Dreams~Shadows of the Night (6 page)

He experienced a twinge of self-consciousness when a couple of young women pointed at his genitals and giggled behind their hands.
Flushing
with unexpected modesty, Josh turned and waded back into the water to conceal his nakedness.

The children swam around him beneath the water, their heads popping up like corks bobbing to the surface. The others joined them in the water and Josh soon forgot he was naked and surrounded by people all bare as the day they
were born. The adults
splashed
him and each other with a childlike innocence that made him laugh.

He lingered for several minutes enjoying their playfulness until he realized
Marie might be awake and looking for him. Josh wanted to get her into the water. For a few precious moments he’d been able to forget about their nightmare and he wanted that for her, too. He pulled on his khakis and boots, but left the rest of his clothes scattered on his makeshift clothesline before retracing his steps back along the path.

She was awake, but resisted his efforts to make her leave the hut.

“Please, Marie. The water will make you feel better,” he coaxed, as he gently tugged her to her feet.

“I’m not going to feel better until I’m away from Orlando,” she insisted, but gradually allowed herself to be led away. “I took pleasure in my job
when I was here before. That’s why I wanted to come back, but not like this. He’s ruined it for me.”

“You mustn’t let him take away something that was so important to you.”

Her eyes darted around the enclosed area as soon as they arrived at the pool. “What if the ransom doesn’t get paid? What if no one comes? We could end up dying.”

He pulled her to him.

“They’ll come,” he insisted. His nose twitched at the combination of unpleasant odors that clung to her. “Let’s get you into the water.”

She stepped back and would have fallen had he not grabbed her.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know. I feel dizzy and I ache all over, especially my head.” She pressed fingertips to her temples. “God, I hope I’m not coming down with some jungle crud.”

Josh forced down the
shiver of dread her words brought and helped her out of her soiled clothes. He did his best to shield her from staring eyes and waited for her to wash herself, but she simply stood there until he took her passiveness as a signal to take charge.

He kept his hands as impersonal as possible. Marie allowed him to bathe her, accepting his help like a docile child and for the first time in his adult life Josh touched an attractive naked woman without any thought of making love to her. The others watched in silence seeming to understand that Marie
was too fragile for
their earlier frivolity.

Josh brushed a tangle of wet hair away from her face.

“Feeling any better?”

s
h
e leaned against his chest and
“I just want to go home.”

He didn’t want to think about it, but the fear that she may be ill and they might not get away or that he wouldn’t see Catherine again felt almost unbearable.

“I know.”

>>>>dreams<<<<

Douglas stormed into the conference room and practically hurled himself into a chair.
He leaned forward and scowled at the group of men that lined either side of the long conference table.

“Well?” he queried in a voice that snapped like a whip.

Hamilton took the lead. “A rescue team is being put together as we speak and . . .”

Douglas
sliced through his words.

“You mean they haven’t started looking yet?”

The other men exchanged uneasy looks and shifted in their chairs.  “It takes time to find the appropriate people for this kind of thing, Mr. Marsh,” one of them ventured.

“Don’t give me that crap. We’ve got enough influence to get things moving a hell of a lot faster.” He jerked to his feet nearly knocking the chair over in the process. “Get your asses in gear!” he demanded with a blistering glare and slammed out of the room.

Hamilton
quickly pushed back his chair and hurried after him. “Excuse me sir, I know you want to keep things as quiet as possible, but families should be notified.”

Douglas
pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

“Get me their num
bers; I’ll make the calls
.”

>>>>dreams<<<<

Catherine and Tom were spending the day at the beach. A balmy breeze blew off the water and skimmed over the dry sand scattering a few granules. The sky, dotted with small popcorn shaped clouds, molded itself to the land like a pale blue cloth draped gracefully along the horizon. Gentle waves rolled into shore delivering jagged lines of frothy bubbles before rippling back leaving the sand slick and shiny in its wake.

Catherine looked at Tom, as he stared out to sea.

“You’re awfully quiet.”

“I was thinking how far away Josh is.”

“More than miles separate us. I know he felt he had to go, but it still baffles me.”

“Josh has always been an adventuresome guy. Even as a kid his inquisitive nature drew him into situations that the rest of us avoided either out of fear or common sense. He thrives on new challenges
–
new places.”

“Even when there could be danger involved?” she asked while drawing little circles in the sand with her fingertip.

“I don’t think it occurs to him. I’ve never seen him be fazed by anything. When we were kids I used to think if I hung around him long enough I might be able to absorb some of his nerve by osmosis. I can’t help envying him his courage, even if I don’t always agree with everything he does.”

“If you ask me, I think his actions come more from egotism than bravery. I don’t know how you and his family have continued to tolerate his narcissistic behavior.”

“He doesn’t give us a choice. Josh is what he is. I guess it sounds kind of weird to you, but that’s always been part of what makes him so
fascinating.”

“I don’t understand that kind of logic. If you walk on a tightrope long enough the odds are you’re going to fall off sooner or later.” She bit her lip. “I’ve been having bad dreams about Josh. I’m afraid something has happened to him; something terrible.”

“They’re just dreams, Catherine. Don’t try to make anything more out of them.”

>>>>dreams<<<<

Tom
tried to dismiss Catherine’s strange premonition as he drove home
,
but
being stuck in traffic gave him too much time to think. He stared impatiently at the endless lines of vehicles, as they crawled along like sluggish speckled snakes. He had
a feeling there must have been an accident up ahead that he couldn’t see yet.

Coming from a small town in northern
California
where four cars in a row was considered heavy traffic, he’d learned to put up with the delays here in the more populous southern part of the state. He’d taken a helicopter ride right after arriving and thought how the freeways reminded him of giant spider webs with vehicles stuck like insects.

By the time he finally let himself into his apartment and took Douglas’s call, he listened to the message with a kind of fatalism. Tom couldn’t imagine w
hat bizarre t
wist of fate had made Catherine
sense that things had gone wrong for Josh before
the
rest of them had received word, but now he was going to have to
let her know she’d been right.

Without hesitation he drove back to her apartment where he vigilantly stood in her living room waiting for the impact of his words to sink in. He watched her struggling to grasp his words, as shock became disbelief and disbelief slowly turned into desperate optimism.

“Kidnapped?” She frowned, creating tiny lines in her smooth forehead. “I don’t understand how this could happen when he was with a team. He’s going to be all right isn’t he? I mean, the people he’s working for are going to get him back, aren’t they?”

“They’re doing everything they can.”

>>>>dreams<<<<

“I knew something was going to happen to him, but he wouldn’t listen to me.” Her hand pressed against her stomach. “No one ever listens,” she muttered.

He pulled her gently against him.

“Hey, Josh is tough. He’ll get through this.”

She leaned into his body and began to cry.

“Please don’t cry, Catherine,” her name slipping from his lips in a broken whisper, as the warmth of her tears slowly soaked
into his shirt.

They clung to each other sharing their distress until her sobs had dwindled to soft hiccups. He eased her onto a nearby chair.

“I’ll go make some coffee. Okay?”

She sniffed and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

“Yes, all right.”

He poured out two cups and added extra sugar to Catherine’s thinking it might somehow help. He carried them to the living room.

“Here you go. Careful, it’s very hot.”

She took a cautious sip.

“Does Josh’s family know what’s happened?”

“No. He always gives my number for emergencies when he takes off. I’m flying up there tomorrow afternoon.
I
didn’t want them to hear
the news over the phone.”

“Would you mind if I went with you? I realize it’s not the best timing considering the circumstances, but I’d like to meet them.”

“I’d be glad of your company.” He realized too late that his quick answer hadn’t given him a chance to think about what repercussions her visit might
create.

She drank
from her cup again and set it aside. “I don’t want to
be a nuisance, but would you mind if I went
home with you
now
?
I’d rather
not be
alone
tonight.”

“Not at all. I’ll take care of our cups while you get ready.”

Tom had trouble understanding how Josh could leave her. If she was his woman he wouldn’t be able to tear himself away. He’d told Josh as much before he’d taken off, and that’s when Josh had asked him to look after Catherine. He’d said it in a joking way, but Tom hadn’t wanted to pass up the opportunity to be around such a beautiful woman.

He took their cups to the kitchen, poured what was left of the coffee down the sink, and rinsed them out. He stood there staring into space, trying to absorb the fact that his best friend could at this very moment be trussed up like a hog ready to go to slaughter. The disturbing image made his hands grip the edge of the counter, but he forced himself to clamp down on his inner turmoil when he heard Catherine coming.

“You travel light,” he said pointing to the small duffle bag in her hand.

“Are you sure
it’s okay if I go with you? I invited myself before I asked if you have a place for me to sleep.
”

His pulse raced at the idea of what it would be like to have her share his bed, quickly followed by a deep sense of guilt that made him ashamed.

“I’ll take the sofa. I don’t relish the idea of being alone tonight, either. Go get a jacket and I’ll help you lock up,” he said and took the bag from her, as they walked out of the kitchen together.

Chapter Six

Tom ran a damp palm down the side of his jeans before
accept
ing
Josh’s brother-in-law’s vigorous handshake.
He resembled
an enormous teddy bear with his wide body, oversized
limbs, and small black eyes peering out of a large head.

“Thanks for meeting us, Jerry.”

“Glad to. I guess you’re feeling a little homesick for the family, huh?”

“You know me,” he said ignoring Jerry’s speculative look and edged closer to Catherine. “Thi
s is Catherine Ashley. She’s…
a good friend,” he mumbled.

Bushy brows shot up.

“A friend?” he slapped Tom on the back. “Well, well, well.” Huge fingers engulfed her hand. “Welcome to the boonies, Ms. Ashley.”

She could see that he obviously thought she was Tom’s girlfriend. She waited for Tom to correct the assumption, but to her surprise he remained silent.

“Please call me Catherine,” she said filling in what had become an awkward void for her.

“That’s a lovely name for a lovely lady. You two got everything you need, Tom?”

He held up their duffle bags. “Yes, we’re all set.”

“You can wait inside while I bring my truck around if you’d like, Catherine.”

“Actually, I’d rather get some fresh air after being on the plane.”