Didn’t see that coming
Nick sat in his tent holding his stomach and wiping his mouth. He was thankful that he hadn’t eaten something because the embarrassment of throwing up all over the inside of the tent he and his brother were sharing would have been incredibly embarrassing to him. Instead, he found himself dry heaving the second Ariana walked away.
She made him feel so small and he hated that, especially since he tried so hard to put up a brave front and show a very thick skin. That skin peeled away when she mentioned her secret ingredient. Was that a hint that she was going to throw that Aconite stuff into the food? Possibly poison them all and leave them dead in the middle of the forest?
Now was the time, he had to say something to his brother, there was no way he could let her put something in the food. He heard Kevin’s familiar voice right outside and instantly managed to calm himself down. Seconds later he smiled at his big brother as he walked into the tent.
Kevin looked either annoyed or upset about something, “Kev…what’s wrong?”
Kevin zippered up the tent to give them both some privacy and then walked over and sat across from his little brother, cross examination style. “Nicky…I need to just come right out and ask you something, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Do you have a thing for Howie’s wife?”
Nick wasn’t expecting that question, Kevin could tell by the shocked expression on his face.
“What? No…why would you even ask me that?”
His big brother took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. “Ariana told Howie about what you said to her.”
Nick was so confused; he had absolutely no idea what Kevin was talking about. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Nicky, don’t play dumb with me…just tell me the truth.”
“About what?” He felt his voice cracking, ready to break into tears.
“Why would you threaten to ruin their marriage? That seems so unlike you.”
“What? I never did that.”
Kevin turned his head slightly to see if he could pick up any hint of whether or not Nick was lying. He was always great at recognizing his brother’s body language when he wasn’t being totally honest. He tended to fidget and not make eye contact when he wasn’t being up front about something, two things he was doing right now.
“Nicky, look at me please.” Kevin tried not to raise his voice, realizing that this conversation was probably more than just a little embarrassing for the teenager. But it was clear that the kid was indeed hiding something from his older brother and many times when kids act like they hate someone, they actually feel the opposite way. The agent felt a little dumb for never picking up on it before now.
Once he had his brother’s eyes he continued, “It’s fine to like her Nick. She’s a beautiful woman but you have to realize that she and Howie are very much in love. To say you are going to create lies to ruin their marriage is horrible! And the fact that you did it is even worse!”
“Kevin I didn’t lie about anything.”
“What about the guy you said she was having an affair with?”
Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He thought he had walked into some kind of weird alternate universe. Where was all of this nonsense coming from? “That was the truth. I saw her kissing another man in the park.”
“Is this while you were following her?”
“What…did you just say?” Nick couldn’t breathe for a second, he actually found himself grabbing for his chest which alarmed Kevin who noticed and ran right towards him.
“Are you okay? Relax Nick…sit down.”
“Why did you ask me about following her?” He really felt like he was going to vomit now.
After leading Nick to sit down on the cooler they had brought, Kevin sat right beside him and placed his arm on the blonde’s shoulder. “Because she told Howie about it. She didn’t want to Nick, but I think after you threatened her, she felt like she had to.”
“Threatened her?” Even as he was getting all this information, it was almost inconceivable to process what was being said.
“Yes…you need to apologize to her and Howie. He’s my best friend Nick.”
The teenager was biting on his bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say next. At this point does he come right out and tell Kevin everything or would it just look like he was lying?
“I did see her kissing someone. She said that to cover her ass.”
Kevin shook his head, “I can’t believe you, and is it that hard to say I’m sorry to someone?”
“She’s lying… not me! I never threatened her about anything either!” Nick’s volume was increasing, but he quickly hushed his tone because the last person he wanted to hear this argument was Ariana.
“Buddy…why would she lie about that?”
“Why would I?”
Kevin hesitated at that question, because it was a good one. “Look Kev…can’t you see what’s happening? She knows I saw her with another man and now she’s covering her tracks.”
“And how did you see her with another man? Were you following her?”
Nick took a deep breath, “Not really no…it was kind of a coincidence.”
“Coincidence? And how is that exactly?”
Kevin stood up to counter his brother doing the same. He watched as Nick paced back and forth, wringing his hands into his sweatshirt, searching for the right words to say. “Okay, I decided to play hooky from school the other day. So I went to the park.”
“You skipped school?”
Nick nodded, “And when I was at the park I saw her sitting on a bench with some guy. They were laughing and then they kissed.” He didn’t want to mention that he saw them twice and once it was out of his mouth, he realized with horror that Ariana knew he was there all along.
“Look…let’s drop it for now, okay? We’ll talk about it after dinner. Maybe by then your story will change.”
That made Nick mad, he couldn’t believe that his own brother wasn’t taking his word for it and that instead he chose to believe her of all people. “Kevin, there’s something evil about her.”
Kevin rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“I’m being serious…she’s doing something she shouldn’t be doing and now she’s getting you to believe the lies.”
“You have a big imagination Nicky…we’ll talk more later.” He walked out of the tent before he really said the things he wanted to say to the young troublemaker, leaving Nick just standing there with a shocked and scared look on his face.
While Kevin and Nick were in their tent arguing, Ariana and Howie were sitting in their tent, arms wrapped around each other in silence. “You told him didn’t you?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Yeah, I told him.”
“How did he take it?”
“He was upset; I think he’s talking to Nicky about it right now.” She smiled but because he was sitting behind her, he couldn’t tell.
“I told you not to say anything…” She said trying her best to sound as if she was truly upset about it.
“I had to babe…I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“Now the rest of the weekend is going to be awkward.”
“I’m sure once Kevin talks to Nicky, he’ll come out and apologize and that will be the end of it.”
“I hope you’re right. I’d hate it if for some reason, things got out of hand, you know?”
He pulled her closer, “It won’t.”
She almost had to hold back laughter, her husband was so naïve. Everyone was. They had no idea what she was capable of, well not all of them. Her little brother now knew exactly what she was capable of. By now he was probably close to shitting his own pants. How she wished she could see the expression on his face when Kevin told him she knew he was following her.
“He’s such a troubled little guy.” She said; ready to add the next layer to her plan.
“He’s been through a lot. I’m not sure how I’d be able to handle everything either at that age.”
“I know what you mean...when kids go through a lot, they handle things different, you know?”
“I know you’re childhood wasn’t perfect either Riri.”
“Yeah, but I made the best out of the situation. I don’t like talking about it or going there, in fact you’re one of the few people who actually know about my parents dying in that car crash when I was little.”
“And yet, you turned out just fine.” Once again, she tried her best to suppress the laughter she wanted to let out. “You know…maybe it would be good for you to tell Nicky about your parents. Let him see that despite you being orphaned at such a young age, you worked your way through it.”
“I doubt he wants to hear my life story. I just hope that Kevin takes this information you gave him and gets that boy some help.” Ariana pulled away from her husband and bit on her lip, “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“What is it? He didn’t threaten you again while we were gone, did he?”
“No…nothing like that…” She hesitated; acting like what she was going to say was going to be the hardest thing in the world.
“What is it then?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing but a coincidence and of course…I don’t see how he could have done anything about it, but when I found out…I don’t know, I think someone needs to know.”
“What Ariana? Just tell me.”
“Yesterday as I was filing some things…you know the end of the day type stuff.”
Howie nodded, patiently waiting for his wife to come out and say whatever it was she was trying to say.
“Well…I noticed a name in one of those files that I knew looked familiar, so I went back and checked on it and…”
“What?”
“That girl who died...”
“Nadia?”
She nodded, “Her brother Charlie…the one that you guys are looking for.”
“What about him? Did someone finally find him?”
“No…at least not that I know of, but in Dave’s report…it mentions a Patricia Nicosia as being connected with Nadia’s brother.”
“Wait…as in Patty? Little Patty?”
She nodded again, “Doesn’t Nick like her a lot?”
Ariana delighted in the fact that she could tell her husband was throwing around that information in his head and that he was finding it disturbing the more he thought it through. So she decided to add even more fuel to the fire, “I just know what he’s like when he’s jealous and I thought maybe he could have tried to get that Charlie kid back in some way.”
Howie glanced over at her, with his eyes big and disbelieving, “Nicky wouldn’t do something like that.”
“One more thing…” Now she was nailing the coffin closed on the young blonde. How perfectly this was all playing out for her, she really couldn’t even think up a better scenario if she tried.
“What?”
“I think Nick might have drugs with him.”
“Here?” Ariana nodded.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because when you guys left…I saw him take a powdery substance out of his backpack.”
“Oh my God.”
Ariana’s husband was unraveling and that pleased her to know end. He stood up and pushed his hands through his hair. She could tell it was because he had no idea how he was going to lay even more crap onto his best friend’s lap. “Are you sure?” He asked desperate for a ‘no’ in return.
“Yeah…I was watching him from the tent. He took it out and then placed it right back in his bag when he heard you guys coming.
“Did he see you?”
She shook her head, “No…I’m positive of that.”
“Nicky is doing drugs…” He said to himself as he continued to try to process the information and there was certainly a lot of new information to process.
Howie didn’t even know where to start with all the info he just received, the possible drug abuse and then the link to the dead girl. It seemed like suddenly there was a whole other side to the child he watched grow up. Maybe the kid was really a monster? His training taught him that people are usually not what they appear to be, especially ones that have had a very traumatic childhood.
“I’m not even sure what I should do.” He admitted to his wife, feeling helpless.
“I wouldn’t tell Kevin right at the moment.”
“But honey, if Nicky is doing drugs he has a right to know.”
She stood up and put a calming hand on his chest, “You’re right…but maybe you should make sure first.”
“You mean ask the kid? I doubt after Kevin talks to him, he’ll want to level with me.”
“No, I didn’t mean talk to him, I mean go in there and look for yourself.”
“Go through his stuff?”
She nodded, “I know there’s so many things wrong with that, but drugs are serious and I think Nicky might be far more troubled then we think. It’ll be easier to confront Kevin with the actual drugs in your hand, don’t you think so? And if you don’t find anything…it’ll keep you from accusing the kid of doing anything wrong.”
Howie thought about it for a second and then agreed, “That’s a good idea. I’ll feel like a snake but I know that if Nicky was my brother…and I feel like he is to begin with, then I’d feel obligated to go through his stuff.”
“I’m sorry for laying all of this on you Howie. I know this trip was supposed to help make you forget about all the crap going on, not add to it.”
“Honey, I’m glad you did say something…now it’s just a question of how to get myself into that tent without them knowing.”
She smiled and ran her hand down his face, “You’re a smart man…I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
He nodded as the two walked out of the tent hand in hand. Ariana, getting tingly inside from all the excitement she knew would be coming when her husband found the Aconite she had placed in Nick’s bag while he wasn’t looking.
Patty walked up to the front steps of the Richardson house; at least she hoped she had the right place. When she went to the old house, she was surprised to see that they had moved away. She used to love that old house, going over there and playing were some of her only memories from her childhood that she could actually call good.
Luckily when she went to the old house, she ran into someone who was friends with Nick and he directed her to this place. It was so much smaller than the other house they used to live in. The other place had such a welcoming feel to it, not this one though. Mrs. Richardson probably had a lot to do with the welcoming feel she was remembering.
Once again she found herself beginning to change her mind. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell Nick about her suspicions concerning Charlie. It’s not like there would be anything he’d be able to do for her either way. It made her wonder why she even came to him in the first place. She barely knew him, so much time had gone by that they were pretty much strangers. Yet, she still felt like in a way, Nick Richardson was the only person she could trust.
So she stepped up to the door and rang the bell before she had a chance to change her mind. A few seconds later a familiar face greeted her. Her long ago crush…Brian.
He instantly smiled when he saw the teenager standing there, “Well look who it is! Come on in sweetheart.” He said, opening the door and ushering her inside.
“Hi Brian, I’m sorry to bother you, is Nick here?”
“Aww I’m sorry sweetheart, he’s actually gone for the weekend. He went camping with Kevin.”
She looked disappointed and in an odd way, that made Brian happy. Nothing would have made him happier than seeing his baby brother back with the woman of his dreams. “Oh okay, I didn’t know.”
“He’ll be sad he missed you.”
“You think?”
Brian nodded at the teenager, “Of course…he talks about you all the time.”
“I come bearing Chinese food…” AJ said as he hurried into the house with a huge bag of food. He stopped when he saw Patty standing in the living room, “Well hello there doll face!”
She laughed, “hi AJ.”
“Would you like to stay for some Chinese food?”
“Aw no, that’s okay…I should be getting back home.” She turned to Brian again, “Can you just let Nick know I was here?”
“Of course I will…do you need a ride home?”
“Nah, that’s okay. I can get the bus.”
“You sure? I don’t mind.”
She shook her head, “Thanks a lot and nice seeing you all again.”
“Same to you…” Brian and AJ both watched as the girl walked out of the house. She took a few steps away and then glanced back as if she wanted to say something else, before turning and roaming down the end of the street and towards the bus stop.
“Score one for the Nickster! That young buck! I knew he’d get the girl.” AJ bragged like a proud father.
“She seemed bothered by something.”
“Yeah, probably because he wasn’t here.”
“No, she was nervous.”
“B man…can you stop being an agent for two seconds? The kid was here looking for the little studmeister, he wasn’t here and she was disappointed. It happens; now let’s eat before it gets cold!”
Brian rolled his eyes, “Why aren’t you with Stacey tonight?”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Always.”
“You suck Brian…just for that; I’m eating your fortune cookie!”
Brian shook his head, taking one more look at the teenager before he closed the door.
Kevin was sitting on a log placing some sticks into the fire to get a nice good blaze going. When he saw Howie and Ariana walk out of their tent, he couldn’t help but sigh. Things just weren’t making any sense. The more he sat and thought about it, the more things didn’t add up for him. Why on earth would Nick threaten Ariana knowing full well that it would get back to him eventually?
It made no sense, none of it did.
“Hey.” Howie said taking a seat next to Kevin and helping him add sticks to the fire.
“Hi.”
“Did you talk to him?”
Kevin nodded and then looked up to see where Ariana was. When he saw she was still close to her own tent, he felt like he could speak, “He denied threatening her. He seemed like he had no idea what I was talking about.”
“Well of course…I mean…I was kind of expecting that reaction weren’t you?”
Kevin seemed annoyed by that answer but he slowly nodded, “Yeah…I guess.”
“Maybe the two of you should go do something alone…after dinner. You know? So this way he isn’t uncomfortable with us. I want him to have a good time. I’m sorry about all of this Kevin.”
Kevin looked up at his best friend, “It’s not your fault Howie and maybe you’re right. I think maybe he and I will go for a late swim or something.”
Howie pat his best friend on the back, “Good idea.”
As Kevin and Howie were talking, Ariana kept looking over to the other tent and when the young blonde finally surfaced the two of them made instant eye contact. She felt chills and got goose bumps at the thrill it gave her. To see the way Nick was looking at her. The fear and understanding in his eyes. She loved those moments best…that moment of understanding in the victim’s eyes. When they realized that they were prey. So as he gave her that look, all she did was smile and wink in return, before walking over and joining her husband out by the fire.
