Back in my car 20 minutes later I stretched and bent my arms and legs to make sure they were actually working again as I called Rachel. Fortunately she wasn’t in class. I was interrupting her work, but the fact that my mouth had trouble forming words got her attention. “What happened? Were you in an accident? Did you have a stroke? Are you dead and trying to speak from beyond the grave? If you’re dead I’m giving away all your clothes to Goodwill.”
“I’m—fine.” I managed a drink of water. “I was p-p-paralyzed. Magic s-s-spell. Getting better.”
“Oh geez, I miss all the fun. That’s it, I’m quitting school and being your assistant detective full time. Wait, not assistant. Co-detective. Is that a thing?”
“Stay in school. Don’t do drugs. Don’t listen to that crazy rock and roll.” I took a deep breath.
“What’s going on?”
I told her as much as I could without going full stream of consciousness. When I finished, I took a breath and then another gulp of water.
“Wow,” Rachel said. “This is like another Raen and Rossini war, isn’t it?”
“I hope not.” The Raen and the Rossini were two feuding families Rachel and I had run into years ago, although their rivalry seemed to have cooled lately. We hadn’t heard from them in a long time.
“Have you called anyone?” Rachel asked.
“No. I can’t call Helena.”
“Yeah. You think she’s got a double agent or something with her?”
“Maybe.” I look out the window at a nanny pushing an infant in a stroller toward the zoo. “Somebody knew I was picking up Ross last night, Atlan knew what hotel he was staying at. But Cecilia took Jackie away and knocked me out before Atlan showed up. She might be playing her own game. But right now . . .” I sighed. “I don’t think I can trust anybody.”
“Go deep black, or whatever they call it in the CIA. So what are you going to do?”
I leaned back in the car seat, stretching my neck. “The aquarium. Maybe they’re still there. Maybe they’re not and somebody saw them leave. It’s not much, but it’s the only lead I have.”
“Yeah.” Rachel tapped something on her keyboard. “You want me to come down? I can use my awesome psychic powers to do—something.”
Nice idea, but—“No. It’s probably a dead end. You have work to do.”
“This sucks. It was more fun running around getting in trouble with you. Or trying to keep you out of trouble. Or whatever we did.”
“Those were the good old days, all right. Maybe when you graduate.”
“Then I’ll have to get a job. Whose bright idea was going back to school anyway?”
“You’re going to be great,” I said. “Love you.”
“Love you too. Jerk.” She hung up.
The Shedd Aquarium. It’s on Lake Michigan, next to the Field Museum where the dinosaur skeleton “Sue” lives and close to the Adler Planetarium, where you can explore the universe without leaving the planet. I climbed the stone steps in front and started showing my phone to admissions attendants inside the lobby, asking everyone if they’d seen either Ross or Christine. No one remembered them, of course, but I’d been hoping for a lucky break.
So I bought a ticket for admission and started walking around. The center of the aquarium has a big tank filled with fish of all kinds, even a small shark. Tourists and school kids on field trips surrounded it on all sides, pointing to the fish and chattering to each other. The place had a lot of eager visitors for a weekday, I thought, but it wasn’t too crowded to make out faces in the dim light around us.
The big tank is pretty cool, but I didn’t have time to enjoy it. I circled it once, then headed into the galleries that branched off in both directions.
I saw different kinds of fish, more sightseers and students, but no Ross, no Christine, no Jackie or Cecilia. Not that I really expected to find them staring at the glories of marine life, but I had to check. If Jackie was right, maybe this really had been a kind of date for the two of them, without their families watching.
But Cecilia had knocked me out right after Jackie had told us that. So she could have gotten here long before me, and if she was planning her own kidnapping—or worse—I was certainly too late.
What was her game? She’d taken Jackie and left. Was she making her own move to be head of the family?
I didn’t have the time or brain capacity to figure that out now. If I didn’t find Ross and Christine, then I’d start poking at her history.
They weren’t looking at fish. I wandered through the oceanarium, where a dolphin show was going on, and went downstairs. They weren’t looking at Beluga whales or otters.
I went to the food court, where you could get pizza, tacos, and other meals—no seafood, obviously. A big window looked out at Lake Michigan, waves rising and falling in endless motion. I scanned the tables, ready to give up and call Rachel again—
And then I found them in a corner, sharing pizza and soda.
I started to call out across the room, then shut up and looked around. No sign of Atlan, or his buddy Daniel. No Cecilia. No Jackie. I made my way toward the corner. Just families and school groups chatting and eating, paying no attention to anyone beyond their own tables.
Ross didn’t spot me until I reached the table. He was busy talking to Christine, and from the smile in her eyes, he was doing pretty well with her.
Christine wore a pink hoodie, her blonde/blue hair pulled back, her eyes wide and blue. No earrings. She was watching only Ross, but he spotted me as I got near. “Oh, shit,” he said.
I pulled out a chair and sat down. “Sorry to interrupt.” I nodded to Christine. “Hi. Tom Jurgen. I picked Ross up from the airport last night.”
“What are you doing here?” Ross was annoyed. And embarrassed.
“You disappeared. Atlan is looking for you. Both of you.” I glanced between the two of them. “And right now I’m not sure who we can trust. Is Cecilia here?”
“Why would she be here?” Now he was annoyed and confused.
“Because—it’s complicated. I don’t really know what’s going on, but . . .” I looked over my shoulder. “We ought to get somewhere safe.”
Christine looked nervous. “Like where? I mean, I don’t know you—”
“He’s okay,” Ross said quickly. “I just—damn it, we just wanted to get away for a while.” He reached out and took Christine’s hand.
“I get it.” I scooted my chair back so I could keep an eye on everyone around me. “But they did try to kidnap you last night. At first I thought it was Micah, but now it looks like this guy Atlan, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Cecilia and Jackie—”
“Jackie?” Christine’s eyebrows rose in alarm. “What about her?”
“Cecilia knocked me out in Jackie’s apartment and now they’re both gone.” I stood up. “I’m sorry, but we need to go.”
Christine looked at Ross. He groaned, then stood up. “Okay. Where are we—”
Then I spotted him.
Not Atlan, thank God. Daniel.
But he was walking toward our corner like a German Shepherd determined to herd us into a pen. Atlan had to be nearby. Damn it.
I took a step forward to block Ross and Christine and held up a hand. “Hang on, Daniel. There are too many people around for you guys to go crazy.”
Daniel stopped. He looked haggard, as if he’d been up all night. Jet lagged, like Atlan? He was close enough to speak in a low, tense voice. “Don’t make any trouble. Just come with us and everything will be fine.”
“I don’t think so.” I sounded braver than I felt, especially when I thought about the handgun he’d pointed at me last night. “You’re not going to shoot me in the middle of the cafeteria, are you? I hope not, but—”
Then everything in the food court stopped.
The chitchat and laughter cut off as if someone had turned them to mute. Around me, everyone was frozen. Pizza halfway to their mouths, cups raised, chairs half pushed back behind people starting to rise.
I looked back at Ross and Christine. They were okay. Shocked, but still moving.
Turning back to Daniel, I saw Atlan striding across the room, immune to whatever spell he’d put on the people around us. No Starbucks this time. He stepped around Daniel and crossed his arms.
“All right.” He sighed. “I flew from Europe for this, and I’m tired. You two can either come with me, or we can finish this off now.”
“You’re going to—kill us?” Ross moved toward Christine, reaching for her hand.
“I’d rather take you with me.” He sounded like a teacher explaining a math problem. “But you keep making this way more complicated than it has to be. At least if you’re, you know, dead, the two families will blame each other, fight, and once all the powerful people are out of the way, I can come in and take what’s mine. I’m the real head of this family, and all of you have been trying to keep me locked up for years, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get what I deserve.” He jabbed a finger. “Now let’s go. Now.”
I took a deep breath and tried to control my urge to collapse into a cowering ball of terror. “Okay. We’d probably better do what he says until—”
“Not you, idiot.” Atlan glared at me. “I don’t need you.”
Oops. I took a step back. “Look, I can help. Three hostages has got to be better than two, and I told my client—”
“Shut up. Daniel?” He motioned to the teens. “Let’s go.”
Daniel took out his gun. It seemed bigger now that he was starting to point it at me.
I felt Ross move from behind me. I hoped he’d tell Rachel than I’d died bravely.
Then he stepped in front of me. I started to tell him to get out of the way, but he raised his hand just like he had last night at the airport. I backed away. “Uh, Ross—"
Suddenly Daniel sailed back through the air. At least ten yards. The gun flew from his hand, and he hit the floor next to a window. Somebody shouted, and a woman stared at the gun as it slid under her table.
Atlan growled. “Don’t think that’s going to—”
Then Christine joined him. She lifted both her hands, a smile on her lips, and nodded to Ross.
Atlan shot up into the air. The ceiling was at least 15 feet, maybe more, and his head slammed it hard. Then she and Ross lowered their arms, and Atlan plummeted to the floor.
His body landed with a thud next to an empty table. Then the room came back to life. A family at the next table over saw Atlan on the floor, and the father’s chair fell over as he jumped back. The mother just stared.
I put a hand on Ross’ shoulder. “Thanks. Let’s get out of here.”
He nodded and took Christine’s hand. “Yeah.”
I expected Rachel to be mad when we showed up at the apartment, but she just looked Ross and Christine over and sighed. “Welcome, I guess. Bathroom’s though the bedroom there if you need it. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Can we talk, Tom?” She pointed to the office.
At my desk I said, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t think of anyplace to take them. We can’t go back to the hotel, Atlan knows where that is, and we don’t—”
“Shut up.” She punched my arm. “It’s fine. I was getting bored anyway. Just, what are we going to do with them? Adopt them? Is Atlan going to show up here? Should I call someone to take notes in my class tonight?”
“I don’t know.” I sat down, suddenly very tired. “I probably should call my client. At least let her know Ross and Christine are safe. I need coffee.”
“Call them. I’ll get you coffee and make sure they’re not getting into our beer. Or making out in our bedroom. Teenagers.” She gave me a quick kiss and left.
I called the hotel and got Helena’s room. “I’ve got Ross and Christine here with me,” I told her before she could say anything. “They’re safe. Atlan was after us. I lost track of Cecilia, do you know where she is?”
“No, I thought—”
“She knocked me out at Jackie’s place and disappeared, right before Atlan showed up—”
“Who is Jackie? I’m confused.”
I was too. I gave her a quick recap of my day. “Atlan knew when Ross was coming in last night, he knew where you were staying, he knew I was at Jackie’s, although he seemed to think he’d find Ross there. That’s why I didn’t bring them there to the hotel.”
“All right.” She paused, thinking. “I’m not sure what to do. I’ll have to contact Micah to let him know Christine is safe. I can locate Cecilia. Then we can—just a moment. What? . . . What are you—”
The line went dead.
I called again. The hotel phone rang 16 times before I hung up. I didn’t have a cell phone number for Helena. But it was clear something bad had happened.
Rachel came back with a mug of coffee. “They’re watching TV—” She saw my expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Looks like they got Helena.” I took the coffee. “Thanks.” I took a sip, then stood up. “I have no idea what to do, but . . .” I went out to the living room.
They were holding hands and watching Friends. Christine put it on mute. “What’s going on?”
“I was talking to Helena and she got cut off.” I put my coffee down. “I don’t know what’s happening. Christine, we should call your—uncle? Is Micah your uncle? Whatever, we need to let him know you’re all right.”
She pulled her hand from Ross. “I can call—let me use your phone, Ross. I don’t know Micah’s number, and I left my phone at the airport, but I can call my mom and have her call him.”
“What about Helena?” Ross handed over his phone while looking at me. “What happened?”
“I was talking to her, and then the line went dead. Do you have a cell phone number for her?” I was scrolling through my phone. “Let Christine call first. Get a number for Micah. I’m going to—” Cecilia and I had exchanged numbers. I called her. The phone buzzed once. Twice. Then—
“Hi, Tom.” Cecilia sounded chipper. “Sorry about knocking you out there, I just had—”
“Never mind that right now.” I was annoyed. I saw Rachel raise an eyebrow. “Are you working for Atlan?”
“What? Of course not. Did you find Ross?”
“Yeah, and I’ve got them both here with me right now. Someone’s attacking Helena, I think. So what’s your deal? Why did you knock me out and take Jackie?”
“I didn’t want to risk Jackie getting hurt. I figured you could take care of yourself.”
That was nice, but—“Wait, you know Atlan was going to show up?”
“I can explain. Just not right now. When you hear from Atlan, tell me what he wants. It’s going to be okay. ‘Bye.” She hung up.
What the—? I looked at Rachel. She looked back at me. For a moment there was nothing for either of us to say.
Christine gave Ross her phone. “I talked to my mom. She’s calling Micah. He’ll call back, and then, I don’t know, I might have to go back home.” She looked at Ross. “Sorry.”
He nodded, trying to be all mature. “I just, uh, want you to be safe, you know?”
It looked like part of the trip had been a success, at least. I just had to make sure both lovebirds survived to have a second date. “Do you have a number for your aunt?” I asked. “Maybe she’ll pick up—”
But the buzz of my phone interrupted me. Unknown number, but the way my day was going—“Tom Jurgen speaking.”
“Tom.” Atlan. “Your young friends have a lot to learn, but they pulled a good one at the aquarium. Four Tylenols and my head is still throbbing.”
“Sorry to hear that,” I said. “Did the sarcasm come through? My girlfriend says it’s not always obvious over the phone.”
“Loud and clear, Tom. Now listen up so this comes through. You know what? Put me on speaker so everyone can hear me.”
I switched to speaker and set the phone down. “Atlan.”
Ross straightened up, tensing his shoulders as if aching to throw a punch. Christine stared at my phone as if it were a snake trying to hypnotize its prey. Rachel just crossed her arms and waited.
“Ross? Christine?” Atlan was trying to sound reassuring and reasonable, like a devoted uncle. “I don’t want to hurt you guys. I want to teach you. I want to show you how you can use your power and not have to follow all those rules your parents and relatives have been trying to force on you all your lives. That’s all.”
Ross opened his mouth, but I held up a hand, and he shut up. Atlan went on:
“Now, I want you to meet me in 30 minutes. There’s an alley behind the hotel, and I’ll have a car there. You’ll get to see your aunt, and then you can come with me. Like I said, I won’t hurt you. We’ll go someplace where no one will bother you, and I’ll teach you some things you need to know. Does that sound all right?”
“And if they don’t want to go anywhere?” I asked. “What happens to Helena?”
Atlan paused. “Then she comes with me. And anyone else I can scoop up before I leave. I want to get home, Tom, but I want some souvenirs too. Thirty minutes.” He hung up.
I picked up the phone. ”Anything?” I asked Rachel.
She shrugged. “You know I can’t pick up much over a phone call. He’s telling the truth, as far as it goes. But he definitely doesn’t have warm fuzzy feelings for Helena. That came through hard.” She glanced at Christine and Ross. “I’m psychic. A little.”
At least I didn’t have to worry about explaining that. “What do you think?” I asked them.
Ross looked at Christine. She looked away, but reached for his hand.
It wasn’t fair to make them decide, of course. But it wasn’t my call. Helena would probably tell them to stay away from Atlan, even if he really meant to kill her. Micah, too. Their parents, definitely, even if we had time to call them.
I could just shut it down on my own, of course. Refuse to follow Atlan’s demands no matter what the kids thought they wanted to do. But this was their family. Their business. I could help, but the decision had to belong to them.
“We can take him,” Ross said finally. “I mean, we did already.”
I envied his confidence, but I knew some of the mistakes I’d made when I was his age. “He’s older and meaner than you two, and he’ll be ready this time.”
Christine smiled. “So will we.”
On the other hand, I didn’t know what they were capable of. Maybe
Rachel and I looked at each other. “Do we need Donald?” she asked. Donald Duck was the name for the Glock we kept in the closet for potentially dangerous situations.
I nodded. “I hope not, but yeah. Maybe you should get him.” I tapped my phone. “I’m going to call Cecilia.”
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