Chapter 5: Nightmare

Lottie-

There was no hotel. Lottie stared at her cell phone and felt a horrible coldness seeping around her heart. She had driven only a short distance from the little pharmacy where Shunichi had been when it occurred to her that she ought to look up where the hotel was in Florida. But there was no hotel. Not a single one named Elliot's Place in the whole of Florida.

Shunichi had lied to her. Her Shunichi, her dearest love, had lied. To her. TO HER!

Very slowly, Lottie put her phone down on the seat next to her. She put her hands on her lap and stared out at the street stretching out in front of her. She turned her car around. It had been nearly ten minutes since she'd left him and when she returned to the pharmacy, she found that he was gone. There was no sign of that ugly truck.

Her breath felt hot in her chest. Her vision almost seemed to turn red around the edges.

She couldn't pin the lie on Max, they'd been alone and Shunichi could have told her the truth.

Her Shunichi had lied to her.

So… what to do about that lie?

Shunichi-

Max pulled off the road in the late afternoon. He found a small side road and then, from there, a dirt road. He followed that dirt road until it faded away to nothing in a clearing at the edge of a lazy river. There were miles of nothing but forest in all directions and it was utterly peaceful.

Shunichi got out of the truck and went to the back where Eiji and Shorter had already gotten out and Ash, looking sleepy, sat on the tailgate. There was some sort of bird singing in the trees. Even the air smelled clean, fresh. Shunichi was torn between wanting to take photographs of the area and wanting to do nothing. The place seemed strangely perfect. It almost felt as if there had never been another human there before Max had driven in.

"How did you know about this place?" Shunichi asked Max, awed by the natural, subtle beauty of the place.

"I traveled a lot. Jessica and I ended up here a few years ago. Nice, isn't it?"

Nice wasn't a strong enough word. The little area simply radiated peace, which was exactly what they all needed. At that thought, Shunichi turned his head a little and looked down the path they'd taken. All was quiet. A squirrel placidly meandered across the path and into the brush on the other side. He couldn't even hear the traffic from the road. There was no sign at all that they'd been followed.

"Hey," Max said, softly. When Shunichi looked at him, Max said, "Don't worry. She's not coming. You sent her off to Florida, remember?"

"I hope she fell for it. What if…"

"No. No 'what if'. We can't worry about things we can't control. We're far enough off the street that if anyone tries to drive up here we're sure to hear them. I know it's hard, but try to relax." He grinned. "I'm not gonna let her hurt you."

"Eww." Ash made a gagging sound. "Old guys flirting. Gross."

It made Shunichi laugh and Max splutter in embarrassment.

Ten minutes later, they had a very picturesque picnic set up. One of the many green blankets they'd found in the back of the truck was laid out on the grass and their food rations for the day set out on it. Shunichi and Max sat on the blanket while Eiji had taken off his shoes and socks and dipped his feet in the water. Ash sat, quiet and still next to Eiji while Shorter stood near them, happily tossing little stones into the river.

Dinner was a handful of crackers, some pork rinds, and two strips of beef jerky. It wasn't the most filling of meals, but it was food and they couldn't afford to be picky. Eventually, everyone sat on the blankets and ate, except Ash. He wouldn't even look at the food.

"Are you sure you won't eat, kid?"

Without looking at Max, Ash shook his head. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

Max looked down at Ash's share of food, sadly. Max was a father, Shunichi knew. He didn't like seeing any kid go hungry. It was hard enough for him that he wasn't able to be with his son, but to be with young people and not be able to help them (Ash didn't like accepting help at all) hurt him. But he didn't push Ash and that was likely for the best. Shunichi may not have known Ash terribly well, but he was fairly certain that if anyone had pushed the issue with food, Ash would have just gotten worked up and getting agitated wouldn't help him feel better. While Ash's cough seemed to have cleared up, he was lethargic and quiet. What he needed was sleep – uninterrupted sleep in a safe place, preferably in a soft bed. Max gathered up the untouched food and put it back in the truck for when Ash felt better.

"Alright." Shorter abruptly jumped to his feet. He stretched his arms over his head and pushed his sunglasses up a little higher on his nose. "Eiji, on your feet."

Ash gave Shorter a baleful look. "No."

"He's got to learn. Come on, Eiji."

Looking a little mystified, Eiji got to his feet. "What do I have to learn?"

Shorter looked him up and down, walked around Eiji twice before he finally came to a stop in front of Eiji and put his fists on his hips. "Right, then. It's time you learn a little thing called knife fighting." Shorter grinned wildly and pulled from somewhere on his person, a fearsome knife with a blade that was nearly eight inches long. It was slightly curved at the tip and was partially serrated. Eiji grimaced at the sight of the thing, though Shorter held it with worrisome familiarity. "You, my friend, are going to learn how to handle a blade."

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but apparently thought better of it and closed his mouth with a blush.

"But everyone has guns," Eiji protested. "A knife won't help me if Arthur shoots at me."

"True, but there are lots of people who will get close enough to give you a chance to slice them open and the more weapons you can use, the better off you'll be. I heard Ash was teaching you to use his gun so if he gets a chance to teach you then so do I. Ash, give him your knife."

Ash let out a long-suffering sigh even as he reached down to pull a small knife from a sheath strapped to his ankle. It was far different than Shorter's knife. The blade was no more than four inches long and was very plain with a black handle. "Don't hurt him," Ash warned Shorter.

Shorter laughed. "You know I don't do anything with my blade by accident. I'm more worried about me. Eiji, you're shaking. It's not going to bite you; try to relax." Then he looked back at Ash. "And what will happen if he gets a little cut?"

"If you hurt him, I'll shoot you."

"What if he hurts me?"

"If he hurts you, I'll buy him an ice cream."

Shorter laughed. "Fine. Fine. Now, Eiji, you hold it like this."

And so the lesson went. For a few minutes, Shorter went over how to hold the blade and how to clean it when he was finished using it. Then he moved onto the best spots to aim for. "I always like to go for the neck, myself. One quick slash and it's all done. Of course, if you're standing in front of the other guy, then you'll get sprayed and blood's a real pain to get out of fabric and you have to wash your hair to get it out of there or it will just make your hair a sticky mess, so if you can, stand behind them when you kill them. Anywhere you cut them will be good, though. Sometimes, if you slice them enough they'll just bleed out. Of course, getting them in the gut will…"

"Hey!" Ash had turned rather green and glared at Shorter. "Do you mind?"

"What?"

"You don't need to be so graphic. He's not going on a killing rampage; he just needs to defend himself."

Shorter looked over the top of his sunglasses at Ash. "This coming from the guy who once nearly killed a dude with a pool cue?"

"Humor me."

"Fine, fine. Eiji, let's fight."

Eiji looked down at the little knife in his hand and then at Shorter and Shorter's knife. He paled dramatically. "I don't think this is a very good idea."

"It's a great idea," Shorter protested, enthusiastically. "It'll be fun."

Five minutes later, Eiji, looking rather stunned, faced off with Shorter while Ash, Max, and Shunichi watched from the sidelines. It was unnerving to see the two with deadly weapons in their hands and getting ready to attack each other. Shunichi only barely restrained himself from chewing his fingernails. Ash watched it with a clinical sort of detachment. Max didn't bother to restrain himself and loudly cheered, "Get him!" While he gleefully clapped at the spectacle.

"Don't encourage them!" Shunichi elbowed Max, hard. "If you shout you'll make them nervous and someone will get hurt."

"Don't worry, Ebi-san," Ash said. "Shorter's really good with his knife. He won't make any mistakes." Ash yawned and stretched out to lay down on the grass. He closed his eyes and, by all appearances, fell asleep while Eiji dodged and stumbled out of Shorter's way.

The fight was terrible and by the end of it, Shunichi was certain that he'd developed an ulcer. His hands were shaking. He let out a strangled whine when Shorter's knife got a little too close to Eiji's face. No one else seemed worried. Max kept cheering for them and Ash didn't even bother to open his eyes. Part of the problem was the size difference – Shorter was remarkably tall and muscled like a horse. Eiji was smaller than average and almost looked like a child trying to fight an adult. The sun glittered on the blades as they slashed this way and that.

Shorter was as confidant as ever, but Eiji wore a grimace that showed how uncomfortable he was with the whole exercise. He did try. He lunged now and again at Shorter, but more often than not Shorter kept him on the run. Finally, Shorter froze in place. "Right, I think that's enough."

Eiji was panting for breath and slumped a little. "Oh, thank God." No one had gotten hurt, but Eiji was sweating heavily and Shunichi felt as if he'd been the one who'd faced off with Shorter, he was exhausted and never again wanted to watch such a thing. Then Eiji looked up at Shorter and actually smiled. "Thank you for helping me. I hope I never have to fight you for real. You're much TOO good with that!" He went to Ash and sat next to him on the grass and shook his shoulder. "Wake up, don't you want your knife…" Eiji paused and frowned. He put his fingers lightly against Ash's forehead. "Ash… you're hot."

Ash blinked up at Eiji and raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty cute, too."

Max snorted and Shorter outright laughed.

"Oh!" Eiji flushed and scowled. "That's not what I mean and you know it!" He put the palm of his hand against Ash's cheek. "I think you have a fever."

Shunichi went to Ash and knelt next to him. He, too, gave Ash's forehead a light touch with the back of his hand. "Doesn't feel too high. Maybe some sleep will fix you up. Max?"

Max got to his feet and nodded. "Yeah, we'll stay here tonight and I'll get a fire going so our little Ash will be toasty and warm." He smirked at Ash before he said, "Eiji, Shorter, go get some blankets for your little brother. We'll make him a nice, soft bed out here under the stars. Fresh air and not bouncing around in the truck will do him good."

Ash pouted and looked like he wanted to argue, but he crossed his arms and wiggled his head away from Shunichi's fingers. "I'm fine. I don't need to stay here. We should go. I can sleep just as well in the truck." But he made no effort to get up.

"Kid," Max said, seriously. "You've been coughing, lethargic, pale, you haven't got an appetite, and now you've got a fever." Max put his fists on his hips and narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Ash. "Did you get a flu shot this year?"

Shunichi wanted to smack Max. After all the horrible things they knew Ash had suffered through in his young life, how could Max think that anyone would care to give Ash basic medical care? Ash was lucky to even be alive! Had Golzine ever even sent him to a dentist?

To Shunichi's shock, Ash answered, "Dino gave me money to get a shot, but…"

Max waited only a moment before prompting, "But what?"

"I don't like giving him what he wants and he wanted me to have the flu shot. So I bought shoes instead." Ash wiggled his feet to indicate his bright red shoes. "And a soda."

Max slapped his forehead. "You silly kid. Right then," he looked at Eiji and Shorter. "Blankets, boys. Let's get him comfortable and then everyone get some sleep. We'll leave at first light."

Max was quick in building a fire and soon they had a roaring little campfire. Ash was moved closer to the fire and bristled at the care everyone took with him. He seemed stuck between embarrassed, angry, and secretly pleased. Max took no notice of Ash's mild snarling and snapping and cheerfully brought out yet another blanket to drape over Ash, joking that he was tucking the baby into bed. Ash didn't appreciate the joke, judging by his sulk.

When all was done and everyone was comfortable by the fire, Max called Shorter to sit by him. "We need to look at those stitches. See if they can come out, yet." He was very careful as he examined the stitches and then opened a bottle of water to gently wash the area around them. "We can take them out in about two days, I think. Nice and clean and, somehow, no infection. Shorter, my boy, I think you have the luck of the Irish on your side. I think I'll have to give the side of your head a fresh shave, though, to keep your hair out of the healing area. You want me to do the rest of it, too?"

"Man, just don't touch my Mohawk, got it?"

"Are you sure?" Max grinned, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "You'll look more respectable with a crew-cut than with a crest." He playfully ruffled Shorter's purple hair.

"I don't want to look respectable that much," Shorter squirmed away from Max and ran his hands through his hair as if to fix it, though Shunichi couldn't see any difference. "Do we even have a razor?"

"Of course." Max went to the truck and brought back what he called his 'bug-out bag'. He dug though it for a moment before he brought out a small box that, when opened, turned out to be a shaving kit with shaving soap and a long, old-fashioned straight razor. Max pulled the blade out of his kit with a flourish.

"You're not touching my head with that thing!" Shorter protested.

Max looked surprised. "You wave that short sword of yours around like you're King Arthur and you're afraid of a little razor?"

"I'm not putting my knife near my head!" Shorter started to inch away from Max. "I don't need a shave that bad!"

Max laughed, loud and long. "Alright, alright. Next time we find a town I'll get you a safety razor. Does that sound safe enough for you?"

Shorter pouted almost as well as Ash did.

"How about the rest of you?" Max offered. "Anyone need a shave?"

Shunichi raised a hand like a schoolboy. "If you don't mind. I'm starting to feel shaggy."

"You look shaggy. Come here and let me show this kid how to really use a blade."

"I wish you wouldn't use me as an object lesson." Still, Shunichi sat still and comfortable while Max gave him a shave. He was perfectly at ease. Max's hand was steady and sure. He lathered Shunichi's face with shaving soap before he began the practiced strokes of the blade against Shunichi's cheeks and around his throat. When he was done, Max carefully wiped the remains of the soap off Shunichi's face and smirked at his work. "There. You look decent, again. Anyone else? Eiji?"

Eiji grinned, but rubbed a hand over his chin. "I don't have much. It doesn't grow fast. I guess it's not worth the bother. I wouldn't want to be a nuisance."

But Max was more than happy to indulge Eiji. He sat on his knees in front of Eiji and did the same to him as he'd done to Shunichi and when he was done, Eiji was smiling at his newly smooth face. "Thank you, Max! You didn't need to take the trouble." But he looked as pleased as a young boy who'd just been given his first shaving lesson by his father.

Max seemed to be enjoying his time playing barber for the troupe and, even though the chances of Ash allowing anyone to put a blade that close to his throat seemed microscopic, said to him. "And you, kid?"

Ash stared into the fire. "I'm sick. You should keep away."

"I think I can handle a sick kid. You want a shave or not? Might make you feel better to be cleaned up."

But Ash sighed and didn't look at Max. "I don't have any hair to shave." He swallowed hard, then looked around at all of them. He sat up and inched closer to where Shorter sat. "When… when I was little, Dino said he didn't want me to start looking too old. He didn't like the idea of me having hair on my face. He took me to a doctor that... umm… he gave me electrolysis treatments to stop me from growing facial hair. So… no. I don't need a shave."

Max looked angry. He usually looked angry when Ash spoke about Golzine. "Just your face?"

"My legs, too. My chest. Other places." Ash looked away. "I'm done talking about it. It doesn't matter."

"Right. Fine." Max closed his razor and put his kit away. Golzine was hundreds of miles away and he'd still managed to ruin a perfectly fine day.

As Ash had spoken, Shorter leaned over a little until their elbows touched. That simple little contact seemed to be enough for Ash.

Ash was the first one to fall asleep and, when it was clear that he was asleep, Shorter quietly said, "Look, don't make a big deal about the hair thing. If he wasn't sick, he wouldn't have said anything. He's a private kinda guy. He'll be pissed when he wakes up and realizes that he told. He's sick so… you know… just let it drop."

Eiji immediately said, "Of course. We don't want to hurt Ash."

Max, still angry, took a minute before he nodded his agreement.

Shorter abruptly sat up straight. "Cigarette smoke!"

"What?" Max looked completely baffled.

"Cigarette smoke. Outside Griffin and Ash's house. In Cape Cod. We all smelled it." Shorter spoke very quickly and grimaced as he spoke. "I knew I recognized it. It was back at your place, Max. When we first went there, a woman was standing outside smoking. She was a red-head, I think. Yeah, I know I'm right. She was near the steps going into your building and she watched us. She was puffing away on her cigarette and it was the same smell that lingered outside the house in Cape Cod."

Shunichi felt his stomach tighten. "She had red hair. The woman at the pharmacy had red hair and when," he quickly glanced at Ash to make sure he still slept. "When she kissed me, I could taste the cigarette smoke." He grimaced at the memory. The revulsion he'd felt at the time hadn't faded a bit but, inexplicably, he felt a rush of shame. Shame made no sense – he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. And really, it had only been a kiss. It wasn't anything like Ash had been forced to endure for years on end. Honestly, he was entirely overreacting. Shunichi forced the feeling away and looked at Max. "At your apartment I found a note. It was… creepy." He told them about the strange letter and how he'd thought it unimportant because they were leaving the city. "I'm sorry. I should have said something at the time, but everyone was already so worried."

Eiji put a hand on Shunichi's arm. "It's alright. You didn't know."

"Thank you, Ei-chan."

"There's nothing to be done about it, now, anyway." Max seemed completely unconcerned about the whole thing. "At least now we know who it is and I'll recognize her if she turns up, again. A red-headed smoker – that sounds like Charlotte Nesbin. I don't really know her, but I'll recognize her. Let's get some sleep."

Shunichi took the first watch and stayed awake while everyone else slept. The night was warm and peaceful. The fire was kept fed but only enough to keep the coals alive. Ash, for once, slept deeply and didn't wake at each and every little noise. Shunichi was glad for it; Ash needed all the rest he could get. Shunichi fed a stick to the hot coals and watched as it caught fire. With nothing to distract him, his thoughts lingered on his stalker.

He should leave.

'What did I do to deserve this? Why me?' Shunichi closed his eyes and his hands balled into fists. 'I can't do anything to help them. If she comes back and finds us someone could get hurt. What if she's got a weapon? Stalkers are terrible; one of the kids might get killed… Max would try to stop her from hurting anyone and then he might be hurt. Because of me. She's only looking for me, so…' Shunichi's throat felt as if it were constricting. 'They'll be safer if I go. I should just go. There's no reason for me to stay. They don't need me. I can't even fight to help them stay safe. Max will take care of everyone.'

Ash twitched. It was no subtle thing, his whole body jerked. His left arm went up and rested against his forehead for a moment before both hands went up and he held them there for a moment. In the firelight, his fingers trembled. His face was tense, his brow deeply furrowed and his mouth pressed into a narrow line. He let out a sudden moan, low and pained. Very clearly, he was in the grip of a nightmare.

"Ash?" Shunichi spoke quietly, hoping to wake Ash without disturbing anyone else. He moved over closer to where Ash lay and it struck him as odd that Ash didn't wake, not even when Shunichi was less than four feet away from him.

He was about to reach over to shake Ash and wake him when he smelled something, strong and unpleasant. He looked closer at Ash and realized with dread what the smell was from and how badly Ash was likely to react. He looked carefully around and saw that everyone was deeply asleep.

"Ash. Ash, you need to wake up." He raised his voice just a little. "You're safe Ash, it's just a nightmare. Wake up."

Ash woke with a start. His eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright. His breath came in jagged little gasps and he stared straight ahead for a minute. Slowly, he looked around. He looked at Shunichi, then at Max, Shorter, and Eiji. His eyes lingered on Eiji for a moment. Then he looked back at Shunichi.

Shunichi saw the moment Ash realized the problem and watched as utter horror spread across Ash's face.

Ash-

Ash woke very suddenly, panting heavily and it took all he had not to lash out. He could feel his heart racing, pounding furiously against his ribs. Ibe-san was looking at him. Ash calmed down at once. Ibe-san was like Eiji, he was a gentle person and he didn't seem at all threatening. Once Ash was properly awake, he blinked and sat up and… froze. He went cold all over. Feeling warmth and wetness, Ash moved the blanket to the side and looked at his lap. Soaking wet.

For a long time, Ash just sat there and looked at the mess he'd made. He glanced, again, at the others, who thankfully slept, then he looked up at Ibe-san.

Ibe-san gave Ash a soft smile. "It's alright."

Ash turned red. He felt his throat tighten and he had to force himself to swallow so he could speak. "I… It was just…"

"It's alright. You didn't do anything wrong."

It had been a nightmare. Ash always had nightmares about this or that, but he hadn't had an accident in years. He was seventeen, for God's sake! He was fairly sure his hands were shaking. He didn't have any spare clothes, none of them did. They'd left Cape Cod so quickly that there hadn't been time to grab anything. The longer he sat there, the colder his mess felt and he felt his eyes burn. If Eiji woke up and saw him like that…

Ibe-san sat next to Ash. He whispered, "Ei-chan sleeps like a rock. If you're quiet and fast we can fix this. Take off your wet clothes and cover yourself with one of the blankets. It's not that bad; I doubt the blankets you're sitting on got a bit wet." Ibe-san politely turned his back.

Ash had no idea what else to do, so he did as he was told. It wasn't the first time some old guy had told him to take his clothes off, after all, and he was fairly sure Ibe-san didn't have anything gross in mind. He stripped and covered his dignity with a dry blanket.

Ibe-san opened up Max's bug-out bag and fished out some soap. He went to the little river and soaked his handkerchief before he put some soap on it and handed it to Ash. "Wash yourself." Then he gathered up the little pile of wet clothes and the blanket that had been covering Ash and took everything to the river with the soap.

It was too much for Ash when it struck him that Ibe-san planed to wash his filthy, disgusting clothes. Ash choked, "You don't have to do that! I can take care of it." It was just too gross to think of anyone taking care of his mess. He tried to get up, but was stopped by a sudden wave of dizziness and had to sit, again.

Ibe-san didn't reply, but knelt next to the river and started to work. He carefully only washed the wet spots so he didn't get everything soaking wet. It only took a moment then he came back and lay everything out as close as he could to the fire. "They'll dry, soon, and we'll tell anyone who asks that you spilled water on yourself when you tried to drink." He got one of the water bottles out of the truck and handed it to Ash. "Drink. We'll have the empty bottle as proof and you need to keep hydrated, anyway."

"Thank you." Ash couldn't say anything else. He took the water bottle with both hands. It was such a simple thing, really. It hadn't taken Ibe-san any effort at all, but Ash felt himself grow warm all over. He gingerly felt underneath himself and was thankful that Ibe-san had been right – the blankets under him were perfectly dry. He looked at Ibe-san, embarrassed. "What about your handkerchief?"

"We'll add it to your clothes." And he gave it a quick wash in the river before added it to everything that was drying near the fire. Finally, he washed his own hands, then came to dry them by holding them out to the fire. "And now we wait. It won't be long."

They settled in quietly. Ash lay back down as he still felt damned rotten, but he didn't let himself go back to sleep. Wrapped in nothing but a blanket, he kept glancing at the others to make sure they didn't wake up to catch him as he was. The shame of having someone wash his clothes for him… it was unspeakable. If he hadn't been sick, it never would have happened. Blanca had taught him better, how to prevent such situations and how to take care of things if they did happen so he'd never have to ask for help. But he was dizzy and every move made his stomach roll. If he wasn't sick then it wouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry." The words slipped out before Ash realized what he was saying and he bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything else.

Ibe-san shrugged. "It's really not as bad as you think. They'll be dry very soon and no one will know."

"You won't tell Eiji?" God, he hated how insecure he sounded – like a whiney little kid. If this was what being sick did to him, then he was definitely not going to do it, again. Next time, he'd get that stupid flu shot.

"Not if you don't want me to. He wouldn't tease you, you know. He's really very sensitive."

That didn't mean Ash wanted Eiji to think less of him. "Shorter knows. There was this time… it was really bad… I got away from Dino 'cause of stuff and Shorter let me sleep at his place. Nadia doesn't mind if I hang out there; she's really great and she feeds me bagels. But Dino did some… um… stuff and I had nightmares that night, too." Suddenly needing to defend himself, Ash said, "And I little back then, too, and little kids do that sometimes. So, Shorter knows and he won't say anything, but Eiji and Max… I don't want them to know." Honestly, he didn't want Ebi-san to know, but that ship had sailed.

"It's your choice, but the whole situation isn't as bad as you seem to think. Ash, listen – you have had a very hard life and it's only natural that you have a lot of terrible nightmares. You're also sick. It's almost to be expected that your body starts to… well… misbehave a little. And it really wasn't all that much, just a couple of wet spots. Don't let it upset you."

Ibe-san was proven right when, less than an hour later, the warmth of the fire had dried Ash's clothes perfectly and he was able to get redressed. He lay down and stared into the fire, determined not to fall back asleep for fear of another accident.

Five minutes later, he was sound asleep.

Lottie-

She drove down the road with her hands clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that her knuckles hurt. She was entirely focused on the road ahead. She couldn't shake the anger burning in her brain. It felt like her insides were on fire and all because of Shunichi and his faithless betrayal. Of course, she didn't know why he'd lied. Why to her? She just wanted to be with him.

As she drove, she went over a little bridge that crossed a river. A short distance away, she found a town. While it was a small town, there were some businesses here and there. She had no idea how to find Shunichi. He had to have come into town – there were no side streets between the pharmacy and the town except a tiny little road that couldn't have led anywhere as there hadn't even been a street sign. There was a cheap motel, the Sleep Inn, in the town and she pulled into the parking lot so she could stop and think.

Where would Shunichi go? What did she know?

The boy, Ash Lynx, was a missing child and a wealthy, powerful man was looking for him. Max, who was clearly a deviant and a kidnapper, must have taken the boy and Shunichi. That meant he also had taken the boy Shunichi was so concerned with, Eiji. Probably Shunichi's son. Shunichi was simply concerned for his son and the kidnapped boy, that was why he'd lied about where they were going. That must be the reason. He didn't want Max to hurt the boys or - she smiled slightly – her so he'd tried to keep her away from Max. He'd been trying to protect her with his lie. How sweet of him.

That didn't tell her where he was or where he would be going.

She took out her cell phone and typed in the name 'Max Lobo' and quickly found biographical information about him on one of the websites for a newspaper he wrote for- the Greenwich Tribune. They had similar things for all their journalists and under Max's name, she read that he was a military veteran with several years of distinguished service to his credit. He had gone through the police academy, but gave it up to write. It also mentioned his wife and son, both of whom lived in Los Angeles, California.

Wife and son. Family.

A slow smile spread across Lottie's face. If Max were to go anywhere, surely it would be there. The biography had made it sound as if he were very fond of his family. He would go there. Eventually, he would go to California and to his family. She'd wait there and when he appeared Shunichi would be with him. Yes, Los Angeles was the place to go.

She considered making a phone call to that Golzine guy, again, and let him know what she'd figured out but his people had turned out to be incredibly ineffective. They'd shown up at that diner back in Cape Cod, but, as she'd watched from nearby, everything had degenerated into an appalling mess. There had been a lot of noise and gunshots and, to make it all worse, Max hadn't been killed and had taken Shunichi away, again.

No. She wouldn't involve Golzine, again.

Lottie pulled a cigarette out of her purse and lit it with her lighter. She put the cigarette in her mouth and breathed in then let out the smoke and it billowed around the inside of her car like a cloud. She would get a room for the night at the motel. As she had a destination in mind, she didn't have to rush.

With a flick of her thumb, she struck anotoher flame on the lighter. She stared into the tiny flicker of fire with a growing sense of determination. She didn't need help from Golzine; she could take care of Max by herself. She let the fire die on the lighter and put it back in her purse. She'd do anything to get Shunichi. She'd get him and then she'd never let him out of her sight, again.

To be continued…