A Quill Ladder (48 page)

Mark rose to a half crouch and started crashing through the trees in the general direction of the car.

“
You shouldn
’
t have said run,
”
Caleb said.
“
He sounds like an elephant.
”
They started to sprint after him. But the noise had alerted the dogs, and Abbey heard excited barking, followed by the sounds of two animals thundering through the underbrush.

“
Run!
”
Caleb yelled.

They fought their way through the trees and bushes, the dogs closing in on them. Bile rose in her throat as she stumbled over rocks and skidded in the damp soil. Mark and Caleb pulled away, far ahead of her, and then Caleb dropped back to urge her on, tossing rocks in other directions into the undergrowth to distract the dogs. Abbey stubbed her toe and nearly tripped as the blue Jag came into sight, Farley bounding between the front and back seats, barking wildly. Caleb unlocked the doors and they all piled in, pushing Farley back as they went. The two dogs thundered out of the trees and lunged at the Jag, standing on their hind legs and snarling at the closed windows. Farley clawed at the leather door and barked frantically. Mark whimpered from the driver
’
s seat, and Abbey realized she was trembling violently.

“
What now?
”
Abbey said.

Caleb turned away from the frothing dogs.
“
Now one of us drives.
”

“
I
’
ve had three driving lessons,
”
Mark said.

“
All right. You
’
re up first then, and you
’
re in the right spot. Let
’
s get out of here.
”
Damian had rounded the corner of the drive, and the dogs
’
nails clicked and scratched against the glass. Caleb passed Mark the keys, and after staring at them for a second, Mark selected one and thrust it into the ignition.

“
Reverse!
”
Caleb ordered.
“
Fast.
”

Mark obediently put the car in reverse and then gunned the engine. The Jag lurched backward, and the dogs fell away. Damian pounded on the trunk of the car, but Mark managed to shift it into drive and peeled off down the driveway with the dogs following. Farley immediately slid off the back seat and fell to the floor.

They screeched down the driveway, taking the curving turns at an alarming pace, Mark
’
s sausage fingers curled around the wheel at ten and two. Damian and the dogs were left far behind. At the main road, Mark put on his left turn signal, looked both ways, pulled out onto Top Point Drive, and immediately slowed to ten miles under the speed limit.

Caleb flicked a panicky look out the back window.
“
Mark, that was some great driving back there. But why are we slowing down, buddy?
”

“
Most accidents are speed related,
”
Mark replied.

“
Yes, but in this case, they
’
re more likely to be bad man related,
”
Caleb said.

“
Extremely bad man,
”
Mark corrected.

“
Bad, extremely bad, super-duper bad, whatever
—
you need to step on it.
”

Abbey looked out the back window.
“
Do you think they
’
re going to follow us? Should we go back up the hill and see if Dad is in their car?
”

A bullet pierced the back window of the Jag and embedded itself into the back of the creamy leather front seat, just missing Farley.

Abbey screamed and flattened herself on the back seat.

Caleb slid next to Mark and jammed his own foot on the gas. The Jag fishtailed down the road as it sprang to life, but Mark didn
’
t let go of the wheel and managed to bring the vehicle under control as it hurtled down the road.

“
Do not ever do that again,
”
Mark said.
“
That was very unsafe.
”

“
Just drive, Mark,
”
Caleb said.

It wasn
’
t until they hit Warm Hollow Road that Abbey tentatively allowed herself to take deeper breaths. Nobody seemed to be following them now, and the other gunshot they heard must not have hit the Jag.

She sat up in the back seat. Mark still watched the road like a predator, as if it might leap up and away from him at any second.

“
Now what?
”
Abbey said.

Caleb had a set of the three cards they had found in the file room spread out on his lap.
“
I think we should go see Simon. At least we know where he is. We have to figure out where the other set of stones is, if there is one. Maybe he has some ideas.
”

“
That will require using streets that have traffic lights and making two left turns,
”
Mark said, his eyes never leaving the street. They had slowed once again to a snail
’
s pace, but given that they were now in a residential area, Abbey wasn
’
t as worried about getting shot, or run off the road.

“
It
’
s okay, Mark. I
’
ll talk you through it,
”
Caleb said.

“
You do not have a valid state driver
’
s license, or any years of driving experience,
”
Mark said.

“
We could stay on the outside ring of Coventry, avoid the left turn that has the light, and park a few blocks away. I don
’
t really think we want to park at the detention center with a bullet hole in the window anyway. Would that make you more comfortable?
”

Mark didn
’
t reply, but he did come to a complete stop at the empty four-way stop, and put on the left turn signal.

“
There
’
s something on these cards that we need to know. I just know it,
”
Caleb said.

“
I need to look at my maps,
”
Mark said.

“
I know, buddy. You always need to look at your maps.
”

“
It is very important that you do not patronize me,
”
Mark replied.
“
I speak differently and focus on things you find strange, but my IQ is the same as yours. I need my map to measure the distance between the sets of stones.
”

Caleb raked a hand through his hair.
“
Sorry, Mark. I know that. I just
…
sometimes I just forget that. I
’
m sorry. You
’
re doing a great job driving.
”

“
Porcupine, ladder, porcu-ladder, ladder-porc, porcu-climb,
”
Abbey murmured to herself. What had Mrs. Forrester been trying to tell them with her drawings?

“
Maybe she was talking about quills,
”
Caleb said.

“
Well that doesn
’
t make any sense either. Quill ladder. What
’
s a quill ladder?
”
Abbey said hotly. She was tired from their night in the file room and then sleeping back to back with Caleb. A quill ladder. A quill ladder. Her eyes drifted closed.

Her body gave a hypnic jerk just as the word equilateral flashed through her mind. She had fallen asleep.

Equilateral
. The legs of the tunnels had been exactly the same length. Was that what Mrs. Forrester had been trying to tell them? Did they form an equilateral shape? But how did that help? What was equidistant from what? The stones from the docks? The sets of stones from each other?

Abbey was so deep in thought that she hadn
’
t noticed that Mark had pulled into a strip mall near the detention center.

“
Bring everything,
”
Caleb ordered, grabbing the backpack of supplies.
“
Just in case. Someone might see the bullet hole and call the police.
”

“
What about Farley?
”
Abbey said.

“
We
’
re going to have to tie him up outside the coffee shop there. He
’
ll be fine. People do it all the time.
”

Abbey got out with Farley and noticed that a folder of papers had slipped out from under the driver
’
s seat as they drove. She picked it up and tucked it under her arm.

“
I need to look at my maps,
”
Mark insisted, his face creased in a stubborn frown.

Caleb took Farley
’
s leash and tied him up outside the coffee shop.
“
Mark, we need to go see Simon. You can look at your maps in there.
”

Mark crossed his arms over his chest and scowled, but relented and followed Caleb when he started walking toward the center.

They were admitted without any issue, given that they were all on Simon
’
s visitor list and Mark was deemed to be a guardian.
“
Family is so important for rehabilitation,
”
the woman at the front desk gushed, while still eyeing the three of them warily, as if Simon were on a clear criminal trajectory and they were his potential associates. Mark didn
’
t seem to appreciate having to leave behind his satchel and the keys to the Jag, both of which set off the metal detector, but he was permitted to bring the paper maps. Caleb
’
s backpack also had to be left behind. The folder Abbey carried from Sylvain
’
s car and her iPhone were declared to be okay, but it was made clear to her that she must exit with the phone.

After an enthusiastic exchange with Simon
’
s house leader, Bert, who reiterated the value of family supports, they met Simon in a small, plain room off the kitchen, furnished with a table and chairs. Simon
’
s face fell faintly when he saw them, but then pulled into a tight smile. Abbey wasn
’
t sure who he
’
d been expecting. At least he looked okay, but then again, Abbey supposed he probably wouldn
’
t starve to death or die of loneliness within the first twenty-four hours. Bert remained in the kitchen chatting with two of the other youth, who, aside from having a few more nose rings than Abbey considered necessary, looked pretty normal.

“
We don
’
t have a lot of time,
”
Caleb said in a low voice, settling into one of the chairs.
“
Mom
’
s on the other side of the stones, and the stones have been destroyed. Mom might be trapped, and Dad is missing. We think there
’
s another set of stones, and we need to know if you can think of anything,
anything
, that would help us find them.
”

Simon stared blankly at Caleb, then glanced out into the kitchen at Bert, who was still engaged in animated discussion with a boy with a black Mohawk. Abbey was vaguely conscious of Mark laying his maps on the table, the pencil he
’
d borrowed from Bert clutched tightly in his hand.

“
Maybe you should call the police,
”
Simon said finally.

“
Not yet. They
’
ll put us in some home or something. Please. Think. I brought the cards so you can have another look at them.
”

Simon blanched, the corners of his eyes creasing in what looked like pain.
“
I can
’
t read them, Caleb. I
’
m a computer geek, not some sort of doer of witchcraft.
”

“
Please. Just give it a try. Abbey and I can both see a list of numbers.
”

“
Fine.
”