[Whispering Woods 01.0] The Waiting Booth Page 13

  We were several blocks from the hotel when Em finally found her voice. “For crying out loud, are you out of your freaking mind?”

  “Do you think anybody saw me pull it?” I directed the question at Austin since he appeared calmer at the moment.

  “No, unless there is a surveillance camera showing the fire alarm box, which I doubt.”

  “Are you on drugs or just finally lost your mind?” Em continued.

  “Let’s get into one of the restaurants, and I’ll tell you everything,” I said. I glanced behind us one last time to be sure that I didn’t see anyone following.

  The city block housed at least a half dozen restaurants, the kind that post their menu in the window. We darted into the nearest one without looking to determine if we liked the food. Austin got us a table and I scooted into my seat, warily glancing around in my paranoid state.

  “Spill it, all of it.” Em had stopped looking shocked with that round “o” of a mouth, and now she just looked mad. Or scared.

  The waiter stood patiently, waiting for us to acknowledge him. He began handing out the menus and looked to me first as I was focused on him.

  I looked up. “I’d like a Coke, please.”

  “And what will you have, Miss?” he said to Em. She continued to stare at me with the determination of a dog fixated on his favorite bone. Without looking up, she said, “I’ll have a sweet tea.”

  Austin ordered a drink and a large order of nachos for us to share. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “I’m ready to hear the details myself.”

  Em caught the word “details” immediately. “So, you know something about all this? If my mother catches wind of this, I’m dead. And she’ll be calling your dad to let him know that his daughter is a delinquent troublemaker.” She put as much dramatic emphasis into the phrase “delinquent troublemaker” as possible.

  I looked at the faces of my best friends. You have to trust somebody in this world, right? That person used to be Pete. I had to protect my dad from this. After losing his wife and son, this tidbit might drive him off the deep end. If I couldn’t trust my best buds, I might as well give up and go with the crew cut twins.

  I just hoped they didn’t decide to lock me in a padded room after hearing the story.

  * * *

  Austin had leaned forward attentively and Em sat wide-eyed in awe of my details outlining the origins of Regulus and Arizona. The waiter had brought an enormous platter of nachos that slowly disappeared as I talked while Em and Austin ate. I left out some of the details like the appearance of Regulus and Arizona in my garage and the subsequent semi-kidnapping in my own home. And I made a split-second decision to leave out the part about me being some gifted portal detecting human. As if I even knew what that implied…

  I was amazed that they didn’t seem to question the dimensional portal like I imagined that they would have. Even though I knew that my story was the gospel truth, I wondered just how much the National Enquirer had desensitized them to out-of-this-world sightings.

  “I knew that those guys were freaks. No doubt in my mind,” Austin said while nodding his head as if it all made sense now.

  I just ignored Austin’s self-affirmation. “The point is, Pete is involved in this. But something went wrong today. People were after me. Or after Pete. And I’m not sure if they are IIA or not, but I have to assume. And I feel bad for Dr. Bleeker…and I don’t know if my own house will be safe when I get home.”

  Em looked thoughtful as she picked nachos with only her favorite ingredients off the plate. She looked up at me and spoke just barely above a whisper, “So, you’re sure that Pete was there today?”

  I knew that she was treading carefully here. She, of all people, knew how much I had to believe that I would see my brother again.

  “Yes,” I stated with no hesitation or doubt.

  “Why?” Austin was always the bolder of my two friends. He didn’t say it in a challenging or “prove it” manner, but he let me know that he needed to know.

  “I picked up a penny and a business card from the table,” I answered. “I’m not positive about the card, because right now it doesn’t mean anything to me, but I know he left the penny.”

  “Anybody could have stuck a penny there, Mia. They aren’t hard to come by,” he said in a let-her-down gently voice. “What does the penny mean? Why would Pete leave it?”

  “Pete and I always played hide-and-seek in the house when we were little. I could never find Pete. He was actually pretty good at hiding, and I was pretty bad at finding. Anyway, he would carry pennies in his pocket and leave a trail of pennies as hints for me to find him. I knew I was on the right track if I found a penny.”

  “You think the penny is to tell you that you’re on the right trail and he’s still hiding,” Em said with a sympathetic look on her face.

  That look just set me off. “Look, you guys, either you believe me or you don’t. I’m not crazy. Maybe both of you are crazy because you can doubt that Pete is out there, but you don’t hesitate to believe that travelers from another dimension are hanging out in my woods waiting to catch dimension criminals like Dr. Bleeker.”

  “We’ve never thought you were crazy.” Austin covered my hand with his.

  Em noticed immediately, and I drew my hand back from the table.

  Austin continued, “We need to know all the facts to help you figure this out.”

  “Mia, if you’re crazy then we’ll be crazy with you,” Em said, smiling. “That’s what best friends do. You’ve always been there for me.”

  Two years ago when Pete had disappeared, Em had been secretly diagnosed with anorexia. Secretly because Mrs. Peggy Sue didn’t want it to be public knowledge that her daughter had an eating disorder. Em’s dad knew and I knew. That’s it. Peggy Sue had a long talk with me about my responsibilities as a friend to watch over Em. I didn’t care what Mrs. Peggy Sue thought I should be doing. I knew that I didn’t want my friend to starve herself to death. I was there for Em because I was her best friend, not for her mother’s sake.

  “How do we go back to the hotel tonight now that some creepy guys are following me?” I summed up the situation, relieved that I had shared my burden.

  Austin pulled out his phone, punched numbers, and smiled as he held the phone to his ear, “Tiny, hey I got another favor… I know, I know, I owe you big time. What can be done about someone stalking my girl here?”

  I wasn’t thrilled about being called “his girl,” but I let it go.

  He hung up and turned to me. “Tiny says that the conference has security muscle, and we tell them that you’re being harassed. These guys don’t work for the hotel, and GameCon wouldn’t want the bad publicity of something happening to a teenage girl while here. We just have to do that when we get back, and you won’t be able to walk two feet without a bodyguard.”

  “Who is this Tiny, and who are you? It’s like you have these connections.”

  “Yeah, you need to meet Tiny. I know lots of people outside of Whispering Woods, ya know. You guys really need to broaden your horizons,” he said with a smirk.

  “I think I’ve broadened them all I can stand for this week,” I said in exasperation.

  Em’s phone rang, and she answered while mouthing to us that the caller was her mother. I watched my friend placate her mom. Em had learned how to manipulate her, which was a little sad. Actually, it made me appreciate the honest relationship that I had with my dad. That is, honest until last week.

  “My mom wants to take us to House of Blues to see live music. Dave Matthews is there, and she doesn’t want to go alone.”

  “Dave Matthews? Really?” Austin seemed amused.

  “You know who that is?” Em and I said almost in unison.

  “Um…yeah,” Austin said.

  “Don’t tell me that you and Peggy Sue listen to the same music. I’ll have officially entered the twilight zone.” I grinned.

  “Hold on, I didn’t say that he’s on my playlist. But since I’m fe
eling a little unsure about going back to the hotel right now, it might be a good thing. If you guys want to go to hear some tunes, I won’t leave you at the mercy of a wild and wicked Peggy Sue. Where’s your mom right now?” Austin asked Em.

  “She hasn’t gone back to the hotel yet so she has no idea about the fire alarm. How about I call and say we’ll meet her there?”

  “Let’s blow this joint. Call and tell her we’re on our way. Just be sure to tell her that she’ll have to behave herself,” Austin said as he signaled at the waiter that we needed our ticket. “No going cougar for Mrs. Peggy Sue, and Mia will have to stop herself from picking up any guys from another species.”

  “Oh, that was so not funny. Mrs. Peggy Sue going cougar…” I shivered.

  * * *

  Mrs. Peggy Sue waited impatiently for us in a line outside the club. She wore her colorful, oversize jewelry like a beacon to guide wayward teenagers. She would have been hard to miss.

  “Austin, dear, what took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you.”

  I looked at Emily to see if we were invisible. Mrs. Peggy Sue had been happily married, several times. She was on husband number four. I truly hoped the newest husband understood that Mrs. Peggy Sue loved men. All men.

  “We hit a little afternoon traffic. This isn’t Whispering Woods, you know.” Austin draped one arm around my back and the other around Em’s as if to pull us into the conversation.

  Mrs. Peggy Sue was smiling prettily at Austin. “You sure haven’t stopped growing, Austin,” she said as her eyes traveled from the top of his head down to his feet. “You are definitely filling out.”

  I glanced sideways at Austin. What was the woman talking about? Mrs. Peggy Sue wasn’t leering as much as appreciating. She just noticed things about men.

  “Mother…” Em muttered just loud enough for me to catch as her cheeks turned pink.

  “Hey, do we need to get our tickets?” I asked.

  “I’ve got them.” She waved them like a fan. “I called ahead after I hung up with Emily and reserved our tickets.”

  “Why are we in this line if we already have tickets?” I asked her.

  “This is the line to get in, hon.” Mrs. Peggy Sue pulled on my arm to situate me in the line behind her. The couple behind me gave me a dirty look. She saw it immediately and looked at the young man unflinchingly in the eyes. “They were supposed to be here earlier, but you know how kids are. Always running late. You two are sure a cute couple. Do you have children?”

  The man shifted uncomfortably and shook his head. He avoided looking at the pretty brunette beside him. I guessed that they were probably just on a date. And they probably wished that they weren’t in line behind Mrs. Peggy Sue.

  “I am so sorry.” Em looked apologetically at the couple. “We can go to the back of the line.”

  “No, that’s OK. We don’t mind,” said the brunette. “We wouldn’t want you to split up.”

  I looked to the end of the line that was growing longer by the minute. “Thanks, that’s…” I stopped in mid-sentence. At the end of a string of enthusiastic fans waiting to hear some live music from their favorite band stood Mr. Crew Cut. He stood with his arms folded looking like a bouncer at a rowdy event.

  Mr. Crew Cut nodded at me without breaking eye contact. Austin hugged my shoulders reassuringly. I understood that he had seen the same look of acknowledgement from the man.

  “That was for us, right?” Austin continued to stare at the man as if it were a contest to see who would look away first.

  “For me, Austin. This isn’t about you and Em.” I could hear Mrs. Peggy Sue’s voice droning in the background about the mall she had canvassed for bargains all day while we were at GameCon. Em was trapped in the conversation with her mom, but she glanced suspiciously from me to Austin, fully aware of the tension that sat like a cloud around us.

  Austin pulled out his phone and started talking while he stared at the man in an unwavering challenge. “Tiny, hey man. If I tell you the dude’s name, can you look up his profile on the registration list? Sure, yeah, I know, I know.” Austin jammed his cell phone back into his jeans pocket.

  The line was moving quicker now and we were within twenty feet of the man. He wasn’t taking his eyes off me. He had that military look, all hard lines seaming a face that hadn’t cracked a smile in this decade. I wondered how Austin was going to get his name.

  The man turned to fish out his cell phone and make a call. And then I saw it.

  Unbelievable. Mr. Crew Cut had forgotten to take off the nametag that was a requirement for admission into the GameCon rooms. Em, Austin, and I had removed ours as soon as we had started walking outside the convention center toward the restaurant.

  We would be close enough to touch the guy in minutes, and I still didn’t have a plan. If they could follow me this well, then I figured that I was out of luck.

  The man shoved his phone back in his jacket pocket and turned away. Within seconds, he slipped into the crowd outside House of Blues and vanished. Something had happened in that phone call, but I wasn’t sure what.

  “He went to the parking lot,” Austin whispered. “But I got his name.”

  “That was too weird. Why follow us all over the city and give up when we are right in front of him?” I tried to keep my voice low, but Mrs. Peggy Sue wouldn’t have heard anyway. She was busy chattering to the people in line behind. I gave the couple a consoling smile.

  “Maybe they don’t like rock music.” Em smiled weakly. “The other one left, too. I noticed another man fitting the description you gave during dinner. He had been hanging around staring at us from about twenty people back and now he’s gone.”

  I was impressed that Em had been so observant. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Em was the type who could survey a crowd then describe every person in it. She noticed things like clothes, hair color, and height. She made a heck of an eyewitness. Or a pretty good friend when you’re on the run from who knows what. It felt good to have friends watching my back. I stuck my hand in my right hip pocket and fingered the card and penny.

  * * *

  After spending the night at the hotel with Em’s mom, I was ready to leave. Peggy Sue acted like she was having the time of her life in her slumber party delusions. Maybe the woman lacked friends of her own, but I didn’t want to talk about dating and clothes. Please spare me if this is what having a mother was like, I thought.

  I had the evidence that I needed from GameCon. Pete was definitely sending me messages. However, Austin had arranged a meeting with Tiny before we were to head home.

  * * *

  “She isn’t wanted by the cops or anything,” Austin reassured Tiny for the third time. “But some guys are following her.”

  Tiny was a hulking giant wearing a knit toboggan hat and a hockey shirt. Red, curly hair peeked out from the edges of his cap and freckles smattered across his nose gave him the look of an innocent, oversize kid.

  “I don’t know what you’re getting me into, you moron,” He said while pacing furiously across the two-foot space at the end of his hotel room bed. “As soon as I used that name for a search in all my usual databases, my software detected a tail on my search. Do you know how improbable that is? That someone is monitoring my activity?”

  So much for first impressions. He pulled off his toboggan cap and ran his fingers through his curly mop, damp with perspiration. He stopped pacing and sat down, dwarfing the hotel’s desk chair and barely squeezing between the armrests. He replaced the black toboggan and took a deep breath.

  I looked at Austin, who for once looked unsure of himself, then met Tiny’s stare. “Listen, I’m in deep,” I said. “This isn’t something with the local authorities or anything like that. This is much bigger. This is sort of like Big Brother, if you know what I mean.”

  “Wow, you’re impressing me with your analytical acrobatics.” Tiny mocked me. “I’m good at what I do. If someone has hacked into my system, then it’s someone better than me. And that i
s hard to do.” He stated it as a fact rather than opinion.

  “We won’t ask you for help again. Sorry to get you into this.” I started to leave. Em, standing near the door, opened it.

  “Whoa, hold up.” Tiny rose from the chair. “You guys can’t cut me out now. I just didn’t know the level of what we were dealing with here. You should have prepared me. Next time, you gimme the lowdown.”

  I stopped and stared at Tiny. Austin, who had been following me out, nearly ran into me. The small room looked smaller with Tiny standing.

  “This isn’t fun and games. I appreciate your help with the flash mob thing and looking up that guy, but I don’t want to get you into any trouble.”

  “You underestimate my skills. Austin’s my friend, and if he says you need our help, then my investigative skills are at your service. I watch out for my bros. And I’d like to hear about why The Man is after you. You seem pretty harmless to me.”

  “Thanks, Tiny.” Austin shook his hand and bumped knuckles. Austin’s head didn’t even reach Tiny’s chin in height. It’s good that the hotel room had high ceilings.

  Em’s cell played the ring tone I recognized. Mrs. Peggy Sue was checking up on her. Again, for the third time since we had entered Tiny’s hotel room.

  “Helicopter mom again?” Tiny smirked.

  I raised my eyebrows at Austin since I had no clue what that meant. Austin waited till Em was talking to her mom and couldn’t hear. “It means she's a micromanager,” Austin whispered.