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| IMPOSTER BY MARIQUA |
CHAPTER 50 |
The phone clicked dead, and Slider slowly removed the receiver from his ear - staring at it as if it were a strange object he had never seen before. That wasn't Z, but it sounded like him in a way. Whoever it was, Z's in trouble!
Vaulting out of bed, he threw some jeans on over his boxers and jerked a drawer open of his bureau to grab a tee shirt. His bleary eyes had suddenly come alive. It was too far to walk over there, but he already knew how to drive. Diving under his bed for his shoes, he dangled them by the laces and hurried downstairs. Walking purposefully to his Dad's study, he headed for the walnut roll top desk, and saw what he was looking for -- his fingers scooping up the car keys. I'm taking a risk here...driving without a license. Dad would ground me for life probably. Taking a scrap of paper, he scribbled down "Back Soon, Slider" and slapped a paperweight down over it on the desk. I'll get there, Z...
John Sykes sat down after making eye contact with Viki Carpenter. She looked composed, and her eyes had briefly acknowledged his presence. He knew he was still on very shaky ground with her and that she most likely could care less that he was there. It didn't matter though. Other people in the Llanview community would see him, and that was enough for now. There was plenty of time to mend fences after this was all over, and he had contacted a public relations expert to help him wade through any difficulties he might have. His sights were still strongly fixed on his path for public office and eventually to the Oval Office. Todd Manning's death would not be an impediment to him, but merely a small blip on his well-orchestrated record.
His eyes traveled up the aisle to rest on several people sitting together. Blair Cramer's long, silky blond hair and slender, attractive figure was easily recognizable. Next to her was another familiar figure - her ever-present sidekick, Max Holden. The talk around town was that they would get married soon. No doubt she would be left some money from Manning's estate in the raising of their child, Starr. Blair Cramer could end up a very wealthy woman...
The imposing front of the Manning home made Slider hesitate before stepping out of his car. Todd's dad, like his own, had money, but he also had a reputation among the adults as being someone you didn't want to run into. For this reason, Slider had not found it unusual that he had never been invited over to the Manning home. Todd had been to his home many times and had been welcomed in as one of his closest friends, but Slider knew that there would never be that same kind of welcome for him. An unspoken understanding between the two boys had been all that was necessary, and
Slider never brought it up, knowing in his sensitive spirit that his friend would have been embarrassed to have him come over.
Opening up a black wrought-iron gate, he walked up the front walkway and up the steps to a stately front porch with two large elegant lanterns on either side of the wide front door. It seemed weird to him that only Todd and his father lived in this large, formal residence. Once Todd had told him that there was a housekeeper who came in periodically to clean.
No lights shone through the windows, and the house appeared almost vacant. Nowhere were there any signs of life, and once again he stalled as he thought back to the phone call he had received. Is this a joke? Is someone playing a trick on me...one of the guys...if it's Jordan, I'll kill him!
Suspended in his own doubts, he almost pivoted around to go back to the car. No! What if Z's in real trouble?
Approaching the door, he raised his hand to knock, but his eyes noticed that the door was not even shut. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the heavy door and was confronted by a shrouded darkness in what looked like a large foyer. Almost tiptoeing, he stepped inside the home but left the door slightly ajar. Nothing. It's all quiet in here. As soon as he said this, a sudden noise almost made him jump out of his skin. A large grandfather clock on the wall near him chimed the half-hour -- aggressively disturbing the vacuum-like silence of the house.
To the left of him was a wide, carpeted staircase and to the right were several open passthroughs leading to other dark rooms. A low wail from one of these rooms seeped through the stillness, and Slider moved in the direction of the sound.
Tea Delgado parked the car directly behind the white Chevy Corsica that had pulled up near the curb. It was ridiculous that she had to go to such lengths to thwart her own brother, but she knew that every precaution she took would buy her more time, and time was what she desperately needed - time to search into her husband's past and maybe somehow piece together the puzzle that was Todd Manning. I should have done this long ago...found out what it was that made you shut down on me time after time. Maybe I can get some answers from this old friend of yours, which will help lead me directly back to you...
A tall, dark-skinned figure stepped out of the Corsica to meet her as she walked toward him.
"All set, Tea. Everything's signed and paid for in my name. Your brother won't know a thing...except do me favor, por favor...don't wreck the rental car!"
"Si...I'll be very careful, Miguel. Anyway, remember I'm a lawyer and a good one," she said mischievously.
"Don't even kid around, Tea! I want no run-ins with a judge."
"Trust me, Miguel. I'll drop it off as soon as I get there."
"Well, this is it, then," Miguel said slowly...not really sure that he should have been a party to all that she was planning.
The woman standing in front of him In the icy blue sleeveless dress with beautiful chestnut hair falling forward on her shoulders did not hesitate as she put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him appreciatively.
"I can never fully repay you for what you've done to help me, Miguel, but I want you to have something for your trouble," she almost whispered near his ear as she pulled away from him.
Miguel's eyes hardened and he bristled, "I don't want money for this, Tea."
"No...no, of course you don't," she said with understanding that he would be insulted. "It's something I thought you might like." She pulled a small hardbound book out of her handbag.
"It's a book...a book of poetry...Puerto Rican poetry."
Miguel's body relaxed again, and his eyes lit up. "Gracias...you remembered how I like poetry."
"Yes...I remembered."
"I hope it has some romantic verses...Bonita would like that," he grinned.
"I'm sure she will," Tea said, smiling back at him. "Okay...I'm going."
"Call me...call me if you need anything...or if you just need a friend," Miguel said as she climbed into the Corsica.
"I will, Miguel," she said as she pulled away from the curb and waved goodbye to him. "I'll be back."
As she rounded the corner of the street and his image disappeared from view, she thought about her last words. I'll be back...back when? I can't even predict when that will be...except that it won't be until I've found out what I need to know...
Slider's steps followed the muffled moan, which led him through one of the doorways and into a room almost devoid of light except for a few slits through some blinds on the windows reflecting back the lights on the porch. Large stationary shapes against the walls and smaller shapes scattered around began to take form as he moved into the room - his eyes seeking out the location of the noise. Nothing moved in the room, but he could hear some kind of breathing. Sitting on a small settee against the back wall was a shape where the sound was coming from -- hidden well in the shadows. He knew the source of the sound.
"Z...Z, it's me," Slider said, his young, alert body moving forward cautiously to the hunched form of his friend.
He would always remember that moment. In all his young life, he had had little contact with certain sides of existence. Growing up in a secure, loving environment, he had little knowledge of hardship or deprivation, but he had always been drawn to those who were suffering. Looking straight into the eyes of the young man in front of him, he witnessed the cruelest effect of what life could do to another human being. There in his eyes was a look he would never forget - a look of total abandonment to anything around him and the look of a blameless animal that had just been struck a life-threatening blow.
"Z!!" Slider's throat tightened and he choked with a sense of the horror of what he was seeing. "What's wrong? Z! Answer me!"
A rush of terror shot through him when he got no response at all, and he half turned around to see if anyone else was there in the room with them.
"Z....where's your Dad? Come on, Z!" Getting up quickly, he walked over to the door to peer through the darkness in the hall.
Slider hurried returned to the stone-like figure whose hair drooped down around his cheekbones and whose eyes never seemed to blink.
"You've got to tell me what happened. It's me...Slider...we're buds...you called...no, someone called, but it wasn't you. Something happened, didn't it? I know you have it rough at home. I've known that for awhile," Slider said, spilling out his emotions as he tried to rouse his friend. "Look...you've got to tell someone...it might as well be me. You can't keep this kind of stuff inside...it works against you. You don't let anyone get too close, Z...you've been doing this since I've known you. Maybe you could trust me...I won't tell...I promise, Z!
"Z isn't here anymore," said another voice coming out of the mouth of his friend, and Slider's skin crawled as he recognized the commanding voice from the phone call.
"Z has checked out."
