Heat (7 page)

"Skizz is in the hospital," said Gaia. "You know that."

"Yeah, I guess so." Mary still looked doubtful. "It's just that this morning . . ."

"What?"

Mary shook her head. "Nothing." The grin returned to her face. "Let's get back to an important topic, like how you are so going to wear that dress tonight."

Gaia thought about it for a second. She could wear the dress. She would look
about as attractive as a football player in a tutu
, but she could wear it. "I think I'll find something else."

"You won't even try?" asked Mary.

"Not this time."

Mary's bright green eyes locked onto Gaia's. "Coward."

Gaia took a step back. "What?"

"You heard me," said Mary. She jerked the dress from Gaia's hands and shoved it back into the sack. "I buy you a great dress, and you don't even have the guts to wear it."

Anger started to tighten down on Gaia. "If it's so great, why don't you wear it?"

"Maybe I will." Mary narrowed her eyes. "At least I'm not too scared."

"I am not scared," Gaia said in a near shout. "Believe me, I'm not afraid."

"Yeah?" Mary held out the bag. "Then prove it."

ED WAS ON HIS WAY OUT THE DOOR
when the phone rang for
the two hundred and thirty-seventh time
that afternoon. He groaned. Every time his parents were gone, it seemed like he spent all his time answering junk phone calls.

Checking with Undertakers

He rolled across the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and started talking. "Look, this is an apartment. We

don't need insulated windows. We don't need siding. I don't need insurance because I don't own a car, and I don't donate to anybody who calls me on the phone. Clear enough?"

"That's great, Ed," said the voice over the phone. "Now, are you ready to listen?"

Ed fumbled the phone, dropped it, caught it, and shoved it back against his ear. "Gaia?"

"I need a favor," said Gaia. There was a burst of music and background noise.

"What kind of favor?" asked Ed. "Where are you, anyway?"

"I'm at Eddie's."

"Who's Eddie?"

"Eddie's the restaurant," Gaia said. The music started up again, and Ed had to strain to hear her over the driving beat. "I'm here with Mary."

"Yeah?" In his mind's eye Ed had no trouble picturing Gaia and Mary. Gaia's hair was long and pale,
buttery blond
. Mary's was shorter, wavy, and copper red. Both of them were beautiful. Together the two girls were the hottest pair Ed had ever seen. Just a couple of days before, Gaia had kissed him. True, it had been an exceptional situation, but it had been a kiss. A real kiss. Right on the mouth.
He wondered what Gaia was wearing. He wondered what Mary was wearing
. Maybe Mary would--

"Ed? Ed, are you there?"

"Uh, yeah." Ed tried to shake off the daydreams and listen. "I'm here."

"There's something I want you to do for me."

"Sure. What is it?"

Gaia made a reply, but Ed couldn't hear her over a sudden increase in noise from the restaurant.

"What was that?"

"Skizz!" Gaia shouted into the phone.

"What?"

"Skizz. Mary's old dealer. I want you to find out where he is."

Ed stared at the receiver. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Check the hospitals."

"Why would he be in a hospital?"

"Because," said Gaia, "I put him there."

"Oh," said Ed. Then, "Oh!" as he realized the meaning of what she had said. "You sure I shouldn't be checking with undertakers?"

"No. Or at least, I don't think so. If you can't find him, check and see what you can learn from the police."

Ed grabbed a pad from the kitchen counter and made a couple of quick notes. "Okay," he said. "I'll see what I can find. But remember what happened last time we tried to play detectives?"

"We're not talking about going up against a serial killer," said Gaia. "I just want to be sure this particular scuzzy drug dealer is still out of the picture."

"Gotcha. I'll see what I can find out." Ed cleared his throat. "So, Gaia. If I find some information, maybe we can get together and--"

"Thanks, Ed," said Gaia. "I'll check in soon." The phone clicked and went dead.

Ed hung the receiver back on the hook and scowled. "Great," he said to the empty kitchen. "One kiss and she thinks I'll do anything for her."

Then he pulled a phone book out of the cabinet and started to look up hospitals.

MARY HELD THE PHONE CLOSE TO
her mouth. "Aunt Jen? Can you hear me?"

With a K

She waited for the reply from the other end and frowned at the receiver. Clearly the tales of Mary's terrible drug addiction were still affecting the opinions of her favorite aunt. "Aunt Jen . . . Aunt Jen . . . Aunt Jen! Look, I'm okay. I'm not at a party. I'm at a restaurant."

Mary shifted around on one foot to see if Gaia was watching her. "Eddie's.
E-d-d-i-e-s.
It's near the campus. NYU, okay?"

She nodded as she listened to her aunt's reply. "No

party. No drugs. Just a greasy restaurant. I'm having a cheeseburger."

Even this information generated a lengthy response. Mary began to wonder how many people went back on drugs just because so many people
pestered them about staying off
. "Look, Aunt Jen, I only wanted to see if you found out anything about that stuff I brought you."

Mary listened for a moment, gritted her teeth, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes, I promise it has nothing to do with drugs. Can we please forget the drugs?"

Mary took another glance toward the table and saw that Gaia was looking at her. She cupped her hand over the mouthpiece and tried to speak as softly as she could in the noisy diner. "Yes, I know what the name Gaia means. Uh-huh."

Mary dragged a small pad of paper from her pocket.
Thomas Chaos,
she wrote on the pad.

LOKI DIRECTED THE LASER SENSOR
at the window of Eddie's diner. In proper situations the device was a wonder. It could take the tiny vibrations that sound caused in the
window and use those vibrations to re-create the original sounds. This was not a proper situation. The noise level inside the place made it nearly impossible to sort one sound from th
e sea of babble
. With some difficulty Loki finally managed to locate the voice of the Moss girl.

The Moss Situation

". . . is Gaia . . . what that means . . . father . . . "

Loki lowered the device in frustration. It was clear that the girl was discussing Gaia, but he couldn't tell what she was saying. Not even Loki could bug every phone in the city.

The situation was becoming intolerable. The girl had information about Katia, and she had shared that information with others.
Possibly several others
.

Loki dropped the laser detector back into his pocket, took out his phone, and pressed a single button.

"Yes," said an emotionless voice from the other end.

"We'll have to move faster than expected on the Moss situation," said Loki. "She presents too much potential risk."

"I understand," replied the flat voice. "Measures will be prepared."

"You handle the aunt," said Loki. "I'll take care of the girl myself."

ELLA PICKED UP THE PHONE ON
the first ring. "Yes?"

Step Two

"Hi," said the voice from the other end. "This is Sam Moon. Is Gaia there?"

Ella smiled. Sam was a beautiful boy. Nearly perfect, in Ella's carefully considered opinion. He
was far better than anything that Gaia deserved
. "No, Sam," Ella said sweetly. "I'm afraid Gaia is out."

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Not until late. She's out on a date with her boyfriend."

"Oh."

Ella ran a lacquered nail down the side of the phone. This was working out so well. "Do you want me to take a message?"

"No. No, I guess not."

"Should I tell her you called?"

"No," said Sam. "Thanks."

The sadness in his voice was absolutely delicious. "You're welcome, dear."

Ella set the phone back on its hook and brushed her fingers through her scarlet hair. The call couldn't have gone better if she had planned it. Now it was time for step two.

His fingertips pressed into her, pushing her against him.

"YOU LOOK GREAT."


Ella Wear

Gaia squinted at the image in the mirror. "I look ridiculous."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding?" She moved around Gaia, inspecting her dress from all angles. "I wish I looked half as good as you."

Gaia tugged at the top of the dress. "Half my size is more like it. This thing might fit you, but it's
way
too small for me."

"Are you nuts? It's a perfect fit."

Gaia turned away from the mirror in disgust. "Okay, you've seen me wear the dress. You have to know I can't go out in this thing."

"All I know is that it fits great, you look great, and you should wear it."
Mary flipped back her red hair
and studied Gaia for a moment. "But if you're too scared--"

"I'm not scared," Gaia said between gritted teeth. "Being scared has nothing to do with it."

Mary nodded. "You just don't want to be embarrassed."

"Exactly."

"You're afraid somebody will make fun of you."

"Right . . . I mean, no." Gaia drew in a deep breath and blew it out through her mouth. "I am not afraid."

"Good," Mary replied brightly. "Then you won't mind wearing the dress."

Gaia lowered her face into her hands and shook

her head. She wondered if being
a sociopathic loner
was really such a bad thing. On her own, she managed to get into fights only with armed criminals. Somehow that didn't seem nearly as disastrous as wearing this dress out in public. "Please tell me we're going somewhere that nobody knows me."

"Absolutely."

Gaia raised her head. "And we'll never go there again."

Mary shrugged. "If that's what you want. Wait till you get there before you decide something like that."

"Then all right, I may be crazy, but I'll wear the dress." Gaia went to the closet, pulled out her longest coat, and pulled it over the snug dress. "I'm not saying I'll stay long. Once everyone's had a good laugh, I'm leaving."

Mary shook her head. "You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?" asked Gaia.

"Believe me. When the guys see you in that dress, there is not going to be any laughing." Mary pulled her coat on over the translucent top and short black skirt that made up her own outfit. "Let's get moving."

Gaia wasn't afraid. She
couldn't
be afraid, but she was definitely not looking forward to this evening. Her mood wasn't improved when she saw that Ella was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.

Ella folded her arms and leaned back against the stair rail as the girls approached. "Well," she said. "And where are you two going?"

"Dancing," Mary answered before Gaia could open her mouth. "Want to come along?"

Gaia winced.
She could read the sarcasm in Mary's voice. She had no doubt that Ella heard it, too. But that didn't mean Ella wouldn't say yes just because she knew how much Gaia would hate it. Gaia looked back over her shoulder and glared at Mary, but Mary only smiled in reply.

Ella gave a short laugh.
"I do love to dance," she said, "but no. I'm afraid I have my own duties to attend to tonight."

"That's too bad," Gaia said quickly. "Well, I'll see you later."

She started to step past, but to Gaia's surprise, Ella reached out and laid her hand on Gaia's arm. "Do be careful, dear," she said.

Concern wasn't usual for Ella. "Sure. All right." Gaia walked on, and
Ella's fingers slipped away.


"Please tell me you weren't serious," Gaia whispered as she and Mary reached the door.

"What? About Ms. Niven coming with us?" Mary grinned. "It would be something, wouldn't it? I'd love to see if she even can dance on those heels she wears."

"It would be something, all right," said Gaia. She pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold night.

It wasn't until she was outside the brownstone that Gaia realized how happy she was that Ella couldn't see what she was wearing under the coat. For the first

time since she had come to New York, Gaia was wearing a shorter dress than her foster mother.

Oh my God. I'm dressed in Ella wear.

"TWENTY-THREE?"


Vodka

Sam nodded.

The woman behind the bar was thin and thirty something, with
pink hair piled on her head
, a neat gold hoop through the side of her nose, and deep lines around her eyes. She looked skeptically at the ID card, then at Sam, then at the ID again. "You look younger."

"It's a curse," said Sam. He reached out for the card, but the bartender pulled it away.

"I wish I had a curse like that," she said. She gave the card another long look and held it up to the light. "This is a good fake."

Sam jerked the card away from her and put it back in his pocket. "It's not a fake!" he said.

The woman held up her hands. "Hey, don't get so worked up. I didn't say I wasn't going to serve you." A phone rang. The bartender turned and picked it up.

While she talked, Sam spun around on his stool. There was a dance floor in the club, but no one was dancing. Not yet, anyway. Up on the stage a band was

just beginning to set up and a couple of men were arranging lights. Sam wasn't sure what kind of music the band played. He thought about asking, but after a moment he decided it didn't matter.
He hadn't come into the club for the music.


He pulled out the ID card he had used to get in. These days, with color laser printers, there was almost nothing that couldn't be faked. Making the ID hadn't taken ten minutes.

The bartender finished with her phone call and strolled back over to stand in front of Sam. "You're getting an awfully early start, kiddo."

"Sam."

"Whatever." The woman leaned one elbow on the bar. "What's it going to be tonight, Sam?"

Sam stuffed the fake ID down in his pocket and studied the bottles behind the bar. The range of beverages was a little intimidating. He wasn't a regular drinker. In fact, he usually skipped both the beer and the shots available at campus parties. He just didn't enjoy it that much.

But this time Sam wasn't drinking for enjoyment.
He was drinking to take the edge off
of Heather's betrayal. He was drinking to wash Gaia out of his mind. He was drinking to smother the pain that cut through him anytime he thought of either girl.

He expected it would take a lot of drinking.

Sam stared at the multicolored bottles for a few

seconds, then shook his head. "Give me a recommendation," he said.

The bartender took a bottle of water-clear liquid down from the shelf. "If I was you, I would go home," she said. "But if you're going to stay here, then go for vodka."

"Why vodka?"

"Because," said the bartender as she pulled out a glass and set it down on the bar. "Vodka is good when you want to do some serious drinking. It doesn't leave you with such a bad hangover." The woman tipped the bottle and filled the glass nearly full of the clear fluid. "And kid, you look like you're here for serious drinking."

ED HELD HIS FINGERS AGAINST THE
bridge of his nose and tried to get his temper under control. "I
understand
you still need insurance information. I don't
have
insurance information. No. No. No! I don't know his Social Security number!" He listened for a moment longer, then slammed the phone back into its cradle.

One Thing He Knew

Four hours before, Ed had been on his way out of the house. Instead of leaving, he had been on the phone for

hours.
He never even got out of his kitchen.


Ed had been trying to get information from St. Vincent's, where Skizz was staying, by pretending to be everything from the police to Skizz's brother. The workers at the hospital weren't stupid, but they were overworked. If you kept at it long enough and pestered hard enough, you could get them to tell you what you wanted. But it sure took time.

Ed glanced toward the windows and saw it was already dark outside. He thought about going out. He could find something to eat. Wander down to see what was on at the movies.

But the sad truth was, despite all the time he had spent badgering people over the phone, Ed still didn't have all the information he needed.
He had the first part.
It wasn't much, really, just a sentence or two.

And Ed knew one thing for sure--what he had learned so far wasn't going to make Gaia happy.

"COME ON!" MARY TOOK GAIA
by the hand and started dragging her toward the dance floor.

Why People Dance

Gaia put on the brakes. "Wait."

"Wait for what?" Mary let go of Gaia's hand and swayed from side to side in time to the music. "Come on. Let's get out there."

People pushed past them on both sides. The band had been playing for only a few minutes, but already the floor was getting crowded with couples, singles, and assorted groups. The close press of people made Gaia feel more than a little trapped. She was used to being alone, prowling around the park or hiking down the streets at night. Being in the crowded nightclub made her so squeezed, that Gaia almost forgot about the way she was dressed.
Almost.


"Gaia!" Mary called. Even from two feet away she had to shout to be heard over the driving music. She spun around on her high-heeled shoes and flashed a bright smile. "Aren't you going to dance?"

Gaia shook her head. "I don't think so. Dancing isn't on my resume."

Mary grabbed her hand again. "You know how. You just don't know that you know." She pulled Gaia toward the center of the floor.

Gaia let herself be pulled. First it was the skimpy dress. Now it was dancing. She wondered if a person could reach a complete overload of embarrassment. A pressure so strong that they collapsed inward,
like a star falling into a blackhole.


Mary released Gaia's hand. She started to dance slowly, shifting her weight and letting her arms drift

back and forth. "Here's the secret," she said. "Guys have to learn how to dance. Girls don't. I mean, sure you have to learn if you want to be really good, but if you just want to have fun and get the guys bothered, all any attractive girl has to do is move."

Gaia looked down at her own feet. "That's great for attractive girls. How does it help me?"

Mary stopped dancing and put her hands on her hips. "Gaia, give it up. You know you're gorgeous."

"I'm not--"

Mary waved at the dancing crowd. "There's not a woman in this place half as hot as you. Why don't you want to believe that?"

"Because it's not true," said Gaia.

Mary frowned. "Then pretend, okay? For tonight just pretend that you're as pretty as . . . as . . . oh, as pretty as you really are!"

The tempo of the music picked up. Mary smiled and started moving again, swinging her hips and moving her body with the beat. "Come on, dance."

Gaia watched Mary for a few seconds. The red-haired girl moved so well. Her pale face and arms seemed to float above her dark clothing. She wasn't doing anything fancy, but her movements were
smooth, fluid.
The easy way Mary moved her body made Gaia feel jealous. There was no way she could move like that--and no way she would look as good as Mary did.

For long seconds Gaia stood still in the middle of all the dancing. She thought about leaving the floor. She thought about leaving the whole club. Then she thought about what Mary had said.

Gaia knew that Mary was only trying to make her feel better. She knew she wasn't beautiful--her mother had been beautiful, but not Gaia. But what if she was to pretend? Could she think of herself as beautiful for just one night? Could she imagine what it would be like to be a normal girl? An attractive girl without monster legs?
A girl like Mary who knew how to dance.


She closed her eyes. Slowly Gaia began to move. Her feet remained almost still, but her legs moved. Then her hips. Then her body and shoulders and arms.

At first she felt awkward, stiff. Gaia knew how to move smoothly--she had gone through a thousand karate training exercises that were more about moving well than hitting anything. But dancing was different. There was no plan, no path to follow. She had to make it up as she went along.

Gaia picked up speed, bringing herself in time with the music. She started to feel a little better.
A little looser.
She was sure that if she opened her eyes, half the people in the club would be laughing at her. So she kept her eyes shut.

The more she caught up to the music, the more

she could feel it inside her. The drums pounded in her stomach.
The guitars sliced along her arms and legs, driving her to move faster, to dance wilder.
With her eyes still closed, Gaia raised her hands over her head and spun around.

Maybe everyone was laughing, but it was starting to feel good. Really good. The movements of her body became more confident. There was a jazzy, electric feeling in her limbs. It was something like the buzz she sometimes got before a fight.

When Gaia dared to open her eyes, Mary was gone. Lost somewhere in a sea of dancing bodies.
No one was laughing.


But there was someone looking at her.