Chasing The Sun

Chapter 2 - The House of Sins

As Tom was about to ask Amada why she was giving him such an intriguing smile after hearing the name of that ranch, the phone rang in his hand. In the quietness of the night, it startled them both a little. He held the phone up to see a "blocked number" displayed on the screen. For a moment Tom considered not answering -he never answered blocked numbers- but somehow brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Who's this?"

"Tom Parker?" a warm woman's voice asked. The voice sounded very controlled but a sense of relief could be sensed in the tone.

"Who is this?" Tom asked again without confirming who he was.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself. I am Maddie Caroline, with The Agency." She said the last part with some kind of mystic. "I was instructed to call you and let you know that your agent couldn't arrange for a key to be left for you at your destination and that instead I can send a signal to unlock the front door whenever you'd like me to."

Tom was trying to process all the sudden flow of information. who was Maddie Caroline? how did she know his number? even more intriguing, how did she know he was looking for a key? As he was still trying to put the pieces together, she asked.

"Would you like me to unlock the door now, Tom?"

Tom glanced at Amada who was looking at him with questioning eyes. He regained his composure so she wouldn't worry and answered Maddie. "Yes, please, that would be great"

"Per your request, Tom." The line went dead and within two seconds a mechanical sound coming from the door made it clear that the phone call, and Maddie, were for real.

Tom put the phone back in his pocket, smiled nervously at Amada, pushed the door open, took her hand in his and they walked into the house.

As soon as they had cleared the doorway, lights in the hallway came up. Not too bright, as if the house knew what time of the day, or night, it was and that dim lights were appropriate at this particular hour. Tom thought to himself that the homeowner must have had motion sensors installed so lights came up automatically at night when someone walked in. He closed the door behind them, and locked it.

Amada and Tom looked at each other. He couldn't help thinking that this phone call was out of place. And Amada's eyes were telling him the same thing. Tom could tell she was a little uneasy.

As they made their way ahead, they came to the living room. Again, dim lights came up to their right, and a fire came to life in the fireplace to their left. Directly in front of thm, past the rug and leather couch, was a huge glass panel from floor to ceiling. They could see the patio outside. Directly to their right was the kitchen. Tom pulled Amada's hand to make her follow him there. He opened the refrigerator and was taken aback by just how much food and drinks were in it. Whoever had made arragements for him -The Agency?- clearly had top-notch service. Tom grabbed a can of orange juice and handed it to Amada. He picked a Coke for himself and took it with him to the dry bar in the living room. Tom could use a scotch right now.

The silence of the night had fallen on them like a white coat of snow on an winter morning would do in the countryside. Amada seemed happy and relaxed. She was the first one to hit the leather couch and let the heat from the fireplace warm her body up. Tom poured himself a glass of scotch and left it by the side table and went to Amada from behind the couch. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"I'll got take a quick shower. I'll be back in no time if I manage to find the bathroom in this Castle."

She padded his hand as it laid on her right shoulder. "Okay, don't be long".