Sliver Of Truth

Two men had exited the car, blocking our route back toward the street. The slamming of their doors sounded like gunfire in the quiet of the park. I stared at their forms, both of them tall and thin, moving with long gaits toward us. Neither of them were Max; I could see that much even in the dark, even though I couldn’t see their faces. Of course it wasn’t Max. How foolish I had been to come, to bring Jake with me. I’d let myself be led here by some stupid fantasy. They think you know where he is. They think you can lead them to him. What did Grant mean? Who were these people? My feet felt rooted; something kept me staring, paralyzed. I barely felt Jake pulling at me.

“Ridley, snap out of it. Let’s go,” said Jake, moving me by placing both his hands on my shoulders and pushing me.

We turned and ran around the side of the museum, our footfalls echoing on the concrete. We had no choice; there was no way back to the street. On our way around the building, we tried a couple of the heavy wood and wrought-iron doors, the latched gabled windows. They were locked, of course. The museum was long closed. Inside were French medieval courtyards, labyrinthine hallways leading to high-ceiling rooms, a hundred places to hide. Outside we were exposed. The stone wall that edged the property was not far. I heard the sound of people running. I wasn’t sure what our options were. It didn’t seem as if we had many.

“Where do we go?” I asked Jake as we moved quickly toward the wall.

He took a gun I hadn’t seen from beneath his jacket. “We get into the trees and just keep moving south along the wall, hope that they’re not very motivated. Maybe they’ll go away.” I couldn’t tell if he was trying to be funny. It was then that we heard the blades of a helicopter.

It rose as if it came from the highway below us. And soon we were deafened by the sound and the wind, blinded by the spotlight that shown from its nose. The men we had seen moving through the trees were suddenly approaching fast. We ran.

I WOKE UP calling for Jake. In my mind’s eye, I could see him falling. I woke up reaching for him but knowing he was far gone. I kept hearing that question: Where’s the ghost? I hated my foggy head and my weak, strange body, which felt full of sand. Something awful had happened to me and to Jake, and I had no idea what it was.

The room was empty and I wondered if Dylan Grace had ever been here at all. Either way, I had to get moving. I couldn’t be here anymore. I got up from the bed more easily than I had before. The bandage at my waist was dry and clean. I saw my jeans, shoes, and jacket on the floor by the door and, with a lot of pain, struggled into them. I looked around the room for any other belongings and saw nothing.

The hallway was deserted and the elevator came quickly. I didn’t have anything-a bag, money, a passport, any identification at all. How did I get to London? Was I really in London? How would I get home? I was too confused and scattered to even be afraid.

In the posh lobby-dark wood floors covered with Oriental area rugs, dark red walls, plush velvet furniture-there was no one. I could hear the street noise outside; the restaurant and concierge desk were both closed. It must have been the small hours of the morning. I looked around for a clock and found one on the reception desk-2:01 A.M. I rang the little bell. A man stepped out from a doorway off to the side of the counter. He was young and slight, with ash-blond hair and dark, dark eyes. He had an aquiline nose and thin lips. He was very pale and British-looking.

“Oh, Ms. Jones. You must want your things,” he said. “Do you have your claim check?”

I reached into my pocket and (how about that?) retrieved a small ticket stub. I handed it to him without saying anything. I was afraid I might throw up on the gleaming wood. He nodded cordially and moved into the cloakroom, came back with the beat-up messenger bag I’d been carrying before all this (whatever it was) had happened. I took it from him and flipped it open. My wallet, notebook, passport, keys, makeup, cell phone were all inside. Somehow the sight of my stuff, benign and familiar, made me feel sicker and more afraid.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said gently. I looked up at him. “But you don’t look well.”

I shook my head. The whole encounter was surreal; I couldn’t be sure if it was actually happening. The ground beneath my feet felt soft and unstable. “I’m not. I’m…not sure how I got here. Do you know? How I got here, I mean? How do you know my name? How long have I been here?”

He walked from behind the counter and put an arm around my shoulders, a hand on my elbow. I let him lead me toward a couch and lower me onto its cushions.

“Do you think, Ms. Jones, that I might call you a doctor?”

I nodded. “I think that might be a good idea.”