A Time of Shadows (Out of Time #8) (16 page)

Just inside he could see large chandeliers and bright TV screens with ads rotating in the background. After a few minutes, the guard returned with a tall thin man in waiter whites. He smiled a smile so oily Jack could smell the olives from three feet away.

“I am Alabaş,” he said, nodding his thanks to the guard, who returned to his post outside.

“We were sent here from Meşale. A man there said that you could help us,” Tess said.

Alabaş made no bones of eyeing Tess appreciatively. “I would love to help you.”

She didn’t flinch. “We’re here to see the Wizard.”

Alabaş didn’t take his eyes off her. “Good for you.”

Tess leaned down to catch his eyes and pry them off her cleavage. “Can you help us or not?”

The man sighed and then shrugged. “Of course.”

When he didn’t move, Jack got the hint and dug out more lira. It took another hundred before Alabaş moved. When they’d reached his magic number, he let Jack and Tess into the heart of the club.

They were led through the restaurant to the outdoor patio where the club proper was. The music was loud, and what Jack had learned was called techno-something. It made his head hurt.
 

Alabaş led them past one of the flanking two-story balconies that overlooked the large patio and the Bosphorus beyond. Brightly lit orange and yellow glowing cubes served as coffee tables for long modern L-shaped benches with random red pillows for those who wanted comfort over style. A rectangular bar sat at one end of the patio that was at least 100 square feet. It was early by club standards, and the place had yet to fill. Even so, over a hundred well-dressed people stood around trying to be seen. Mixed in with the locals with more money than sense and the wealthy tourists were what could only be described as chic thugs. Jack smiled as he walked past two men at the bar who were clearly muscle for some mob or another. No matter the decade, there was a dull, violent stench that men like that gave off, one that no amount of cheap cologne could cover.
 

Jack led Tess along behind Alabaş. They crossed over a walkway with pulsating light tiles to the far side of the open-air club to a table in the far corner. A large plastic walled partition protected it from the water and wind.

Alabaş told them to wait and then walked around the far side of the table and leaned down to whisper something. The man he spoke to smiled, his white teeth flashing between the blackness of his beard and mustache.
 

He nodded once, sending Alabaş away, and then spread his arms. “You have come to see the Wizard.”

“We hear he’s a whiz of a Wiz,” Jack said.

The Wizard laughed politely, briefly. “As you can imagine, I have heard such things before. Always amusing,” he added with a smile that was meant to make people at ease. Jack had learned the ones who made an obvious effort to do so were the ones to watch.

The three other people at the table didn’t pay them or their conversation any heed. They ate and drank as if Jack and Tess weren’t there.

The Wizard took a bite of a large shrimp, chewed quickly, wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and leaned back in his chair. Jack was struck by how much he looked like that beer guy from television—the Most Interesting Man in the World. He didn’t always rip off tourists, but when he did, he did it with style. And, judging from his demeanor, he probably thought so too.
 

“What is it I can do for you? Let me guess,” he said, holding up a hand. “An artifact from Atlantis, or do you want
Chashma-i-Kausar—Ambrosia,” he smiled again. “Perhaps to spice things up, hmm?”

He eyed Tess up and down in the same shameless way
Alabaş had. It was frustrating that Jack had to let it go but part of the game.

“Although, I must say, that if you need help to make love to such a beautiful woman, you are beyond my help, my friend.”

Jack grinned. “Not that.”

Tess smiled, not showing any discomfort at the conversation. “We’ve come to talk to you about Drasko Skavo.”

The warmth in his eyes faded, but only briefly. He was a master of control and manipulation. “I am not familiar with this person.”

“We have it on good authority that he came to see you.”

“You are mistaken.” There was no hiding the coolness in his voice this time. He drained what was left in his glass and raised his hand as if to signal a waiter. Two large men, who were leaning against the bar, now stood at attention. He smiled warmly again. “I am sorry I can be of no help.”

He took another bite from a large shrimp. “The food is very good, so your evening is not a total loss.”

Tess looked ready to argue the point, but Jack slipped an arm around her waist.
 

“Sorry to have bothered you. Our mistake.”

Tess glared at him as he smiled back as sweetly as he could and led her away.

“He knows Skavo,” she whispered under her breath.

“Yes, and he’s also not talking. There are two ways to deal with that. One, make them talk,” Jack said, smiling broadly at the two thugs who were making sure they were leaving. “Not recommended.”

“And two?” Tess asked.

“Get them to tell you what you need to know without knowing they have.”

“And we’re going to do that by—?”

He glanced over his shoulder and the two men were right behind them. “For now, leaving.”

He led her toward the front door.

“But we came in from over there.” She swiveled her head around toward the docks.
 

They walked down the front steps of the club as a line of patrons queued up to get in. The road was small, two lanes and there was little to no cover. On one side was the club and the other a steep sloping hill. They couldn’t wait here, and besides, they needed transport. Time for plan B.

He waved to one of the cabs parked in line waiting for people who needed rides back to the city. The two thugs stood at the top of the steps and watched them as Jack opened the door for Tess and then slid in after her.

The cab pulled away. “I don’t understand.”

Jack looked out of the car window. He watched the narrow path cut into the hill above them that ran roughly parallel with the main road. It would have to do, he thought. As they came upon another club, he told the driver to pull over. He paid and sent him along.

Tess frowned at him. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Jack jerked his head toward the parking lot. He walked through it until he saw what he was looking for. At the edge of the gravel drive were several motorcycles. The newer ones were out of the question, but thankfully there were a few older models. He just hoped things hadn’t changed too much since he’d done this last.

He pulled out his pocket knife and knelt down next to one of the bikes.
 

“Keep an eye out,” he told her.

Tess eyed the blade with suspicion. “What are you doing?”

“Getting us a ride.”

Quickly, he cut a short bit of wire about five inches long and stripped the ends. Then he moved to the second bike.

He followed the ignition wires down to the plastic connector. He pulled the two ends apart and then used the small bit of wire to bridge the ports. Listening carefully, he heard the tell-tale click and knew they were in business.

He stood and pressed the starter. The engine came to life. Tess turned back around impressed.

Jack swung his leg over and sat down on the seat.
 

Tess looked down at her dress and frowned. “Can you do that with a car?”

“We need to be maneuverable,” he said. “You can stay behind if you want.”

“Hell no,” Tess said and looked down at her dress again. “Give me that knife.”

He handed it to her and she sighed heavily, then sheared off most of the long flowing skirt and tossed it aside. He was impressed. She was game for anything, so far.

He grinned, shed his jacket and gave it to her. She took it gratefully, took off her heels and got on behind him. Holding her heels in one hand and Jack about the waist with the other, she pressed her head against his back.
 

“Next time you wear the dress.”

Jack chuckled, revved the engine and pulled away.
 

They drove back up the road past Club Reina until he found access to the path cut into the hill. “You’re going to want to hold on,” he warned her.

She wrapped both arms tightly around his middle. He tried to take it slowly, but it didn’t help much. Thankfully, the path, probably for goats or something, smoothed out fairly quickly. Before long, they came to the spot just above Club Reina and he pulled to a stop. Now, all they could do was wait.

As Jack had suspected, they didn’t have to wait long. Whatever Skavo was involved in, and however the Wizard was mixed up in it, it was high stakes and he wanted to protect his interest. Less than half an hour after they’d left, the Wizard and his bodyguards made their way down the steps and into a waiting limousine.

Jack fired up the bike and trailed after them keeping on the rough cut path so he could watch them from above. Without the headlight on it was treacherous enough, but it wasn’t long before he saw real trouble.

“Does this join up with the road?” Tess said in his ear.

He’d hoped so, but apparently not.

“Lean into me and hold on,” he said.

The path doubled back up the hill the wrong way. They weren’t that high above the road now, maybe fifteen feet. It was pretty steep and too damn rocky, but if they didn’t at least try, they’d lose him.

With a quick silent prayer, he swerved to the left and plunged down the hill. He felt a little like the Man from Snowy River as they nearly flew down to the street below. The back end kicked out and he barely managed to catch it and keep them from crashing. But he kept it steady, willing the tires to dig into the hard soil.

After a long ten seconds, the tires kicked the last bit of dirt up and hit tarmac with a lurching thud.

“Ow,” Tess mumbled behind him. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

He could just make out the limousine ahead of them as it wound down the hill and toward the city. They passed through several blocks where the streets were virtually empty. It was difficult to hide there, but with no headlight, they were as close to invisible as they could get. Jack lay back until they were back in traffic again. Making sure to keep a few cars between them, they tailed the limousine for less than ten minutes before it pulled up to an estate and waited for the automatic gates to open. The house was large and surrounded by a convincing perimeter fence.

Jack pulled in behind some bushes and they watched the limo disappear into the grounds.

“Welcome to Oz,” Jack said as he got off the bike. He helped Tess off and she winced a little.

“Yeah, well, that was no Yellow Brick Road, I’ll tell ya. What do we do now?” Tess asked. She stretched out the kinks and rubbed her backside.
 
“And don’t say wait.”

Jack gestured to a soft little spot in the bushes. “We wait.”

S
IMON
DIDN
’
T
LIKE
THIS
. Of course, he didn’t like much of anything these last few days, but this was tempting fate somehow. The clue they’d found at Gettysburg was deceptively simple.

W76

Where Mary went.

Both he and Elizabeth knew instantly what it meant. And it sent a shiver down his spine. He’d put on a calm face, of course, but inside he was roiling with emotion.

The last place on earth he wanted to take his child was the very place they were going. Memories of little Mary Stewart, not much younger than their Charlotte when she died, had never been far from his mind. The pain and loss he’d seen in Rose Stewart’s eyes were something he would never forget—losing a child.
 

Before, he couldn’t imagine how a parent would survive such a thing, but it was always in that vague, proper murmuring of condolences way that the uninitiated had. Now that he’d met Charlotte, fallen irrevocably in love with her, he could imagine it vividly, and it terrified him.

Instinctively he looked into his rearview mirror to reassure himself that Charlotte was there and safe. But for how long, a traitorous voice whispered. Not only had their mission been one of helping a dead child, but it was here, in Natchez, that old Nan, the blind slave woman, had seen through the veils of time and told them that their future child would die.

Now, here he was, bringing her to that very place.
 

The moment they passed the Welcome to Natchez sign a cold fist had gripped his heart and not let go. Glancing at Elizabeth in the seat next to him as she tugged nervously at her fingers, he knew she felt the exact same way.

Simon hadn’t realized how quiet the car had become until Charlotte broke the silence.

“Is something wrong?”
 

In the rearview mirror he saw her worried expression.

“Did I do something?”

Elizabeth turned around in her seat. “No, not at all.” Her glance slid over to Simon for a moment then back to Charlotte. “It’s just that there are a lot of memories here.”

Charlotte nodded. “Mom and Dad don’t talk about it much.” She looked out as the oaks and maples passed by the car window. “Is it because of the little girl?”

“In part,” Simon said, hoping she’d leave it at that.

“But you saved her,” Charlotte said. “Saved her soul, I mean. That’s what counts, right?”

Simon nodded and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. Just before the Civil War, little Mary Stewart had been murdered, and their mission had been to help her find peace. They had. They’d unmasked the murderer and dug up long buried family secrets. In the process of helping the child rest, they’d found a ghost of their own. A ghost of what was yet to be, and it haunted them as intensely as any specter could.
 

And with that thought, the fist in his chest tightened a little more.

They drove along the same road from town they’d previously traveled in a carriage and found little had changed. Natchez had preserved its heritage, and most of the farmland remained undeveloped. Several motels and newer homes dotted the meadows, but a few of the great plantations remained, physical and emotional testaments and scars of an earlier time.