some rest. Amanda, may I see you home?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit with Ron for a few minutes more.”

Tyler hid a sudden sense of disappointment. “Of course I don’t mind.”

“Oh,” she said, watching his face. Then she turned to Ron and said, “That is, if you aren’t too tired, Ron?”

“I’m the only one who has had any sleep tonight,” Ron said. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll give you some privacy, then,” Tyler said. “Only—promise me you won’t walk home, Amanda. One of the guards will drive you back whenever you’re ready.” He indicated the phone next to his chair. “Just use the intercom line and dial seven. That will put you through to Alex.” He found a notepad near the phone and wrote a number on it. He gave it to her. “This is my cell phone number. I keep the phone with me, so if
you see strangers lurking near you or you feel worried about any of this, please text or call me.”

“Thank you. I hate to be such a bother—”

“Not at all.”

When Tyler rose from his chair, she stood also. She came toward him and studied his face again for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Are you sure you won’t see a doctor? I’m worried that if you have a concussion and fall asleep…”

“If it will make you feel better, ask Alex to check on me in a few hours.”

“All right, I will.” She surprised him with a hug and a quick kiss beneath his ear. “Good night, Tyler.”

“Good night, Amanda. Thank you again.”

He wished Ron a good night and called to Shade, who followed him from the room. He forced himself to give them the privacy they so clearly wanted. Let them be, he told himself sternly. You have no business pursuing her in any case.

Still, he thought of how Ron and Amanda sat near, but not too near each other. There was nothing quite loverlike in the way they interacted. Loving, yes. Devoted, yes. But were they lovers? Or friends?

None of your business, he told himself.

She had kissed him.

Just an L.A. thing. People in this city are always exchanging
peu baisers.
Don’t be a fool.

He called down to Alex, requested that Amanda be given a ride home and seen safely inside. “If she’ll allow it, please check the house over, too.”

He undressed and made sure to plug the cell phone in the recharger on his nightstand. He crawled into bed and listened to Shade settle near him. He reached for the dog and scratched his ears and chin in a manner that earned canine sighs of pleasure. “You’ve saved me again, Shade, and while I’m really not especially grateful for that, I do appreciate your dedication. And, most especially, your companionship.”

But the dog suddenly seemed distracted—in the next instant he came to his feet and held himself alert, his ears pitched forward. He moved to the French doors that led to the deck surrounding most of this level of the house. The deck was, Tyler thought, the dog’s favorite feature of the house—he could sun himself or survey the canyon from it. “At this hour? All right.”

He got up, donned a silk robe, and opened the doors. Shade immediately began patrolling the part of the deck in front of the bedroom. Tyler looked down at the place where Amanda’s house stood. Only a small porch light was on.

Shade seemed disinclined to come back in. The night was warm, so Tyler left the doors open.

What did he have to fear?

Nothing. He would survive anything that might come through that door.

Which was, he thought, the pity of it all.

I
saw what I saw.”

“You had been in an accident,” Ron said gently. “And for someone who survived a really horrible car wreck just eight years ago, that must have been traumatic.”

“I didn’t even think about that—I swear I didn’t. I was too worried about him. Besides, you know I don’t remember anything about that other accident.”

“All right. But tonight, you might have been a little dazed. The airbag went off, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“And you had just seen something awful, and then these assholes came over to your car and terrified you, right?”

“I admit I was scared, but—”

“And to top off everything else, a big dog comes loping up to you. Don’t you think all of that could have caused you to be a little confused?”

She paced across the room, then back. “He stopped breathing. He had no pulse—no heartbeat. His skin was cold and gray. His wounds weren’t bleeding.”

“What wounds? There’s hardly a mark on him.”

“I can’t explain it. That’s what I’m telling you!”

Ron sighed in exasperation.

“He was dead!”

“Which is how he just had a conversation with us.”

“Ron!”

“Okay—which was why you began CPR. You thought he was dead. One hundred percent croaked. Total goner.”

She had no answer to that.

“Look, Amanda, maybe you’re right. Maybe he was dead, briefly. But you obviously revived him.”

“But how did he recover so quickly?”

“How should I know? Just exactly what are you getting at, Amanda?”

“I don’t know. None of it makes sense to me.”

“Well, then, that’s two of us.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re tired. You’ve been through a lot. Maybe in the morning…”

“Yes.”

“Don’t get that look.”

“What look?”

“The one that is supposed to fool me into thinking you are docile.”

She brooded for a few minutes, then tried another tack. “Okay, tell me this—how old is he?”

“I don’t know. He looks about our age, maybe a little older. Somewhere in his twenties anyway.”

“Have you listened to him talk? He doesn’t sound like anyone our age.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed he’s not like anyone we went to school with. Neither am I, so it’s really nice to find someone weirder than I am.”

“I’ve been replaced, huh?”

“Ha, ha. And if this is jealousy, no—of course no one has replaced you, Amanda.”

“It’s not jealousy.”

“Good. But you seem to have some problem with Tyler. Other than not acting his age and rising from the dead, I mean.” He suddenly grew serious. “Did he…hurt you in some way? Try to put a move on you?”

She blushed. “No.”

“Oh, ho! So that’s the problem!”

“No!”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t ‘hmm’ me.”

“So you don’t find him at all attractive?”

“Oh, for—yes, he’s attractive. Very attractive. Satisfied? And he doesn’t have the slightest interest in me, which makes him like half of the men I meet. The other half know I have money.”

“That’s so untrue—”

“Let’s not argue about it.” She smothered a yawn. “I should go home and get some rest.”

He hugged her and said, “I really do think you’ll feel better about all of this after you’ve had some sleep.”

“You’re probably right.”

She sat in the chair Tyler had recently vacated, pressed the button on the intercom line, and dialed seven. A woman answered, and Amanda asked for Alex.

“This is Alex,” the woman said.

“You’re…” She managed to prevent herself from saying “a woman.”

“Is this Ms. Clarke?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready to leave?”

When Amanda said she was, Alex said she’d be right up. Amanda hung up.

The head of Tyler’s security was a woman. Named Alex. Well, why not?

She looked up to see an expression of unholy glee on Ron’s face.

“You could have warned me!” she said, but laughed.

A
few minutes later, she wished Ron had issued another warning. Maybe, Amanda thought sourly, Alex Danton had decided to get into this line of work because being a supermodel involved too much travel. She was slender, tall, blond, blue eyed, and yet her features were just exotic enough to keep her from looking like she came out of some Orange County beach girl tribe.

She smiled, introduced herself with a warm handshake, and turned to Ron. He must have grown accustomed to her, Amanda thought, because he said a quick hello and announced that he was going to bed.

“Will you be all right, sir?” Alex asked. “Anything I can do for you?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you,” he said. He asked Amanda to come by after she’d had some sleep, and left the room.

Alex stared after him a moment, seemed to recall Amanda’s presence, and turned to her with a smile. “Shall we go?”

As they walked to the elevator, she said, “You probably know this house better than I do, so it must seem silly to you to have an escort.”

“A little,” Amanda admitted.

Once the elevator doors closed, Alex said, “Neither of them warned you I was female, did they?”

“No.”

“Men. Of all the stupid things…”

By the time they were driving past the front gates, the sky was beginning to brighten with the approaching dawn, and Amanda felt perfectly at ease in Alex’s company. Alex did most of the talking, but Amanda noticed that she stayed sharply aware of their surroundings.

Amanda learned that Alex had become manager of the security business and co-owner with her mother after its founder, her father, had been in a car accident.

“He was driving a little rental car, tailing someone, when a lady in one of those fat-ass SUVs ran a red light. He was in a coma for about three weeks before he died. Mr. Hawthorne came to the hospital and helped me before Dad died. I don’t know what we would have done without him.”

Amanda glanced out the car window and saw something moving in the woods. She drew in a sharp breath and froze—then saw the misty forms of the four ghosts, weaving in and out among the trees. They floated effortlessly, keeping pace with the car. She turned resolutely away from them. What had Alex been saying? Oh yes—parent killed as a result of a car accident. No wonder her own mind produced the ghosts.

“I’m glad he could help you,” Amanda said. “I probably could have used something like that when my folks died. But at least Ron was there for me.”

“Are you two…?”

“Involved? No. A brother-sister kind of thing. Not more.”

“No one else comes by to see him, but I understand he doesn’t want anyone else to visit just now. So…no girlfriend?”

“No.” Amanda looked at her curiously. “Are you interested in him?”

“Ron doesn’t talk to me much,” Alex said, and slowed the car.

Amanda wasn’t sure what to make of that answer, but decided that as long as they were exchanging information, she’d ask a few questions of her own. “Do you know Mr. Hawthorne well?”

“I don’t think anyone does,” Alex said distractedly. “That said, I’d do anything for him.”

She stopped the car.

Amanda saw that she was staring into the woods. “What is it?” she asked nervously.

“Oh, nothing bad. Thought I saw Shade running through the trees. That doesn’t make any sense, though.” Alex let the car creep forward again.

“Why not?”

“He was up on the third-floor deck, last I saw him, just as we pulled away from the gates. Up there watching us—nothing gets past him.” She smiled. “Probably some other dog out chasing squirrels. More I think about it, I’m sure it wasn’t Shade.”

Amanda wrapped her arms across her stomach, suddenly feeling it pitch.

“You okay?”

“Afraid of dogs.”

“You need me to pull over or anything?”

“No, just get me home.”

“Sure.” She paused. “If you’re afraid of them, it probably won’t help to know this, but I’ve been around a lot of dogs and I don’t think Shade would hurt you.”

“I’m not afraid of Shade—not much, anyway. But if it’s another dog…”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to make sure you get in all right, and then I’ll take a look around—if that’s okay with you?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

They each watched for any other sign of the dog as they made their way down the long drive that led to the house. “I don’t see him, do you?”

“No,” Amanda said.

Except for the porch light and the small lamp on a timer in the front room, the house was dark.

“You’ll be here alone?” Alex asked.

“Yes. It’s all right—”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll come in with you, just to be on the safe side.”

“I don’t mind.” In truth, Amanda was relieved.

Asking Amanda to stay beside her, Alex did a quick but thorough search of the house.

“Okay,” she said, and handed Amanda a business card. “My cell phone number’s on there. Give me a call if you feel worried or see anyone hanging around here who shouldn’t be. I’ll take a look outside to see if that dog is around—lock up after I step outside and set your security system on, okay?”

“Thank you.”

“Oh—almost forgot—Mr. Hawthorne said to tell you that until the car business gets straightened out, I’m to take you wherever you need to go.” She smiled. “You will call me, won’t you? I’ve enjoyed meeting you.”

“Yes, I will. I’ve enjoyed meeting you, too. And please give him my thanks.”

Amanda dragged herself upstairs. Whatever adrenaline had kept her going until now had drained off. She felt woolly headed, not able to keep her thoughts straight. She put on her pajamas, but she could not resist stepping out onto the balcony. Alex was finishing a circuit around the house. She waved, shrugged her shoulders, then pointed up the hill.

An outdoor light on Tyler’s deck revealed Shade peering through the deck railing. He wagged his tail. She waved at him, felt like a fool for doing so, then waved good-bye to Alex.

“Set that alarm,” Alex reminded her.

So she locked the door to the balcony and used the upstairs keypad to engage the security system, heard Alex drive off, and went to bed.

She lay in the darkness thinking of Tyler Hawthorne, of how horrible it had been when she thought he was dying, of those brief moments in his desert home when she felt quite sure he was drawn to her in some way—of the moments later this evening when she was quite sure he was not interested in her in the least.

She was tired, she was confused. Her muscles had started to ache from the accident.

She closed her eyes, and was nearly asleep when the room suddenly grew cold.

The ghosts were back, watching her.

“What do you want?” she asked.

As usual, they didn’t answer.