Seeing Red (23 page)

Oliver was waiting outside when she arrived.

“You finally made time for me.”

“Sorry, Oly. How have you been?”

“Busy. You have me reading like a fiend.”

“Pizza at the corner place okay with you?”

“Sure. Let’s get right to it though.”

“Okay, Oly, so what’s the big mystery?”

Oliver took a deep breath. “Your dad, that’s the big
mystery.”

“What?”

“What do you know about your dad, Jillian?”

“Nothing. All I know is what I’ve read so far. There
was a plane crash. My mother died on impact. I’ve tried to do some
digging around on my mother but never found much. I don’t know
anything about my father, and since I don’t even know his name,
I’ve never found anything on him.”

“Helen always referred to him as RT. I assume those
were his initials. Jillian, your dad was/is not a good man. You
already know your mother was scared of him. Actually, to use
Helen’s words, ‘petrified.’ He was/is very wealthy—as in,
billionaire wealthy. But the big mystery is that Helen was not sure
exactly why he was so wealthy. She alluded to him as very
mysterious and private. When Helen asked Esther what RT did for a
living, she said that he was ‘lucky.’ Isn’t that strange? Who gets
that rich by luck? And I think that’s part of the problem.”

“Okay.” It was really more of a question than a
statement because she was not really sure where he was going with
this.

“He was dangerous, and Helen didn’t want him around
you. In fact, he probably thought you died in the crash, and that’s
why he never searched for you. He didn’t know that you were born
because you were born prematurely, and she had been in hiding from
him months before you were born. She left while you were just weeks
old.”

“So why the big to-do now? What happened all of a
sudden that he realized I’m his daughter?”

“I don’t know, but Helen talks a lot about tests
that he wanted to do on Esther during the pregnancy: strange tests
that were driving her crazy and that she feared could hurt you—all
sorts of scans and ultrasounds but often and in special clinics
that he owned and never in hospitals like normal pregnancies. Her
doctor was also not a regular doctor. He was a doctor from his
special clinic, and your mom did not seem to like or trust
him.”

“Hmmm . . .”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“I mean . . . Well, I have to think about this a
little. What made him dangerous? How dangerous was he?”

“Jillian, he was dangerous enough that your mother
was running away to a foreign country and I suspect dangerous
enough that Helen sent you away. I don’t like the way this is
playing out. I’m not done reading yet, but there’s one more thing
you should know. One of the reasons your mother wanted to leave was
because she was afraid that once you were born he’d keep you and
you wouldn’t have any freedom to grow up as a regular girl would.
This, I don’t understand at all, but that was Esther’s greatest
fear, according to the journals.”

“’I don’t understand. Like a regular girl? As if I
would grow up too privileged or rich and my mother didn’t want that
for me.” Jill obviously didn’t compute what Oliver was saying.

“No, Jillian. Damn it. Don’t be so naïve! As if,
he’d lock you up in a cage or something! He was dangerous. I don’t
know how dangerous exactly, but you saw those murder charges
yourself. I wish I knew the case number or his name. I want to look
into that some more, but I can’t find anything with just the
information that we have.”

They had arrived at the pizza place and sat at a
booth across from one another. “I think your jumping to
conclusions, Oliver.”

“Really? Most of what I’m telling you is in the
journals. The guy left you a note inside your apartment on your
nightstand. It said he was keeping an eye on you! My God, Jillian,
I hate to say it, but Alexander was right. You shouldn’t be in your
apartment, and you two idiots should’ve called the cops that
night.”

“Cops? No. It was just a note. Remember, I would
feel it if I was in danger.”

“I’m getting a little sick of you saying that. You
haven’t even had one of your little clairvoyant-psychic things in
years. You’re using that as some sort of crutch, and it’s not
something that you can use to shield you from something that’s
obviously dangerous.”

She took a deep breath and let it out, “Let’s finish
reading all the journals, and we’ll take it from there, okay?”

“You are so thick-headed, Jillian Stone. No, it’s
not okay. I have this overwhelming feeling you’re in danger.”

“I know you don’t understand, but if I were in
danger, I would have felt something, Oliver. I
see
him for
Christ’s sake. I don’t get the impression he wants to hurt me.
Let’s keep reading. I’m done with school. You’ve helped me
tremendously, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, but I’ll
take over for now. I think I can finish in the next few weeks while
I’m on break.”

“No way, I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to
take the journals away from me so that I don’t find out anything
more and hassle you about your safety. If you do that, I will grab
you by the hair and force you to stay with us. At least, let me
finish the boxes that I have, and promise me you’ll tell me what
you uncover in your boxes.”

“Fine. You Jacobs need to relax a little. Drink your
beer. No one’s in danger.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Just read the damn journals
and promise to keep me in the loop.”

“Okay, I promise.”

“Any more weird notes or unlocked doors or
anything?”

“Nope. Nothing. I’m telling you I think we’ve
overreacted. The unlocked door was probably just Xander’s
carelessness.”

“How about the note, Jillian?”

For that, she had no answer and introspectively ate
her pizza and drank her beer

When she got back home, she was tense. Oliver’s news
shook her, but oddly enough, she still didn’t feel scared. She
thirsted for knowledge. She pulled out a journal as soon as she
opened the door to her apartment and sat down to read. Also, it
kept her from thinking about Paul, who still hadn’t called.

When her phone finally rang, she controlled her
impulse to grab it before the first ring finished.

“Hello.”

“Hi there, beautiful.”

“Who’s this?” she said, trying to sound coy.

“You know very well who this is.” His voice
hardened. Jillian made a mental note that he had a very particular
sense of humor and an even more particular angry side.

“Paul?”
Duh!

“Sorry I wasn’t able to call you yesterday. I—”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t owe me any
explanations.”

“Of course I do. We’re dating. I can’t just
disappear for an entire day without an explanation.”
Dating?
“I got tied up with my sister and her kids. Her husband travels,
and she had to work the night shift. She’s a nurse, and I ended up
having to sleep over and help. But I’m back now, and I’m on my way
to get you. Be ready.”

“Ready? For what?”

“Dinner.”

“I ate.”

“Well, you can watch me eat.”

“But—”

“I need to see you, Jill. I want to see you. Please
just be ready. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up. He was so
controlling. But, admittedly, she had missed him, and she was
riddled with anxiety when he had not called, even if she didn’t
appreciate his commandeering nature. By the time she had finished
dressing, there was a knock at the door.

“Hello.” she said, swinging the door open with a
smile from ear to ear.

Paul pushed the door open, stepped in, and closed it
behind him, not dropping his gaze. He grabbed Jill by the waist and
pressed her against him. His lips smashed into hers, giving her a
long agonizingly delicious kiss that left her weak in the knees.
Leaving her panting. “I missed you, Ms. Stone.”

“I missed you too, Professor Black.”

“Are you ready to go?”

She shook her head.

“No? Why not?” He looked at her up and down,
assessing that she was already dressed.

“I need to get my brain back into my head.” She
laughed and took a few deep breaths.

“It was a good kiss, wasn’t it?” he said, pulling
her out the door with a rare smile.

“The best.”

There were three weeks between semesters. For the
first two weeks, Jill and Paul saw each other every day, except for
that one Saturday he’d been with his family. He was very
temperamental, to say the least. He definitely kept her on her toes
since she didn’t know if he’d be happy or upset from one moment to
the next. But the chemistry between them was undeniable. When they
were together, he didn’t miss an opportunity to touch her in some
way. He was either brushing her arm with his fingers, holding her
hand, or kissing her. They had not slept together, but she couldn’t
wait. Jillian was completely smitten.

It surprised her how he always said the right things
and how perceptive he was. In such a short time, he knew her so
well. She’d never been with someone so interested in her. For those
two weeks, she ignored Oliver’s emails and calls, brushing him off
as being busy with one thing or another. The only real interaction
she had with Oliver was a phone call she made to him on Christmas
day. They spoke briefly, just as she had every Christmas since
leaving the island. Even though it hadn’t been long since she’d
last seen him, she missed him. She loved the connection they
shared, and speaking with him made her heart swell. During those
two weeks, she also read a few journal entries but nothing
significant. The thought of her father and the danger continued
lurking in her mind, but it was quickly replaced by thoughts of
Paul.

The only time she thought about RT was when she saw
glimpses of him, which were becoming clearer. Jillian could now
point him out of a line-up if she had to. She also thought about
him when Paul would ask about her family, which was often.

Paul was very relentless about getting to know her,
but the questioning about her parents drove her up the wall. All
she wanted to do was indulge in the blissful time she was having,
and then he’d abruptly smack her on the head with a question about
her mother or her father. She was very vague about all her answers
and would change the subject almost immediately. Jillian felt like
a giddy high-school girl and was not going to let her past change
that. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

During those two weeks, she hadn’t heard a peep from
Alexander except for a text:

Merry Christmas, X

Merry Christmas, Red . . . I miss you, babe.

Her heart practically stopped. There were so many
unresolved issues between them that she unable to formulate a
sentence that encompassed all she really wanted to say. Therefore
all she could reply was:

Me too, Xander. Me too.

Death is hereditary. Make sure you
enjoy each catch before it catches you.

-Helen

Jillian

On Friday, eight days before school was supposed to
restart, Paul dropped Jill off at her apartment after a late lunch
and surprised her with a last-minute getaway. They were to leave in
two days. She was eager with excitement and couldn’t wait to share
it with Heather.

They sat on their couch, enjoying a glass of wine
while Jillian gushed all about Paul, ignoring Oliver’s incessant
calls and texts. When Heather went to bed, Jill was still too
pumped up with excitement to go to sleep.

Flashes of the red-haired guy, a.k.a. RT, a.k.a. her
father, were getting more persistent and beginning to hinder her
ability to function. She thought she saw him everywhere. They had
almost stopped being visions and become reality, causing her to
actually look around to see if he was there.

One way to get her anxiety over the trip and over RT
out of her head was to sit with boxes of old journals and try to
decipher the cryptic entries from her Aunt Helen. She received a
text from Alexander late that night.

Alexander: Hey, Oliver is worried sick. U ok? Why are
you ignoring his calls?

Jill: I’m not. I’ve just been busy. I’ll call him
tomorrow. Thanks, messenger boy.

Alexander: I’m no boy, babe. He knew you’d answer me.
I just lost $20.

Jill: You lost?

Alexander: Yes. I didn’t think you’d answer me
either, and Oliver bet me $20 that you would. Oliver’s pissed.

That left her wordless. She didn’t even know what to
say to that, so she decided not to write anything. Why couldn’t she
have just ignored them both?

Alexander: Good night, love.

Love?
Her heart palpitated, and she had a
stupid grin on her face. She planned on concentrating on the
journals for the next forty-eight hours, until her trip. The
entries she read confirmed what Oliver had already told her: her
dad was dangerous. There was some sort of reason why her mother
didn’t want her around RT. When her mother had realized the extent
of RT’s malevolence, she’d fled.
But why? That was really the
big mystery.

According to Helen, RT had most likely thought when
the plane crashed and the names of the victims had been broadcast,
that Esther was dead and, since she was pregnant, Jillian must have
been dead too. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Helen sent
Jill away to boarding school as soon as they were rescued, in the
event RT came to Helen with questions. Apparently, that had never
happened.

At 9 a.m. the next morning, Jill was still asleep on
her bed after reading most of the night. She felt a slight dip on
the bed. “I can’t believe you’re ignoring me.”

She halfheartedly opened an eye, still mid-sleep.
“What are you doing here, Oly?”

“If you’re going to ignore me, I’m bringing myself
to you.”