Tearing The Shroud (32 page)

‘I think I’ll be okay.’ She lifted her chin.

They climbed steadily along familiar streets and stopped at a traffic light near their school. Vinni flipped on the windshield wipers.

‘Why is he going to the college?’ Jule asked.

‘Maybe he changed his mind,’ Vincent said.

‘Or the guys need something.’

The car cruised up the hill toward the campus gate but turned before entering and followed the street skirting the university. Several turns later, they entered a short cul-de-sac lined with custom homes, rebuilt over the last eighty years into an eclectic mix of styles.

At the end of the street, a garage door rolled up, and Mr Brown parked. Vincent pulled into the driveway behind him. It was a sand-colored adobe home with a red tiled roof. A tall thick wall covered the front, creating an enclosed courtyard. Though a common feature for the style of home, it worked particularly well with this one, as it completely blocked headlights from the street. The door in the wall was solid metal with ornate designs on the surface.

Déjà vu struck him and he gripped the wheel, as the world spun.

a flash of loneliness joined the mix.

Jule patted his hand. He looked over and blinked, bringing her into focus. ‘Sorry, I was having a Vinni moment.’

‘I thought I’d wake you up.’ She smiled.

Mr Brown waved from the garage. ‘Vinni, pull your car inside; there’s plenty of room.’

He parked and came around to open Jule’s door.

‘I’ve never seen a four-car garage,’ Flea said.

‘Then you need to see more garages,’ Mr Brown said. ‘I’ll take you to see my car collection.’

‘A car collection?’ Knife asked.

Mr Brown just smiled. ‘Into the house we go.’

They entered through a laundry room with a deep sink, shelves and a closet. Another door let them into an area that opened onto the kitchen ahead or a hallway to the left.

Other than being together, will this be any safer than the dorm?

Vinni’s mind raced as Coleman’s knowledge of tactics and battle looked for advantages.

He looked down the hall.

Jule asked, ‘Is this place yours?’

Mr Brown nodded. ‘It is.’

‘Do you live here?’ Flea asked.

‘No, it’s a luxury vacation rental. Investments my boy — ’

‘Investments,’ they all said.

He marched down the hall toward the entryway. ‘On with the tour. It’s amazing what a wealthy family will pay while on vacation, especially when they see this.’ Mr Brown extended his arm dramatically like a circus ringmaster. A panoramic vista of the sky, ocean, and the land leading to it met their eyes. Floor to ceiling windows covered the west side of the home, displaying Sunset Cliffs on the south, stretching northward to the La Jolla Mesa. The huge earth-toned room contained a dining area, living room, and family room. A flagstone fireplace flanked by an entertainment unit made up the south wall while bookcases lined the left with hundreds of volumes. Comfortable chairs and couches created areas for reading, enjoying the views, or snuggling near the fireplace. A granite bar separated the kitchen from the main room, and area rugs accented the Spanish-tiled floors. Vinni wandered into the kitchen as the gang spread out.

‘This place is amazing,’ Flea said. Vinni heard him plop onto a couch.

‘Electric rolling blinds,’ Knife said.

‘Mr Brown, this is very cool,’ Vinni called to him.

‘Ah, I’m glad you approve.’ he said as he walked over.

Vinni stood at the counter facing the living room. ‘I’ve always wanted something like this.’

‘What? Lemme see.’ Jule hopped over and stood at the bar.

‘See, the stovetop is here so I can cook and talk to people in the other room. Usually the cook is stuck facing a wall.’

‘Soooo.’ Jule sat in a tall chair. ‘I could sit and chat with you while you make me dinner.’

‘Yep.’ He grinned.

‘You cook?’ she asked.

‘I dabble.’

‘That settles it; wanna marry me?’ She winked at him.

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Mr Brown can do the honors.’

‘Actually, I
am
licensed for such things,’ Mr Brown said.

Jule and Vinni blushed in unison, laughing nervously.

‘Let’s get the evil-set-to-destroy-mankind difficulty out of the way first, shall we?’ Mr Brown waved his pipe.

‘I can’t be best man?’ Knife said as he walked up.

‘I had my maid of honor dress all picked out,’ Flea said.

Jule and Vinni blushed further, and Mr Brown came to their rescue. ‘Let’s continue to the other rooms.’

‘Good thinking,’ Jule said quickly.

‘Sounds great,’ Vinni agreed simultaneously.

‘Man I love this view,’ Knife said as he walked to the windows.

‘It grabs renters every time.’ Mr Brown waved his pipe. ‘Come, come.’ He pointed it at a set of double doors beyond the entry. ‘The front doors, of course. Do you train in some manner, Vinni?’

‘Yes, but only once since arriving.’

‘Well, the courtyard is suitable for that, weather permitting. If not, the garage should suffice.’

‘Cool, I don’t need much space.’

He opened a small closet on the left and indicated a panel, which they each peeked in to see. ‘This is an alarm control. I disabled it earlier, but the code is 0329.’ He indicated a room in the left. ‘The theater is here.’

‘There’s a theater?’ Jule asked.

Mr Brown smiled and turned on the lights in the darkened room. He gestured to an ornate stand. ‘There’s a VCR here and a screen mounted in the opposite wall.’ Eight reclining seats had a clear view of it.

Vinni walked to the odd windows. The glass was about two inches wide, and several feet tall, revealing the front courtyard.

‘Those let in enough light to make the room enjoyable. The curtains at the corners cover them if you’re watching a show.’

They nodded, and Knife grinned. ‘I like this place.’

Mr Brown walked back into the hall. ‘The bathroom is on the left and an office on the right.’ He indicated the glass walled room. ‘It’s quite ordinary.’

‘No bat phone?’ Flea sighed loudly.

‘There’s no need; your hero lives with you.’ Mr Brown grinned.

‘Yeah, if we can keep him from passing out,’ Knife said with a snicker.

‘The bedrooms are downstairs.’ Mr Brown turned right at the end of the hall.

‘Oh neat.’ Jule said. A short hallway lined with cabinets led to an enclosed circular staircase.

Mr Brown’s voice came from below. ‘Another selling point. People seem to love these, they remind them of castles in Europe.’

‘But over there they were a defensive structure,’ Knife said.

‘And here they are merely decorative.’ Mr Brown nodded.

Flea asked, ‘Defensive?’

Knife nodded. ‘They built them so the spiral matched the defenders sword arm and the Scots made some steps odd to trip up attackers.’

‘High marks for you, sir.’ Mr Brown made a check mark with the pipe.

Jule smiled. ‘Cool.’

‘You learn something new every day.’ Knife looked pointedly at the group. ‘Except for recently. Now it’s like, every minute.’

Vinni clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Too true, bud.’

Maybe there’s an escape route?

A hallway ran the length of the building. ‘The four bedrooms are on the left, each with its own facilities. The last one is the master suite, reserved for Jule.’ He walked past them, waving his pipe. ‘I’ll explain things at the end of the hall.’ Each had a king-size bed with posted frames. Mr Brown stopped near the master suite. ‘There is another alarm panel in the here. You can set the code before retiring. Should someone break in, the company will contact you by phone. Simple enough?’

He indicated the locks on the door. ‘Jule, you are free to seal yourself away from these over-hormoned young men.’

She lowered her eyelids impishly. ‘Or, I could seal one in
with
me.’

‘Well, errm, yes, ah, I suppose you could.’

‘Look at you, Jule,’ Flea said. ‘You flustered Mr Brown.’

‘Don’t worry, Mr Brown, I’ll take good care of the boys,’ she said.

‘Good, yes, ahh, let’s proceed.’

They turned into the suite, and Jule gave a gasp of delight that made Vinni smile.

To the left, beyond a love seat, sat an ornate canopied bed festooned with burgundy coverings. Intricately woven Turkish rugs covered the floor, and the glass wall displayed the ocean view. Thick blackout curtains promised to darken the room. To the right, vanities lined the bathroom entrance, and a door to a walk-in closet the size of their dorm room opened in the wall. An open shower large enough for several people stood at the end of the room, with an outside wall of frosted glass.

She turned in a circle, her mouth agape. ‘Sorry, Vinni, forget the proposal upstairs; I’m marrying Mr Brown.’

‘Heck,’ Flea said, ‘
I
wanna marry him.’ They laughed and looked around bright-eyed.

Mr Brown strolled to the door. ‘Shall we?’

‘You mean there’s more?’ Flea asked.

‘Nothing too fancy,’ Mr Brown said. He opened a door across the hall and turned on the light. ‘In here we have a sauna.’ Cedar lined every surface, making the walls, built-in benches, and backrests blend into pleasant intersecting lines.

‘Wow,’ Jule spoke for them all.

Mr Brown said, ‘I hope you’ll enjoy your time here, but please don’t get lost in the glamour of the place. I’m offering this because I wish to assist you in your endeavor.’ He caught their eyes and waited for a nod of understanding. ‘I trust that you’ll be safe when on campus, but none of this does any good if you cannot get there securely. Please be sure to travel together, preferably by car.’

‘What, there’s no secret tunnel?’ Flea asked.

Mr Brown waved his pipe. ‘I believe those were all closed up after World War Two.’

‘Wait...what?’ Knife asked.

‘There were indeed tunnels under the school and other parts of the area. The military used them during World War Two.’

Knife said. ‘A secret entrance would have come in handy.’

Vinni’s breath caught in his throat.

Mr Brown laughed. ‘Indeed. But you’ll just have to make do.’

Jule looked back into the lavish suite. ‘Yeah. I think I can
put up
with this.’

Chapter 27

The Steps at Sunset

The next day, Jule sat at a table on the patio south of the cafeteria, a myriad of things rushing through her mind. She tried making a list of pros and cons, but it didn’t help. One item kept trumping the rest.

He loves me.

Even with everything he’s going through.

Would he still feel the same if he knew her past? Jule was comfortable with how she lived her life and the choices she made, but she’d learned that male egos are fragile. Even guys who claimed to be ‘cool with whatever’ soon left after discussing past relationships.

Their loss.

She shook her head.

Vincent was special and obviously made of strong stuff.
I hope he can handle it...I hope he can handle me.
As she glanced up, she saw a pay phone.

‘Hello, Reave residence.’

‘I have a collect call from Ms Julie Reave. Will you accept?’

‘Yes, of course,’ Jule’s mom replied.

‘Hi, Mom.’

‘Hi, Honey, is everything all right?’

‘Yes, I didn’t have change with me and wanted to chat.’

‘Well, I’m glad you called.’

They talked about the required things: classes, homework, term papers, the new computer lab, Mom’s tennis, Dad’s racing. The whole time Jule tried to think of a way to bring up the real subject. It wasn’t like she could say, ‘Hey, Mom, I called because I think I’m in love with a guy who’s possessed and I’m starting to wonder which one I’m attracted to. Any advice?’ She realized the line was quiet.

‘Mom, you there?’

‘Yes, I asked if anything was new.’

‘Actually, I am seeing a guy.’

‘Oh, that’s nice.’

‘No, I mean, I really like him.’

‘Well, good. You’ve always dated...vigorously.’

Jule knew her mom was being supportive about the string of guys she had been involved with.

‘I think this one is special.’

‘How so?’

‘I think I might — ’ She saw Vinni walking up the stairs and her heart fluttered. ‘Mom, I’m sorry I have to go. He’s coming. I’ll call you.’

Her mother laughed at Jule’s excitement. ‘Okay, dear. Oh, Julie, what’s his name?’

‘Vincent.’

‘Good bye, Honey.’

‘Bye Mom.’

Jule looked at the list, tore it up, and threw it in a nearby trashcan. The pieces fluttered away,
hopefully like her doubts would
, and she hurried to the terraced steps. Vinni trotted up them and slowed as he approached her. She smiled, and sat, patting the stair next to her.

‘How was your Health and Fitness class?’ she asked.

Vincent smiled. ‘Too easy,’ he said as he sat.

‘I bet.’ She took a breath and fiddled with a loose string on her pants. Her heart felt like it might jump from her chest. ‘Vinni, I need to talk to you about something.’

‘Sure, what’s up?’

She glanced at him. ‘With all this...stuff...I think it’s even more important that we’re open and honest.’

He quieted, apparently picking up on her vibe. ‘I agree,’ he said softly. He waited while she played with the string again.

She swallowed the butterflies trying to escape her stomach. ‘Vincent, I loved you before the Joining.’ She looked over. He sat wide-eyed and unmoving, like a rabbit in the headlights of an approaching car. ‘I still do love Vincent, I think.’ She set her hand on his leg, as he blew out a long breath.

‘I love you too, Jule.’ He put his hand on hers.

‘But...’ she said.

‘I don’t like buts.’

‘You seem to like mine.’ She tittered nervously.

He didn’t answer, running his thumb over the back of her hand, giving her time to finish. Had he done that particular thing
before
Coleman? She couldn’t remember.