CHAPTER 23
The motel on the South Dupont Boulevard was pretty run-down. But the location—right on Route 113—was convenient, and Cathal, Nathaira, and Alasdair preferred to avoid crowds. For what they were planning, it was better to have few witnesses. They had arrived in Delaware the day before, and it hadn’t taken them long to track down Samantha’s address. They planned to use the day to spy on her home. Should they find the opportunity, they wouldn’t hesitate to grab the entire family.
They had been waiting for over an hour near the house in their dark-blue rental van when at last, the front door opened. Alasdair nodded. That was the girl who had gotten away from him. A second girl, blonde and slim, came out. The two of them got into a car parked in the driveway and drove off. Alasdair was about to follow, but Nathaira insisted that they wait for the girls to return and, in the meantime, see who else might be home.
She pulled open the van door and stepped out, yanking her long dark hair over one shoulder as she strode to the house. She knocked—once, twice—but no one answered, so she strolled back to the van.
The three of them had almost fallen asleep from boredom when the car finally rolled up into the driveway again. The blonde was carrying an armful of bags, including one that looked like it had come from a fast-food restaurant. They watched as Samantha then got out of the car, heavily laden with more large shopping bags. She nudged the car door shut with her hip and balanced her load. With a loud bang, the front door slammed behind them.
“And now what?” Alasdair asked.
“We’ll wait,” Cathal answered.
“Wait for what? Let’s grab the girl and get away from here,” Nathaira said.
“No,” Cathal said. “I want to know who that other girl is, the blonde. We don’t need any witnesses.”
“We could just take the both of them,” suggested Alasdair. “Then we wouldn’t have to worry about what Blondie might say later. And who knows, maybe she is a Cameron, too.”
“But she doesn’t look like a Cameron.”
“Well, Cathal!” Nathaira’s voice was full of contempt. “Do you believe that a family resemblance would be so obvious after so many years?”
“That Samantha certainly shows a strong resemblance.”
“That’s just a coincidence. You cannot rely on that.”
“Still,” Cathal said. “We are going to wait!”
Nathaira gave in, crossing her arms in a huff.
About a half hour later, the door opened again. This time, only the blonde came out. She looked around, as if checking to see whether anyone was watching, and then she sat down on the step in front of the house and lit a cigarette. She breathed the smoke deeply into her lungs and blew it out slowly. She kept glancing over her shoulder, but nobody disturbed her. The cigarette had almost burned down to the filter when she jumped up and quickly stamped the cigarette out.
Samantha opened the door and called, “Ashley! Uncle Eddie’s on the phone.”
“OK! Tell Dad I’m coming.”
With that, the two of them disappeared into the house again.
The three secret observers in the van were content. Now they knew that the girls were related, and that meant that they had to grab both of them; no Cameron should get away. They still didn’t know how many other Camerons might be romping around Milford. There was no sign of the girls’ parents. But they hoped the two girls would have some answers to their questions.
“Hey, Sam,” Ashley said. “My dad said that he’ll probably manage to get here by tomorrow night. At the latest, by the day after tomorrow. I know this might sound insane, but I’d really like to see Ryan again to say good-bye. Maybe I can get a little closure. Is it OK if I skip the Chinese food and go out tonight?”
Huh, I thought. Apparently, our relationship really had improved; otherwise she would have never asked me for permission. And since I was definitely cured of Ryan Fever, I thought she should at least have a chance to smooth things out with him. I had firsthand experience with broken hearts and sudden endings.
“Sure, no problem, go ahead. I called Kim awhile ago, and she said she might come over in a little bit, anyway.”
I was worried that Kim might show up with Justin, but I figured that was still better than having to spend the evening alone. Meanwhile, my anger toward Payton had given way to feelings of pure helplessness. What if I were to forgive him, I asked myself. Could I accept the fact that the times had been different back then, that he hadn’t really had any choice in the murders? I loved him so much that I wanted to forgive him. But if I did, what would that change? It seemed futile. I was, after all, on a different continent. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I didn’t give a damn about his curse. I just wanted to be with him.
But, of course, it wasn’t that easy. Payton had said that I was changing the curse, and no one had a clue what would come of that. It sounded like his family thought that they would all die; that’s why they wanted me gone.
Since I’d been home, I had pushed away that thought—that someone might actually want to do me or my family harm. I knew I should have talked to my parents about it, but I didn’t know what to say. Gosh, Mom and Dad, I met this immortal Highlander, and guess what, we’re going steady?
Well, anyway, the situation was totally screwed up. School was starting again soon, and I had no idea how I was going to manage that. I could just imagine what would happen when Mr. Schneider asked me about Scotland; instead of answering his questions, I’d probably burst into tears.
“I’m off. Could be late,” Ashley said, poking her head into the room. Whoa, I thought, she looked fantastic! I hoped Ryan would leave me in peace after seeing her.
“Good luck,” I called after her, but she was already gone.
The three Scots across the road jolted to attention when the blonde girl—apparently called Ashley—exited the house and started walking down the street. The night was hot and still, and totally quiet, except for the growling and hissing of two cats. Without another word, the three slipped out of the van and followed the girl.
Cathal’s steps were almost silent as he got closer and closer. When Ashley was only one step ahead, he grabbed her in a flash. She put up a struggle, but that came to a halt when Alasdair rushed in to subdue her. She tried to scream, but Cathal pressed his hand strongly against her mouth. Together the men shoved her into the van. Nathaira got in behind Ashley and closed the door. Cathal and Alasdair straightened their clothing, glancing around to make sure no one had witnessed their little interlude. Then they got in the van as well.
The street remained quiet. Only from inside the van could Ashley’s terrified cries be heard. The van slowly rolled down the street before turning left, out of sight.
Two trembling figures peeled themselves out of the shadows behind the trash cans, mouths open in disbelief.
“Quick,” Kim said. “You have to follow the van. I’ll go to Sam to get help. Try to stay behind them for as long as you can, and be careful. Don’t let them know you are following them!”
Kim gave Justin a push in the right direction. She could hardly believe what they had just seen. She hoped Justin would be able to catch the van and tail it for a while. She didn’t think they’d seen his car. She sprinted to Sam’s house and rang the doorbell urgently.
I turned down the music when I thought I heard the doorbell. Someone was pressing the button repeatedly.
“All right, all right, I’m coming!” God, I said to myself, why was Kim in such a hurry?
When I opened the door, Kim practically fell on top of me. Her face was white, her voice shaking.
“Quick, call the police! Ashley has been kidnapped.”
Before I fully understood what she’d said, she grabbed the phone in the kitchen and started punching in the numbers.
“What? Calm down! What happened?”
I took the phone away from her and pressed it back into the wall mount.
“Wait a second, Kim. Tell me what’s going on!”
She pushed me away and grabbed the receiver again. Only when I shook her by the shoulders did she snap out of it enough to fill me in.
“Two men just dragged Ashley into a van. Justin is following them. We have to call for help!”
“What men? Did you see them? What did they look like? What kind of car was it?”
“A van, a dark-blue van. It all happened so quickly I didn’t think to get the license plate. The one guy I couldn’t see very well, but the other one had blond shoulder-length hair. And he was tall, really tall!”
My knees buckled. I thought I was about to pass out. I clapped my hands to my face and let myself slide down the wall. My thoughts were whirling: Could this be happening? Had they followed me to America? That seemed impossible. But what else could it mean?
“Kim… I think that was Alasdair Buchanan.”
As soon as I said the name out loud, I knew I was right. And if Alasdair had followed me here, then we were all in great danger. In mortal danger! The pendant flamed hot, burning against my skin.