Chapter 3

Richie looked on in horror, frozen in his tracks, Drew Mason was in the store, talking to Mac, who didn't see anything wrong with the man.

"I'll need some time to consider it, my wife isn't too thrilled with antique dishes, she complains they're too risky to wash and take up too much room. But I'd love to have a set like these in my possession. Could you hold them for a few days?"

"I'll see what I can do," Duncan said, "but I'll be leaving for Seattle on Tuesday and probably won't be back until Friday."

"Will anyone else be running the store during that time?" Mason asked.

"No."

"Well, if I don't decide before you leave, I'll come back the following weekend once you get back to let you know," he told him.

"Allright, I'll be sure and keep a set ready in case," Duncan said.

"Good day, Mister MacLeod."

"Good day."

Mason walked past Richie, "Excuse me," as he headed out the door.

"Now Richie," Duncan said as he put a set of china plates back in their case, "what is it you wanted?"

"Uh – uh –" Richie squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head briefly as he forced himself to speak. "Mac, did I hear you say you're going to Seattle?"

"That's right, I have to see another dealer about a few things," Duncan answered.

"Couldn't he just come here?" Richie asked.

"No, he's visiting a friend in Seattle. See he's from Germany and he didn't want to go any further than he already has, so I agreed to meet him in Seattle. Tessa's coming with me, what about you?"

"What?" Richie asked.

"Well would you rather come with us, or would you prefer to stay with Jeremy and Denise while we're gone?" Duncan asked.

"Uh – uh I'd rather stay with them while you're gone, it's just for a few days, right?" Richie asked.

"That's right," Duncan agreed.

"Yeah, I'll just stay with them," Richie slowly nodded his head.

"Are you sure it's allright with their parents?" Duncan asked.

"Well they're away for a few days on business, but they said if I wanted to come over, if it was allright with you, then it's allright with them," Richie quickly lied through his teeth.

"Okay," Duncan said, "now what did you want when you came in?"

"Uh –" Richie thought, "never mind."

Richie tried to get himself to talk to Mac about his last customer. "Uh Mac, do you know who was just in here?"

"Yeah, Drew Mason, why?" Duncan asked.

"Do you know him?"

"A bit, I wouldn't say I know him real well –haven't seen him in a while to be honest, he just came in asking if I had any antique dishes. Do you know him?" Duncan asked.

"No," Richie quickly replied.

Duncan turned around as if he was surprised by Richie's fast response.

"Uh- never met him before in my life," Richie quickly added.

"Okay."

"Denise, I don't think it'd be a good idea if I came over tonight," Richie said on the phone later that afternoon.

"Why not?" Denise asked, "did your warden turn you down?"

"No, I didn't ask—he already asked me about Seattle," Richie replied.

"And?"

"I said I'd stay with you."

"Smart boy," Denise grinned.

"Denise, I just don't feel like coming over for the night," Richie said.

"How about just for a movie?" she asked.

"N-No!" Richie stammered, "No more movies! I'm still recovering from the last one."

"Hey Richie, relax, we're not talking French schlock again," Denise said, "how about a nice, relaxing science fiction piece?"

"What? Like Godzilla?"

"No, Mad Max, you remember the movie, don't you?" Denise asked.

"Denise, please, I'm a wreck, I don't feel like going anywhere," Richie said.

"Now what the hell's wrong with you?" Denise asked, "You were fine when you left."

"I'll tell you what, I came in the store and that Mason guy was in here talking to Mac."

"Mason? Drew Mason? What was he doing?" Denise asked.

"Asking about some antique dishes, said Mac would have to hold them because his wife probably wouldn't like it," Richie told her.

"Wife? Mason has no wife, he has hookers and bimbos and everything else that lays on its back and opens its legs," Denise replied.

"I know, in any case I don't think that's why he was here," Richie said.

"Well why else would he be there?" Denise asked.

"I don't know, maybe he knew I live here and was looking for me, maybe he only though I was here and wanted to see if he might be right," Richie said, "I don't know."

"I don't think you should be there, then," Denise told him.

"Denise, please!" Richie begged, "I feel awful!"

"Do you want me to come over?" Denise asked suggestively.

"No! I don't want you to come over, I don't want to watch a movie and I don't feel like leaving this building tonight, all I want to do is go to bed and hope no maniac comes in while I'm sleeping and strangles me, good-night!" Richie slammed down the phone.

Richie groaned in frustration. He hadn't meant to blow Denise off like he had, but he was honest, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to just go to bed. So he headed over to his room, closed the door, pulled off his shoes and socks, brought back the sheets, laid down and brought the sheets back up to his shoulders.

The storm awoke Duncan. When the weatherman predicted bad weather, he wasn't kidding. Every few seconds, lightning would strike, followed up by a near ear-shattering crash of thunder. Duncan slipped out of bed and was halfway across the room when Tessa turned on her side and said, "Where are you going, Duncan?"

Duncan thought about his answer for a minute and said, "Take a guess."

"You're not going to look in on Richie are you?" Tessa asked as she sat up in bed.

"Well it was what I had in mind," he replied.

Tessa let out an exhausted laugh, "I don't believe it, Duncan – you're always telling Richie that he has to start being more responsible, act more like an adult, but the first time he's living with us that we get a thunderstorm, you have to go in there and check on him like he's a baby."

"You've said he's a baby," Duncan said.

"Yes, but I'm not the one going to look in on him," Tessa laughed again.

"Just go back to sleep," Duncan told her, "I'll be back in a minute."

Duncan crept over towards Richie's bedroom and stopped at the door. There was another flash of lightning, and eight seconds before the thunder crashed again. Duncan was sure Richie was allright, probably sleeping like a baby, but still, it wouldn't hurt just to check. Duncan slowly opened the door and peered in, a light from the street shone in through the window, giving him a better look at the figure hovering over the top of the bed. Another flash of lightning lit up the entire room and Duncan saw that Richie was shaking vigorously, and he heard Richie whimpering. If Duncan didn't know any better he'd swear Richie was crying. Duncan made his way over to the bed and laid his hand on Richie's shoulder, "Richie-"

Richie tensed and turned around, gasping for air. Duncan saw the boy's wide eyes full of terror.

"Richie, it's allright, it's just me," Duncan said soothingly, "are you allright?"

Richie drew in a struggled breath, "Yeah, I'm fine, Mac."

Duncan ran his hand up Richie's forehead and smoothed back his hair, then briefly ran it down his cheek, Richie's face was wet, although by tears or sweat, Duncan couldn't determine.

"Richie you feel hot, has the heat been on in this room?" he asked.

"I—couldn't tell, I was asleep until a few minutes ago," Richie said.

"What happened?" Duncan asked.

Richie didn't have that strained voice from sobbing, so Duncan knew he hadn't been crying, but still he wanted to know what was wrong with his young friend.

"I—I don't know," Richie said, "I think it was one of those nightmares that you forget when you wake up."

"Are you sure you're allright?" Duncan asked.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine Mac," Richie assured him, "—Mac."

"Yes, Richie?" Duncan asked.

"Did I wake you again?" Richie asked.

"No, I was—" Duncan was thankful for the darkness, he was sure his face was turning red, "I was checking on you."

"Why?" Richie asked.

"Well—no reason," Duncan lied, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Richie responded as he eased back against the sheets.

"Well, try to get back to sleep, although I don't see that to be an easy task for anyone with this storm," Duncan said.

"Goodnight Mac," Richie murmured.

"Goodnight, Richie."

Duncan closed the door on his way out and headed back to his bedroom and slipped into bed right beside Tessa.

"How is he?" Tessa asked.

"A bit shaken up, he wouldn't say why though, but—"

"Is he allright?" Tessa asked.

"Yes, he's fine, I think the storm got him up," Duncan responded.

"Well, if you're sure that's all," Tessa said as she turned over in bed.

"What?" Duncan asked.

"Richie seemed a bit uneasy today after he got back," Tessa said, "he seemed—wired for lack of better words, didn't you notice something was different about him?"

"Honestly, I didn't really notice. When he first came in I was talking to a customer and after he left—I told Richie about Seattle."

"And?"

"He's staying with Jeremy while we're gone," Duncan answered.

Tessa slowly nodded in agreement, "Good, I think it'd be best for him to stay with them anyway. Better for him to be with someone he knows."

"And trusts," Duncan added.

"Was he asleep when you left?" Tessa asked.

"Not quite."

Tessa threw back the sheets and swung her feet around to the floor.

"Tess, what're you doing?" Duncan asked.

"I'm going to see if he's allright now," Tessa said.

"Oh for—Tess!"

"I'll be right back, I just want to check on him," Tessa said as she slipped on her robe.

"Tess—"

"I'll only be a minute."

Tessa slipped out of the bedroom and over to Richie's room, the door was open just a crack, she gently pushed the door open and saw Richie at the foot of the bed with his knees drawn into his chest.

"Are you allright, Richie?" Tessa asked.

"Y-Yes," Richie responded.

Tessa made her way over to the bed to get a better look at Richie, "Are you feeling allright, petit?"

Richie nodded. "Did he send you in here?"

"No," Tessa replied, "Richie, why are you not sleeping again?"

"I just had a weird dream, that's all," Richie told her.

"Richie, you've been acting strange since you got back today," Tessa said, "did something happen?"

"No."

Tessa could see Richie wouldn't cooperate with her, or answer anymore of her questions.

She got up and kissed Richie on the top of his head and said, "Try and get some sleep, petit."

Richie waited until he was sure Tessa had gone back to bed. He pulled up his blind and looked down the street, all the buildings and houses were dark except for one down the street. In Mason's house, there was a light in a room on the third floor.

Maybe he's a vampire in his off hours, Richie thought.

Richie lowered his blind when he remembered what Denise said about the company Mason usually had at night.

Bah, Richie thought, here I am getting scared like an idiot over someone who ain't worth the trouble.

Richie went back to his bed and pulled the sheets back up.

That's all it is, he thought, I'm just letting him make me paranoid for no reason.

Just after Richie closed his eyes and turned on his side, he thought of something and his eyes opened wide.

Or could there be a reason to be worried about this guy? Richie thought.

"Duncan, have you noticed something different about Richie lately?" Tessa asked.

"Something different?" Duncan repeated, "Like what exactly?"

"Well for one thing, he told me he's gotten ten hours of sleep," Tessa explained.

"Ten hours?" Duncan asked, "Then I can't figure out why he's getting dark rings under his eyes."

"No, not ten hours every night, ten hours for the past week," Tessa explained.

"Oh, well—"

"And you knew about the rings?" Tessa asked.

"Well yes, but—"

"And, he's asked to be excused from every meal for the last four days," Tessa said, "I think we should cancel your meeting with Thom Antoine, or at least take Richie with us."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Duncan told her, "Richie would be uneasy there, he wouldn't know anybody, he wouldn't know where anything was, he's going to find it harder to rest in Seattle than he does now. Besides, I already told him—"

"I know that you told him that he could stay with his friends, but I'm worried about him, Duncan."

"I'm worried about him too, but I honestly think he'd have a better chance of resting if he stayed here with his friends rather than come with us while we stay with people he's not familiar with, and probably wouldn't want to be."

"But Duncan—"

"Tessa, we have to leave tonight, in about an hour I'll go over to Jeremy's and have a talk with them, and see what they suggest," Duncan said, "Who knows? They knew Richie before we did, maybe they can think of something."

"So Richie's having trouble sleeping again, is he?" Denise asked.

"Well it's not only that, he's not eating, he's uneasy, he's always shaking, and I have to leave for Seattle tonight with Tessa, and we're not sure if we should leave him with you," Duncan explained.

"Great Scot, MacLeod," Denise chimed in.

"What?" Duncan asked.

"Désolé," Denise replied, "you really think you'd be helping Richie by dragging him off to another part of the state he's never been to?"

"At least I could keep an eye on him," Duncan said.

"No, you don't want to do that," Denise said in return, "you wouldn't be able to help him, you'd be better off leaving him with us."

"How exactly?"

"Comment explique-t-je?" Denise asked.

"I didn't know you spoke French," Duncan realized.

"Yeah, well I didn't know a man with so much knowledge could be so stupid either," Denise rudely replied, "but moving on—it's difficult to explain—Richie and I share a – a bit of a psychic bond. When one of us is in trouble, the other knows, when one of us has a nightmare, so does the other. That's the way it's been since we met," she explained to the highlander. "I think Richie's problem is that he's been restless at night, he's having extreme trouble sleeping and when he does, his exhausted mind tends to create some unbelievable dreams."

"What are you saying? He's having nightmares because he's tired?" Duncan asked.

"In a word," she answered, "but I believe I can help Richie."

"How?"

"He's a very tense boy, he needs to relax, to become calm, it helps him rest. I know a few ways that might be helpful to him, meditation for example. It works wonders on my father and he deals with insane people all day, this is just a regular teenager," Denise said, "let him stay here, I guarantee by the time you get back he'll be sleeping like a baby."

"He's already doing that," Duncan protested, "waking up at three in the morning and he doesn't go back to sleep."

"Well that's one thing my sister specializes in," Jeremy announced as he entered the den, "using a poor choice of words."

"Mister MacLeod, it's all very simple, you leave Richie with us while you're off on business, and we'll have him sleeping peacefully by the time you're back," Denise told him.

"Denise," Jeremy started.

"Not now, Jeremy," Denise replied.

"Denise—"

"Just a minute, Jeremy, I have to show Mister MacLeod to the door."

Denise undid the bolt and chain on the door and opened it for Duncan to leave.

"Well Denise, I guess Richie will be on his way over this afternoon," Duncan said.

"Wonderful, we'll be expecting him," Denise replied in a sweet tone, "Won't we, Jeremy?"

Jeremy merely nodded, "Denise—"

"Good day Mister MacLeod, good luck in Seattle," Denise called as she closed the door behind Duncan as he left.

"Denise—what was all that about?" Jeremy asked.

"Just some reassuring bullshit to MacLeod. Richie hasn't been sleeping in the last few nights, and I have a damn good idea I know why," Denise answered.

"But why'd you have to tell him that?" Jeremy asked.

"I had to, otherwise he would've taken Richie to Seattle with him," Denise said, "I had to think of something to tell him, verdammt!"

"Richie," Tessa said as she walked into the room, "Are you ready?"

"Almost," Richie replied as he closed his suitcase.

Richie picked up his suitcase from the bed and turned around to leave, Tessa kissed him on the cheek and told him, "be good, petit."

"I will," Richie said, ignoring the slight blush building up in his cheeks.

Richie went out in the hall, headed down the stairs and was ready to leave when he saw something that disturbed him deeply.

"Well Mister MacLeod, I was finally able to talk my wife into okaying the plates."

"Well I'm glad to hear it, Drew," Duncan replied.

Mason took some folded bills out of his pocket and handed them to Duncan, and he took the box the plates had been packed in.

"Good day, Mister MacLeod, I hope you have a good time in Seattle." Mason waved to Duncan briefly before he turned around to leave.

Richie saw something that he didn't believe. It was right there on Mason's left hand. A wedding band.

Holy shit, Richie thought, Mason does have a wife –

Richie didn't believe it, Mason, that thing that his friends had warned him about, had a wife, among nameless hookers and bimbos. If she knew about the women her husband was seeing—

"That makes three of us," Duncan replied to Mason, "Good day."

The Scot turned around and saw Richie standing in the middle of the store with a weird look in his eyes.

"Richie," Duncan approached the boy, "Are you okay?"

Alas, the boy did not answer Duncan, he just stood there with a blank look in his eyes.

"Richie, are you okay?" Duncan repeated as now he stood directly in front of the boy.

Richie blinked, "I'm sorry Mac, it's—"

"Richie, you're turning pale, is something wrong?" Duncan asked.

Richie's eyes got that blank stare again, he drew in a weak gasp of air and only breathed one word.

"Mason."

Richie closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again to see Duncan standing in front of him.

"What?" the highlander asked.

"That was Mason, he was here again?" Richie asked.

"Yeah, he decided to get the dishes after all," Duncan answered.

"Oh—shit," Richie quietly replied to himself.

"Richie, what's the matter?" Duncan asked.

"It's Mason, I don't like him, he lives right up the street from Denise and Jeremy, he lives on that property where eight people got murdered. No one in their right mind would even go near there, besides he—"

"Richie, you haven't even met the man, have you?" Duncan asked him.

"No, and I don't plan to either, not in this lifetime, and not in hell," Richie replied.

"Richie, I've known Drew Mason for five years, trust me, there's nothing unusual with him," Duncan said.

"If you've known him for five years, why hasn't he ever been over here?" Richie asked.

"He's a private person, prefers to keep to himself, he doesn't like going out much," Duncan calmly explained.

"What about his wife? Ever see her?" Richie asked.

"No, she doesn't like coming out in the day," Duncan added.

"Why? Is she an albino?" Richie asked.

"Yes."

"Oh," Richie exhaled.

Well that might explain him having a wife nobody knows about, Richie thought.

"Richie, do me a favor, go over to Jeremy's house and behave while we're gone," Duncan said firmly, "I don't want to come back and find any messages on my answering machine that starts with "We have your son, Richard Ryan", understand?"

"Yes—sir," Richie sighed.

"Well you don't have to do that," Duncan smirked, "now go on, have a good time, and try to get some rest."

"Okay, later Mac," Richie called as he headed out the door.

Richie beat on the door twice and waited. The door opened a crack and he saw a familiar eye staring out at him. "Did you come alone?" Denise demanded to know.

"Of course, Mac and Tess just took off for Seattle. Listen Denise," Richie said as he set his suitcase lower, "I gotta talk to you about something."

Denise looked at him for a minute, "Just a minute," she told him. She closed the door, unbolted the chain and opened the door. "Get in here," she commanded him.

Richie picked up his suitcase and hurried in. Denise closed the door behind him and locked it again. "Hey Jeremy!" she called, "Richie's here!"

They heard Jeremy bellow a response before he came out into the upper-hall and slid down the banister, and got off on the bottom stair. "Hey Rich, I'm glad you could make it," he said as he put his arms around Richie tightly.

"Has he been drinking?" Richie nervously laughed.

"Uh – he had half a brass monkey just before you arrived," Denise informed him, "so don't get too close, he might get to groping," she chuckled as she turned around, "So frizz head, what's your major malfunction today?"

"Denise," Richie gasped, "I was right on my way out of the store when I saw Mason talking to Mac again. And as he left, I saw something that may surprise you."

"Richie, I've been to hell and back for the last nine years, nothing can surprise me," Denise said, "now tell me what was so damn shocking."

"He has a wife," Richie blurted out.

"Richie—"

"He has to have a wife, he was wearing a wedding band, now why else would he wear that if he wasn't married?" Richie asked.

"Look Richie, maybe there was a bad connection when we last talked," Denise exhaled, "Mason has no wife, he doesn't have a wife now, he never has, and I doubt he ever will, because he has an endless stream of streetwalkers prancing over to his house almost every night."

"Well you never know, weirder things have happened," Jeremy said, "besides, it could be his wife is a tramp."

"She'd about have to be to like him," Denise said.

"So now what?" Richie asked.

"Now nothing," Denise said, "you're here for three days, so make the most of it."