The night was still. Not a leaf rustled, not a mouse stirred in the dim light that came from an endless patchwork of tiny, brightly twinkling stars. No breeze blew along the shore, and the only sound was the soft lapping of the ocean waves upon the sandy beach. A sharp but short plateau rose up from the sand, and to the east a dark forest stood with the stars sparkling through the trees; to the west a large building stood against the night sky, as silent and still as stone. Next to the building a few poles stood up straight and stark in the dusky light, remnants of a part of the remodeled building that had been torn away. The entire New England countryside seemed to be holding its breath; then, sudden and sharp as lightning, the sound of an alarm pierced through the night.
Carmen and Frederick fled down the third floor hallways of the small museum, the alarms shrieking and echoing off the walls as they ran; they both skidded to a halt as they reached the end of one hall, which had two shut doors on either side. "Which way?" Frederick shouted over the alarms.
Carmen looked left, then right. They both heard footsteps coming quickly and more loudly toward them; there was no time to think. "Pick one!" she shouted, and threw her weight against the left door, while Frederick shoved open the right door.
Behind him Frederick heard a startled cry, and whirled round to find that Carmen had disappeared and that he could see the dark starry sky through the door. He took a step toward her door, then heard a shot fired and ducked into his hallway, slamming his door shut; he dashed down the hall, horrified to think that Carmen had fallen out the door and down three stories to the ground.
Carmen had, in fact, fallen as soon as she had burst through the door, but only a height of about eight feet; in remodeling the building the workers had torn off part of the upper staircase and left the rest intact. The frail rusted stairway creaked under her impact when she hit it and she almost slid off; she scrabbled for a hold and seized one of the railing bars. Moving hand over hand, she gripped small metal support bars under the solid stair and pressed against the wall. She held on tightly and caught her breath as the throbbing in her back and side from hitting the stair subsided.
She heard the sound of running feet, as the guards ran to the end of the hallway and stopped at the door. "One of them must've gone out here," she heard a guard say.
"You see anyone?" another asked, and Carmen froze as a flashlight beam swept along the stair and wall, over her head and along her sides.
"I don't see anything," the first guard said. "There's nobody on the stairs, and I don't see anyone on the ground, either."
"Radio the cops on the ground. Tell them to look around near the unfinished side of the building; we'll go back down by the inside stairs."
"Shouldn't we go down there ourselves?"
"Not unless you want to break your neck, jumping down to those rusty stairs. Let's go back; if anyone went down that way, the cops'll find them."Their footsteps receded back into the building, and a few minutes later the shrieking alarm abruptly cut off, making the night silent once more.
Carmen's arms ached from hanging on to the metal bars; she let go and dropped lightly to the next section of stairs; the sharp ring of the metal seemed explosively loud to her ears. She ran down and leapt into the bushes, keeping herself pressed against the wall of the building. She looked up into the starry night sky then along the forest and the shore, and strained her ears for any sound of footsteps; but the only sound she heard was the soft murmur of the ocean and her own heartbeat. She looked to the shore and then to the forest, debating which was the best way to run.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and instinctively she tensed. She cocked her head almost in animal fashion, listening, and sensed a disturbance in the still night air. As she glanced toward the coast, she heard a low pattering rhythm and looked back toward the trees near the building; their tops and then their sides swayed in a sudden breeze as the low noise reached a roaring crescendo and a helicopter boomed over the trees. She ducked and pressed herself into the dry ground as its blinding light swept over her and a sudden gale blasted into her face; then the noise and wind declined as the helicopter soared over the building.
They're certainly serious about this, Carmen thought as she listened to the drumming of the helicopter, but she felt no fear. Strangely, she felt only excitement, and she tried to suppress that emotion; this was not a time to play games, and she knew that above all she must not get any pleasure out of playing her criminal role. She didn't want to think about what might happen if she started to enjoy it too much.
Carmen looked off to the coast as she heard the helicopter in the background. She couldn't stay here much longer; and she should probably run now that the helicopter was on the other side of the building. She crouched and concentrated; a few seconds later, she dashed into the open with a burst of adrenaline. She cleared the open field in a matter of seconds, and dropped down the sandy plateau to the beach, halting and breathing hard.
"Did you see that?"Nari exclaimed in the helicopter.
"See what?" The cop flying the helicopter asked.
"Down there," Nari said, pointing to the field near the beach. "I saw movement."
"Probably animals," the cop told him. "This place is full of them, and the chopper's probably spooked them."
Nari shook his head. "No, it was definitely human. Attention, all units!" he shouted into his mouthpiece. "Suspect possibly sighted by the coast near the bridge. Move in!"
Carmen looked round for a place to hide. The first thing that caught her eye was a large drainage pipe, big enough for a person to walk into. No, that's the first place they'll look, she thought, and crept along the plateau looking for something better. She both heard and felt the helicopter change direction, and she ran under the stone bridge; her shoes sank in the soft sand, so she took them off and stuffed them in her pockets.
Upon reaching the bridge, she glanced up and noticed a small alcove where the supports met the plane, that she might be able to squeeze into. The bridge was about three times taller than she was, but it was made of small stones pressed into some kind of mortar, so she searched for holds in the rock with her hands and bare feet and began climbing upward slowly, hand over hand as she squeezed her hands and feet into the cracks. As she reached the overhang and puzzled over how she could get over and on top of it without falling to the ground, she heard the thumping of footfalls on the field near the bridge; she made a mad grab for the edge and gripped the damp slippery stone, pulling herself up and over into the alcove.
A group of cops ran under the bridge, shouting and flicking their flashlights from side to side. Carmen heard a strangely familiar voice yell, "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Get away from the beach, you'll ruin any footprints!"She peered cautiously over the edge of the alcove and looked down at the sheepish expressions on the faces of the police. She smiled, but her expression turned to horror when she saw the owner of the familiar voice step into the light.
Nari. A Passangue Senior.
Carmen ducked back into the alcove and froze. Nari must not see her; he would recognize her. She wanted to keep her thief identity a secret as long as possible.
Nari swept his flashlight beam across the sand. Someone's barefoot prints led up to the bridge and stopped there; that much he could tell, even though the deika had trampled the ground. He looked up at the support beams of the bridge, then walked over to the stone support and looked at it thoughtfully. One of the guards from the building walked over to him, saying, "I heard she's done this before; she runs off and disappears into nowhere."
Nari turned his head. "'She'? How do you know?"
"Well, I saw her, sir. In the building, for a short second." the guard replied.
"You saw her?" one of the cops demanded, and the others made similar exclamations.
"What did she look like?" Nari asked.
"Well, it was only for a second, sir, and for a moment I wondered if I was seeing things. I do know she was dressed all in red. That was kind of hard to miss. And she had black hair, too."
"Do you know what she was wearing?" Nari asked further.
The guard scratched his head, saying, "Well, that's the funny thing, sir. It seemed like she was dressed like one of those women in those old detective or spy movies. You know, the trench coat and fedora, and I remember she was wearing high heels too. That's how I know for sure she was a woman."
One of the cops snickered. "So we're chasing Bette Davis?"
"What's she stealing stuff for, then?" said another.
"Not making it in the movies anymore, I guess." one more cut in.
The cops laughed.
Nari glared at them. "Quiet!" he shouted, and the cops stopped laughing. "This is a serious investigation." His eyes flicked up and his head jerked in a meaningful way toward the support beam. "Let's continue further inland," he said, and the cops followed him up the plateau and back onto the field.
Carmen waited for what seemed like an eternity. She waited for the footfalls of the cops to recede, and for the helicopter to start up and begin thundering back inland. She waited several minutes more, counting heartbeats, just to make sure they were all gone. Then she squeezed out of the alcove and hung over the edge, then dropped down to the ground and rolled in the sand. She heard a click and looked up.
Nari stood on the stand near the bridge, gun drawn.
The cops in the field dashed down and surrounded her, and she held her hands in front of her face as their bright lights blinded her. They had never left the beach! She fought down sudden panic as she heard them tell her to freeze.
With his gun in hand, Nari stepped closer to the woman crouching on the beach, shielding her eyes from the deika flashlights. She was indeed dressed the way the guard had described her. Strangely, Nari felt that there was something familiar about her. She lowered her arms and looked up at him; Nari saw that she had blue eyes, and that she wore her fedora at the same peculiar angle as a Donnekahshaie Central Senior he had once known.
Nari drew his breath, eyes wide, and stood ramrod straight in surprise and disbelief. He mouthed the woman’s Donnekahshaie name, then suddenly shouted, "Hold your fire! Hold your fire! I know this woman!"
"You do?" one of the cops said, startled. "Who is she?"
Nari paid him no mind. Lowering his gun and stepping closer to her he asked softly in Donnekahshaie, "Mahli Saia? Is that you?"
The woman stared back at him with an expression of horror and dismay. After a few moments, she nodded.
"Bright Eyes! You're alive!" Nari exclaimed, moving next to her. "Everyone back home thinks you're dead! Where have you been all this time?" He touched her arm. She recoiled from his touch, and Nari looked at her with a confused look in his eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked her. She gave no reply.
("What is he saying?" a cop asked. "Beats me," replied another.)
"Is something wrong?" he asked again. No response. Nari drew in his breath as a thought came to him. "This is some kind of undercover mission or something, right? You're not really a criminal, I know that. Look, why don't you come back with me to Acme. You can tell us what you're really doing then and we'll help you; you don't have to do it by yourself." He began to ramble. "We've lost some people from...from the last case, but we're pulling ourselves together and we'll be all right. If you come back with us we'll do even better. We need you, Bright Eyes," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
She drew back. Nari looked at her with an expression of horror. "Bright Eyes," he said slowly and intensely, "tell me this is an undercover mission. Tell me you're not really a criminal. Tell me you're coming back."
She blinked, and for a moment he thought she would laugh at him and tell him how good he was at figuring people out, and that she was on a mission and would be happy to come home. Just for a moment her expression softened as she looked up at him, and her hand moved slightly toward him.
Nari extended his hand toward her. "Bright Eyes?"
He knew she was going to leap even before she crouched to the ground, and as she flew over him, barely missing cracking her skull on the bridge, he cried out at the top of his voice, "HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE!" The cops stared in surprise as she leaped over them as well and dashed up the plateau. They all turned round and started running after her, and one of them drew out a tranquilizer gun. "No!" Nari shouted, knocking it out of his hand.
"Are you crazy?" the cop yelled at him. "She's getting away!"
Nari looked inland. There was no sign of Carmen.
"What was that all about?" another cop asked him. "You said you knew her."
Nari sank stunned to his knees, staring out into the darkness, and nodded.
"Well, who was she?"
Nari continued to stare off into the night. "She was one of us."
"You don't believe in ghosts."
Nari shook his head. "A ghost would be a good explanation for what I just saw."
Lynn came walking into the lobby. "What did you see? Did you find out who's been committing those recent crimes?"
"Yeah," he said vacantly as Suhara came up behind her. "A ghost."
Lynn and Suhara squinted at him. "What?"
"Uh, listen," Nari said as he glanced nervously around, "maybe we should go somewhere, ah, a little less open. If I saw what I think I saw...well, let's just say we won't want the press in here."
"Speak in Donnekahshaie," Lynn told him. He shook his head.
"It's a bit, uh, I mean we should keep it in the, uh..." The usually talkative Nari was suddenly at a loss for words. "Let's just go," he finally snapped.
Curious, and with a sense of foreboding, the three Seniors (who were later joined by Jessica) walked into a Quiet Room. There Nari said in a low voice, "Uh...I'm not sure quite how to put this..."
"Is it good news or bad news?" Lynn demanded.
He thought for a moment. "Well...I have good news and bad news."
"What's the good news?" Shirley asked.
Nari looked at the floor. "Well, the good news is that I found Bright Eyes, and that she's alive."
They all gasped, and then Suhara exclaimed happily, "That is excellent news! I knew she was still alive somewhere!"
"Well, where is she?" Lynn wanted to know. "Let's go find her and bring her home!"
"Uh...that's the bad news." Nari seemed fascinated by the weave of the carpet.
"What do you mean?" Suhara inquired. "Is she hurt?"
"No..."
Jessica folded her arms. "So what's the bad news?"
"Well," he said, continuing to stare at the floor, "that is the bad news."
"What is?" Lynn was starting to get impatient with him. "You never said."
Nari sighed. "The bad news is, I found Bright Eyes."
They all looked at him blankly.
"Explain," Lynn commanded.
He sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands. "I was investigating that case with that new thief, the one nobody knew who she was. Well, I found out."
"She?" Shirley asked.
"What does this have to do with Bright Eyes?" Lynn asked.
"That's just it. That new thief is Bright Eyes." he said miserably.
For a moment they all stared at him, not comprehending. Then in flashes of emotion their faces changed to expressions of astonishment, then suspicion, then anger. Then their expressions grew dark as they perceived that Nari was trying to make some sort of jest. Jessica was the first to speak. "Not a funny joke, Nari," she growled.
"I'm not joking," he said as he looked up, dead seriousness in his voice.
The Seniors stared at him, then at each other. Then they all started talking at once.
"Why would she do something like that?"
"What is she thinking?"
"Something must have happened to her..."
Suddenly Suhara was struck with an idea. "Maybe she's doing a Maisadorre."
Lynn's eyebrows furrowed. "The Gangbuster Generation tactic?"
"That's much too risky," Jessica stated. "It's nearly impossible to get enough information by yourself to get the job done and get a pardon."
"Yeah," Shirley agreed. "Bright Eyes is too smart to do something like that."
Nari made an indelicate sound. "A few days ago, I would have said she was too smart to be stealing things, but now I'm not so sure." Suhara glared at him but said nothing.
"What is she doing, then?" Lynn exclaimed as she spread her arms wide.
"Maybe she couldn't handle the...the last case." Shirley suggested. "We've all had a hard enough time dealing with it."
Nari sat back and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe she got bored with us and decided to find a new line of work."
"Shut up, Nari," Jessica snapped as Lynn and Suhara both gave him an ugly look.
"I think she is trying a Maisadorre," Shirley said.
"In that case, we should probably stay out of her way," Suhara advised. "I want to help her more than anything, but it may be that if we get involved we may foul up whatever she is trying to do." All nodded, except for Nari.
Lynn folded her arms. "Is there a problem, Nari?"
He said nothing for a few minutes, then suddenly said, "No, Lynn. No problem."
She squinted at him, wondering if he was concealing something from her. "All right then," she announced. "That's settled. We keep out of whatever Carmen's doing and wait for her to tell us."
They all filed out of Quiet Room, and quietly went their separate ways, each trying to figure out for himself what Carmen could possibly be doing; and why she had not returned home. Not one spoke to another.
On his way out, Nari looked over his shoulder, and upon seeing the others gone, told the secretary to book a flight for him.
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