Beyond the Reflection’s Edge (33 page)

Nikolai stiffened, and his voice grew jittery. “Do you have a suggested course of action?”

“We need to do something they won’t expect.” Nathan looked at the entrance to the center — three double doors bordered by brick columns that rose to the roof. “Do you know this place?”

“I have performed here three times. It was the only destination in the city I could remember.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Nathan turned back to Nikolai. “Can you lead us to the stage?”

“Of course.” Nikolai pushed his door open and got out. “It’s easy to find.”

Nathan collected his mirror and violin from the van and headed for the door with Nikolai, while Gunther, carrying the still sleeping Francesca, followed a few steps behind. Nathan glanced back to check on Kelly. Trailing by several yards, she shuffled along and kept a watchful eye.

As soon as they passed through the entry door, the lovely sounds of someone practicing Dvořák’s magnificent cello concerto greeted their ears. Whoever the cellist was had just begun an early measure of the solo portion and hit every note with vigor and ringing clarity. It sounded like the music was coming from the other side of an open door at the end of a hallway directly in front of them.

“The stage is in there,” Nikolai said, pointing at the door.

Nathan lifted the mirror. The reflection slowly altered, changing from his tired pale face to a dim room of some kind. As the image sharpened, a small stuffed rabbit came into view. He smiled, laughing under his breath. “Mr. Bunn!”

“Mr. Bunn?” Kelly jogged to catch up and looked over his shoulder. “What does it mean?”

“It means we can use my idea.” He strode through the door and hurried down the stairs at the side of the seating area, then climbed up to the stage. As he passed by the cellist sitting at the middle of the raised platform, Nathan gave him a nod. “Nice touch.”

The cellist, a young man with long arms and a bright smile, lifted his bow. “Thanks.”

“Mind if we look around?” Nathan asked as he continued into the backstage area.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

As the others caught up, Nathan scanned the paneled gray floor. “We need sheets, robes, cloaks, anything like that.”

“Curtains?” Kelly asked, lifting a wad of black material.

Nathan picked up another wad, an old red curtain. “I guess they took down these old ones and replaced them.”

“Perhaps they use different curtains for different events,” Nikolai said.

“I think they’ll work.” Nathan draped the black curtain over Francesca and tucked it around Gunther’s arms. “Nikolai, will you bring these back when we’re done?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

After setting down the violin and mirror, Nathan held out his arms, fashioning a cradle. “Okay, Kelly, up you go.”

Kelly pointed at herself. “You’re going to carry me?”

“Sure. You’re not much bigger than Francesca. All bundled up, no one will know the difference.”

She set her fists on her hips. “Thanks. Like I needed another short joke.”

Nathan set one arm on Kelly’s back and slid another behind her knees. With a slight grunt, he hoisted her into his arms. “You and I will go with Nikolai in his car. That way, they’ll probably think I have her.”

She laid her arm around Nathan’s neck. “What if they don’t?”

He eyed Francesca’s bare feet protruding from under the curtain. “She took her shoes off,” he whispered.

“Not a problem.” Gunther shifted the black material and covered her feet.

“No. Leave them uncovered.” Nathan cocked his head toward Nikolai. “Take Kelly’s shoes and put them on Francesca.”

“Ah!” Nikolai smiled as he transferred Kelly’s Nike’s to Francesca. “An excellent plan! I’ll remove her socks as well.”

After her shoes and socks came off, Kelly wiggled her toes. “I have polish on my nails, and it’s cherry red.”

“Let’s hope he can’t tell from where he is.” Nathan turned toward the front of the stage. “Okay, cover Kelly and make sure her bare feet stick out, but not so much that it’s obvious.”

Nikolai draped the red curtain over Kelly, leaving her toes
uncovered. “I believe we are ready to go,” he said. “I will get your violin and mirror.”

“Curl up, Kelly,” Nathan said. “Try to make yourself smaller.”

He could feel her tuck her knees up and nestle her head against his chest. “Like this?” she asked, her voice muffled.

“Yeah.” He pushed out a quick breath. “Good thing you’re a lightweight.”

Her voice sharpened. “I weigh one hundred and eight pounds!”

“Feels like one oh seven. I told you to eat more French fries.” Nathan began marching toward the stage’s stairway. As he passed the cellist again, he gave him another nod. “Keep up the good work.”

The cellist stared at him. “Yeah. Thanks.”

When they reached the door, Nathan whispered to Gunther, “Don’t look at the stalker. Let’s just load them up and get out of here. I’ll head north. You head south. Let’s meet where you picked us up.”

Gunther shifted Francesca a bit higher. “Sure thing.”

Nikolai jogged ahead and opened the van and car doors, allowing Gunther and Nathan to set their loads down in the back. After closing the door, Nathan extended his hand toward Nikolai. “Mind if I drive? If they’re out to kill Francesca, it could get dicey.”

Nikolai pulled out his keys and dropped them in Nathan’s hand. “An excellent suggestion.”

While Nathan started the car, Nikolai hurried around to the passenger’s side and set the violin and mirror on the floorboard in front of him.

Giving Gunther a nod, Nathan eased out of the parking lot and headed for the main highway. “I’ll take a direct route to see if he’s following us.”

Kelly spoke up from the back. “Do I have to stay hidden and miss all the action?”

“If anything happens, I’ll give you a blow-by-blow.” When he reached Highway 61, he turned north and punched the accelerator. “Do you see anyone behind us?”

Nikolai looked back. “I cannot tell. There are many cars, but no obvious followers.”

“Maybe when we get to the interstate, we’ll be able to spot a green truck. They’ll have to use that route to cross the river to get to Illinois.”

After a minute or two of silence, Nathan asked, “Could you help me solve a mystery?”

“Certainly, if I can.”

“Remember that night at Ganz Hall in Chicago when a double murder took place?”

“Yes, of course. My wife and I played in the quartet. It was a frightening night indeed!”

“What happened? Do you know who the victims were?”

“I will tell you what I know, which isn’t much. Helen and I stayed after the performance, because a young violinist from the quartet that played before ours wished to speak to us at length about Dvořák, his favorite composer. The three of us sat on stage for so long, someone turned the lights off without realizing we were still there. We thought it amusing at first and simply went on with our conversation. Soon, however, someone entered the side door and set up a floor-standing mirror. We guessed that he had not seen us, so we stayed quiet to see what his intentions were. He went out, and moments later, he and another man brought in two coffins and arranged them on tables on the opposite side of the stage.

“Since we could see bodies in the coffins, we became quite nervous and tried to remain perfectly quiet, but one of the men, a tall, pale-looking fellow, saw us. The two men became violently aggressive toward us, so we defended ourselves. Unfortunately, the only weapons we had were our violins, which did not survive the battle. After quite a skirmish, they captured
us and locked us in a storage closet. It took some time, but we were able to break out. I sustained several serious cuts, as did the young musician, but my wife was unharmed. To this day, I have no idea who lay in the coffins.”

Kelly piped up from the backseat. “So that’s why you didn’t make it back home on time.”

“I was quite delayed, to be sure. We stayed overnight in the hospital and answered the authorities’ questions the next day.”

Nathan breathed a long “Hmmmm.” Someone or something led him to believe that Dr. Malenkov and his wife were in the coffins as replacements for the Rosetta pieces. But why? To make him look for Dr. Malenkov’s name in the email draft folder? But so much more was going on than just the solution to the Rosetta puzzle. Whoever this invisible sleight-of-hand magician was, he had more up his sleeve than a couple of aces.

Something green caught Nathan’s attention in the rearview mirror. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “I see the pickup. It’s a couple of hundred feet back.”

Nikolai turned and looked. “He seems to be lagging. Is he really following us?”

“Let’s find out.” Nathan pressed the accelerator and extended his hand. “Please give me the mirror and play something on the violin.”

He laid the mirror in Nathan’s palm and pulled the violin from its case. “This is a strange concert venue, but I will do as you say.”

Nathan set the mirror at his side. “Just watch. Explaining it would take too long.”

“What shall I play?”

“Anything.”

Nikolai raised the violin and began a Beethoven sonata. As they zoomed along in the right-hand lane, the pickup kept pace but stayed back, apparently satisfied to keep them in sight. After a few miles, they passed a police car hiding in a gap in the
bushes at the side of the highway. As soon as the pickup zipped by, the patrol car flashed its lights, roared onto the pavement, and gave chase.

The pickup took off and rapidly closed the gap between it and Nikolai’s Volvo. Nathan set the mirror on the dashboard. “That’s weird. All I see is the sky, like the mirror’s pointing straight up.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Kelly sat upright but kept her head low. “Is it okay to be seen now?”

“Not yet.” Nathan pointed ahead. “There’s the bridge.”

As soon as he eased up on the gas, a heavy jolt shook the car, shoving it close to the shoulder. Nathan wrenched the wheel back to the left. “The truck’s ramming us!”

Kelly peeked over the backseat. “Slow down more! The cop’s closing in!”

“But the bridge is dead ahead! I can’t let him slam me into it!” Nathan pressed the pedal again. “We’ll take our chances in Illinois!”

As he sped across the long span, the truck bumped them again, this time pushing from the left rear corner. Nathan tried to correct with one hand, but the Volvo slid toward the low concrete barrier that served as the bridge’s protective railing, slowing both vehicles to a crawl. “Kelly! Help me hold the mirror!”

She thrust her body forward and lay prostrate while bracing the mirror. “Got it!”

Nathan grabbed the wheel with both hands and fought back, jerking to the left and banging the truck. “Nikolai! Keep playing!”

“I still see the sky!” Kelly shouted. “What does it mean?”

“Just hang on!” The steering wheel froze. As the passenger’s side squealed against the concrete, the truck turned toward the Volvo at a ninety-degree angle and locked them in place, roaring its engine as it shoved again and again.

Kelly rocked back and forth, grabbing the wheel to keep from rolling. “He’ll push us over the edge!”

“The cops are running this way,” Nathan said, still fighting the wheel. “They’ll never make it in time!”

Kelly latched on to Nathan’s arm. “What’ll we do?”

“Dust off the ‘Our Father’ prayer!”

Nikolai switched from Beethoven to Handel’s
Messiah
. “If I die,” he shouted, his bow swaying wildly, “I will die in the arms of Christ!”

“The mirror’s changing!” Nathan called, still fighting with the wheel and pumping the accelerator. “I see Mr. Bunn!”

With a deafening rumble from its engine, the truck gave a final shove. The car rolled over the barrier and dove headfirst toward the Mississippi River.

Still clutching the mirror, Kelly screamed. As the plunge shoved Nathan against his seat, he laid an arm over her back, gritting his teeth. “Just … hang … on!”

Nikolai hugged the violin and case, closing his eyes as he prayed out loud. “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

The water raced toward them. The car began a slow spin. Nathan reached for the door, pulled its handle, and kicked it open. The interior light flashed on. As a splash erupted in front of him, a fierce jolt rattled his bones. Then, everything fell dark.

A painful thump on his backside snapped Nathan’s eyes open. His vision pulsed with photonegative blackness. “Kelly! Nikolai! Where are you?”

An excited voice shot back from somewhere close. “Nathan! Where did you come from?”

Nathan stared at a stuffed rabbit in his hand. “Gunther?”

“Yes. Can’t you see me?”

Nathan rubbed his eyes. Apparently he was sitting cross-legged on the back cargo floor of the delivery van. Gunther sat in the driver’s seat next to Francesca, driving through light fog on a rural highway.

“Yeah. I can see you now.” He looked around the dim van. Kelly lay facedown next to him, moaning. Beside her, Nikolai sat with the violin and case in his lap, leaning against the side window. His eyes were open, but he seemed in a daze.

“How’d we get here?” Nathan asked as he reached for Kelly.

“I was going to ask you that. I heard a loud bump, and you just showed up.”

“I guess we got transported again.” Nathan turned Kelly over. As her arms tightened, clamping the mirror against her chest, she fluttered her eyelids and winced, accentuating a bloody gash across her forehead just below her scalp. Using his thumb, he wiped away a trickle of blood oozing toward her ear. “It was
just in time, too. That pickup pushed our car over the side of the bridge, and the last thing I remember was splashing into the Mississippi.”

Gunther flashed a thumbs up. “That’s exactly what we need. It’s perfect!”

“Perfect? We’re pretty beat up, especially Kelly.”

“I don’t mean that.” Gunther looked back at the trio. “Is everyone okay?”

“I think we will be.” He glanced around the cargo area. “Do you have a first aid kit?”

“You bet.” Gunther touched Francesca’s head. “Hey, sweet-heart, can you look under your seat for a white metal box?”