It was dark by the time Diana rolled over and faced Garrett. "Do you have to go to work?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah. Just my luck… I take a late stroll on the beach last night after work and find you… only you're too strung out to respond to me. I shoulda called the paramedics… but dang… you seemed fine. I made the choice to just keep an eye on you."
Diana laughed as she settled into his embrace. She'd had time to think. She couldn't return to her life. Both the authorities… and whoever had been after her would think she was dead. It was best to vanish. But Garrett was a loose end. What to do about him?
If these Watchers… if that's what they were… were aware of her loose association with him… they'd likely get the story out of him… even if he promised to say nothing. And then there was what Duncan had warned her of… that he was a potential immortal. If the people after her were working for another immortal… they might find him… and kill him before his time.
He really was a nice man. But she didn't know him… not really… and the situation was awkward. How much should she tell him?
"I wasn't alone in the car," she finally said.
He laughed. "Well I gathered that."
"I picked her up outside the parking deck. She'd seen something… a murder she thought."
"Yeah?"
"Someone in a van pursued us… ran me off the road."
"So… are we talking a second murder?"
Diana nodded.
"And the cops?"
"Not in the picture. I need to remain dead. If they think I'm dead… no one will be looking for me."
"So… you want to hang out here?" He arched his eyebrows and pulled her tighter into an embrace.
Diana pushed him away slightly. "Don't get me wrong… I like you Garrett… but being personally involved right now might not be healthy for either of us."
"Because someone is trying to kill you," he said strangely.
Diana froze. She nodded.
Garrett looked off into the gathering darkness of evening. "I'm gonna have to go to work."
"Promise me you won't tell anyone… anything."
He looked at her directly. "If you promise to be here when I return. I want the full story. I know I come off like an obnoxious sports jock sometimes… it's all part of my on-the-air persona. But beneath this devil-may-care attitude… beats the heart of a reporter… a real one."
"And you think the story of the century has just landed in your…" Diana laughed, "… your bed," she finished up.
Garrett nodded. "Something like that. So… be here and I won't call the police when I get home and tell them about you."
Diana stretched slightly. "Bring me a Whopper… extra tomatoes, extra catsup, onion rings, a chocolate shake… and you got a deal." She winked, wondering if she could manage to erase all evidence that she was here… or had ever been here.
"Deal," said Garrett and kissed the tip of her nose before rising. "I gotta shower," he said with a shrug.
"I'll be here," waved Diana and scrunched down onto the bed. She had plans to make.
-----
She was still lounging about when Garrett left. As soon as he'd done so… Diana raced into the shower. Swiftly she lathered up and washed away the feel of salt water and sand that seemed to be everywhere. Then she searched through his drawers again for anything better than the sweats. She selected a pair of jeans and a white dress shirt. Shoes… however were still a problem. Hunting through the laundry room… she found her low-heeled business pumps and slipped them on. Then she began to gather all evidence that she'd been here… and wiping down anything she might have touched.
At eleven p.m. the video machine clicked on. Diana turned the television on. Garrett was taping his news program. She laughed… evidently he liked to critique himself. She rolled her eyes and finished wiping things down. With her ruined things in a trash bag… she gave one last look around the place… and left… making certain to turn the television off… and lock the door behind her.
She crouched down as she regarded the widely spaced streetlights that illuminated small circles of beach path. She nodded. She could avoid the lights. She smoothed her steps out as she walked backwards from the house down to the beach. Once she was near the water line… she turned and raced up the beach to another path and from there… up to the street. She prayed that she hadn't been seen by some homeowner… staring through darkened windows.
Once she hit the highway… she started south… back toward the city. She had to retrieve a backup weapon, find out who was tracking her, and keep an eye on Garrett Sunderson. She'd call him later and try to explain how important it was that he stay out of it. The last thing she wanted was another person's death on her conscience.
-----
"Your men nearly cost me my head," Xavier St. Cloud spat bitterly.
"My men were on task. They were ready for Ms. Hamilton and they did manage to shoot her."
"But they didn't get Grűber!"
"Mr. Grűber was not their target, " Horton snapped back. "He was an intruder on the scene."
"Now she's dead and her quickening is lost!"
"I wonder," Horton mused as he turned of the news. "While the body is undoubtedly hers… until the head is found… there is always room for doubt."
"You think she somehow switched her body with someone else's?" St. Cloud replied thoughtfully.
"It's possible. Unlikely… given her profile… but possible. At least part of the plan is intact." Horton smirked and tapped the ends of his fingers together prayerfully. "MacLeod has undoubtedly heard of the accident. It might even bring him back to San Francisco."
"Where I can kill him?"
"Don't be impatient my good friend. MacLeod's destruction is what we're after. Ms. Hamilton is one of only two of his students who remains alive. Her death on top of the others will shatter him. Although… " Horton chuckled, "My contacts inside of the organization suggest that the young man who lived with him last year may be immortal. If so… we can certainly find out."
"If he's new… he should be easy to kill."
"What if we could turn him to our side?"
"You really think he'd turn on MacLeod? Especially now?"
"Perhaps. At any rate… let's be certain that Ms. Hamilton won't pop back up. I'll have my people go over her business and her home as soon as the police look elsewhere."
"What will they find that the police miss?"
"Whatever the police don't know to look for. We need to interview people who knew her. She may have taken someone into her confidence."
"All this for a woman who is likely dead?"
"I want to be absolutely certain of this before we move on."
All I want is MacLeod's head," replied the immortal.
"All in good time, my friend… all in good time."
-----
The pawnshop opened at ten. Diana had stopped by the bus station, retrieved the key she had hidden there, unlocked the locker and retrieved the bag with spare clothes, shoes, a wig, money, new ID and the pawn ticket. She hadn't been able to leave the sword in the bus terminal… the locker was too small. But the pawnshop… along with an extra tip to the owner to hold it for her, no matter what, had been the answer.
She knew him only as Otto. He didn't know her at all. When he unlocked and pushed the grating up… she waited for the count of ten before crossing the street and entering. The sensor over the door beeped as she entered.
Otto was just settling down to his morning paper. He pushed his glasses onto his forehead and peered at her curiously over the paper's top edge. She could see a headline about the accident investigation… Bizarre Beheading. Otto was likely sixty, overweight… at least four hundred pounds, and nearly bald. He had a thin fringe of white hair around the base of his scalp and he smelled faintly of peppermint.
"Help you?" he said obviously apprising her and trying to recall if she were a return customer. Behind her sunglasses and beneath the dark brown wig, she rather doubted she looked familiar. She strode forward confidently and laid the pawn ticket on the counter. "I'm here for something I left," she said. She nervously tapped a finger on the glass case. Realizing what she was doing, she made a soft fist and smiled.
Otto picked up the ticket… looked at it… looked at her and then rose from his stool to check the items in the back room… the ones not for public display or sale. He returned with a long tube and laid it on the counter. "Is this it?" he asked.
Diana nodded. She noted the seals on the tube were still intact. Nothing had been disturbed. She had no illusions that Otto had tried to find out what was in the container… but at least it appeared that everything was as it should be. She lifted the tube and felt its weight. It felt fine. She nodded to thank him, then pivoted to leave.
"Why don't I remember you?" he asked.
Diana shrugged. It was best if he didn't. She glanced up at the security camera and then shrugged again. Otto nodded briefly, a slight smile on his lips.
Once out of the store, Diana ducked into the alley to tear open the container. Inside, wrapped in silk was a wakizashi that she'd acquired some years ago at an estate sale. Duncan had preferred the elegance of Japanese weapons and had taught her to use them, saying the smaller sword was better for her. Diana usually carried a stout basket-hilt rapier, however. She liked the weight of it better. But she could make adjustments for this. The main thing now was to be adequately armed. She slipped the wakizashi into the sheath she'd prepared in the lining of the light coat and adjusted it… hoping its weight and distinctive shape would remain hidden for the present.
She'd called Garrett last night from a payphone and promised to meet him today… "I couldn't wait, Garret… What if you'd brought the police."
"I said I wouldn't. And your Whopper's gonna get cold."
"Yeah… they usually do. Listen… I will explain. Meet me tomorrow for lunch."
Garrett had laughed. "All right… but this time… you buy."
"Deal," she'd replied. She needed to talk to him… carefully… in a place she could check out ahead of time. She needed to warn him that his life could be in danger. And she needed to plead with him to let her stay dead. How much more she had to tell him would depend on how much he already knew.
Crossing town to the Asian place she'd picked out, she checked the area for surveillance and anything odd, or any movement out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing, she settled down nearby to wait for Garrett. Once he'd entered and had a seat… then she'd put in an appearance. She'd warned him to come alone. She hoped he'd do so.
He did.
Garrett looked a bit endearing and out of place as he lounged his six foot four inch frame into one of the delicate Asian chairs… folding his legs beneath the table-clothed table and staring curiously at the menu. He wore a fedora and sunglasses.
Diana laughed when she saw him. What did he think he was? A secret agent?
She removed her sunglasses as she entered, bowed slightly at the waitress and indicated that she was joining someone as she moved silkily toward him. At first he looked right past her… obviously looking for a redhead… and then he did a double-take as he she sat across from him.
"Close your mouth."
"What?"
"Your mouth. And lose the hat and sunglasses. Totally inappropriate in a dark restaurant! They'll garner attention."
"Oh!" he said with a shrug. "Sorry. My first time with cloak and dagger." He took his hat off, running his fingers through his razor-cut sandy hair and sheepishly removed his sunglasses.
Diana smiled. "Interesting you should put it that way," she said thinking of her coat and its hidden blade. She expertly let the coat slide from her shoulders after she'd sat, and kept the coattail with the hidden wakizashi against one leg. She'd spent hours practicing such moves so that they looked utterly normal… and the coat seemed perfectly normal.
"So," Garrett said leaning forward on the table. "What's the story?"
Diana sighed as she sipped her water. "What do you think is going on."
"Well first of all… you're dead Di. Your obituary is all over the papers. The scuttlebutt around the station was that you were drinking, speeding, lost control of your vehicle and thankfully killed only yourself."
"And the sports jock wants the real story so he can scoop the heavy hitters… the investigative reporters."
Garrett winked. "You got it."
"Now what do you know by my appearance on your beach?"
Garrett looked around as if worried someone might hear. "You were dead. I could have sworn it when I dragged you out of the water. You looked bad. I did CPR and you revived. I carried you to the house so I could call the EMT's… but by the time I saw you under the lights… the blood was just on you… there were no wounds, no bruises… and no broken bones. You were asleep."
"Then I woke up."
"Yeah… you woke up and seemed awful confused. I said something about the EMT's… and you said you were fine… that you just needed to sleep. And that's what you proceeded to do. Sleep."
"You were intrigued… so you waited… hoping for a story."
"Yeah… but then by morning… the story was already on the news," he said ruefully. "So… a passenger who's now dead and thought to be you… saw a murder. It was her they were after… so why do you need to remain dead?"
"Why not?" Diana said with a shrug. She sipped her water and then sat back as the waitress came over. Garrett ordered haltingly… not certain what she understood… Diana saw the girl wait and then write the number on her pad. She looked at Diana who ordered by number. The waitress smiled and bowed as she took the menus.
"Let me guess… not a word of English."
"Oh… I'd guess she knows a few words. They teach them the numbers first. It's easier for them."
"And if you want something substituted?"
Diana shrugged. "I usually don't."
Garrett shook his head. "You are a puzzle Di! Now about why you need to stay dead?"
"Because I don't want to end up dead doesn't do it for you?"
Garrett paused. "But you're willing to give up your business… your friends… your life? How? Why?"
"To keep them safe. Garrett… I shouldn't even have stayed around to explain to you. I'm putting your life in danger. If someone connects you to me for any reason other than a few conversations at a health club juice bar… you're a dead man. I'd prefer that didn't happen."
"Sounds like Witness Protection. Are you in hiding?"
"Something like that."
"No Shit?"
"Calm down," Diana ordered. "It's not exactly that… but let's just say that someone was likely after me last that night… found someone else… and the young lady I helped got caught in the middle. Now she's dead… and if I'm lucky… they'll think I am dead."
But she has a family… friends? Shouldn't they be notified?"
Diana had no answer for that. She hadn't had the chance to check on Molly Templeton's life, yet. She wasn't certain she wanted to. "I don't know," she whispered.
"Then I can do it." Garrett pulled out a pad. "What was her name?"
Diana was silent. She looked around the restaurant nervously. It was still early enough that the heavy lunch crowd had not hit, but there were enough here to keep the owners busy. She shifted and then smiled as a waiter brought their food. He smiled and bowed very efficiently after he'd set everything on the table and then left.
"Let me guess… he doesn't even know numbers yet?" Garrett smirked archly.
"Probably not." Diana ladled hot mustard onto her food and began eating… aware that she had not eaten in days. After some moments she glanced at Garrett. "What?"
He smiled. "At least you have an appetite. What about your friend."
Diana wiped her mouth. "I told you, she wasn't a friend, just someone I picked up because she needed help."
"So either way she was dead… right?" Garrett looked almost pleading in his question.
Diana nodded. "Probably."
"But her family should know."
"Maybe when they find her head… it'll get straightened out. By then… I'll be gone."
Garett stirred his food and looked at it with suspicion. "So tell me how it is you were all right."
"I'm a fast healer."
He glanced up at her with a smirk. "I'd say. I thought you were dead… then badly hurt… then just in bad shape… and then miracle of miracles… not a scratch."
Slurping in some lo mein noodles, Diana shrugged. "You made a mistake. I wasn't that badly hurt."
"Like hell," he said with a directness that let her know evasions weren't going to work. She picked up her water and took a drink… glancing around the restaurant as she did so. Not the best place to tell him anything. "If I tell you… promise not to create a scene?" she said with shrug.
"Sure. No scene. Just the truth."
"I'm immortal. I can't die. Well… I can die… I just don't stay dead."
Garrett stared. Finally he sat back and tossed his napkin onto his nearly untouched plate of food. "Truth… huh?"
"Well you asked."
He leaned forward and whispered loudly, "Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?"
Diana nodded. "As a matter of fact… yeah."
Garrett shook his head. "This isn't real. You're insane and I'm an accomplice to what exactly? Covering up the truth about a crime?"
"How about just helping a friend?"
"Are we friends?"
Diana nodded with a smile. "Yeah… I think we could be. Finish up."
"Why? Where are we going?"
"I think you require proof… so we're headed to church."
"Church?"
"Church."
"I didn't think you were the religious type," he chuckled.
"I'm not… but I think we need to be someplace safe before I show you that this really is the truth."
She said nothing else during the meal, and noticed that Garrett Sunderson looked very intrigued.
For a moment, Diana wondered how her teacher would have handled this. She didn't know… so all she could do was improvise and hope for the best.
-----