CHAPTER 67
"Where were you?" Duncan asked, stepping off the porch.
"We went for a ride Mac." Richie answered, taking the helmet from Claudia and securing it on the
bike. He didn't understand why Mac seemed so upset.
"Are you crazy? Do you not remember Devan tried to have her killed once already this week?"
Claudia suddenly felt like a child instead of the grown woman she'd been for quite some time, and
the words Adam had said to her before about Duncan made more sense than she'd realized.
"Mac, we were ok. And I wasn't unarmed." He said, reaching into the side of the bike and
retrieving his sword. "Nothing was going to happen to her."
Adam and Beth stood in the doorway watching.
"Uh oh." Adam couldn't resist when he saw the look Claudia gave Richie before walking past
Duncan to come inside. And when Beth saw the way the young woman's eyes sparkled and her
cheeks flush before she looked away, she bit lightly into Adam's arm to stifle her own amused
reaction.
"Well you should have told me where you were going. We've been worried sick." Duncan
continued.
"Mac … we were on the bike. Claudia just wanted to get some fresh air. It was no big deal."
Richie said as he came into the house, ignoring the amused looks Adam and Beth gave him.
"I didn't know Duncan was so paternal about Claudia." Beth commented.
"He's known her since she was a girl. Her family had no idea what to do with her genius, so he
sort of took over." Adam said as they watched Richie continue to receive a berating from the
hallway.
"I hope you are taking notes." Beth said, patting her tummy lightly.
"Notes?" Adam asked.
"Notes on how not to make your Daddy crazy." She laughed.
"You think that's crazy? Duncan is so upset about not knowing where she was, he doesn't realize
our young friend's had his hand in the proverbial cookie jar." Adam joked. "I'd have dislocated
his jaw by the time his foot hit the front porch if that was my little princess getting off the back of
that bike."
Beth looked at him, and for a second she couldn't decide if he was joking or not. And to her
chagrin … he was not.
"Oh my God." Claudia's cry of happy astonishment filtered downstairs.
Beth gave Adam an "I told you so." Smile before turning to go upstairs.
"Richie you have GOT to see this." Claudia yelled over the railing.
Duncan wasn't quite sure Richie had gotten the message yet, but Richie was fed up with the
sudden lack of respect. "Mac if you didn't trust me to watch out for her, why did you have me
spend two weeks as her bodyguard?"
Duncan couldn't argue. Richie was right "I'm sorry. I was caught off guard when we got back
with the tree for her room, and I guess I was a little disappointed too that I had to wait to see how
excited she was.
"And you're going to miss out on it all together if you don't get over it and go upstairs to see for
yourself." Richie reminded him, turning the tables a bit.
"Next time can you tell me if you're going to take her off like that? Or at least take your phone?"
Duncan asked.
Richie nodded and followed Duncan upstairs to find Claudia sorting through the boxes of
decorations Duncan had picked out just for her earlier in the week. There were beautifully
delicate glass ornaments and intricately carved wooden ones in the shape of various musical
instruments.
"I take it the tree is big enough?" Duncan asked as Claudia hugged his neck, having been told by
Beth that it had been all his doing.
"It's beautiful. Thank you Duncan." She said as she gave him one last squeeze and then turned
to begin putting the decorations on.
"I hope you like the white lights." He said, having already put them on for her.
"They're perfect." Claudia told him before insisting everyone help her decorate the tree.
"I think you have this well in hand without me, and it's time Barkley went out." Adam said, not
really into all the holiday fuss.
"Scrooge." Duncan commented as Adam started downstairs with Beth not too far behind.
"Adam? Is something wrong? I mean besides …" she asked as she watched him stoop to put
the leash on the dog.
He didn't answer right away, which only made her worry even more.
"You're really looking forward to all the holiday festivities aren't you?" he answered her with a
question of his own.
"I'm trying to. It's hard because of what Devan is doing to us, but I'm trying to live life as normally
as possible." She answered honestly.
Adam let out a long breath and reached out to brush back a stray lock of hair that had fallen over
her cheek. "Would you be terribly disappointed if we couldn't celebrate in a normal way … this
year anyway?" he asked.
"Adam what are you trying to say? You don't have to talk around it."
"I've been wondering if maybe we should see if we can lose Devan … disappear … before your
condition makes that an impossible option." He replied. He'd been thinking about this for a few
weeks, and now that he had so much to lose … it seemed like the best option until at least after
the baby was born. He had hoped that between all of them, they would have been able to locate
Devan and protect Beth. But what happened that week at the hospital showed him that as long
as Devan knew where they were, she was at risk.
Beth saw how much he hated to suggest they run, and she was sure that if it weren't for the baby
he wouldn't even suggest it. So she wasn't going to add to his stress by even asking if there was
another way. "If you think that is what we should do Adam … then as long as we disappear
together, I'll do whatever you ask."
"We would need to leave him with Duncan … for now anyway." Adam looked down at Barkley
and gave the dog a scratch behind the ears.
Beth closed her eyes and nodded that she understood.
"When?" she asked.
"It will take a couple of days for me to make the arrangements. In the meantime I think we should
make it look like we are staying put. The big tree is supposed to be delivered tomorrow … so
let's decorate it and you can have a little bit of Christmas before we have to leave." He began.
"And I don't want to tell any of them until it's time … it will make things look more authentic."
Beth hated the idea of misleading their friends, almost as much as she hated the idea of leaving
them. They had become her family. But if Adam thought the best way to protect them was to
leave then she knew she couldn't let sentimentality get in the way. She had to think about what
was best for the baby … and she trusted Adam to know what that was.
Adam left her to think about it, kissing her on the forehead before taking the dog out.
Beth had almost finished preparing a tray with hot fruit pies and spiced cider when Duncan,
Claudia and Richie came downstairs. They'd finished decorating the tree and although Claudia
admitted she could have stayed up there all night just looking at the lights, she decided she could
wait until bedtime.
"So now what is the plan?" Claudia asked, sipping the hot drink and hoping someone had an
idea to fight the boredom.
"Amanda should be back soon." Duncan replied. She was seeing what she could find out at the
police station, hanging around and trying to engage the detectives assigned to the rash of
murders in conversation by posing as a journalist. They were hoping she'd stumble across
something new regarding Devan's whereabouts.
"And in the meantime …" Richie grinned. "There's always home movies."
"Right, right. You're bored and you think you would entertain yourself by seeing how many new
ways my family can humiliate me?" Beth laughed, shaking her head.
"Maybe Beth doesn't want to watch any more." Duncan replied, giving Richie a disapproving
look.
"No that's ok Duncan. If that is what you REALLY want to do, then have your fun. I was going to
look at them this week anyway." Beth said. "But not the one titled "Father of the Bride". She
added, knowing that would be the wedding video.
"Then that leaves us with 'National Lampoon's Vacation', 'Look Who's Talking' and 'Sister Act'."
Richie said, sorting through the stack and looking at Beth to see if she knew what any of them
meant.
"That would probably be Vacation footage from all the trips we took when I was growing up.
Great if you want to see me in braces and pigtails." She made a face. "Look Who's Talking is
probably recent family stuff, nieces and nephews and special occasions I've missed. And Sister
Act can only be one thing …" she said shaking her head.
"And what would that be?" Adam asked, having only just come in from taking Barkley for a run.
"Another opportunity to leave you all laughing." She replied. "It's probably footage from the
church and community events we performed at over the years."
"You performed?" Claudia asked, reflecting the surprise in all of their faces.
Beth shook her head. "We were three sisters in a small town who could carry a tune in a bucket
and couldn't say no when someone suggested we sing. So maybe performing isn't the right
word."
"We have a winner." Richie announced, popping in the tape and making himself comfortable on
the floor at Claudia's feet.
"I'm going to grab a quick shower." Adam said, quick being the optimal word he thought, not
wanting to miss too much of what should be pretty interesting video.
Beth set a bowl of popcorn and the pies and drinks on the coffee table and curled up in the other
chair, ready to hide behind the pillow she'd taken off the sofa if it got too bad.
Richie fast forwarded through the first few minutes of the movie, but then when the screen turned
to black he stopped and hit play.
Three little girls, one blond, one brunette and one redhead, all wearing yellow pinafore dresses
and black patent leather shoes stood in what must have been the family living room singing "You
are my Sunshine" at the top of their lungs, before a woman's voice off camera told them to do it
like they'd practiced.
The oldest girl, the redhead, gave them a pitch and then in almost perfect 3-part harmony the
sisters sang three verses of the song.
"Oh my God that is adorable." Claudia laughed. "How old were you then?"
"Chris is nine I think, I was seven and Rayna wasn't quite six." Beth answered.
"Watching this makes me wonder what the baby is going to look like." Richie said. "She'll be a
knock out no matter what I'm sure."
Beth smiled, wondering the same thing.
Adam made it back downstairs, his hair still wet, just as the image changed, which prompted
Richie to rewind because the first part had been too good to miss. Beth made room for him in the
chair with her, settling into his arms as they watched.
After the early songs, the tape showed several events that were obviously at the church they'd
grown up in. The now teenage sisters sang hymns, accompanied by their brother and a young
Craig on guitar.
"Please feel free to stop anytime … I wouldn't want anyone to die of boredom." Beth offered, but
no one had any intention of shutting it off now.
"You have a beautiful voice." Claudia said. "Did you ever consider professional training?"
"Me? Oh no … I did this because my sisters really loved it. I'd just as soon limit my singing to the
car and the kitchen."
"I haven't heard you singing in the kitchen?" Adam teased, shifting a little behind her so he could
see her face more clearly.
"That's right. You haven't." she replied with a grin.
"What's this?" Richie asked as the screen showed a stage with lights and a big crowd.
"That was a carnival the community put together to raise money for a family that lost their house
in a fire." She replied. "Chris volunteered us."
This hadn't been that long ago they realized. Maybe three or four years at the most.
The sisters sang a wide selection ranging from hymns to country and some classic pop, complete
with some dance steps and plenty of audience participation.
"You had them eating out of your hand." Richie laughed.
"yeah yeah … had them screaming for more." Beth replied sarcastically before she realized all
four immortals had frozen for a second, and she knew they sensed the presence of another.
To her relief however it was only Amanda coming back from her day at the station.
"Find out anything interesting?" Adam asked her almost before she could get her coat off.
"They don't have much." Amanda admitted. "But I think I should go back tomorrow … in case
something new comes up. And Beth should prepare for them to come asking questions. I saw
some faxes on one of their desks referencing the murders in Atlanta … and they were on the
phone with Witness Protection."
Beth wasn't looking forward to going through the whole thing again with a new set of detectives.
She would be glad when she never had to relive the nightmare again for someone else's benefit.
"There was one thing one of the detectives noticed." Amanda continued. "There's a gray Lexus
that has been seen near the scene of three of the murders."
"Any tags?" Duncan asked.
"No … but they are checking DMV for possible registrations."
"Maybe they'll have some possible matches when you go back tomorrow." Adam added. "It's
something at least."
"Where were you?" Duncan asked, stepping off the porch.
"We went for a ride Mac." Richie answered, taking the helmet from Claudia and securing it on the
bike. He didn't understand why Mac seemed so upset.
"Are you crazy? Do you not remember Devan tried to have her killed once already this week?"
Claudia suddenly felt like a child instead of the grown woman she'd been for quite some time, and
the words Adam had said to her before about Duncan made more sense than she'd realized.
"Mac, we were ok. And I wasn't unarmed." He said, reaching into the side of the bike and
retrieving his sword. "Nothing was going to happen to her."
Adam and Beth stood in the doorway watching.
"Uh oh." Adam couldn't resist when he saw the look Claudia gave Richie before walking past
Duncan to come inside. And when Beth saw the way the young woman's eyes sparkled and her
cheeks flush before she looked away, she bit lightly into Adam's arm to stifle her own amused
reaction.
"Well you should have told me where you were going. We've been worried sick." Duncan
continued.
"Mac … we were on the bike. Claudia just wanted to get some fresh air. It was no big deal."
Richie said as he came into the house, ignoring the amused looks Adam and Beth gave him.
"I didn't know Duncan was so paternal about Claudia." Beth commented.
"He's known her since she was a girl. Her family had no idea what to do with her genius, so he
sort of took over." Adam said as they watched Richie continue to receive a berating from the
hallway.
"I hope you are taking notes." Beth said, patting her tummy lightly.
"Notes?" Adam asked.
"Notes on how not to make your Daddy crazy." She laughed.
"You think that's crazy? Duncan is so upset about not knowing where she was, he doesn't realize
our young friend's had his hand in the proverbial cookie jar." Adam joked. "I'd have dislocated
his jaw by the time his foot hit the front porch if that was my little princess getting off the back of
that bike."
Beth looked at him, and for a second she couldn't decide if he was joking or not. And to her
chagrin … he was not.
"Oh my God." Claudia's cry of happy astonishment filtered downstairs.
Beth gave Adam an "I told you so." Smile before turning to go upstairs.
"Richie you have GOT to see this." Claudia yelled over the railing.
Duncan wasn't quite sure Richie had gotten the message yet, but Richie was fed up with the
sudden lack of respect. "Mac if you didn't trust me to watch out for her, why did you have me
spend two weeks as her bodyguard?"
Duncan couldn't argue. Richie was right "I'm sorry. I was caught off guard when we got back
with the tree for her room, and I guess I was a little disappointed too that I had to wait to see how
excited she was.
"And you're going to miss out on it all together if you don't get over it and go upstairs to see for
yourself." Richie reminded him, turning the tables a bit.
"Next time can you tell me if you're going to take her off like that? Or at least take your phone?"
Duncan asked.
Richie nodded and followed Duncan upstairs to find Claudia sorting through the boxes of
decorations Duncan had picked out just for her earlier in the week. There were beautifully
delicate glass ornaments and intricately carved wooden ones in the shape of various musical
instruments.
"I take it the tree is big enough?" Duncan asked as Claudia hugged his neck, having been told by
Beth that it had been all his doing.
"It's beautiful. Thank you Duncan." She said as she gave him one last squeeze and then turned
to begin putting the decorations on.
"I hope you like the white lights." He said, having already put them on for her.
"They're perfect." Claudia told him before insisting everyone help her decorate the tree.
"I think you have this well in hand without me, and it's time Barkley went out." Adam said, not
really into all the holiday fuss.
"Scrooge." Duncan commented as Adam started downstairs with Beth not too far behind.
"Adam? Is something wrong? I mean besides …" she asked as she watched him stoop to put
the leash on the dog.
He didn't answer right away, which only made her worry even more.
"You're really looking forward to all the holiday festivities aren't you?" he answered her with a
question of his own.
"I'm trying to. It's hard because of what Devan is doing to us, but I'm trying to live life as normally
as possible." She answered honestly.
Adam let out a long breath and reached out to brush back a stray lock of hair that had fallen over
her cheek. "Would you be terribly disappointed if we couldn't celebrate in a normal way … this
year anyway?" he asked.
"Adam what are you trying to say? You don't have to talk around it."
"I've been wondering if maybe we should see if we can lose Devan … disappear … before your
condition makes that an impossible option." He replied. He'd been thinking about this for a few
weeks, and now that he had so much to lose … it seemed like the best option until at least after
the baby was born. He had hoped that between all of them, they would have been able to locate
Devan and protect Beth. But what happened that week at the hospital showed him that as long
as Devan knew where they were, she was at risk.
Beth saw how much he hated to suggest they run, and she was sure that if it weren't for the baby
he wouldn't even suggest it. So she wasn't going to add to his stress by even asking if there was
another way. "If you think that is what we should do Adam … then as long as we disappear
together, I'll do whatever you ask."
"We would need to leave him with Duncan … for now anyway." Adam looked down at Barkley
and gave the dog a scratch behind the ears.
Beth closed her eyes and nodded that she understood.
"When?" she asked.
"It will take a couple of days for me to make the arrangements. In the meantime I think we should
make it look like we are staying put. The big tree is supposed to be delivered tomorrow … so
let's decorate it and you can have a little bit of Christmas before we have to leave." He began.
"And I don't want to tell any of them until it's time … it will make things look more authentic."
Beth hated the idea of misleading their friends, almost as much as she hated the idea of leaving
them. They had become her family. But if Adam thought the best way to protect them was to
leave then she knew she couldn't let sentimentality get in the way. She had to think about what
was best for the baby … and she trusted Adam to know what that was.
Adam left her to think about it, kissing her on the forehead before taking the dog out.
Beth had almost finished preparing a tray with hot fruit pies and spiced cider when Duncan,
Claudia and Richie came downstairs. They'd finished decorating the tree and although Claudia
admitted she could have stayed up there all night just looking at the lights, she decided she could
wait until bedtime.
"So now what is the plan?" Claudia asked, sipping the hot drink and hoping someone had an
idea to fight the boredom.
"Amanda should be back soon." Duncan replied. She was seeing what she could find out at the
police station, hanging around and trying to engage the detectives assigned to the rash of
murders in conversation by posing as a journalist. They were hoping she'd stumble across
something new regarding Devan's whereabouts.
"And in the meantime …" Richie grinned. "There's always home movies."
"Right, right. You're bored and you think you would entertain yourself by seeing how many new
ways my family can humiliate me?" Beth laughed, shaking her head.
"Maybe Beth doesn't want to watch any more." Duncan replied, giving Richie a disapproving
look.
"No that's ok Duncan. If that is what you REALLY want to do, then have your fun. I was going to
look at them this week anyway." Beth said. "But not the one titled "Father of the Bride". She
added, knowing that would be the wedding video.
"Then that leaves us with 'National Lampoon's Vacation', 'Look Who's Talking' and 'Sister Act'."
Richie said, sorting through the stack and looking at Beth to see if she knew what any of them
meant.
"That would probably be Vacation footage from all the trips we took when I was growing up.
Great if you want to see me in braces and pigtails." She made a face. "Look Who's Talking is
probably recent family stuff, nieces and nephews and special occasions I've missed. And Sister
Act can only be one thing …" she said shaking her head.
"And what would that be?" Adam asked, having only just come in from taking Barkley for a run.
"Another opportunity to leave you all laughing." She replied. "It's probably footage from the
church and community events we performed at over the years."
"You performed?" Claudia asked, reflecting the surprise in all of their faces.
Beth shook her head. "We were three sisters in a small town who could carry a tune in a bucket
and couldn't say no when someone suggested we sing. So maybe performing isn't the right
word."
"We have a winner." Richie announced, popping in the tape and making himself comfortable on
the floor at Claudia's feet.
"I'm going to grab a quick shower." Adam said, quick being the optimal word he thought, not
wanting to miss too much of what should be pretty interesting video.
Beth set a bowl of popcorn and the pies and drinks on the coffee table and curled up in the other
chair, ready to hide behind the pillow she'd taken off the sofa if it got too bad.
Richie fast forwarded through the first few minutes of the movie, but then when the screen turned
to black he stopped and hit play.
Three little girls, one blond, one brunette and one redhead, all wearing yellow pinafore dresses
and black patent leather shoes stood in what must have been the family living room singing "You
are my Sunshine" at the top of their lungs, before a woman's voice off camera told them to do it
like they'd practiced.
The oldest girl, the redhead, gave them a pitch and then in almost perfect 3-part harmony the
sisters sang three verses of the song.
"Oh my God that is adorable." Claudia laughed. "How old were you then?"
"Chris is nine I think, I was seven and Rayna wasn't quite six." Beth answered.
"Watching this makes me wonder what the baby is going to look like." Richie said. "She'll be a
knock out no matter what I'm sure."
Beth smiled, wondering the same thing.
Adam made it back downstairs, his hair still wet, just as the image changed, which prompted
Richie to rewind because the first part had been too good to miss. Beth made room for him in the
chair with her, settling into his arms as they watched.
After the early songs, the tape showed several events that were obviously at the church they'd
grown up in. The now teenage sisters sang hymns, accompanied by their brother and a young
Craig on guitar.
"Please feel free to stop anytime … I wouldn't want anyone to die of boredom." Beth offered, but
no one had any intention of shutting it off now.
"You have a beautiful voice." Claudia said. "Did you ever consider professional training?"
"Me? Oh no … I did this because my sisters really loved it. I'd just as soon limit my singing to the
car and the kitchen."
"I haven't heard you singing in the kitchen?" Adam teased, shifting a little behind her so he could
see her face more clearly.
"That's right. You haven't." she replied with a grin.
"What's this?" Richie asked as the screen showed a stage with lights and a big crowd.
"That was a carnival the community put together to raise money for a family that lost their house
in a fire." She replied. "Chris volunteered us."
This hadn't been that long ago they realized. Maybe three or four years at the most.
The sisters sang a wide selection ranging from hymns to country and some classic pop, complete
with some dance steps and plenty of audience participation.
"You had them eating out of your hand." Richie laughed.
"yeah yeah … had them screaming for more." Beth replied sarcastically before she realized all
four immortals had frozen for a second, and she knew they sensed the presence of another.
To her relief however it was only Amanda coming back from her day at the station.
"Find out anything interesting?" Adam asked her almost before she could get her coat off.
"They don't have much." Amanda admitted. "But I think I should go back tomorrow … in case
something new comes up. And Beth should prepare for them to come asking questions. I saw
some faxes on one of their desks referencing the murders in Atlanta … and they were on the
phone with Witness Protection."
Beth wasn't looking forward to going through the whole thing again with a new set of detectives.
She would be glad when she never had to relive the nightmare again for someone else's benefit.
"There was one thing one of the detectives noticed." Amanda continued. "There's a gray Lexus
that has been seen near the scene of three of the murders."
"Any tags?" Duncan asked.
"No … but they are checking DMV for possible registrations."
"Maybe they'll have some possible matches when you go back tomorrow." Adam added. "It's
something at least."