Dream Date (39 page)

“Hi, Marissa. You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes. This is urgent. I didn’t think it appropriate to tell you by phone. If you weren’t in school, I’d have you fly over here.”

“Is this matter really that grave?”

“A little. It has to do with Amanda.”

“What? Did something happen to her?”

“No. Well, not recently.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Claire told me how you feel about Amanda. She said that you confessed your feelings to her. Are you two together now?”

“I wish.”

“Is she avoiding you?”

“Yeah. There was this whole misunderstanding, and she thinks I’m playing with her heart.”

Marissa looked confused.

“I think I know a reason she’s avoiding you.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow.

“It was something I learned from both her fitness trainer and her bodyguard. They told me that her talent agent, a man named Hilbert, might do something to prevent you from dating Amanda.”

“What the hell? Are you serious?”

“Yes. Not only that. Amanda suspects that he sent people to kidnap her.”

Nathan’s eyes widened.

“Are those men the ones I rescued her from?”

“Most likely.”

“I thought they just wanted to rob her.”

“I didn’t know anything about that. I only just became suspicious when Jonathan told me that Amanda thinks she poses a threat to you. I started to piece things together, and called Kellan Hughes to ask him questions.”

“What did he tell you?”

“He told me about Hilbert. And he also said that there might be someone else besides him who wants to hurt Amanda. They don’t know who that is.”

“Damn. I’m hearing you, and I have a hard time believing it.”

“It explains why Amanda’s reluctant to be with you.”

Nathan thought for a few seconds.

“Can’t they do something about this man, Hilbert? If he wants to force Amanda to be with him, he has to be stopped.”

“I talked with my brother about that. He told me to advise Amanda to hire an investigator.”

“That’s a good way to deal with this. Have you gotten in touch with this investigator?”

“Not yet. I wanted you and Amanda to know.”

“Okay. How do we reach this person?”

“My brother gave me a business card,” Marissa said, showing it on the screen. “Patrick Hayden. He resides here in New York, but I’m sure he’ll be willing to fly to Ithaca. Private eyes have no jurisdiction, unlike the police.”

Nathan read the business card.

“I’ll get in touch with him so that he can visit Amanda and help her out.”

 “Thank you for telling me this, Marissa.”

Marissa nodded.

“By the way, I can help you with Amanda. I know where she’s going to be this Halloween, and I have a plan for you to recover her. Jonathan is going there, and he told me about it.”

“Great. What do I need to do?”

Marissa began telling Nathan her plan.

Halloween fell on a Thursday that year, which meant that Amanda had to fly from Ithaca shortly after classes were over. Kellan was taking her this time. They both had their costumes in luggage. He was dressing like a U.S. Navy SEAL. Amanda wondered how he would look dressed like that. Probably he’d turn female heads.

Once they arrived in New York, Amanda and Kellan checked into Brad’s suite. It was 5pm when they arrived, so they had a few hours to get ready.

“You’d think I’m used to jet lag,” Amanda said. “It’s tiresome to be back in New York for the second time in less than a week.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Maybe we can drop in on Hilbert. I’m sure he won’t mind it if we show up in our costumes.”

“Ha. Maybe not. I bet he won’t stop staring at me. You know, getting intimidated by the uniform.”

“That’d be fun. I’d love to teach him a lesson.”

Amanda spent ten minutes taking a shower. She needed some waking-up that didn’t involve coffee.

When Amanda emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the blue costume (sans the hat), she walked to the living room. There, she saw that Judith and Emmy were waiting for her.

“Friends,” Amanda said, smiling.

“Kellan let us in,” Emmy told her, walking forward and hugging. “I must say, there’s something about men in uniform, don’t you agree?”

Amanda agreed with a nod, chuckling. She then noticed that her friends were already in their costumes.

“You look pretty, Emmy,” Amanda said.

Emmy was dressed like some sort of sightseer. She was wearing a gothic-style dress with some stars and moons in it, and lots of jewelry on her fingers, ears, and neck. Her hair was subtly dyed purple. All she needed to complete the look was a crystal ball.

“Meet Madame Emmy,” she announced, doing a curt bow. Amanda laughed.

“And you? A cheerleader,” she said, looking at Judith. The latter nodded, wearing a generic cheerleader outfit.

“You look stunning,” Judith said to Amanda. “That’s a Harry Potter costume, right?”

“Yes. I have the hat back there, I just need to comb my hair into a ponytail.”

“You know, if magic existed, I would bet you are a Veela. The way you mesmerize men.”

Amanda laughed.

Little over an hour later, Kellan drove Amanda and her friends to the house in the Bronx were the haunted house was taking place. They had never been in that city, so they stopped talking once they drove through it, looking out the windows.

“Barton lives here, right?” Amanda asked Kellan.

“Yes. A friend of his owns the haunted house. That’s the guy who’s organizing the whole thing.”

Once they got near the house, Kellan found parking a half block away. He opened the door for Amanda and her friends, and then they walked to the house. It was 7:30 now, so the sunset was visible in the horizon.

“There are a few kids in costumes around already,” said Emmy, looking around.

“To them, it’s never too early,” Judith said.

When they reached the house, Barton walked up to greet them. He was wearing football attire, complete with a helmet.

“Hey, Kellan,” Barton said, shaking hands with him. “You’re right on time. The house’s ready.”

“I can see that. Kids are starting to come in droves.”

“They started coming twenty minutes ago.”

Kellan nodded. Barton then looked at Judith. She greeted him. Amanda looked at Kellan.

“They coordinated,” she whispered, and he nodded.

Barton later led Kellan and his group inside the house, entering through a cleared-out garage. The inside was dark, and lightly decorated with Halloween paraphernalia.

“What’s the haunted house about?” Kellan asked.

“It’s nothing too scary, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” Barton joked, making Kellan chuckle. “There are only a few frights, just a handful of people in costumes pretending to be decorations or to just not be there. Some of those people will also hand candies to the kids.”

“Nice,” Emmy said. “I wish I were still a kid so I could have some candy.”

“No one said you couldn’t have any,” Judith told her.

“I’m okay. I can buy my own.”

Amanda looked at Barton.

“Jonathan said he was going to come. Is he here?”

“Yes, he arrived ten minutes before you. He’s with a very attractive lady somewhere around.”

Barton looked around, and then looked at them again.

“There’s food here if you are hungry. The second floor of the house is devoted to a Halloween party for grown-ups. That means there’s alcohol involved.”

“We’re okay. Right?” Kellan asked, looking at the girls. They nodded.

“A Halloween party for grown-ups?” Judith asked in a whisper to Amanda.

“I guess it’s just a get-together. Let’s go see.”

Kellan heard the exchange. He told Baton that they were going up.

“Do go if you want. I’m staying here with my friend. We’re giving out candy to kid passersby who don’t want to walk into the haunted house.”

“Let’s go,” Kellan said, accompanying Amanda and her friends to the second floor. It was accessed through an exterior staircase on the back of the house. There was no one in the backyard, but there were a few decorations.

Once inside, they saw that the second floor was also dark, though not as much as the haunted house below. Two large rooms had been cleared out to make space for tables spread along the space. A bunch of people in costumes sat, presumably friends and acquaintances of Barton and Kellan. There was a long table at the back with food and drinks.

“There’s Jonathan,” Amanda said, walking towards him. He was standing near a table, talking to Marissa.

“Hi, Jonathan.”

Jonathan turned and saw Amanda. When she looked at him, she almost flinched. He was usually very handsome, but tonight he was quite frightful.

“Oh, my God. Is that really you?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

Jonathan had dressed like a vampire, very pale and with blood-red lips and pointed fangs. He wore dark, artfully ragged clothing, unlike the aristocratic-esque red-and-black coat preferred by Dracula.

“It’s something, huh?” he asked.

“Definitely,” said Amanda.

“Nice wand.”

Amanda laughed softly, and then she looked at the woman behind him. It was Marissa.

“Nice to see you, Amanda,” she said.

“Same. You look great, too.”

Marissa appeared to have dressed like a vampire hunter. The whole effect on her looked…hot.

“Care for a drink?” Marissa asked.

“Okay.”

“We’ll be right back,” she told Jonathan, who stayed behind to chat with Kellan. The latter didn’t take an eye off Amanda as she followed Marissa to the long table.

“There’s only wine here.”

“That’s okay.”

Marissa and Amanda each grabbed a wine glass, filling them with one of the bottles on the table. Amanda put her wand inside the jacket of her costume so it wouldn’t be in the way. Then they clinked glasses and took a sip.

“How have you been doing?” Marissa asked.

“Great. Thanks. You?”

“Pretty ecstatic.”

Marissa glanced towards Jonathan, and Amanda followed her gaze.