Happy Place
In the front seat of Richard’s car, Tess closed her eyes and went to the island.
A full moon shone overhead, so it wouldn’t be the best night for stargazing, but it meant she could walk down to the dock without a flashlight.
Harry was already sitting there, his pants legs rolled up and his bare feet dangling in the water.
An owl hooted on the far shore, the sound carrying across the lake.
The air felt thick with moisture, and she guessed that a storm might roll in before the night was over.
She felt her flip-flops slapping against her heels as she walked across the dock toward Harry.
A breeze stirred her hair and raised goose bumps on her bare arms. The car, and the strangely familiar man driving it, faded away.
The pressure in her chest eased, her breathing slowed, and she felt the pucker of tears drying on her cheeks.
The cacophony of voices quieted one by one, until only a single voice remained.
But this wasn’t one of the voices that demanded unreasonable actions and threatened her with catastrophic results if she didn’t obey.
This voice belonged to Harry. And its words were simple: Get to the island.
* * * *
“Better,” said Tess in almost a whisper. “Give me a minute.”
For an eternal minute, the only sounds were the roar of the engine and the squeal of the tires as they hurtled down the narrow highway.
Richard wanted to grab Tess by the arm and shake her and yell, Talk to me, but he knew better.
She had just undergone a traumatic experience.
She might well be in shock. As long as she wasn’t seriously injured, he’d give her as many minutes as she needed.
“I know you, don’t I?” said Tess at last.
“I was a friend of your father’s,” said Richard. “We were colleagues. Before he…”
“Before he died?”
“Yes. But I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl.
” This was a lie. At Vivian’s invitation, Richard had come to Tess’s high school graduation, but he had sat in the back and never approached her.
He had been wracked with guilt about not doing a better job of caring for Tess after Harry died.
But Richard had been offered a position at Columbia a few weeks following Harry’s death and had effectively disappeared from Tess’s life.
He hoped this current rescue mission could be some minor atonement for his past sins.
“My name is Richard.”
“What about my aunt Vivian?” said Tess. Harry’s message to her in his books had been clear. She wasn’t just supposed to go to the island; she was supposed to find Vivian and go to the island. “I won’t leave without her, no matter how many guns that Montag 5 has.”
“She’s in the other car,” said Richard. “The one I’m following.”
“I need her,” said Tess.
“They’ll stop at some point,” said Richard.
Tess’s breath began to quicken again. “I need her now.”
“I think they’re going back to the other car,” said Richard. “So, it shouldn’t be long.”
“Who are they?” asked Tess.
“Valentine 6 and Nemo 7.”
“Nemo 7? He was one of the ones who kidnapped me, but he told me he was a friend.”
“He is. He works for me,” said Richard. “And Valentine 6 works for me as well. Pilgrim 3 isn’t the only one with followers.”
“Who is Pilgrim 3, and why do all these people have these weird names with numbers, and when can I see Vivian? I need to see Vivian.”
Richard watched as Valentine 6 slowed the black sedan at the city limits of Sturgis. Two blocks later, she turned left and he followed.
“Are you going to answer me?” said Tess, her voice rising. “When can I see Vivian?”
“Any minute now,” said Richard.
Tess closed her eyes again, but she couldn’t find the island.
She couldn’t hear Harry’s voice. But she knew what he wanted.
And if she couldn’t do it, if this man couldn’t provide what she needed, the voices would return in all their chaos, and she wasn’t sure she could stand that. She wasn’t sure she’d survive.
“We’re here,” said Richard, stopping the car.
Tess threw open the door and a second later felt the warmth of Vivian’s embrace.
Tess burst into tears, but not because she was hounded by the voices or overwhelmed by panic.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had wept tears of joy, but they felt glorious.
Vivian held her so tightly she could barely breathe, and she didn’t care.
She had understood the story about the blind boxer; she had forced Montag 5 to make a bad decision; and they had both escaped.
She had found Vivian, now she had to get to the island.
“You three ride together,” said Valentine 6, a new authority in her voice. “Nemo 7 will take everything out of Montag 5’s trunk and put it in yours.”
“In case…” began Nemo 7.
“Not in case,” said Valentine 6, “but because there’s no doubt Montag 5 has a tracking device on this car. Once you decide where we’re going, call me. In the meantime, best for us to go in different directions.”
“We’ll go—” said Nemo 7, but Valentine 6 cut him off again.
“We’ll go south. You go west. But stay off the highway and keep to small roads. It won’t take long for Montag 5 to get a car. Now go.”
Valentine 6 opened the back door of Richard’s car and pushed Tess and Vivian, still locked in a hug, toward the opening. “Get in,” she said firmly. “Now.”
Nemo 7 popped the trunks of the two cars and quickly transferred the contents from the black sedan to Richard’s rental car.
Thirty seconds later, Richard pulled out of the McDonald’s parking lot and headed out of town.
“That was impressive work,” said Nemo 7.
“No time for patting ourselves on the back,” said Valentine 6. “Let’s get out of here.”
She was just about to pull away when Nemo 7 said, “Wait. One more thing.” He jumped out of her car, opened the door of Montag 5’s rental, popped the hood, and disappeared for a few seconds. When he reemerged, he held an assortment of hoses and wires in his hand.
“What did you do?” asked Valentine 6.
“I don’t know,” said Nemo 7. “But if Montag 5 finds the car, I don’t think he’ll be able to drive it.”
Five minutes later, they were in Indiana.