"You know I do," I whisper shrinking away from the falseness of my own words. His grip drops along with the flickering hope in his eyes.
"You're a terrible liar," He states coldly. He turns scooping up the red duffle bag before making his way to the black Yukon. I try not to dwell on my biting conscience as I focus on the squeak of my high tops against the asphalt following suit. Rodger Locklear is sitting in the driver's seat reading a Hungarian newspaper with a Churchill tucked in the corner of his mouth. The blue gray smoke fills the car making me feel a little queasy as I let myself in behind him buckling the seatbelt. Riley slams the back hatch with a little more force than necessary causing Rodger to look up sternly then toss the newspaper to the floor.
"Jet lag?" Rodger chides throwing the stick in drive then easing out into the almost deserted parking lot.
"Just drive," Riley comments pulling out a notepad from his leather pocket.
"Okay, then. Who feels like Chinese?" Rodger asks getting onto the freeway. He glances back at me through the rearview. I shrug then stare out the window watching the road blur past reminding me of the chaos that is my life.
000 000 000
It's nothing like Red Head's. And for that, I am grateful. I welcome change with open arms now. I don't think my life can ever stay the same way for more than four months. It's pretty dark except the lit lanterns strung across the ceiling haphazardly. Surprisingly there are Asian waiters and waitresses. I slide into the booth first hoping that Rodger will sit next to me. He doesn't. Riley is practically sitting on the edge of the cushion leaving enough space for two dinner plates to lie side by side.
We order and stare at each other in silence until Rodger whispers, "She lives only a block away from here." Nukpana.
"We're going to bring her down," Riley states stabbing his butter knife into the wooden table. It sinks into the cherry wood about a half an inch. He quickly pulls it out covering the conspicuous hole with his napkin.
"Easy, Buffalo Bill. First, we gotta lay the bait," Rodger says giving me a pointed look, "Sam."
"Whoa, wait. No one said anything about me being the bait," I protest nervously tapping my pointer finger on the table.
"Shhh. We'll talk about it later," Rodger whispers taking note of the approaching waitress.
After we eat, three fortune cookies lie huddled together in the middle of the table. Riley and I reach for them at the same time brushing fingers. I blush and swallow quickly retracting my hand. He plucks one from the group, unwraps the plastic, then cracks it open like an egg against the table top. I take one gently peeling open the plastic. With a guarded glance I watch him as he unfolds the tiny piece of paper. I cannot read the words only watch as his cool, collected demeanor melts and expands filling up the distance between us. He catches me watching him and all of the sudden the swirling feelings of rejection and hurt cloud his face again as he hurriedly stuffs the paper into the hidden breast pocket, the one closest to his heart.
I unroll my fortune.
"The End comes sooner than you think."
000 000 000
It's a shitty motel. But, I don't have time to dwell on this minority as we divulge ourselves into the capture of Nukpana. Since my banishment to Anchor, security cameras in the hospital have recorded Sheriff Cohen's unofficial confession to being in association with Mr. Ames's poisoning through secretive phone calls he made to Nukpana while sitting in the hospital lounge. It's a start, but of course the bad girl got away.
"She's been staying here with Nova's original foster parents," Rodger starts staring out at the fields.
"Wait, I thought she was from France" Riley says poising his pen hesitantly over the pad of paper.
"Nova's mother was a college student backpacking through Europe when she suddenly went into labor. She had no idea she was pregnant because Nova was carried more in the ribcage area not as much in the stomach where it normally would protrude. Anyway, it came as such a shock to her that she immediately signed a release for Nova's adoption. Nova was adopted out to a young French couple who Nukpana sought out after she found out that her step-niece gave birth to a baby girl."
"A baby girl that happened to live in a country where Rohypnol was legal," Riley chimes in scribbling anxiously in his notebook.
"Exactly how long has she been waiting to act her revenge?" I ask thinking that Nova is at least sixteen.
"Probably since Mr. Ames's threatened to sue her twenty-one years ago when Austin was a baby," Rodger answers pulling out a pair of binoculars from his briefcase.
"What're you looking at Dad?" Riley asks walking over to his father, leaning against the glass.
"Some foxy blonde with a tank top".
Riley whacks him on the back of the head looking a little embarrassed.
"Wait, son!" Rodger protests as Riley draws the curtains, "not until she goes under us so I can see down her…"
"Enough you pedophile! The only woman we need to be concentrating on his Nukpana."
"Right, you're right," Rodger says setting down the binoculars. He loosens his tie and leaning heavily against the chair. "So here's what we're gonna do…"