Partners in Crime, page 13
When he finished his call, he seemed to be in an even better mood, and he whistled a tune while he drove.
“It’s almost like he knows when they’re asleep,” Adesh said, reading something on his computer.
“Are you talking about the serial killer? You’re supposed to be making sure that we’re going in the right direction,” Peter said.
“I’ve got multiple tabs open at the same time,” Adesh said. “I was just reading up on Piper’s serial killer. How did he know when everyone was asleep?”
“Peter doesn’t think he’s really a serial killer,” Piper said. “He thinks he’s a contract killer.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Adesh said, typing furiously on his laptop. “His hires could give him information about the victims.”
He continued to type with a vengeance on his computer, as if the new information was giving him clues to the serial killer’s identity. Piper hoped that was true, and that maybe they could find out who was trying to kill her without driving up a mountain during a monsoon.
“I think he’s a contract killer and a serial killer,” Peter corrected. “I don’t think all of those women had contracts out on them. There wasn’t any money around them. What kind of contract is that? Not like the daughter of the Minister of the Interior. Now that was good money.”
“Minister of the Interior,” Adesh muttered and continue to type.
The rain came down even harder, and Piper had no idea how Peter could continue on. But he did, and he didn’t even seem nervous.
“Turn left here,” Adesh said.
“There’s nothing on the left,” Piper said, alarmed. “It’s just rain and jungle.”
“Yeah, turn left into the jungle,” Adesh said. Peter did as he was told and turned.
The Range Rover rocked as it ran into branches, and on more than one occasion, it slipped sideways in the mud. “Are you sure this is the way to go?” Piper asked.
“You can’t argue with GPS,” Adesh said. “And this is NORAD’s GPS. They’ve got the best satellites.”
“You hacked into NORAD?” Peter asked. “Cool.”
They drove for another ten minutes, slipping in the mud and crashing into trees, when Adesh told Peter to turn right. A couple minutes later, he told him to turn left. Then, like a miracle, two things happened: first, the rain stopped, and the sky cleared. Second, they reached the top of the mountain and were treated to a panoramic view of the entire island and the ocean around it.
“This looks like a nice picnic spot,” Peter said. “Too bad we didn’t bring a picnic.”
“I’ve got a rotisserie chicken and a Sara Lee pound cake in my backpack,” Adesh said.
“Where’d you get a Sara Lee pound cake?” Peter asked.
“That’s how I packed my bags. I only brought two pairs of shorts, but I’m completely stocked in the bakery department.”
Peter found a large tarp in the trunk of the car, and he laid it out on a nice spot on top of the mountain. They sat together, and Adesh shared his chicken and cake. It was a nice moment, which Piper really enjoyed. The air was sweet and fresh after the rains with a strong, pungent scent from the thick vegetation. With the rains gone, the birds began to sing again, and Piper felt relaxed and safe.
Adesh handed her another slice of cake, and she caught Peter watching her. She had caught him doing that several times in Indonesia, and she wondered what he was thinking when he looked at her. Was he thinking that she was more trouble than she was worth? She often wondered why he stuck with her. Why he took a break from his own life to jump into danger for a strange woman. She didn’t remember any of her past relationships, but she wondered if she had ever met a man like Peter, someone who would risk it all for another person.
“This is nice, Adesh,” Peter said, eating some chicken. “But I don’t see any paramilitary camps. Maybe your intel was wrong.”
Adesh choked on some pound cake, and Peter slapped his back hard. Adesh coughed and sputtered, and finally cleared his throat. “Not funny, bro. My intel’s never wrong. I always find what I’m looking for.” He glanced sheepishly at Piper. “Well, not in Piper’s case, but every other time. Oh my God, do you think I’m losing my touch? Do you think I’ve lost my hacking skills?”
“I think you’re the most talented hacker on the planet,” Peter assured him. “But all I see is a beautiful spot where I’d like to build a house. Nothing more.”
“It’s frustrating, but let’s just enjoy the moment,” Piper said, believing her words. “We haven’t had much downtime lately, and I for one am glad that no people are trying to kill us.”
“Nobody has ever tried to kill me except for that one time,” Adesh said. “I wish we could have some excitement. I wish that my life could hang in the balance and I would be scared about dying.”
“Did you hear that?” Peter asked Piper.
“Yes, Adesh wants to be scared to death. Adesh, trust me. You don’t want that. I’ve been scared for a week now, and it’s terrible. People have been trying to kill me in every which way. I was almost killed by a vagina.”
Adesh’s face turned bright red, and he choked on another slice of pound cake. Peter slapped his back hard.
“No, not that. There it is again. Didn’t you hear that?” Peter asked.
“Vagina?” Adesh croaked. “How do you almost get killed by a vagina?”
Piper got the impression that Adesh was asking for personal reasons, as if he had to worry about killer vaginas if he ever became sexually active.
“Don’t worry, I think it was the only killer vagina in the world,” Piper told Adesh, trying to calm him.
“There it was again,” Peter said, standing. “Did you hear that? It was like the ground roared.”
“But if there is another killer vagina, how do I fight it?” Adesh asked Piper.
She heard a loud noise, like the earth was moaning, and she froze in place. “Now please tell me you heard that,” Peter said.
“I did, but I don’t know what it was,” Piper said.
There was another sound, which was louder than the first one. It sounded like the earth beneath them was complaining that they were there.
“Oh,” Adesh said. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“Did you feel that?” Peter asked.
“I felt that,” Piper said. It was like something was moving underneath her. She moved to see if she had been sitting on something. Please don’t let it be snakes. Please don’t let it be snakes.
Peter locked eyes with Piper, and she saw the fear in his face. “I don’t think it’s snakes,” he said, softly.
Then, the earth moved.
All of the earth.
The moaning got louder, and the tarp began to slide under them and Peter fell. The tarp continued to slide across the mountain with the three of them on it. Piper watched as the car began to slide backward down the mountain at the same time that a huge piece of mud broke free of the mountain and began to slip downward.
“Mud avalanche,” Peter said.
“Is there such a thing as a mud avalanche?” Piper asked.
“Ms. Google hasn’t heard of a mud avalanche? Yes, there’s such a thing.”
That was the last thing he said. After that, there was just a lot of screaming. All three of them screamed as the tarp slipped down the mountain with them on top of it. Above them, a mountain of mud raced toward them, and they slid faster and faster until they were knocked off the tarp. The last thing that Piper saw of Peter and Adesh was their bodies turning uncontrollably while their limbs flailed wildly, as they tried to gather some control over what had to be hundreds of tons of mud.
Seeing the terror in their faces fed her own terror. This wasn’t just some kind of roller coaster ride down a hill. This was a natural disaster, and where a serial killer and paramilitary soldiers couldn’t kill her, she knew that Mother Nature could. Mother Nature was a bitch.
Piper rolled down the mountain, and as she rolled, she was hit by wave after wave of heavy mud. It pulled her down underground, and she struggled to stay upright. Twice, it dragged her head down where she couldn’t breathe and she thought that she would drown in the mud, but she managed to struggle upward, only to be hit with another wave of mud.
She slapped at the mud, as if she could pull herself above it, but there was no way to fight a mud avalanche. Adrenaline raced through her veins, but she was aware that her flesh was being torn by rocks and branches.
And then there was the sound. The terrible, terrifying sound. It had started with a moan, as if the earth was in pain, but now it was a roar, as if Mother Nature was royally pissed off and she was taking it out on the three of them.
She heard a scream and realized that she was the one screaming. The mud was even heavier now and was pulling her downward. Her strength was waning at the same time, and she knew that she was about to die.
She screamed again, and then she heard someone shout. It was someone with a deep voice. It wasn’t Peter. He had an Indian accent. “Adesh?” she called.
“Take my hand!” she heard him yell. With all of her remaining strength, Piper lifted her arms above the mud, and was surprised when Adesh’s hand grasped onto her arm and tugged her free from the avalanche.
“Pull harder. If you don’t, the mud is going to take her.” It was Peter’s voice, not Adesh’s. Adesh tugged her hard, but Peter was right. The mud was taking her, and there was no way that Adesh could hold onto her against the power of the avalanche. In a desperate move, Piper swung her other arm as hard as she could and found Adesh’s body. She grabbed onto him and pulled herself toward him, as he pulled her, too. When she was close enough, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
She thought she heard Peter groan loudly, and then Adesh moved through the mud and away from the avalanche. Piper wiped the mud from her face and looked around. They were on the edge of the mudflow, resting against a tree. Peter had gotten to safety first and had linked his arm with Adesh, saving him. Then like a chain, they had linked arms to reach out to Piper, with Peter anchoring the three of them on the tree.
Now, finally safe, Piper and Adesh collapsed onto the ground and tried to catch their breath. Peter kneeled and cupped Piper’s face with his hands. He looked deeply into her eyes, and a worried expression passed over his face.
“Are you all right?” he asked, worried.
“I don’t know. Am I all right?”
“Did you hit your head? You have a few cuts and bruises,” he said wiping away some of the mud from her face. “But did you hit your head? I need to know how worried I should be for you.”
“I don’t know,” Piper said. “I don’t think I hit my head. And you shouldn’t be worried about me. I’m a perfect stranger. I’m…”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Peter interrupted. “I shouldn’t be worried about you at all. But for some reason I am, and I’m not willing to change that, so you need to accept it. There. Now it’s your turn to make fun of me.”
Piper wasn’t going to make fun of him. She felt the same way about him, but she didn’t know who she was. She could have been married. She could have had six children waiting for her somewhere. But something inside her told her that if she loved another person she would know and she wouldn’t be able to care about Peter.
If that’s what this was.
If she cared about him.
All that she knew for sure was that she felt like she belonged with him. Felt like they were one and the same. As if Peter was an additional limb, a part of her.
“I worry about you, too,” she said.
“How about me? Who’s worrying about me?” Adesh asked. “Am I alive? Did we survive?”
Peter patted him on the back. “Yep, bro. You saved the damsel in distress. You’re a hero.”
“I am?”
“You sure are,” Piper said and kissed Adesh on his muddy cheek.
Adesh struggled to his feet and hooted and hollered. “I can’t believe we survived,” he cried happily. He danced around in celebration. “I thought we were dead for sure. But we survived. We survived! If we could survive that, we can survive anything!”
“We sure can,” Piper cried, and then there was a noise behind her, and she turned around just as a man threw a hood over her head.
CHAPTER 15
Piper felt claustrophobic. She had had a hood over her head for the last thirty minutes. Or maybe it was two hours. She didn’t know because she had lost track of time. When her abductor first put the hood over her head, she had struggled against him, but he was joined by someone else and they subdued her easily, tying her up so she couldn’t move. She had heard a struggle through the hood and was sure that Peter was giving a good fight, but she got the impression that he was hopelessly outmanned.
After that, she didn’t hear Peter or Adesh any longer. When she called out to Peter a couple of times, someone slapped the side of her head enough to make her ears ring, and she decided not to try again.
She attempted to get a sense of her surroundings. She was in the back of a vehicle, and she knew that it had started raining again. Her body was caked in mud, and even though it was hot and humid, she started to catch a chill.
All she could think of was “What now?” She was fed up with trying to be murdered, either by man, woman, or nature. But here she was again, abducted and taken away somewhere.
The vehicle bumped along a road, shaking from side to side and making her carsick. Piper couldn’t tell if they were going down or up or turning because the movement of the vehicle was so rough.
Finally, the vehicle stopped. The door opened, and she was pulled out.
“Where’s Peter? Where’s Adesh?” she demanded, expecting to be hit again. But she wasn’t hit. She was surprised when the hood was taken off of her head, and she was unbound.
Piper looked around, trying to figure out where she had been taken. She was in some kind of large compound. It was filled with people coming and going. Most were armed, but some were just carrying bowls, pots, and pans, probably to feed the masses of whoever lived in the compound.
“Where are we?” she heard and was surprised that Adesh was next to her.
“Where’s Peter?” she asked him.
“I don’t know. I don’t know where I am, so I don’t know where he is,” Adesh said.
Someone pushed Piper forward and yelled at her in Indonesian. She walked with Adesh at her side. Two men with guns walked behind them, and they followed another man with a gun in front of them, effectively boxing them in. Not that she could escape. The compound was filled with people who would stop them. Besides, she couldn’t go anywhere without Peter.
Squat, makeshift buildings made up the compound, with a large courtyard between them. “Look over there,” Adesh whispered to Piper.
She turned her head to see what could only be described as a castle. It loomed over them, like something out of a Dracula movie. It was massive and Gothic with turrets and spires. It looked completely out of place in Indonesia, and Piper half wondered if she was hallucinating after being hit in the head several times.
As they walked through the courtyard, the rain stopped. The people didn’t seem to take any notice of the bound strangers who were being corralled at gunpoint, and Piper wondered if it was a regular occurrence. Piper and Adesh were shoved into a squat, aluminum structure and pushed down onto the dirt floor. Adesh and Piper were tied together sitting back to back.
“What’s happening? What’re you going to do to us? Where’s Peter?” Adesh asked, but they ignored him and left them alone in the structure.
“I don’t like this,” Adesh said, struggling against the ropes that bound them to each other.
“I’m not thrilled with it either. Do you think they killed Peter? For sure he would’ve fought them.”
“If only I had some technology. My laptop or even a cell phone. Something. I’m not used to not having anything with a screen. You know? I’m not feeling very well. I’m used to electronics.”
His voice was filled with panic and grief. Piper felt bad for him. She had gotten used to being scared, but it was all new for Adesh. He was used to being in a room by himself with a bunch of computers, and not tied to a woman in the middle of nowhere with his life threatened.
“I’m sure this is temporary,” she lied to him. “They’ll let us go pretty soon and then we can get you a computer. I’m rich, you know. I can buy you all kinds of computers.”
“I could really use a Silverdraft Demon. Can you afford that?”
“I can afford the IBM Watson.”
“The computer that won at Jeopardy?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Piper,” Adesh started, but his voice cracked with emotion. “I don’t like to be in danger. I know I said I wanted to experience life-or-death situations and that I wanted someone to try and kill me. But I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. Being scared sucks. Nobody told me I would be caked in mud, tied up on the floor without Wi-Fi or a snack. What if I get low blood sugar? And where am I going to pee? I have pee anxiety. I can’t do it in front of others.”
“We’ll figure out a place for you to hide so you can pee,” Piper said, as if that was their biggest problem. It would be a miracle if they weren’t dead before he had a chance to pee.
Piper felt a wave of panic at the thought. “Do you think Peter is okay?” she asked Adesh. “Do you think he’s dead?”
“Peter is like Superman. Even with kryptonite he can’t die. Are you two…involved?”
Piper barked a laugh. “Of course we’re involved. He found me in the middle of the forest naked with amnesia. And since then we’ve traveled the world together and have gotten almost killed by just about everybody.”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Adesh said. “Peter’s always almost getting killed. That’s normal for him. But he’s never hung around a woman for so long. He had a partner, but he didn’t look at him the way he looks at you. And, well, don’t take this the wrong way, but he kind of looks at you like you are a S’mores Pop-Tart. That’s the very best of all the Pop-Tarts.”
“Pop-Tarts were originally made in 1964 without frosting because the manufacturer didn’t think frosting could withstand the toaster. But they eventually released Pop-Tarts with frosting in 1967, and they never looked back,” Piper said.
