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Chapter 4
Nikolas loved Manhattan but he doubted anyone could find a thing to love about
the city in the midst of a bone-chilling November rain. Sitting at the
functional desk in his hotel room he ignored the open laptop and stared at the
steady drizzle inflicting itself on East 51st street, his thoughts turning to
home and another rainy night not long past. He’d caught himself thinking
of that evening spent with Gia very often in the past week. While meeting
with the band he’d come to town to speak to and observe in action, he found
his thoughts drifting to some of the things she’d said that night.
Earlier that same day, as he walked along 5th Avenue, he caught himself
comparing every woman on the street to Gia; nowhere near as pretty, nice eyes
but not as nice as Gia’s, pretty mouth but not as inviting as Gia’s, and on
and on. He thought of calling her but couldn’t think of a believable
reason for calling without raising a lot of questions.
He imagined she was methodically eating everything in the refrigerator, putting
empty cartons of ice cream, milk and jars of peanut butter back on his shelf as
though he would never notice their contents were gone. He knew he should
be feeling annoyed with her but more and more he found himself amused by her
antics. Each morning he’d sit at the table eating breakfast, lingering
in order to see what unusual collection of clothes she’d choose to wear that
day. He leaned back in the chair and indulged himself with the memory of
her lying curled up on the sofa, sleeping soundly through most of
“Casablanca” looking young and vulnerable and entirely too beautiful for his
peace of mind.
He checked his watch and wondered if she was home. He could call, he
thought, and ask if she’d run into Lucky or Emily while he was gone but that
wouldn’t fly. If he wanted news of his brother and his friends he could
call them directly. One by one, he considered and rejected each excuse to
call her until finally he had it. Sheba. He would feign concern at
not being able to get in touch with the stable and ask her if she’d seen
George take Sheba out for a ride that day.
He dialed the number quickly and leaned back in his chair propping his feet on
the desk. Absently, he closed the laptop and looked back out at the rain
as the phone rang in his home miles away.
“Hello,” came the answer after four rings.
“Gia? No, Emily? Is that you Emily?” he asked, surprised.
“Nikolas. I’m glad you called. We have a problem here and you
need to speak to Gia,” came the alarming response.
“What happened?” Nikolas asked. “Is she okay? Are you?
Is it Alexis? What did Helena do now?”
“Here, talk to Gia.”
A moment’s pause and Gia’s voice came on the line, soft and
uncharacteristically vague.
“Nikolas. Everything’s okay. Emily’s overreacting, that’s
all.”
“Overreacting to what?” He was sitting up now, his entire body tense and his
hands clenched. “What happened? Why is she there?” he added
knowing well enough that Emily would not be paying Gia a casual visit.
He heard her breathe deeply and take too long to answer him.
“Gia. Please tell me, I’m very worried here.”
“Someone broke into the house. He ran off when he heard Emily come to
the door. Nothing happened, it doesn’t look like he took anything and
we’re both fine.” She took another breath and continued, “I don’t
want to call my brother, please, try and convince Emily that I can’t do
that.” He heard the edge in her voice and thought, correctly, that she
was probably nearing hysteria.
“Let me have Emily again,” he told her, keeping his voice calm.
“It’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Emily was back on the line.
“Em, listen. Call Lucky. He’s not working tonight, I spoke to
him earlier. Try Liz first, he’s probably with her but I don’t know if
she’s working or at the studio. Tell him to get over to the cottage
right away and call me as soon as he gets there. I’m calling George
right now and he can be over there in minutes so sit tight until he gets
there.” He thought a moment and added, “Turn on all the lights and
stay downstairs; keep Gia with you. Get the Jag’s keys, Gia knows where
they are, and if you hear anything suspicious just press the blue button and the
car alarm will go off, then call the cops right away. Okay? Call
Lucky while I get in touch with George and I’ll call you again in a few
minutes. Emily, do you have all that?” He asked.
“Got it. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.” His friend hung up
and Nikolas wasted no time dialing the stable-hand’s number. The man had
been Stefan’s employee for over twenty years and as unquestionably loyal to
Nikolas and his uncle as they could hope. Nikolas spoke to George, his
instructions succinct, the authority in his voice unmistakable.
Once satisfied that George was on his way to the cottage, Nikolas hung up the
phone and began packing his belongings, giving Emily time to get in touch with
Lucky. He checked his ticket even though he knew his flight was for 9:30
the following morning then moved into the bathroom, threw his travel kit in the
bag and looked at his watch. Emily should be done with her calls by now,
he thought and dialed his home again.
“Hello.” Came the answer after two rings.
“Gia, are you okay?” Nikolas felt guilt and helplessness wash over him
like a wave at the sound of the girl’s voice. Helena was up to her nasty
tricks again and this time the target was someone completely undeserving of her
wrath. But, then again, was anyone deserving of Helena?
“Did Emily reach Lucky?” He asked.
“Yes, he’s on his way. His girlfriend, too, I guess. This is
really unnecessary, Nikolas, we’re making too big a deal of it. It was
just some creep who thought the house was empty and figured on an easy break-in
and was surprised. Nothing was taken,” she said again.
“I wouldn’t care if he took everything but the dust and cobwebs, as long as
you’re all right,” he said and realized how much he meant the words as he
spoke them. Damn, if anything happened to her, he’d choke Helena with
his own hands. “Look, I’m going to get on my way right now. I
doubt there’s a flight out tonight so I’ll have to hire a car. In the
meantime, wait until Lucky gets there and tell him to call me on my cel.
We’ll figure out what to do then. Is that George?” he asked as the
doorbell sounded in the background.
“Yes, it’s him. I’m all right, Nikolas really. This is all
getting out of control. And I don’t want you and Lucky getting all riled
up and coming up with one of your crazy plots. It was a burglar, that’s
all. We need an alarm system, that’s all” she added but her attempts
to sound casual fell flat. He wondered but didn’t ask why she didn’t
want to call the police or, at least, her brother. She didn’t know
enough about his grandmother to suspect her being behind this night’s events;
the logical response would’ve been to call the cops but she’d refused which
made him worry even more. Still, there wasn’t much good in his
questioning her over the phone now.
“Gia, I’m going now. I have to call the front desk and arrange for a
taxi. I’ll talk to you again when Lucky gets there and I’ll see you in
a few hours, okay?”
A pause, shorter this time, and then “Okay. I’ll see you later.”
Gia put the phone down and turned to Emily.
“Where did George go,” she asked.
“He’s checking the upstairs first,” Emily answered. “I’m going
to get something to drink while we wait for Lucky, do you want anything?”
“Water,” Gia said. “Water would be great, thank you.”
She sat on the sofa and considered her next move. There was no use for it
now, she’d have to tell them all why she’d refused the cops. The past
always catches up to you, she thought putting her head down in her hands and
realized she was still wearing Nikolas’ bathrobe.
As Emily returned from the kitchen, Gia bought herself some time with the excuse
of going upstairs to dress. She put on a pair of jeans and a baby-blue
beaded sweater, splashed cold water on her face in her bathroom and searched for
and found a pair of pink rag wool socks. She returned to the living room
and found Lucky and Liz already in the house talking to George; he’d go and
watch the house from outside but would check back inside on a regular schedule,
he said. With George gone, Emily, Lucky and Elizabeth came and sat in the
living room; Lucky dialed Nikolas’ cel phone number.
“Hi, Nikolas. I’m here,” Lucky said, still watching Gia.
“She’s okay, so’s Em. George is outside and he’ll keep on eye on
things out there. I have a feeling this is over with for tonight but we
won’t take any chances.” He paused as he listened to his brother
speak. “No, I don’t know yet but I’ll ask her when I hang up.”
Another pause. “Yes, she’s fine; she seems fine. We’ll stay
until you get here.” He looked to Elizabeth for confirmation and she
nodded. “Okay, we’ll see you then, bye.”
He put the phone down and returned his attention to Gia. Blue eyes met
hers with an uncompromising gaze as he asked, “Okay, Gia. Start from the
beginning and tell us exactly what happened from the time you got home until
Emily arrived.”
And Gia did so, leaving out the details of the rubber ducky, quickly filling
them in on the events of the evening.
“I don’t know who that man was,” she finished. “I have my
suspicions, though.”
“Who do you think it was,” Emily asked.
“I’ll start at the beginning,” Gia replied, her fingers toying absently
with the beads on her sweater. “It’s a long story, though, I warn
you.”
“We’ve got time,” Lucky answered.
“We’re all ears,” Liz added.
Chapter 5
Rubber
Ducky Main
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