Quantum (9 page)

“What?” I asked, a little concerned.

“Nothing. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. I’m gonna miss you.”

I nodded and squeezed his hand. I was going to miss him, too. In the short time we’d been together, we had totally connected in a way that I hadn’t with anyone before. The thought of never seeing him again was unbearable. I could feel myself welling up with tears and I hastily shook myself.

“Arizona?”

“David, why did you call me
Poppet
when you first saw me?” It was one of the questions that had been bugging me. It was almost like he thought he knew me.

He flinched. “I mistook you for someone else I know.”

“Who?”

“Just a girl, I know.”

“Know? Is her name Arizona? Should I be jealous?”

He laughed. “No, you shouldn’t. And yes, strangely she is called Arizona as well. She’s a family friend. I’ve known her for a long time.”

“Kinda odd, mistaking me for someone you’ve known for a long time….”

“Well, she has blonde hair, but you guys look a lot like each other apart from that.”

“All right, I guess that explains it. So, you’re not seeing anyone?”

“No. I’d like to be seeing
you
,” he whispered.

“I’d like that too, but we live so far apart. Chances are that we’ll never see each other again. Unless I start visiting my mother in Mountain View! She’s supposed to come up to Princeton soon for her vacation, so I’ll get all her info off her then. I never took any interest before. I’ll consider putting up with her if it means I can see you.”

David leaned forward and kissed my brow. “We’ll work something out.”

I spent the rest of the flight telling David about myself–my childhood in London and our move to New Jersey. We both nodded off toward the end of the flight and were woken up by a flight attendant beckoning us to secure our seatbelts for landing.

As we made our way through Newark airport, I was overcome with gloom. I hated the thought of saying goodbye to David. I wasn’t the least bit ready to let go. He was going to accompany me back to the house, but had decided to not come in to make explaining things to my dad less complicated. He had to get right back to catch his flight home anyway.

As we stood outside my house, beside the cab, saying our goodbyes, the front door to the house opened.

“Arizona, is that you?” Dad shouted.

“Yeah, I’ll be right in.”

“Hurry up!”

“I’m coming, hold on! David, I have to go.”

“Bye, babe,” David whispered into my ear, kissing it gently, before letting go of me and stepping back in the cab.

A tear trickled down my cheek.

A
gent Claire Adams shook out her blond wisps of hair and studied the crumpled note in her hand. Perhaps she ought to put it into storage, cold-case it with the rest of the stuff from the Darley-Fox case. She looked at the note again.

time travel

Two simple words, written on a white, crumpled piece of paper, handed to her secretively by Ariele Moreau. It had to be some kind of code, of course. She hadn’t been able to crack it. Neither had any of the techies. She scrambled around looking for a picture of Ariele in the cardboard box sitting on her desk. She had brought the box out for one last look before she filed it away. Claire studied Ariele’s beautiful face staring back at her from the photo. Claire had always been slightly envious of such flawless, natural beauty–the chestnut hair cascading down Ariele’s shoulders framed her heart-shaped face perfectly. The haunting green eyes had a story to tell, she was certain of that. She’d been unable to get permission from her parents to talk to Ariele on her own. It was pointless talking to her in their presence; after all, it was them she had hidden the note from in the first place.

She glanced over at the unopened book beside the box.
Time Travel in Einstein’s Universe
by J. Richard Gott. She’d ordered it ages ago and then became busy with another case–a case she had successfully wrapped today. She should be out celebrating. So, why ponder over this old case?

The case was now a year old and still unresolved, and for as long as it remained so, there was always a chance that the children were at risk. She and her team had concluded that Raj Sen’s disappearance was permanent. Conclusions, though, could be flawed. No one, including his daughter, had seen or heard from him. His wife, Erica, had disappeared–off to join her husband, no doubt. Apparently, life in Mountain View was back to normal. Claire
should
let it rest. She should move on, forget about it. The kids were back, her work was done. She should file it, at least while the case remained static.

Her hand inadvertently moved to the unopened book on her desk and drew it toward her. The green cover appealed to her and she flicked through the book, stopping on page thirteen, her eyes focusing in on one word.

Quantum

Quantum mechanics… she read on. Perhaps this whole time-travel thing was not totally insane. She gave herself a shake. Of course it was! She threw the book into the box and sat back and closed her eyes. It was time to move on.

Claire did need to unwind, to have some fun. She looked down at her feet and at the sorry footwear that couldn’t really be categorized as shoes. The hideous black sneakers were comfortable, and the manufacturer promised a pert set of thighs if used enough. She should sue them. Thankfully it was fall and open-toed shoes were out. Her toes hadn’t been pedicured for months, they looked revolting. What she really desired was a pair of Manolos, however, she would have to settle for the black Stuart Weitzman pumps she had splurged on. She slipped into them, making sure not to glance at her feet while doing so; there was no point in spoiling the illusion. When they were safely on, Claire looked down, admiring her shoes. It was amazing how a pair of nice shoes could change one’s outlook on life. She suddenly felt much brighter and ready for some fun. She grabbed her bag, ready to head over to the restaurant when her cell phone rang.

“Agent Adams?”

“Yes.”

“This is Agent Pitt. Are you still in your office?”

“I was just about to head out,” Claire said. “What’s up?”

“It’s the Darley-Fox case,” he replied.

“What about it?”

I
t was October again! The sky was clear and the stars were twinkling, their light dancing off the shimmer of the lake. I couldn’t help but smile. Everything was perfect. This lake continued to be my favorite place, despite what happened last year. Kellan and I had been back many times since then, but the incident still haunted me. The events of that night would be forever embedded in my memory. Not that I could remember much from the
incident
itself–just a sudden blackout. I guess that’s what frightened me the most, that I had been completely unaware of the impending danger. That night, last October, had definitely made me more vigilant, more aware of my surroundings. I was always on guard. Even now, as I lay watching the stars with my head firmly planted in the crook of Kellan’s arm, I wasn’t completely relaxed. I listened to every sound. The creaking of the tree branches, the rustle of the leaves, the occasional scurrying of small animals–squirrels mostly, I hoped–and the other nighttime noises, all intensified to my alert ear. Kellan broke my concentration by turning toward me and whispering into my ear.

“Did you feel that?”

I nodded. Of course I did. The October Shivers. It’s what we call the subtle tremors caused by the vibrations coming from Ames at this time of year. Of course, not everyone knows that they come from Ames and that the time-travel portal my mother manufactured is responsible for them. I wondered if Mom was over there messing around with the portal. I still wanted to go back to Princeton to visit Dad. I would ask her about it tomorrow. Was it even safe? Raj Sen had tampered with it with last year. Was he still at large?

The last time anyone had seen him was in the other dimension–Stevensland, as I like to call it. That’s where my dad was and that’s where I would have to go back to see him again. I hoped that Raj had disappeared, though he obviously didn’t
vaporize
or anything. So, there was a possibility of running into him in Stevensland. Now, that would be unpleasant, to say the least.
 
Although Raj was not much to contend with size-wise, he was a nasty lump of evil to be reckoned with. In a short space of time, Raj had stabbed David’s dad, killed his own wife, Erica, and then taken off. What a jerk. All in order to get the blueprints of the portal so he could sell them and become rich. Unfortunately, for him, his scheme–harebrained to start with–had gone woefully wrong. He definitely didn’t bargain for the Wanderers suddenly appearing and turning his plans to dust.