chapter 16
He had said it was a small town, but small was hardly the way I would have described it. When any area is popular and populated enough to contain its own airport (of whatever size), then I hardly see anything small about it.
And while the airport of Healdsburg, California was a municipal one, it was explained to me as we were landing that massive sums of money given to the right people throughout the year can help overlook the international flight that comes in every so often and the individuals on board. This also helps avoid security checks that one would have to endure at an international airport and those pesky little things like being wanted by the law.
I was abundantly relieved when we finally touched ground and all of us were still intact. Charlie had slept for most of the trip while I watched every flutter of his eyelashes, the twitch of his fingers, everything. I refused to risk something happening while I was away.
“You should rest, Addie,” Ben said to me at one point. “Singapore is fifteen hours behind California. Essentially we just time traveled.”
The sun was continuously coming up and we only seemed to catch up with it when we maneuvered with the tangled effort of many to get Charlie off the plane and on top of the landing ramp. Not having walked in the better half of a day, his legs were like rubber. Reid was equally dead on his feet, but at least had napped while the plane was on auto-pilot. He made short calls, after which a small army of men came out of an unmarked building to help not only Charlie, but to load fuel and other gizmos into the plane as well.
“I really like all the attention,” Charlie joked when we rode in a large black SUV. If I had to guess, I would have said they were Ben’s vehicle of choice. I really couldn’t do much complaining though—sitting in the backseat with Charlie was significantly better than lying in the cargo seat.
“Don’t get used to it,” I warned, “because if you worry me like this again, I’ll just kill you myself.”
From the passenger seat, Ben laughed. “Ah yes, you and Elise should get along splendidly.” As we drove deeper into the countryside, Ben’s voice seem to change, his posture slackened and he removed his bifocals, resting his head against the neck rest. He seemed to be a different person as we approached this place he called home.
At first we passed a slew of homes and buildings typical of any American town. It was only after a few miles that the allure of the region genuinely took over when the housing developments and condos faded into hills and scenic horse farms. Just beyond them I could see the mountains making the land feel timely and unkempt. Even the bustles of late blooming wildflowers that grew untouched in the occasional field couldn’t seem to be tamed.
Every so often we would see the old-world attempt at an advertisement for a local vineyard at an intersection, followed by signs that were decorated with balloons pointing the way to someone’s wedding or party. I tried to take in as many details of the land as possible. I rolled down the window and took in the perfumed orchards, the incomprehensible freshness of the air; even the sky seemed different from home.
At first I didn’t see the house when we began rolling down the dirt road. It looked like something Gatsby would have purchased if he had lived on this coast. It was the sort of mammoth I envisioned when I first read Wuthering Heights, only instead of a stone template or gothic features, this place was a combination of some old world villa and a vision of modernization.
It sat on acres of land, much further than my eyes could calculate by themselves. As we traveled along the road I could see orchards maintained by figures in the distance. The trees themselves seemed to surround everything.
The house itself mainly consisted of large windows encased by semi-circle divides, which created a balcony structure along the entire upper level. Where there were no windows, there was a rich cream color that brightened the folds of the exterior walls. The structure was sorted into three separate sections—perfectly centered among themselves. I understood how it was easy for everyone to just stay together.
Once we reached the garage of the house, it only appeared larger. I was intimidated, not only by the massiveness of the house and its grandness, but also by the surge of welcomers that rushed the SUV before it was even in park.
“It usually ain’t this bad.” Charlie tried to reach over me to open the door but forgot himself, clasping his torso and seething at the burst of pain.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded, but I could see how quickly the color left his face. “Are you?” His thumb brushed against my bruised cheekbone.
Before anything else could happen, a portly looking gentleman opened our door and stuck his head into the vehicle.
“Which one of you is hurt?” I recognized his dialect from either Jersey or New York—I would have to remember to ask later.
Polo started jumping and pointing at Charlie. “This one is! This one is!”
I got out of the way as quickly as I could. It wasn’t difficult to see that I was a fish out of water here, but I refused to make a nuisance of myself.
Among the greeters was a young woman with long dark hair and the healthy complexion of someone who might have spent just the right amount of time in the garden on a daily basis. She eyed me instantly with olive eyes that seemed to sparkle in the chaos.
“Oh, hi there!” She came at me with open arms that embraced, and a heavy but not entirely unpleasant perfume. “You must be Addie.” She forced my hand in hers and vicariously shook for the both of us. “I’m Elise—I’ve heard so much about you. You poor thing, I bet you’re just aching to get yourself cleaned up…”
I smiled and nodded, and although I didn’t want to be rude, my only real focus was on Charlie and I didn’t bother hiding it. From over her shoulder, I could see Yuri and Polo struggling to carry his weight while Charlie stubbornly struggled against them; calling them names and swearing.
I had become completely unaware she was still talking. “Excuse me. Um, just one second.”
I stepped away and used my hands to call out to the awkward bunch, “Charlie!”
He stopped his squirming and glanced back at me.
“Let them help you.”
His eyes darted from across the veranda. Before he could challenge them again, Yuri tripped him across the knee, forcing him to fall forward. I called out, but they managed to catch him before he fell flat on his face and carried him the rest of the way into the house.
“Wow.” Elise came up from behind me. “I’ve never seen him listen to anyone.”
The interior of the house was all high ceilings and pallid white walls. Crisp, blue marble countertops created an island in the circular kitchen, which led directly to a large open living area, where an array of large abstract paintings lined the walls.
“You—have a lovely home.” I crossed my arms over myself, feeling immediately out of place in such glamorous surroundings.
“Oh, thank you.” She put her arm around my shoulder in what I guessed was an attempt to alleviate some of my discomfort. “I can’t believe you’ve been on that terrible ship with those boys all week long! If that had been me, I would have lost my mind within hours.”
“It wasn’t so bad…” I glanced over at Charlie, who was hobbling to a room around the staircase. Though he continued to swear under his breath, he was no longer putting up the same fight as before, now allowing Yuri to take most of his weight on his injured side.
Elise saw the direction of my glance and laughed. “Benjamin mentioned you were a good sport. I’m happy you decided to come along. I’ve been hearing nothing else but about you all week long and I’ve just been on edge to meet you.”
“Oh umm…thank you?”
It was strange to be welcomed with such pleasantness. I suppose I had expected the same amount of bitterness I had received from Reid and Yuri. And while I had never had many female friends, Elise seemed to be genuinely friendly.
I followed them into another pallid white room that seemed to be fixed as a sort of guest room. The chestnut fringed dresser matched the bed frame and subsequent night stands, which had been decorated with matching blue vases filled with carnations of every color. In the doorway, I bit my lip while I watched the portly man put an IV into Charlie’s arm.
“I hate those things,” he grumbled.
I came up beside him and sat next to him on the bed. “Don’t be such a baby. This is your fault, you know. You said I got into trouble for not keeping my nose out of other people’s business, and then you turned around and did the same thing.”
He leaned and kissed my forehead. “That ain’t the same.”
“It’s exactly the same!”
“Nope.”
I broke first with a smile. I was too relieved to argue and he knew it. “The main thing is that everybody’s okay now.”
I looked up at the man who was administrating some kind of needle into the IV. “Everybody will be okay, right?” The fear was creeping through my voice and it made Charlie scoff.
“Hmm? Hmm? Yes? What, young lady? Yes, sorry about that.” He tapped at a bag of saline solution impatiently. “It’s just a flesh wound.”
Charlie found my expression even more amusing. “Its all right, Jimmy knows what he’s doing.”
Once the doctor had successfully managed to set up the IV, he gave Charlie a mild anesthetic, and warned that it would knock him out for a few hours.
At the mention of unconsciousness, Charlie clasped at my hand and enclosed it within his own. “You wanna hear something stupid?”
I rolled my eyes. “Always.”
Already his voice was beginning to fade out, “I-I’m kinda scared you ain’t going to be ‘round when I wake up.”
I smiled. Kissed his cheek. “Nothing is going to keep me away from you, remember?”
At the insistence of Elise, I followed her up the elliptical staircase, but only because she promised she would have me back down to Charlie within the hour.
As we walked down the hall with lush golden carpets and pale blue walls, she tangled my arm in hers like someone might a lifelong friend. I wondered how much she had been prepped for this messy situation or if she just took to being a hostess naturally.
“First of all, let’s get you something to wear. I was trying to picture myself in your shoes, stuck in that place without so much as a toothbrush! I just couldn’t do it, Addie. You do prefer Addie, yes? Or is it Adeline?”
“Addie is better, thanks.”
“Fair enough. I always like to ask because I know Benjamin wishes I would call him Ben like everyone else. Though to be honest, I started doing it just to get on his nerves. But now I can’t call him anything else.”
I laughed. “I like that very much.”
We walked through a large bedroom suite with the most delicate bronzed furniture and sponged painted walls. A light breeze tossed white curtains around an antique spinning wheel, not far from where a vase of sunflowers sat perched on a desk. I thought it all blended nicely together and again it made me glad to be on land. But the warmth of the room also reminded me of home and re-ignited the homesickness I was feeling for my family. I was back in the country now, still three thousand miles away from home, but on the bright side, I was that much closer.
“I have so many things…” She opened a large walk-in closet where a thousand different garments seemed to lay. “Honestly, I’ve never even worn half of these things, but shopping is my worst weakness.” She seemed giddy as she spoke; it was hard not to be entranced by her warmth. “And really, since I’ve had Tyler, I don’t see myself wearing any of these things again. It doesn’t feel very ‘Mommy-ish’.”
I looked at Elise as she piled various items of clothing on my arm. She was slender in figure, but her red sundress revealed the fresh curves of motherhood that wouldn’t have been given away if she hadn’t mentioned it.
She shooed me towards one of the massive bathrooms with my hands overflowing.
“Now you go along now and freshen yourself up. Take all the time you want and please help yourself to anything you might need, okay?”
“That’s really generous of you, Elise, but you don’t have to—”
“I insist now, go, go!”
Before I could protest any more, she politely pushed me into the bathroom and shut the door. I took the moment to smell my hair and the skin beneath my arms. I didn’t think I smelled or anything, but maybe my perception had been altered by my time on the sea.
Like everything else, the bathroom was a grand design in granite and marble. Along with the antique tub, there was an oversized shower which practically begged to be used. Once I took a sniff of the small ivory soaps, it wasn’t hard to do as instructed and take my sweet time scrubbing every inch of me. I hadn’t realized it until then, but my knees and elbows were layered with light patches of dirt and grime—blood, mine and Charlie’s, had dried on various parts of my body. I watched the drain swallow the scalding hot water, dirt, blood, and stray hair that fell from my head.
I wrapped a large white towel around myself and reveled in its lushness. The room was overwhelmed by barrels of steam that I had to wipe from the mirror before I could see any sort of reflection of myself. Some new bruises had formed over the old, but other than that, none of it made any sense to me. I still looked about as plain as any other girl. Throughout the week I had gotten some sun, which seemed to strengthen my complexion a little. But everything else was still the same: eyes, hair, lips; and for whatever reason, Charlie seemed quite fond of it all.
From everything Elise gave me, I selected a simple navy blue dress with a beige ribbon just above the waist. Just as she said, it still had the tags on it and I was reluctant to remove them, but I enjoyed the feel of the cotton-silk too much to pass it up.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, Elise was sitting on the divan, cooing at a bundle in her arms. For a moment I watched them, fearing I might interrupt if I made my presence known. The little feet within the blanket kicked and squirmed as she tickled them with the tips of her manicured nails. The bundle within the blanket giggled at the attention and its tiny fingers reached out for Elise.
“Hi.” I walked over and sat beside her.
I felt like a useless piece of furniture, but Elise was a face of smiles. As I peeked over her shoulder, I could see the face of the little boy and instantly remembered one of Charlie’s many sketches. I smiled at the thought; it was nice to know he was just downstairs and relatively safe.
“He’s beautiful,” I told her. I could faintly see the same nose that belonged to Ben and tuffs of the crisp dark hair that belonged to Elise. “How old is he?”
“Just four months now.” Elise gazed at him with the utmost affection. “He’s growing so quickly it feels strange to me,” she admitted. “On the other hand, it’s hard to believe my world ever even existed without him.”
“I’ve seen a lot of sketches of him. But I didn’t realize…”
She laughed and hoisted Tyler so he was over her shoulder. “Yes, Ty loves posing for his Uncle Charlie.”
I smiled awkwardly, remembering how the photograph-like drawings of Tyler were so easily demolished by Wallace and what he had said when shoving me into the confession booth. Wallace’s only regret at the time was that he couldn’t have Elise and Tyler there, too.
She eyed me curiously but I pretended not to notice. Instead, I focused on the little eyes that bugged out at me, surrounded by all of his pudginess. I couldn’t even begin to imagine hurting either of them, let alone being angry or vengeful enough to even have those thoughts.
“Are you feeling well, Addie?” Elise crossed her legs and swayed her feet against the divan.
“Yes, um…I’m fine.”
“May I ask you something a little personal?”
I nodded, only imagining the other wide assortment of questions she must have been asking herself. I had, after all, neglected to mention to Ben Wallace’s comment about his wife and son. But Elise seemed like an intelligent person—she had to wonder if she and Ty were also in danger.
“Why are you here exactly?”
“I’m sorry for imposing,” I offered. “It was never my intention to be a bother to anyone.”
She waved me away. “Oh please! You’re no bother at all, besides it’s nice to have company. I meant why did you come along with the boys after the ship got to port? I have a vague idea of what happened from what Benjamin told me, and the news, but I’m still not entirely sure I understand…”
“I wanted to be with Charlie,” I cut in, “and he wanted me with him. I didn’t really think much beyond that.”
She lit up with excitement. “Awesome! I’m so glad!”
“Huh?”
She put the baby down in the bassinet and strolled to the dresser.
“Well,” she brought back over a hand brush and a few other items I couldn’t see. “Benjamin said a couple of days ago that Charlie was completely undone by you, but frankly, I just didn’t believe him. I’m glad that not only was he right, but you seem to be quite taken, too.”
“A couple of days ago?”
She sat behind me and began brushing my hair. “Um hmm…I think it was Wednesday morning before the ship left for Singapore.”
The information left me feeling stranded. Charlie and I had only first laid eyes on each other the day before that. Had Ben been exaggerating, or was it possible that Charlie loved me long before I knew I loved him?
“It was the same with Benjamin and me,” Elise confessed. “I was working for a catering company in Chicago, and one night, when we were working this big benefit bazaar, Benjamin and Yuri crashed the event, trying to gauge security for a shipment they wanted to steal the next day. When he left three days later, he asked me to marry him and I said yes.”
She clasped a barrette in my hair. “It all sounds pretty romantic, but it was really pretty stupid,” she admitted. “I don’t regret it, though. They say you should try to live without regrets, but if that were the case, life would be boring, wouldn’t it?” She giggled a little.
I tangled with my thumbs. “I think you’re probably a lot more adventurous than I am.”
“Not from what I hear. Is it true you spent the night in one of the holds?”
I was a little surprised to hear Elise would know about that. She seemed too feminine to understand the ins and outs of the ship.
“It wasn’t exactly intentional. I was really being an idiot about the entire thing.”
She sighed and clasped another barrette in my hair. “Love does that to everybody.”
I laughed awkwardly as I tried to guess Elise’s age. Although she appeared young in some aspects, she was also wise in some very distant ways. I guessed based on her skin and style choice that she couldn’t have been older than her mid-twenties, but maybe associating with criminals distorted the aging process.
From somewhere downstairs, Polo’s hyena laugh echoed.
“I swear,” Elise sighed. “You must have the patience of a saint to put up with those boys all week. I love them all, but geez.” She pointed her thumb downstairs. “Polo especially gets on my last nerve.”
I laughed. “They’ve grown on me. Wh-when you first knew Ben did any of the guys ever give you a hard time about it?”
Her back stiffened then and her face turned into a frown. I thought maybe she didn’t understand; or worse, I had offended her. But then she broke out into a light, cynical laugh. “You mean Reid, don’t you?” she snorted.
“How did you know?”
She turned serious for a moment and stopped to consider her words. “He can’t help the way he is. And I think after everything else, he’s just cautious about all of the possibilities… and those potential liabilities.”
“Does he think you’re a liability?”
Her voice tightened. It was the closest she had yet come to being angry. “Tyler and I, yes.”
“Oh, boy.”
“Hmm. I know. Don’t get me started. You really can’t take anything he says or does personally.”
It was good to hear what I already suspected. Still, I didn’t like the idea of knowing I had put a strain on the friendship between Charlie and Reid. I began to wonder what other long term effects our relationship could have.
I was really quite amazed with the end results of Elise’s hair experiment. She had managed to make a decent updo out of the mangled mess of my hair. And I have to admit I liked the look and feel of it.
“See?” she said as she picked Tyler back up. “With fifteen minutes to spare, too.”
I glanced at a large glass clock on the wall. Sure enough, I had only been away from Charlie for forty-five minutes.
“I can’t thank you enough, Elise. You’ve been so nice to me—”
“Think nothing of it! I’m just happy to help.”
I followed her back downstairs, where Yuri and Polo were playing what appeared to be a game of Rummy. Elise handed a squirming Tyler to Ben, who accepted the boy eagerly. They both smiled at the sight of each other, and again I could see the resemblance. It was terrible to think that anyone could dislike the idea of Ben having a family. It was so obvious how much they adored each other.
“Have you been behaving yourself for your poor mother?” He swooshed Tyler over his head playfully and made his eyes go cross. Tyler cooed and giggled at the expression, reaching for his father’s face with his tiny hands.
“No, he certainly hasn’t!” Elise laughed. “He hasn’t slept a full night since you’ve been gone. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear he was trying to give me a nervous breakdown.”
“I do suspect he might get that from me.” He reached for Elise’s elbow unsuspectingly as she bent to pick up one of Tyler’s pacifiers from the floor. She giggled like a school girl and sat beside him compliantly.
“Don’t be a bad influence on him.” He laughed lightly and Tyler released a large bubble of drool on Ben’s shirt.
“Oh sure, take her side.”
I smiled; the sight was a welcome one. They seemed genuinely happy in their dynamic—and although the thought was only beginning to cross my mind, I pondered if Charlie had even considered the sort of direction his own future was going to take. Where did he see himself this time next year? In ten years?
He looked peaceful enough sleeping there. I was glad someone had drawn the curtains shut, although it did very little to keep the bright California sunshine out. I was wishing Charlie was awake to tell me if it was always like that here—bright and warm. Or if descriptions of the West coast were exaggerated and it wasn’t as lovely as I had imagined.
I tiptoed to the side of the bed and sat beside him, taking my time and being very careful not to wake him, just in case the anesthetic was wearing off. On the table beside him I saw a prescription bottle without a name or pharmacy address, just the standard label of a familiar antibiotic. The IV was still attached to his arm, steadily giving him the fluids he needed to stay hydrated. I questioned how much it would cost to have a private doctor on staff in this day and age, and how much more it would cost to have that doctor not ask any questions.
Beside the night stand was a small wastebasket nearly overflowing with soiled gauze and antiseptic threads. The sight of the dried blood turned to a dark brown stain made me tremble. I had to repeat to myself that everything was okay, deflecting the possibility that he was still in danger.
I pulled the cotton sheet gently from the wrapping across his torso. Without question, it looked more professional than mine and I felt glad that everything seemed to be in order. I wondered how many stitches and how long it would take to heal—would I stay here until then? Elise had made it clear I was more than welcome. And I was confident Charlie would want me around, but what about my family? How would I deal with them and how would I explain myself once I returned home?
I looked back at Charlie; hopefully we would figure it out together.
The faint voices coming from the living room interrupted my thoughts. I could only make out every third or fourth word but I could tell none of the voices belonged to any of our party. It made me instantly nervous.
“Today…discovered…in…while…”
Before I opened the door, I ascertained the source of the voices were coming from the large flat screen television located on the wall. I peered at it from the doorway. I could see vague clips as they appeared on the news network in succession, including photos of my family and I and images of law enforcement officials wearing FBI gear outside of my house trying to shoo the cameras away. Behind the newscaster, I caught a glimpse of Dad talking with a man who had the sleeves of his shirt cuffed up, his tie loosened, and a shiny badge pinned on the sports jacket he carried in his hand. I may not have even noticed him, except that his copper hair appeared illuminated as he stood talking next to Dad. I wanted to see more of Dad, but the image changed again so I leaned forward a little to try and hear better.
“That’s right, Bethany; we have just received insider news that the kidnappers of Adeline Battes have made contact with her father, Michael Battes, just a few hours ago…”
“That didn’t happen at all!” Ben yelled.
“Shh…” Elise shushed him.
“…when asked for an update, Mr. Battes had this to say: ‘We have every confidence that Addie is safe…’”
Dad? That was definitely Dad’s voice I was hearing.
“‘…and that she will come home to us soon.’ Mr. Battes and his family have no other comments at this time and respectfully request that the police continue with their investigation—”
“Reid! Turn that off right now,” Elise demanded. “If Addie hears that, she might get upset.”
I quietly slid back into the room and shut the door.
Elise had a knack for knowing people—I was upset. Now that Charlie was out of physical harm, I had no choice but to do the logical, responsible thing and return home. I had not only promised Dad, but I was putting everyone in danger by staying there. With each and every second that the authorities were looking for me, and by association, Charlie, they were getting closer to Ben, his family, and the guys. And whether or not the guys would go to jail was hardly a question. My presence was beyond inconvenient and downright catastrophic for everyone involved.
I lay down beside Charlie; taking every precaution not to touch any part of him I thought might hurt or be damaged. No matter how badly I wanted it, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stay here with him…not then, anyway.
I tried to think of ways to stall, ways to avoid going home until the very last minute. At the least, I could wait until Charlie woke up and we could talk…figure out some sort of strategy to meet up again in a few weeks when things were less chaotic. In my mind, I tried to think of different things, but nothing was really coming to fruition. I reasoned that maybe Elise would be willing to help…
But before my will could leave me, I left Charlie.