Misplaced (57 page)

“
V
ictoria!”

She turned to see Khara racing to
w
ard her. Bea
w
as a good distance behind,
w
aving her arms wildly. Realizing how close she
w
as to the edge,
V
ictoria took se
v
eral steps back
w
ard.

Khar
a
thre
w
he
r
arm
s
aroun
d
her
,
huggin
g
he
r
tightly.
“Com
e
a
w
ay
,
sister,
”
sh
e
urged
,
th
e
ach
e
i
n
he
r
voic
e
filling
V
ictoria with guilt. “Bea’s been worried. She said you’
v
e ne
v
er sounded so low.”

“Th
e
ma
n
who’
s
bee
n
followin
g
us
?
H
e
know
s
m
y
uncle.
They
’
re partners,”
V
ictoria blurted.

It
w
as only after she
’
d dulled the pain with another frozen drink
that
she
spilled
the
story
about
Mieley. Astonished,
Bea declared,
“
Y
our
uncle
would
die
before
he
’
d
let
any
harm
come to you. Why would you belie
v
e a stranger?”

V
ictori
a
hun
g
he
r
head
.
“I’
v
e
gon
e
o
v
e
r
i
t a
doze
n
times; there’
s
n
o
othe
r
explanation
.
Th
e
onl
y
on
e
wh
o
kne
w
about
Khara—especially about her bracelets—
w
as Elias.”

“It’s not possible,” Khara agreed. Bea told
V
ictoria, “Until you can look him in the e
y
es and ask, you won’t know for sure.”

“E
v
en
then,”
Khara
added
with
a
noticeable
sadness,
“you
may ne
v
er ha
v
e the ans
w
ers you seek.”

V
ictori
a
stare
d
a
t
he
r
empt
y
glass
.
“
I
can’t
.
No
t
y
et
.
And
tomorrow, I’m supposed to hand that man your bracelet.”

“Th
e
ol
d
V
ictori
a
woul
d
sa
y
thing
s
ar
e
jus
t
startin
g
t
o
get
interesting,” Bea teased, poking her in the arm.

“This invol
v
es family.
And Khara,” she ans
w
ered sadly.

“
Y
o
u
tw
o
shoul
d
ge
t
ou
t
o
f
sigh
t
an
d
sta
y
tha
t
w
a
y
fo
r
a
few
days.”

“How do you propose
w
e do that?”
Be
a
sho
t
he
r
a
conspirin
g
look
.
“
Y
o
u
remembe
r
m
y
aunt,
don’t you?”

“The crazy hermit who collects cats?”
W
ithi
n
a
fe
w
minutes
,
Be
a
ha
d
finalize
d
th
e
detail
s
while
forcin
g
V
ictori
a
an
d
Khar
a
t
o
shar
e
a
plat
e
o
f
shredde
d
bee
f
flautas.

Chapte
r
Twenty-Six
Vic
t
oria

B
e
a’
s
pla
n
w
a
s
simple
;
dri
v
e
nort
h
t
o a
remot
e
Ne
w
Mexica
n
tow
n
hig
h
i
n
th
e
mountains
.
There
,
the
y
woul
d
b
e
safe
with Bea’s
A
unt Celeste.

“
I
stil
l
don’
t
fee
l
righ
t
abou
t
takin
g
you
r
car,
”
V
ictoria
insisted.

“D
o
yo
u
ha
v
e
a
bette
r
plan
?
An
d
ar
e
yo
u
certai
n
tha
t
all
he
w
ants is the bracelet? Don’t mess around with this,
V
icky. And for god’s sake, don’t be foolish enough to go back to your
apartment
.
Duncan’
s
no
t
du
e
bac
k
fo
r
nin
e
mor
e
days
;
until
then,
I
ha
v
e
his
SUV.
I
’
ll
let
A
unt
Celeste
know
you
’
re
on
your
w
ay.
Y
ou
’
ll ha
v
e some time to think things through.”

“What about Khara’s passport?
And our money?”

“On
e
thin
g
a
t
a
time
,
woman
!
No
w
gi
v
e
m
e
you
r
keys—
apartment,
car,
office—all
of
them.
And
hand
o
v
er
that
damn
cell phone.”

“I might need—”

“Wha
t
yo
u
nee
d
i
s
t
o
b
e
les
s
accessible
.
Com
e
on,
”
Bea
coaxed. “
Y
ou know I’m right.”

“What about Dante?”

“Cat
s
loo
k
afte
r
themsel
v
es,
”
Then
,
exasperated
,
sh
e
acquiesced
.
“Oh
,
al
l
right
,
I
’
l
l
mak
e
sur
e
he
gets fed.”

Be
a
w
aite
d
whil
e
mos
t
o
f
th
e
content
s
o
f
V
ictoria’
s
purse
w
er
e
reluctantl
y
gi
v
e
n
up
.
Th
e
key
s
w
er
e
on
e
thing
,
bu
t
V
ictoria
balked at giving up her cell phone.

“Hand it o
v
er,” Bea insisted.

“No.”

“Y
ou
’
ll be sorry.”

“I already am.”

A
n
hou
r
later
,
the
y
entere
d
th
e
stretc
h
o
f
deser
t
the
Spaniard
s
ha
d
notoriousl
y
referre
d
t
o
a
s
E
l
Malpais
.
Approaching
headlights
became
scarce
and
then
disappeared
altogether
.
T
umble
w
eeds
,
som
e
fou
r
fee
t
i
n
diameter
,
danced
across
the
high
w
ay.
When
one
blew
across
the
hood
of
the
car,
Khar
a
cringed
.
Th
e
sk
y
fade
d
int
o
a
drear
y
grey
,
an
d
a
deceitful
win
d
woul
d
appea
r
fro
m
th
e
stil
l
landscap
e
t
o
pus
h
th
e
car
from
side
to
side.
Darkness
loomed,
and
V
ictoria
gripped
the
steering
wheel
more
firmly.
On
this
stretch
of
high
w
ay,
a
lightly—
gras
ped
whee
l
coul
d
cos
t
yo
u
you
r
life
.
I
t
w
a
s
ba
d
country
,
all
right.

A
lon
e
y
ello
w
roa
d
sig
n
caugh
t
Khara’
s
attention
.
“What
does it say?”

“‘
W
elcome to the Land of Enchantment.
’
”

“Why is it enchanted?”

“Mysterious things ha
v
e al
w
ays happened in these parts.”

“What mysterious things?”

“W
ell
,
let’
s
star
t
wit
h
th
e
Anasazi
.
A
thousan
d
y
ear
s
ago,
the
y
buil
t
amazin
g
complexe
s
withi
n
th
e
canyo
n
w
alls
,
aligning
them
with
solar
and
lunar
paths.
They
flourished
for
hundreds
o
f
y
ear
s
an
d
the
n
seeme
d
t
o
ha
v
e
disappeare
d
withou
t
a
trace
.
No
t
o
v
e
r
a
perio
d
o
f
time
,
min
d
you
;
al
l
a
t
once
.
They
v
anished.”

“How?”

“Th
e
Hopi
,
anothe
r
nati
v
e
people
,
sa
y
a
dar
k
energ
y
took
the
m
a
w
ay
.
E
v
e
n
th
e
nam
e
o
f
th
e
trib
e
remain
s
a
mystery
.
‘
Anasazi’
just
means
‘ancient
ones.’
The
name
of
the
tribe
has
been lost.”

“I did not know you
w
ere such a student of history.”

“Elias
al
w
ays
hoped
I
’
d
be
interested
in
archaeology.
E
v
ery
Easter
holiday,
w
e
’
d
go
to
Chaco
Canyon
and
hunt
for
pottery
shards, but I ne
v
er took to it.”

V
ictoria
hesitated
a
moment.
“
And
then
of
course,
there’s
Ros
w
ell.”
She
studied
the
approaching
night—a
perfect
one
for
storytelling
.
“Som
e
sa
y
it’
s
nothin
g
mor
e
tha
n
a
n
elaborat
e
ruse
about
aliens
crashing
a
spacecraft
into
the
middle
of
the
desert,
but
there
are
those
who
s
w
ear
that
beings
from
another
planet
landed here. Not enough hard evidence for me, though.”