9
While waiting for Troy to return, the three sisters sat in the living room. The tension was thicker than molasses. Savannah felt responsible for the fear she knew her sisters now faced. “Ladies, this is getting dangerous. I think we should all move under one roof,” Savannah suggested.
“Not here,” Montana responded. She looked around the room. “Do you actually think we would be safe here?”
Savannah hung her head. She didn't know what to think. “Until I can get a better handle on things, I think it's best. First order of business, you both need to take a leave of absence.”
Asia, who normally agreed with Savannah, threw her hands up in disgust. “You must have hit your head while you were trying to escape last night.”
“Vanna, what we need to do is leave this to Uncle Raymond,” Montana said.
Savannah felt trapped. “Doesn't it seem strange that Dad didn't confide his suspicions with Uncle Raymond? Apparently, he didn't trust him, so neither should we.”
Asia stood up. “I'm out of here. Montana's right. You are beyond obsessed.” Asia looked between Savannah and Montana. “You both are welcome to stay with me.” Asia looked for her purse and keys. “I'm out of here.”
Montana cleared her throat before holding up a key ring with several keys. “You rode with me.”
Asia plopped back on the couch without saying a word.
“Now that your temper tantrum is out of the way, maybe you'll listen,” Savannah stated.
Asia crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and rolled her eyes.
Montana would have been amused under normal circumstances, but so much was at stake, including their lives. “Vanna, I'm at a loss. At this point I don't know what to do. I fear for our safety.”
Savannah stood up as if she was preparing to give a lecture. She glanced at the clock. “Troy will be back soon, so let me get right to it. First, make sure you are strapped with your gun at all times. Whether you're sleeping, eating, or even using the restroom.”
Asia looked at the floor instead of directly at Savannah. Savannah pulled out her notebook. “I changed the code to the secret room. It's two, four, nine and one.. Memorize it. Asia, I need for you to hack into The Agency's system.” She pulled out a sheet of paper with some names on it and handed it to her. “I need for you to find out as much as you can on the people on the list.”
Asia stared at it and a curve formed at the corners of her mouth. “It's as good as done.”
Savannah continued to give out orders. “Montana, I need for you to get us some gear. Dad has some here, but this might not be enough.”
“I don't know, Vanna. I have a funny feeling about all of this.”
“Do you want to play the victim, or be the victor?” Savanna asked.
“A victim, I'm not,” Montana responded.
“Then it's settled. We might need to change our appearances, so I'll leave that up to you too.”
The knock at the door was very faint. If Savannah hadn't been looking for Troy to return, she wouldn't have heard it. She drew her weapon. Her sisters followed suit. She walked to the door and heard Troy's voice. She motioned for her sisters to put their weapons away.
She opened the door and assisted Troy in bringing in the bags of food. She whispered, “Thanks for giving me a little extra time with my sisters.”
He winked his right eye.
Small talk was made as they devoured the Chinese food. Asia opened up her fortune cookie and read it out loud. “âBeware of strangers.'”
They all laughed. Savannah opened up hers next. “âKeep an open eye and an open heart.'” She balled up the paper and threw it down. “I never get any good ones.”
Montana read hers. “âTrust one, not all.'”
“Troy, your turn,” Asia said.
“Oh no. I don't believe in those things.”
“We just do it for the fun of it,” Savannah said.
“Come on. You're scared,” Asia challenged him.
“The things a man does for a woman.” His eyes were on Savannah. Montana and Asia looked at the exchange. Troy opened up his fortune cookie. “âWhat you're looking for is staring you in the face.'” He threw it on the table. “See, a bunch of junk.”
Asia retrieved the paper and read it out loud again. She looked between Savannah and Troy. “You two have to be in some serious denial. Even the fortune cookies can see it.”
Savannah faked innocence. She put her right hand across her chest. “What? What did I do?”
“Nothing. I'll drop it for now.” Asia got up and, with the help of Montana, cleared the table.
“You have to forgive Asia. She can be a little annoying at times,” Savannah said.
Asia yelled from behind her, “I heard that!”
They laughed. Troy rubbed his stomach. “It's been a while since I had some good shrimp fried rice.”
“Our dad used to take us there at least once a month.” Savannah's eyes glazed over. For a moment she was transported back in time. She recalled one of the last times they shared a meal at Cheung's.
Troy handed her a napkin. “Thanks,” she responded as she wiped her watery eyes.
Troy glanced at his watch. “We still have time to make it to the bank.”
“For a moment I thought you were human. You only care about one thing.” Savannah pushed her chair out and stormed away from the table.
Troy rushed behind her. He tried to grab her, but she wouldn't relent. “Don't touch me.”
Troy held his hands up in defense. “Vanna, I don't know what's gotten into youâ”
“You're what's gotten to me,” she interrupted. She ran up the stairs, not caring how her dramatic exit confused not only Troy, but also her sisters, who were standing behind him.
The reflection in the mirror staring back at her frightened her. She was normally poised and had to be the strong one for her sisters. It seemed that she was falling apart at the seams. She turned on the cold water and splashed some on her face. She wiped her face with a towel.
“Vanna, may I come in?” Montana asked from the other side of the door.
“Go away,” she responded. Savannah was still not ready to share with Montana the true dynamics of her and Troy's relationship.
“Open the door,” Montana demanded.
“I'm okay. Just give me a minute.” Savannah redid the braid in her hair before exiting the bathroom. Montana wasn't waiting on the other side. She sighed. She walked at a snail's pace back down the stairs.
A hush fell over the living room when she walked in. Troy was sitting on the love seat, while her sisters were each sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Savannah took a seat in the lone chair.
“Your sisters were telling me about some of your plans,” Troy said.
Savannah felt betrayed. Troy was an outsider, and her sisters shouldn't have been discussing their plans with him, or anyone else. She tried not to show her annoyance.
Montana spoke next. “Troy has convinced us that we should all stay here.”
Asia added, “This will be like our command central.”
“Thanks, Troy.” Savannah crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
She listened to them go on and on about their plans, as if it weren't her idea to start with.
“Enough already!” she yelled.
The room once again got silent.
Troy intervened. “I'm sorry if you feel like I stepped on your toes.”
“By all means, I'm glad, with my short stint in the bathroom, you had time to bond.”
The house phone rang. Montana looked at the caller ID. “It's Uncle Raymond.”
“Don't answer it,” Troy said.
Savannah stood up and took the phone from Montana. “I'm still the queen of this abode,” she snarled. “Hello.”
She turned her back to Troy and her sisters. “No, everything is fine,” she lied. She turned around to look at Montana. “She was just having one of her moments. She's here now. She said she'll call you back later.” A few seconds later, Savannah disconnected the call.
10
“Savannah, you might be mad at me, but please don't take it out on your sisters,” Troy stood and said.
“You're so conceited.” She threw her hands up in the air. “I answered the call because if I wouldn't have, he would have been trying to track us down, and at this point I'm trying not to get him involved.”
Asia said, “Don't you think you should tell her.”
“You talk too much,” Montana snapped.
Savannah walked and stood near the sofa. “What is she talking about?” Savannah tapped her foot. “We don't have all day. I have to leave for the bank in a minute, if I'm going to get there before they close.”
“Nothing,” Montana responded.
Savannah grabbed her purse and stormed toward the kitchen.
“Ladies, I'll be back. Lock up. Activate the alarm,” Troy said as he rushed behind Savannah.
Savannah was opening the garage door when Troy entered. “Savannah, stop,” he asserted.
“You don't need to come with me. Stay and protect my sisters. I don't need your protection,” Savannah snapped.
“You might not, but you do need me to be an extra set of eyes.”
It appeared as if Savannah thought about it for a moment. She unlocked the passenger door. “Get in!” she yelled.
The tension between the two didn't dissolve during the less than fifteen minutes it took to get to the bank. “Your sisters are only trying to make things easier for you, you know,” Troy said.
“I didn't ask you,” Savannah snapped.
“I just don't like feeling this tension between you all. Between us.” Troy said the last barely above a whisper. He knew she heard him because the light in her eyes sparkled for a few seconds.
Before either could say anything else on the subject, Savannah was pulling up in the bank's parking lot. She removed her gun and placed it in the divider between the seats. “Just in case there's a metal detector.”
“I got your back.”
“If I'm in there longer than thirty minutes, come in shooting,” Savannah joked.
Troy felt relieved that she was at least joking with him now. He handed her a pen. “If for some reason you run into any trouble, push the top of the pen and it'll signal me.”
“Thanks,” she said as she exited the car.
Savannah's stomach turned flips as she entered the bank. She tried to act normal. She tried to act like the information she was coming to retrieve meant nothing. The information in the safe-deposit box could possibly be all she needed to determine who had killed her father.
After she showed proper ID, the bank branch manager led her into the room where the safe-deposit boxes were kept. He entered a code and she used the key she had to open the box.
“I'll be outside if you need me,” he said, leaving her there to go through it without being watched.
She sat at the table and removed some of the items. She held both her parents' wedding rings. “Mama, why did you have to die so young?” Savannah wept.
She wiped the tears from her eyes. She felt like she was prying into her parents' private life. She looked at the pictures and other items. So far, she didn't see anything in it related to her father's old job.
“Voila,” she said when she found a brown envelope. She read the enclosed letter first, and could hear her father's voice in her mind as she read.
My dearest Savannah,
If you're reading this, it means that someone got to me before I could get to the bottom of things. As much as I want you to seek justice on the person or people behind me not being there with my girls, I do not, under any circumstances, want you risking your life. The information on this disc should be handed to one person, and that's Troy Bridges. By now, you've probably met. I just hope you haven't hurt him (smile). Troy can help you get justice. If by chance someone is coming after you because they suspect you know more than you do, then promise me that you and your sisters will use the skills I taught you. My enemies will underestimate you because you are women, but I have full confidence that you will prove them wrong. Before giving the disc to Troy, make sure Asia makes a copy. Tell her to use the secure path. She'll know what I'm talking about. It pains me to write this letter, but I didn't want to leave you without the tools to solve my murder. I love you. Take care of yourself and your sisters. I've also enclosed separate letters for Montana and for Asia. Please give those to them. Love you all.
Love,
Dad
P.S. Take care of Troy too. He doesn't realize it, but he needs you just as much as you need him. Please find it in your heart to forgive him. He was young and scared. Under the circumstances he did the right thing.
Savannah placed the disc and the brown envelope with the letter in her purse. She placed the remaining items back in the safe-deposit box. She signaled for the bank manager and watched him secure the box back in its place.
With the disc and letters from her dad, Savannah felt better about the path she had taken. She would hold on to the disc until Asia was able to make a copy, and then she would turn it over to Troy. She wondered how her father knew about Troy. She wasn't sure she could give him another chance. What she wanted to do to Troy would land her in jail.
“I was about to send in the cavalry to get you,” Troy teased as Savannah was safely buckled behind the steering wheel.
“No, all's well.” Savannah refused to look him in the eyes. “I'm sure my sisters are worried.”
“They love you.”
“I know,” Savannah responded as she pulled out of the parking lot.
Savannah decided to turn on some music, with hopes of avoiding a conversation with Troy. “Good system,” Troy said, once they pulled up into the garage.
Savannah pretended not to hear. She didn't wait for him to exit the car. She jumped out, and he was on her heels as she walked into the kitchen. Montana and Asia were nowhere to be found.
“Wait here,” Savannah directed.
“I need to make a few phone calls, anyway,” Troy responded.
“She asked you to wait, but you wouldn't listen. What if she's right? What if he knows something that led to Dad's death,” Savannah overheard Asia say when she made it to the top of the stairway.
“Savannah, can be hot-headed. When she told us her plans, I didn't think there was anything wrong with talking to Uncle Raymond. I never thought this would happen.”
Savannah was livid. “You idiot! I told you not to talk to Uncle Raymond. Now it explains why those men broke in here.”
Montana's body shivered. “I'm sorry. I didn't know.”
Savannah removed the brown envelope from her purse. She threw the letter at Montana. “Sorry is not good enough.”
Montana bent down and retrieved the letter from the floor. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she read it. Asia took the letter from Montana.
Savannah watched them read it. “Satisfied?”
Between sniffles Montana said, “It still doesn't prove anything.”
“Maybe not. Asia, here's the disc. Please copy it so I can give it to Troy.”
“I'll be in our secret place,” Asia responded.
Montana was behind Asia. “Don't move!” Savannah yelled.
“I was going to help out,” she responded as her voice crackled.
Savannah closed the door behind Asia. “Here's your letter from Dad.” She handed her a sealed letter. Savannah knew Montana thought she was going to go off on her for talking to Uncle Raymond. Although she should, Savannah knew that reading the note in her father's handwriting probably was more than enough guilt.
Montana read the note out loud.
“âMy sweet Montana, Words could not express how much I love you and your sisters. I hope you're not taking out your frustrations on your sisters. This is the time you all need to pull together. You're more like your mother, Ellen, than you'll ever know. She could be pigheaded, but I loved that woman. Before I digress, I don't want you to close out your heart. I know it's hard for you to trust people. Trust your sisters and trust the love that your mother and I had for you. No matter what happens, know that you were loved.'”
Montana dropped the letter on the bed. “I can't read any more.” She wept, and Savannah rocked her back and forth in her arms. They stayed in that position until someone knocked on the door.