Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
Oddly, despite the vivid dream of his daughter, Leo didn’t once stare longingly at the liquor cabinet. Usually, when he woke, he walked straight for the strongest thing he had on hand.
However, talking about it, for the first time since the nightmares began, actually helped. Ruth didn’t call him crazy. Ruth didn’t tell him to forget about his kid. She advocated accepting his grief and not letting it overwhelm.
What a concept.
She also questioned their deaths, something he’d done until Aries told him to stop. In the boss’s defense, Leo went a little nuts searching for a sign Kylie and Olivia lived. He even bugged Aquarius almost daily to keep running facial programs on all the accessible security video footage captured around the city. Leo kept their apartment for a year after in the hopes Kylie would return. Staked out all the places she used to like: hair salon, donut shop, thrift store. He’d have surveilled her family and friends if she’d had any.
The day he finally accepted Kylie would never walk through the door, he’d drank so much he woke in an alley, a knife sticking out from between his ribs, with no idea what happened. The incident led to him finally moving back home—only his grief, his regrets, and his dreams followed.
And what did the big strong warrior do? Leo let those destructive emotions control him.
Still did.
Every move he made was through that wallowing lens of self-pity. It took Ruth pointing out the illogic of his own flagellation to recognize it.
It had been more than five years. Either he needed to finally jump off the top of Tower, or smarten the fuck up and allow himself to live again.
The epiphany removed a weight from his emotionally heavy shoulders, while the lack of drinking took much of his puffy inflammation away. He felt better than he had in ages; playful, too, hence why when Ruth muttered about a lack of elevators when they headed for the library, he swept her into his arms.
“You do know my legs work,” she pointed out, her arms draped around his neck.
“As does your mouth, but given you’d probably bite or slap me for my solution to quieting it, I’ll stick to annoying you in other ways.”
She gaped at him.
He grinned.
“What has gotten into you?” she asked.
“A smacking dose of common sense and reality, which I have you to thank for.”
“I’ve barely done a thing.”
“You shrinked me, and it worked.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, but keep in mind, we have a ways to go,” she cautioned.
She said ‘we.’ It had a nice ring. His pleasure came with a reminder, though. She’d cautioned against him being attracted to her. Claimed it was some kind of patient-doctor thing.
Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. He just knew he finally felt alive again.
The library never appealed much to Leo. He preferred to be active, but Ruth stared about in wide-eyed wonder. “Damn, that’s a lot of books.”
“That’s nothing. What’s on the shelves changes depending on what a person wants.”
“Really? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” She laughed as he set her on her feet—reluctantly.
A computer waited on a table. She stared at it as if it would bite.
“Want me to take the lead?” he offered.
She shook her head. “It’s time I took my own advice and confronted my fear.” Ruth sat on a chair and took a few breaths before touching the mouse to wake the computer screen. An image of the leather journal took front and center. Click . It opened, but instead of images taken of the handwriting, it displayed neatly typed text.
“You can see on the sidebar bookmarks with mentions of Chile. Also looks like he had it mark spots with the words zodiac, arch, and a few others.”
But instead of jumping ahead, Ruth stayed on the first page. She canted her head as she read for a few minutes, flipping twice during that time.
“Well?” Leo asked from his spot leaning against the table. He’d wanted to read over her shoulder but abstained to give her privacy.
“He wrote it for me,” she murmured. “It starts with, “ My dearest Ruth, you’re six months old now, and while I hate to go away, a dig in Cairo needed my expertise. I cannot wait until you are old enough to join me .”
He frowned. “He brought you on his trips?”
She shook her head. “No. Never. Odd he wrote as if he would.”
Ruth read a few more pages before sighing. “I doubt this beginning section will be any help. His style is rather abrupt. A few sentences about what he discovered during his trip, followed by information for a wholly different spot.”
“You ready to skip ahead?”
She nodded. “I can come back and read the rest anytime. You need to know about his time in Chile.”
A click on the first Chile bookmark jumped her ahead. She paused, and he saw her expression turn stony.
“What’s wrong?”
“Looks like the first mention of Chile was a typo.” She cleared her throat. “ Miriam still refuses to let me take you with me on a trip. It doesn’t matter how much I beg and plead. She is adamant, and vindictive. If I don’t leave in the next twenty-four hours, she claims she’ll call law enforcement and tell them I hit her and our chile. ”
A low whistle escaped Leo. “Well, damn. Looks like your dad might have been standoffish for a reason.”
“I knew my mom and dad had problems, but I never realized she threatened him, or that he wanted me.” Said in a tiny voice.
“Of course he wanted you. You’re beautiful and brilliant.”
“I don’t need false flattery.” She rolled her eyes.
“Why do you think I’m lying?”
“I’m about thirty pounds too heavy and hardly brilliant.”
“Your body looks just right to me. A man likes meat on his woman’s bones.” It slipped out. Once more, he’d said more than he meant to.
Her cheeks turned that sweet pink color again, and she ducked her head. “Thank you. We should get back to the journal.”
She clicked on the next few bookmarks, then paused on one a few pages from the end.
This time she chewed her lower lip as she scanned the text.
“So?”
“So, on my fifteenth birthday, Mom knew my dad was coming back special to see me and made sure I was gone that weekend to my grandparents eight hours away.” She grimaced. “I was so upset because he’d promised me he’d be there, and two days before, my mom told me that something came up at his work and he wouldn’t make it.”
“Why would she lie like that?”
The look she gave him held sadness and resignation. “Because she intentionally wanted to cause a rift. My mom was bipolar, not that I realized it until I went to college and began my studies. One minute, she’d be happy and giddy and nice. The next, I wondered if I should hide the knives. She got especially bad every time Dad came around.”
“If she hated him, then why not divorce?”
“I don’t know, but I’m starting to think my mother most likely threatened to withhold me. Reading this”—she waved to the screen—“so much makes sense. I knew from a young age my mom hated me, not that she ever came out and said it to my face. Her actions spoke loudly, though. A few years before her death, when I decided to pay her a visit, she admitted the reason. She claimed when she saw how my father looked at me when I was born she knew he loved me more than her. She couldn’t handle it. When she confessed this, I thought she’d lost it. I mean a dad who loved me would have been present.”
“Only he couldn’t be because she made it impossible and unpleasant.”
“Worse, I believed her when she said he didn’t care. I should have known better.”
“You were just a kid.”
“A kid who knew things were bad between them. I knew she disliked me, yet I trusted every word out of her mouth.” Her lips turned down. “The few times my dad was allowed to see me, he was so kind, despite the perpetual sadness in his demeanor. I chalked it up to him being annoyed he had to spend time with me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why? It’s not your fault.”
“Yeah, but it sucks for you. Sounds like your dad really wanted to be a part of your life.”
“Then he should have had the balls to kick my mom to the curb and take full custody,” she huffed.
He stared at her.
“Don’t look all shocked. Let’s be honest. It would have been the right thing to do, but my father obviously lacked the courage to do it. Maybe it was misplaced affection for my mother, but most likely, he took the route of least resistance.”
“I would have fought.”
“Yes, you would have.” And while it went unsaid between them, he could hear the words, And Kylie knew that, so if she wanted Olivia for herself, there was really only one—make that two—ways to do so. Either disappear without a trace, or kill me.
Since Leo wouldn’t have stood still while Kylie tried the latter, he couldn’t help but start musing once more about the former. Could his little girl be alive? He hated to hope, especially since he had no way of finding her. Even if he did, then what? He couldn’t exactly take her from her mother. Or could he? Olivia didn’t seem too fond of the woman she called by her first name.
Ugh.
“I think I’ve found the part we’ve been looking for.” She pointed to the page. “Look.” She began to read. “ The local artwork and even architecture shows influence from the Middle East, which flies in the face of everything we know about the settling of South America. I keep seeing zodiac symbols, even though they shouldn’t exist in this part of the world. I’d think it was a modern influence, only there is a nearby Chilean ruin, dated more than three thousand years, that has some of those markings. Does this mean explorers landed on these shores earlier than recorded? Such a thing would rewrite history. ”
“The zodiac signs are actually quite prevalent. Seeing them on a ruin doesn’t mean shit,” he cautioned.
“Hold on. There’s more.” She pointed to the screen as she read. “ I’ve been questioning the folks in town about other ancient places the symbols can be found. Two people have come forward with claims they can take me to a haunted door. ”
“That’s it!” Leo exclaimed. “Does he say where is it?”
Ruth shook her head. “It doesn’t mention a location. There must be a time jump because it continues with, The door was exactly as described and, more astonishing, not made out of local stone but a large meteorite. The zodiac symbols are unmistakable. I cannot get inside though, not without equipment. Upon my return to the village, I will make arrangements for a proper excavation team.”
“Wait, he excavated it?”
“Nope. It seems, when he returned to the spot with a crew, the door was gone. He assumed he’d led them to the wrong place. His last entry is, I have to find the door or risk being a laughingstock. My guide must have taken us the wrong way. Although, when I confront him, he claims it’s magic and that only the worthy are allowed to see.”
“Hot damn, it’s got to be the one. Ready to go exploring?” He couldn’t contain his enthusiasm.
“You want us to wander around a jungle looking for this door?”
“Not wander. We’ll get a guide.”
“You heard what my dad said. He couldn’t find it again.”
“Because it must have deemed him unworthy, Buttercup. You and me, we are totally what that door is waiting for.”
“You have a lot of faith.”
“So should you. Sage was right when she claimed I needed your help.”
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” she groaned.
“Haven’t you ever wanted to save the world?”
“Not really,” she sighed. “But I guess I can’t exactly bail. When do we fly out?”
“Fly?” He chuckled. “We are starbeaming there, Buttercup, and I say the sooner, the better. How’s after lunch?”
“That fast?” she squeaked.
“Not point in waiting. I just need the coordinates of your dad’s last known location so I can do the math.”
She pursed her lips. “That might be an issue.” She pointed to a pair of brackets with the message in italics saying Blank section. Unable to translate .
“Guess it got erased,” he grumbled.
“Don’t be so sure. Can you get me my dad’s journal?”
“Why? It’s not like it will be any more readable.”
“Remember how Sage said something about the daughter figuring out a father’s clues. I think I know how to read what it says.”
“Gonna do some magic?”
“Science actually.” Her lips curved. “My dad used to love secrets, and when I was young, he showed me how to read invisible ink. He would leave me messages that I’d have to decipher.”
“And he never thought to use that to communicate with you?” Leo almost bit his tongue for saying it.
“He did, until Mom caught on. She always opened my mail from him. Once she knew about the invisible ink, she made sure to scribble out with a black marker those sections when she bothered to give me his letters at all.”
“What do you need other than the journal?”
“A heat source, like a lamp with a working bulb. Even a candle will do.”
“On it! You stay here while I get the book.”
Leo ran to get the journal, and by the time he returned, Ruth had a burning candle sitting on the table.
He handed her the leatherbound tome, and her expression turned sad.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t believe I refused to read it all these years.”
“Would it have made a difference?”
“No. After all, my mother didn’t give it to me when she got it with his things. I only found it after she died and emptied her home.”
“At least you know the truth now.”
“I do.” She offered him a brief smile. “And maybe this trip will give me answers about his disappearance.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s see if the invisible ink will still react.”
She flipped to the page with the blank section, a few lines at most. She held the backside of it above the candle flame, and Leo held himself ready to stomp it out if it caught on fire.
Writing appeared, the same looping scrawls as the rest of the journal.
He didn’t need her to read it aloud since he saw it the same moment she did.
My dearest Ruth, today I embark on a dangerous journey for the biggest historical find of my career. I hope to tell you all about it, but a local witch has claimed I won’t return. Should she be right, perhaps you will finish what I began in Astriaco, Chile. Love you always, Dad.
As tears rolled down her cheeks, Leo dragged her into his arms and hugged her.
In that moment, the mission, the door, nothing mattered but comforting Ruth.
And when she tilted her head and murmured, “Guess we have a destination,” he couldn’t help but drop a kiss on her lips.