Anabel Unraveled (4 page)

“Miss Martin,” I began, “I’m curious. It must be a boring existence for you on this island. What do you do all day?”

Anabel stared into my eyes. She had a very disconcerting gaze. “I study a fair amount,” she replied. “When I leave the island—” and here was a pointed look at her father—“I would like to study English literature and maybe go into library science. I was on a rigorous course of study until my father fired my instructor.” The bitterness in her voice was overpowering, and it almost made me chuckle. She wasn’t one for subtlety. “When I’m not doing that, there’s always something to do around here. Sometimes I help Charlie with the data and information, and—”

“Our Annie is quite the bookworm,” interjected Charlie, his hand lingering on Anabel‘s shoulder. “If you are ever at want for reading material, Mr. Sorensen, you should see Miss Anabel’s library.” Anabel did not look pleased at this suggestion, which I took some twisted pleasure in. Still, I was incredulous.

“She has a library?”

She nodded. “My personal one. My father has a much larger one, but I have a small one with my book collection adjacent to my bedroom.”

“You must show me later, Miss Martin,” I smiled at her.

She looked uninterested, but nodded. “I’m getting tired of this ‘Miss Martin’ routine. My name is Anabel. Understood, Jared?”

That was when I decided that I liked her. Here was someone who I could at least count on to give her real opinion. It was a refreshing change from Washington. I answered her question with a curt nod, but thought to myself, All right, Anabel. You and I are going to be friends.

***

After dinner I asked her to show me around. Jonathan Martin’s place is practically a castle, and since we were on an island in the South Pacific, I figured I might get some time on the beach. That particular evening, however, Anabel wanted to stick to the house, which was fine with me—as it was, I had a long trip over there. She didn’t seem to want to walk next to me, keeping her pace just above mine, no matter how much I increased my step. Watching her move, a slight wiggle in her hips, caused me to lose focus and stare at her.

“What do you like to read?” she asked, shaking me from my thoughts.

“Why do you ask?”

She turned and rolled her eyes. “You asked to see my library. I was merely curious as to what you liked to read.” She quickened her pace again.

I decided to give her a surprising answer. “Byron,” I called.

Her steps came to a halt. She turned to me with an amused glance. “You read poetry?”

“Stranger things have happened,” I offered.

She still looked unimpressed. “Are you a fan of the Romantics then?”

“They were much less depressing than the Victorians,” I replied.

She smirked, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh. Then she flung open a door. “This is my library,” she proclaimed.

I was floored. Never before had I seen such a collection of books. Bookcases were wall to wall, with patterned rugs over the stone floor. Two armchairs sat in front of a blazing fire.

“Anything you don’t find in here, well . . . you’ll find in my dad’s library, but it’s all the way on the other side of the building and I don’t feel like walking over there.”

“Have you read all of these?”

She grimaced. “One gets bored.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Surely you don’t expect me to hang around with Jonathan all day?”

I laughed, letting my guard down. That left me unprepared for when she pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and glared at me. “Why are you here, Jared?”

“What do you mean?”

Again, she smirked at me. “Come off it. I know you’re here for some other reason than to pay a visit to the island.” She flopped into a chair. “It’s not exactly the most happening place. Did my brother send you?”

I wasn’t going to lie to her. “Yes, Sam sent me. He’s concerned about you.”

“He must be,” she remarked. “He doesn’t normally share the fact that we’re related, but you knew it, didn’t you?” She tilted her head. “I was a bit of a shock to my sister-in-law, I can assure you.”

She had trapped me. I improvised. “Well, he brought me into his confidence two days ago. He sent me here because he thought I was the one to get the job done.”

“Oh?” queried Anabel. “And what job is that, exactly? I mean, my father thinks you’re a snake, and Charlie spent the first part of my day warning me to watch my tongue around you. I’m not even kidding,” she continued, taking in my stark surprise. “Jonathan went on and on about what a horrible person you were, and I think if he had the resources, he would have had me fitted for a chastity belt then and there. So what’s the deal, Sorensen? Why does everyone think that you’re the big bad wolf?”

I cleared my throat. “I don’t have the best reputation in DC.”

“And why is that?”

“I have a lot of girlfriends.” There was no point in evading her.

“I bet you do.” She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, and I really needed to not watch her do that. Your best friend’s sister, I scolded myself. Anabel was only nineteen, and I had to remind myself that she was still practically a girl.

But looking didn’t hurt, right? “So will we be spending more time together?” I asked her.

She sighed. “Probably not. I don’t care much for other people. I’m fairly self-absorbed.”

At least she was honest. She was smiling at me, though, with the bright eyes, so I took it that she might deign to tolerate my presence.

Anyway, the conversation ended well. I think Anabel was starting to like me, despite her cool demeanor. We agreed to meet the next morning after breakfast and take a tour of the facility. She suggested that I should bring my walking shoes, and I looked forward to my time alone with Miss Martin.

How could I have known things would have turned out the way that they did?

“Alright, that’s enough for today,” Ms. Fischer announced. “This hearing will reconvene next Monday.” She banged her gavel and they filed out of the room.

I looked at the floor, figuring that I would just wait for everyone else to leave. I had hoped to avoid the two people at the end of the table the most and I was certain that Sam would not allow Anabel to talk to me.

But somehow she eluded her brother’s grasp and came to stand before me, scowling. “Looking didn’t hurt, right? You’re such a pig.” She let out a brittle laugh. “But hey, at least I’m honest, right? I love this revisionist history, Jared. It’s classic.”

I met her eyes, but what could I do? She had every right to be mad.

“Is there anything I can say?” I asked her.

“No,” she pronounced, and then Sam was at her side.

“What are you doing?” he hissed at her.

“Leaving. With you,” she responded. As they left I heard her say to him, “So what exactly do these Congress-people have to do that’s more important than solving Jonathan’s murder? I can’t believe we have a whole week before we come back. I mean, seriously! This is why people whine about government, Sam!”

I almost smiled. At least she still called it like she saw it.

Chapter 3—Anabel

The week passed by in relative tranquility. I spent the bulk of my time reading and taking walks when nobody was looking. I was getting lazy and fat, not being on the island where I had to walk everywhere. I felt restless and had a fair amount of wanderlust. Nearly every day I proposed an excursion; I had been here for over four months and had never ventured into a single Smithsonian Institution. My brother protested he was too busy; Alexis was constantly gone at some charity function or on the phone with her nanny about the children, who had been removed to Martha’s Vineyard while we dealt with the fallout of, well, me existing. So in vain I begged the bodyguards, but they refused to go anywhere not authorized by Sam.

Sam at least acted like he felt bad.

“I’m sorry, Annie,” he offered in an attempt to console me. “But the press wants to talk to you, and we’re in a delicate place right now. You don’t have the coaching to handle this sort of situation.”

“What if I wore a disguise?” I whined. “Sam, this is so unfair. I have a case of cabin fever so severe that . . . that . . .” I trailed off.

He raised an eyebrow, and I knew he was getting annoyed at me. “You can’t tell me this is worse than where you were before. All you did was complain and swear up and down that if I got you off of the island, you’d never ask me for anything again. I held up my end of the bargain.”

“I just didn’t think I would be going from one prison to another,” I lamented.

“This will soon be over, and you can do whatever you please,” he snapped. He turned away, but over his shoulder came, “I expected better of you, Anabel.”

After that I felt so terrible I maintained an aura of obedience for the rest of the week.

Before I knew it, it was Monday again and I was in the car with Sam. “You’re quiet today, Anabel,” he remarked.

I stared out the window. “I’m just not looking forward to this, that’s all.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about the other day; I know you are probably a little stir-crazy.”

I cracked a grin. “Oh Sam, I know you’re just trying to protect me.” When he answered in the affirmative, I said, “Just remember that Jonathan also said he was trying to protect me.”

He colored, and we finished our car ride in silence.

When we got into the hearing room, I took my seat at the front and waited impatiently for the members of Congress to arrive. When they did, and Ms. Fischer had called us to order, I raised my hand.

“Miss Martin?” she acknowledged.

“Ma’am, I really would like to take charge in handling any of your questions about my relationship with Mr. Sorensen. I feel that he is imagining things that I may have said, and he is extremely misguided in purporting that I had any supposed regard for him.”

“Objection, your honor,” Jared interrupted. “She was completely in love with me.”

I let out a dramatic sigh. “Yes, Jared, of course I was. By the way, this isn’t a courtroom.” The room filled with laughter, and Jared looked almost embarrassed. I stood up. “Ms. Fischer, here’s what really happened.”

“So, Jared and I met up the next morning at seven. I had spent the night unable to sleep, visions of Kevin haunting me. I hoped nothing terrible had befallen him, but the fact was, I had watched a lot of specials on maximum security prisons. I had overheard Charlie mention to Evelyn that Kevin was sent to ADX Florence, and a quick perusal on the internet made me horrified. I knew what happened there, and the anxiety caused me to toss and turn for hours.

“What did I think of Jared? Well, I wasn’t impressed at our initial encounter, but Sam had sent him, and I trusted my brother’s judgment. I know that I haven’t exactly been a huge presence in my brother’s life, but we had become close—despite the thousands of miles that separated us. After the death of our mother, Sam had gone out of his way to make sure that I was tolerably happy on the island, and I appreciated it a great deal. After all, I’m a lot younger than he is, and Sam had never let me down before. Therefore, I had every reason to believe that Sorensen’s presence on the island was a sign that things were going to improve for me. I did not think that things could get any worse.

“Anyway, so Jared and I met up in the front hall, and we went outside. It was a bright, sunny day, and we walked along the outer wall of the storage facility. It’s beautiful there, you can really see the ocean, and a lot of conversation is drowned out by the crashing of waves against the shore. To be honest, I had wanted that—I was starting to realize that I was uncomfortable talking to Jared. I couldn’t explain why to myself, exactly. I think part of it was he was so unlike everyone else around me. We walked for about an hour and a half, neither of us saying much. He turned to face me at several points, but I avoided his eyes. It was starting to get hot, and a few beads of sweat exploded onto his forehead. I had taken care to wear plenty of sunscreen and a hat, and wasn’t all that bothered, but I felt a twinge and thought I shouldn’t make him suffer.

“Do you want to go back?” I yelled.

He shook his head. “Why? Would you talk to me then?”

I stared at him. “It’s too loud to talk out here!”

“Then why did you bring me?”

I shrugged. “You wanted to see the place?”

He then grabbed my arm and leaned into my ear. “I wanted to get to know you, Anabel.”

You see, this put me in an awkward position. I had been, up to that moment, extremely sheltered in terms of my sexuality. Miss Marilyn had taught me the facts of life, but, living on an island like that, well . . . there wasn’t much opportunity for me to . . . explore it, per se. I had never been attracted to any of the convicts on the island. I mean, the closest thing would have been Kevin, and I thought of him much like I did my own brother. Which was why, when Jared drew me close to him, I felt something that I had only felt when lusting after movie stars. His husky voice set my hair standing on end, and his breath tickled at my throat. I pulled away from him, but the truth was, I wanted to feel that way again.

It felt good, for lack of a better word.

I faced him, staring into his eyes. He couldn’t see mine, as they were hidden by my sunglasses. I reached out and grabbed his hand, and led him away from the roaring surf. We walked for about fifteen minutes until we came to one of the small cottages along the coastline. Sometimes when we had visitors, we let them stay in one of the cottages if they felt uncomfortable staying in the fort.

I couldn’t blame them. It was full of criminals and, on top of that, my father was there.

I should point out that I loved my father, but ever since I turned eighteen his obsession with me had grown fanatical. He had done everything he could to prevent me from leaving. However, we barely spoke anymore, and if we did we just screamed at each other. The loss of Miss Marilyn had hit me hard, and I pined for her daily. It should also be understood that I knew I was taking a risk showing Jared the cottage, as it would probably send Jonathan into another rant about my chastity. Going there alone? With a man? I could hear the impending tirade already. I was feeling reckless, however; and with all sorts of new sensations coursing through my body, I decided to be bold.