Cherry Two

Part 26

Chapter 24

As she rode in Robert's Bentley from the yacht club the cell phone Alain gave her vibrated in silence against her hip. It could only be one person calling. Calley let the incoming call go to recorded message, not wishing to answer with Robert right there.

The days seemed longer ensconced in the relative tranquility of Carmel. With only 48 hours separating herself and Alain, Calley already missed him enough for it to hurt.

This confused her. Crushes on older boys were one thing—all teenage girls seemed to have them—only somehow it wasn't this way with Alain. The countdown had begun and soon the California interlude would be over. Every hour they spent apart now seemed like deprivation; precious moments in time lost forever.

For diversion she'd tried to draw Robert out on questions concerning his daughter, but clearly the man just wanted to forget. Whatever obsessions had once consumed him were dimmed and finally extinguished by the relentless march of time and the aging of memory. Even Calley had begun to accept the inevitable conclusion: her aunt's murder had lapsed into history. And if Calley's dead namesake was somehow reaching out from the grave and demanding retribution, the trail had gone colder than Pacific Ocean spray. She'd return home without any of the answers she came for and end up lugging back emotional baggage for someone she couldn't have.

Robert turned his head. "How about sailing with me again? We can take her out tomorrow if you like. This week is all for you. We'll do whatever you want."

She smiled back, a little sad-faced. "No, we can't do whatever I want. Why do you think I'm up here in the first place?"

"Keenan and Sonia sent you away from Alain," Robert said, returning his attention to the road. "We needn't pretend it's anything else for my sake. They can't hurt my feelings; it's your feelings I worry about." He guided the car on a tight coastal curve. "You'll get over him and find someone your own age."

Her eyes closed. "And if I don't want to get over him?"

Robert didn't say much more for the remainder of the drive. His house sat on high ground with a commanding view of Carmel Bay.

When Calley found herself alone, she checked the phone message and auto-dialed Alain's private number. As it rang she stood gazing out through the open window. White sailboats dotted the glistening water and it made her ruminate on why she wasn't enjoying herself in this decadent paradise—the way any sane person should.

Alain answered without greeting, as it could only be Calley. "I'm in the study," he began abruptly. "No one can overhear. We've had a crisis of sorts. Kent's left home."

Calley detected something new in his voice but didn't know what it was.

"Dad's gone charging after him," he continued. "It won't make any difference. Mom is angry and crying. You've had a lucky escape from all this bedlam, girl."

"Escape? Alain, I wanted to be with you no matter what. I'm hurting because I now know you never felt the same. Look, your family is the important thing, not me. Kent is your brother. I'm just some stupid second cousin that'll be six thousand miles away in a few days. Forget about me."

His voice went low. "There's something those two are not telling me. They split us up for another reason—some secret thing. I'm betting Robert will know. Will you try to find out?"

"From Robert?"

"It's only fair. You wanted me to find out things for you. In fact I did."