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| IMPOSTER BY MARIQUA |
CHAPTER 28 |
A strange rustling, flapping noise stirred his consciousness and Todd's eyes flickered open to stare up into nothingness. His right arm felt as if a long needle was twisting in and out of his flesh and with a loud groan, he attempted to move it. Landing the way that he had, he was sure that he had broken something. With a sharp intake of breath, he slowly moved the damaged arm and hunching forward, raised his body up slightly. At least my back isn't broken! Other sensations of pain pierced through him with his efforts to rise. He knew that he must have numerous open gashes and torn skin from hitting the pointed surface of the rocks. I'm probably bleeding all over...but I'm still alive! Wasn't this kind of like one of those times at his highschool football games when he got clobbered by several bulldog-like tackles? He tried to reassure himself that his body had been through worse. This is nothing compared to Ireland.
The flapping noise coming from somewhere overhead in the dark stopped his thoughts of his condition. Bats! What else could it be? The idea of these creatures hovering over him was somehow more loathsome than the fact that he was stranded and crippled in the cave. Along with this noise was another one -- a kind of dripping which seemed to be everywhere and which he couldn't pinpoint. Water! Maybe I can get to some...but now I can barely move. The intense physical discomfort infusing his limbs refused to abate. I can just see you now, Delgado...clucking at me like a Mother Hen and fussing over me. God! That would be so good to hear now!
Sam stole a look back at Viki to see her reaction to his statement. It wasn't the subject that was so shocking as to why he had told her. This was a very private memory from his past which he had shared with no one. Maybe it was because it had been his first marriage, or that he had been such a fool, but either way, he had been distrustful of opening up his soul to someone else about it -- particularly to a woman. He noted that her glittering blue eyes had not given the slightest hint of anything but a genuine interest in all he was saying.
"That's it...well, most of it. The epilogue to that story of love and betrayal isn't very entertaining -- a quick divorce and on to a new life."
Tilting her head just a fraction of an inch, Viki looked steadily at him and spoke quietly, "Our pasts make us who we are today, Sam."
Sam stared down into his drink and realized that her words had acted like a balm to his disquieted spirit. He hadn't gone this far back in his memory for years, but talking about it again seemed perfectly natural with her. This is a woman who understands pain...there's nothing shallow about Viki Carpenter.
Tea almost jumped with the noise of a loud knock on the front door of the penthouse. She had been sitting on the sofa -- her legs tucked up underneath her and hugging a large pillow to her chest. It was the pillow she had tossed to Todd the night that Todd had mysteriously disappeared and the beginning of the debacle marked by a young woman's murder. Sometimes in her thoughts she went back to that night and wondered what would have happened if she had not fallen into a deep sleep. He had pulled her to him and kissed her as if he meant to break down the barrier of distrust still lurking between them.
"Coming!" Tea called out and wished for one brief moment that the person on the other side of the door was her husband who had just forgotten his key.
She opened up the door to look at the imposing presence of her brother, Del -- his large shape towering over her and his smooth face broadening with a huge smile. In one quick movement, his large arms moved in and enclosed her small frame -- hugging her to with with brotherly fervor.
"Te..a! I've missed you!"
Tea felt the crushing weight of his body against hers and a sense of relief settled within her. Del is here! He'll help me!
"Del!" she exclaimed with pleasure at seeing him after such a long time and believing in her heart that her big brother was the answer to her problem. She hugged him back -- squeezing his arms in admiration.
"You've been working out again, haven't you?" she said teasingly as he slowly released her.
"I never stopped!" he grinned and looked past her welcoming face and into her eyes to see what was going on with her. She looks different...something has changed. I'm going to find out once and for all what really happened to her when she was held hostage by that sorry bastard husband of hers.
"You're all right, then?" he said, searching her face some more.
"What kind of FBI man would you be if you didn't know the answer to that, Del!" she said in a feisty manner -- knowing that her brother's question had not been necessary for him to ask.
Del commandingly led her to the sofa and pulled off the heavy field jacket he was wearing -- slinging it haphazardly over one of the living room chairs.
"You're right about that, chiquita. I was aware of everything going on. We were working with Sykes on this one."
"Really, Del!" she said dryly. "I doubt you were working with John Sykes at all!"
"You have a point," he responded with a slight bit of humor appearing in his deep voice.
"John wants me to come down to the station tomorrow and make a statement," she said matter-of-factly, "but I may delay that." She swallowed -- preparing herself for her what she would say next and remembering her original purpose in calling him.
"I need your help, Del -- desperately!"
"Anything...you know that, Tea!" He paused and his large, vibrant eyes suddenly hardened with awareness. "Anything but help that loser husband of yours."
"Then you don't want to help me, Del, because Todd and I are one...one!" she snapped back this last statement in Spanish with fiery indignation at his remark.
"What the hell did you expect me to say, Tea? I've just come off a manhunt for a man who abducted you by force and dragged you to some cabin in the woods where you could have been raped or killed...or both...and you want me to help him?" Del boomed in a thunderous voice back to her. "The man is loco!"
Biting her lower lip, Tea fought back tears of frustration at his words and the ring of truth in them. "I'm not going to defend that, Del...that was not the man I married. It was a side of him..but not him."
"Oh, yes! The alters! I know all about that, Tea," he said with a voice rich with sarcasm, "and your love for this multi-faceted creature has blinded you to everything! He's a fake and a fraud -- a user of women. You were duped, chiquita. He's as clever as they come."
"I was there, Del!" she retorted haughtily, "you were not! I saw what was happening to him, and there could be no mistaking that he had that disorder."
"Then he's an even greater menace to society, isn't he? He needs to get help..but Tea, you're missing something. Todd isn't here."
"You know where he is? Tell me, Del! If he's been picked up..." Del saw her questioning eyes staring at him -- so startingly intense and capable of flooding with tears in an instant. What do I tell her?
Todd opened his eyes and realized that he must have lapsed into unconsciousness again. This is no time to sleep, Manning! You've got to get out of here before it's too late. Pulling himself up to a sitting position, he gritted his teeth as the pain assumed control of him again. It's just pain...use it...go with it Remember Ireland and four bullets lodged inside you! His left arm anchored against the surface where he had fallen to give himself a push up. Shuddering with this exertion, he stood precariously on the ground and tried to get his bearings. Sounds were the only indication of where he was, so he decided to use them. He would follow the invisible trail of the water dripping.
As his feet moved awkwardly in the direction of the sound, he stopped suddenly and crouched down with a gasp as the original flapping of wings he had heard nose-dived close to his head. Pesky little suckers! All I need is for one of them to bite me! No telling what kind of diseases they carry! The flapping ceased and he rose up to start walking again -- holding his injured arm in a locked position against his chest. The smell of underground water seeped into his nostrils as he inched his way toward it.
"Sam," Viki interruped his thoughts and casting a look at her watch, downed the last drop of Scotch in her glass. "I've got to be going...I didn't realize the time..." she said all this deliberately in order to save him from delving too much into painful memories. With feigned haste, she handed him the empty glass but kept the book with her. He followed her to the door in something of a daze and searchingly looked at her as she stood at the threshold.
"Viki, I...I don't know why I..." he faltered -- his soft eyes betraying something else which she picked up on immediately, creating a tension between them which was both confusing and electrifying. Some instinct within her caused her to touch his arm lightly and her eyes locked into his -- this time letting him see straight into her soul.
"It's...okay, Sam."
"Viki!" he said urgently as if he were afraid that she would disappear forever. "I'll call you."
It didn't matter what he said; the message was clearer to her than if he had asked her right there if he could see her again. She didn't even bother nodding, but her eyes shone with an innate knowledge that she had somehow become important to this man. The carefully constructed layers of protection from hurt which had guarded her for so long seemed to dissolve with the sound of his voice.
"Good night, Sam," she said simply and turning away, she sensed his stare behind her which made her quicken her steps as she walked to the car. Oh my God! What a night! This isn't real, is it?
Del shifted uneasily in the cushions of the sofa as he felt the pressure of Tea's questions. She doesn't know, of course. How could she? The official word is that he's a prisoner of those caves and is a dead man. How do I tell her that? She's strong, but she loves this Manning like no other man in her life. She had to be told though. She will find out soon enough.
"Tea, there's something you need to know," Del began but she automatically stood straight up from the sofa and stared down at him in a challenging way. "Whatever you have to say, Del..."
"He's not going to be coming back, Tea," Del finished -- waiting expectantly for her to collapse in grief. "He's in a cave somewhere deep in one of those mountains. He's not expected to survive. He may already be dead."
The deepness of her brown eyes intensified and each word he had uttered shot through the core of her being -- almost causing her to keel over with the shock. Another voice penetrated her psyche and saved her from disaster. He's lying! No! No! No!
"No, Del! I would know it!" she fired back at him -- all at once perfectly sure of what she was saying. "Todd Manning is not dead!"
The cold, dead aura of the cavern still pervaded his senses as he
hobbled
forward, but a feeling came over him that he was almost upon the
dripping
pool. His mouth watered as he thought of finding the desired liquid,
but
something else caught him completely by surprise as it entered the
area. He
stood motionless like a statue -- immobilized and transfixed by what had
passed over him. His lungs greedily filled up with the welcome
sensation and
he shouted out loud in exultation at his discovery -- the echo of his
voice
resounding against the cavern walls. "Wind!"
A persistent nagging in his mind that he was a man condemned to wander through the hellish darkness of a subterranean cavern receded immediately as he gulped in another intake of air. Reprieve! Just as in Ireland he had been given another chance to live and suddenly gratefulness washed over him. Someone wanted him to survive, and survival was such an integral part of everything he was. As aching and sore as his body felt, his elation continued to build as the soft breeze hit his face. I'm outta here!
Tea's face was blanched with a white pallor and set with rigid purpose as she met her brother's gaze challengingly. He's like all the rest. He doesn't know anything! He means well, but there's nothing I could say to him that would convince him.
"Tea, listen...you can't keep deluding yourself about him...he's not invincible!" Del countered with a growing awareness that his sister would never agree with him.
"...and just why did he choose to leave you out there and run from the authorities? Think, Tea! He has always had his own agenda -- which did not include you or anyone else."
The sting of his words caught her off guard as she had prepared herself to ignore everything he said. Del does speak some truth, but he only has half the facts. Yes, I know he has his own agenda -- he always has, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love me or Starr or Viki or anyone else important to him. This is what he had to do -- I know it!
Del rose up from the sofa -- his large frame moving toward her to provide the shoulder for her to cry on when his words would begin to make sense to her. This is what I'm here for, chiquita...to take away the hurt and pain as I always have.
As he stepped toward her expectantly, she backed away from him -- standing perfectly still and looking at him in a chilling manner. "I'm not your little sister anymore, Del. I'm a big girl now -- all grown up and able to handle my own affairs. I have one request of you -- to find out what happened to my husband in that cave. If you're not going to do that, I will hire someone who will."
The moonlight shone fully on the figure of the woman walking briskly to her car, and Sam Rappaport seemed to be in a spellbound state as he watched her gracefully ease herself into the car seat. She started the engine and the car lurched away from the driveway curb and left in a burst of engine noise.
For a full minute Sam's eyes followed the car as its form gradually diminished in the distance. He wasn't immediately aware that his insides were shaken up, and the sudden realization of it was like the sensation of ice-cold water being poured down his back. No...no...I don't want this...
The door shut softly as he mechanically moved back into the living room -- still subconsciously searching for the female presence that was there before. When she was here, the room was different...more alive. Glancing at the mantle clock, he saw that it was late, but not too late. I've had a hell of a day...I just needed to unwind...someone to talk to. He reminded himself again that his son, Will, had gone out to a concert with a few friends and wouldn't be back until early morning, so he pretty much had the place to himself. He roughly unbuttoned his collar button with one hand and plopped down on the sofa. A pleasant perfume-like fragrance still lingered in the air near him, and he shook his head as if to rid himself of this reminder that she had been there. Grabbing the glass of Scotch he had left on a side table, he downed the golden liquid hurriedly.
Restlessly he jumped up from the sofa and went over to his briefcase on the desk. The obvious void left behind by his visitor disturbed him and made him even more edgy. I'm not ready to call it a night yet. His fingers hastily flipped through pages of his pocket address book and stopped on one page. Susie Carothers. Sweet, fun-loving girl...likes to talk. Picking up his cell phone, he dialed her number.
Viki Carpenter stared straight ahead as she drove into the silent night -- her thoughts like fragemented pieces of some unsolvable puzzle. Something has happened. She drew in a breath and released it willfully as if trying to calm herself down. Get over it. He's a man like any other man -- nice...charming...sensitive. A girlish thrill went through her as she remembered the way he had looked as he sat next to her on the sofa. His curly white-blonde hair was uncombed and unruly against his tanned skin and his eyes crinkled around the edges as he was talking. Your imagination is running rampant tonight, old girl! This man could have his pick of women -- much younger women.
As Tea waited for her brother to answer, she saw the indecision in his eyes. It's hard for you, isn't it? You'll always want to protect me as you did back when I was a kid. It's your call though -- either way, I'm going to find him.
"Okay...okay!" Del's large hands sank against his sides in something like defeat to the petite woman with a will of iron. "It goes against everything I believe about that...that..."
Tea tilted her head and mockingly interrupted him as he tried to finish his sentence. "I know it's killing you, Del, but I'll take what I can get. You know what? Sometimes you remind me of the very man you despise."
She suppressed a laugh as she saw him shoot her a look of utter disgust at her pointed remark.
Todd bent his upper body down -- hissing through his teeth as more pain engulfed him but somehow now caring anymore. There is water here -- I smell it! Passing his fingers carefully along the ground, he sensed that he was right near some sort of underground pool. Extending his one good arm, his fingers located what he was seeking. The wetness against his skin was like breathing in the mysterious wind. Cupping his hand, he brought up a mouthful of water to sample. Hope to God this stuff is drinkable! Touching his hand to his lips, he cautiously swallowed what he had managed to bring up. He sighed with satisfaction as the cool, fresh water flowed down his throat -- loosening the tightness he had been feeling. Either I'm hallucinating or this stuff is like spring water -- better than spring water! Hastily he reached back in the water with his hand to scoop up more of the precious liquid, and he continued to repeat the process until he had slaked his thirst.
Another breath of wind settled over him, and he tried to pinpoint the direction it was coming from. Turning toward what his instincts told him was the direction of the flow, he guardedly moved forward -- hoping that he was right. Come on Manning! Forget the pain, forget everything but getting outside of this mountain and seeing your wife again.
The light on Sam's front porch illuminated the figure of a woman as he opened the door. He appraised her as she stood there with her usual striking appearance and soft curves. Susie Carothers was a former client who had gotten a divorce from a very wealthy man. She was unattached and in her early thirties.
"So, Sammy, are you going to ask me in or are you going to gawk at me for awhile?" Susie wrinkled up her short nose and spoke in a high-pitched, shrill voice with a giggle at the end of her question.
"Susie!" Sam extended his arm pleasantly and took her hand to lead her in. "It's been too long, hasn't it?"
Susie Carothers blithely floated into the hallway, but she took a quick peak at her former lawyer. He looked quite good to her, but a little tense. It had surprised her when she got his call since he hadn't called her in some time. For awhile they had been something of an item around Llanview, but he had gotten involved in other matters and they had just never reconnected. She had often wondered about him though. Most of the single women over 30 in Llanview knew who Sam Rappaport was.
"Well, Sammy, I love your new place!" she said and strutted into the living room as if she owned it. "You did all the decorating? Or did one of your lady friends have that privilege?"
Sam grinned and tried to brush off the question. "If that's a subtle attempt to find out what I've been up to, Susie, don't forget you're dealing with a lawyer here."
"Sweetie, you and I both know you're not the type to keep to yourself for very long. We're all still trying to figure out why you got yourself hooked up with that Todd Manning. That man has a real problem."
"Hey," Sam changed the subject quickly, "make yourself comfortable. What would you like to drink?"
"Surprise me, Sam darling," Susie tossed her dark, curly hair and leaned back into the sofa -- crossing her shapely legs confidently. She knew that Sam Rappaport had called her over to his home for a reason, and she was very intrigued.
Looking over at her from the bar, his first thought was one of panic. Any other time the sight of an attractive and curvacious woman sitting seductively in his living room would never have made him jumpy. From the beginning of their off and on relationship, Susie had been an outrageous flirt with him -- something he hadn't minded at all. She had had no great remorse over her failed marriage and, in fact, was very well set for the future. Her interest in him was not about his bank account or his notoriety as a famous lawyer. He knew that she genuinely liked him. Girlish-acting and quite feminine, she could also be great fun to be with since she loved to kick up her heels and party.
He began to mix her a martini, which he remembered she was fond of. As he stirred the drink, he noticed his hand was visably shaking. What's going on? Why am I so damn nervous?
The sogginess of the ground beneath him further confirmed to Todd that he was directly parallel to a pool of water. The question was how large was the pool and was he headed toward or away from it? Each step he took seemed to bring him more in-line with the source of the wind. When I get out of here, I've got to get this arm taken care of. It's got to be broken. It hurts like hell, and it's not getting any better. Something small scurried across one of his shoes causing him to hasten his steps toward the invisible exit somewhere in the dark ahead of him. Okay...I'm ready now to leave this den of horrors. It's got to be there...it's...
A sound more welcome than any he had heard in the time he had been in the cave greeted his ears. A lone bird calling out broke through the silence, and he took a large step forward through some sort of opening which was the portal to the outside world. I'm out!!
The door to the penthouse shut, and Del stood in the hallway pondering his next move. She had been like a rock -- immovable, and it was almost scary how she had taken control and overrode his original plan. Lumbering down the hallway to the elevator, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number to contact the other operatives.
"Yeah...repeat performance...same coordinates at the mountain. I'm
going this
time. I want the helicopter back and circling that quadrant. Prime
objective
-- locate the missing fugitive, Todd Manning. We want a final
determination
-- a body -- dead or alive!"
