Chapter 12

Yet again, David sensed a difference in the instantaneous journey, and the scene he suddenly witnessed proved his hypothesis correct. His consciousness hadn't accelerated into Denise's past, though. It had decelerated into her future.

While viewing the tableau before him, he looked back to the journey. How did it differ from a normal trip? Did it actually decelerate? No, from all appearances time tripping didn't seem to involve speed, didn't involve time, for that matter. The journey didn't feel longer or shorter. It felt instantaneous, like his other trips. Still he sensed a difference.

Wait! The difference was in what happened just before a journey started. Over the years, he'd compressed the process, but it hadn't changed. He'd compressed it so much he hardly noticed it anymore. He remembered back to the first few trips he took. A small, bright light appeared and slowly expanded. Then the world around him started to fade until only the light existed, and his consciousness fell away from his body to become one with the light. Later, he'd learned to switch connections without returning to his body, but still the ritual remained the same, except he didn't need to leave his body. Instead, he fell away from one connection to another.

The difference in a time trip resided in the white light. When he accelerated into the past, the white light red-shifted. When he decelerated into the future, the white light blue-shifted. All right! he thought. I'm making progress.

He'd instructed his consciousness to connect with Denise, and it had satisfied his demand, but for some reason, it had slipped into Denise's future. Why? Why had his consciousness suddenly altered the time line David visited? An even more important question was why had his consciousness selected this particular moment in Denise's future? For some reason, David didn't believe the selection was random.

Perhaps the happy, domestic scene he could see would give him a clue. First, he tried to determine when in Denise's future he'd landed. It wasn't too far into the future, not more than five years, probably less. Denise didn't look much older than she did in David's normal here and now. Colleen looked the same, too. What was different was the happy, gurgling baby lying naked between the naked ladies. The women were playing with and cuddling the baby, a little girl, David noticed. He guessed the baby's age at one year, give or take a month or two.

Was the child his? Was the baby's mother Denise or Colleen? Regardless, it was obvious the baby was loved and cherished by both women. Denise tickled the baby, and then tickled Colleen. Colleen gave Denise a raspberry on her belly, and then did the same to the baby. The little girl squirmed with joy and squealed with delight. Yes, she was loved. David didn't sense any sexual component in the byplay either. He sensed only innocent fun, that and a lot of love.

David had to know. Was the little girl his daughter? He debated whether to disturb the tranquil, domestic scene by asking Denise, or leave well enough alone. Would asking change the present? His present? Perhaps his future? No, he reasoned. He couldn't alter his present. It was what it was. He could only alter his future.

Not only his future, he realized, but also the futures of everyone close to him - Nora's, his mother's, Darla's. Denise and Colleen's future could also be altered. And the child's. If he interacted with them now, perhaps his involvement would alter their pasts as well as their futures, or at least their past between their present when David left his body and the future he was currently observing.

Considering superposition, by merely observing the scene, he'd made what he saw a reality, but was it the only possible reality? Not likely. If he revisited the same moment in time, the same place in time, would he see what he was seeing now? Or would he view a different scene? It was not only possible, it was likely, he decided.

Whatever happened, he had to know if he was the baby's father. His need to know outweighed all other considerations.

Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he realized his consciousness had returned to his body. Yet again, he had no control over the duration of the time trip.

Frustrated, David rolled from the bed and stretched. He felt heavy, and his body ached. Too much sleep, he thought. He'd remained outside his body too long. He glanced at his wristwatch. Fourteen hours. Way too long.

His belly growled, and his kidneys complained. He was ravenous and needed to pee. "Sorry body," David said out loud as he stood in front of the toilet.

While urine splashed into the bowl, he reviewed his time trips. His connection with Denise shattered when he decided to speak to her, to ask her if he was the child's father. His connection with his mother when she was ten years old ended when he considered touching her while she masturbated. The time trip involving Nora came to a sudden halt when he wanted to ask her if she'd ever let the boys catch her. He shook off the last drops of urine.

Interesting, he thought. Perhaps I can't interact while connected with someone in his or her past or future. No, wherever I am I'm in my present, and everyone I visit has been in her present. It's only my point of view that makes it her present, past or future. Nonetheless, it's still her present. Conundrums. The trick, David decided, was to learn to initiate the trips, purposefully control whether he moved into the past or future of the person he planned to visit, to calibrate the journey along the time line of the person he visited, and control the duration of the trips.

It had taken him years to learn how to control his journeys in the present. Time tripping was vastly more complex. Still, David believed he'd soon develop the controls he needed.

He turned on the shower and brushed his teeth while waiting the for shower water to reach the desired temperature. His belly growled again when he stepped into the shower. Was his mother still home? If so, would she feed him?

Fifteen minutes later, David joined his mother and Joe around his mother's kitchen table. While she prepared breakfast for all of them, David brought them up to date on the investigation into Boynton's assassination. They listened attentively, but it was soon evident they were more interested in how he and Nora were getting along than in his stint at playing a super-detective. When David told them about his solemn promise to restore Nora's privacy, his mother raised an eyebrow, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Joe.

Carol patted Joe's hand. "Don't tell Nora, Joe, but David can't resist checking on her off and on every day." She turned to David. "How many times did you check on me yesterday, son?"

His shoulders rose. "Ten, twelve, I'm not sure."

"What about Darla?" she asked.

"About the same."

"Did you check on Steve and Joe, too?"

"Yes, but not as frequently."

Carol turned back to Joe. "When David cares about someone, he feels obligated to check on their well-being. He doesn't do it to invade their privacy, and his checking visits, as he calls them, only last a few seconds, unless he sees something amiss. If something is wrong, he acts, fixes the problem if he can."

"What do you mean?" Joe asked with his brow twisted into a frown.

Is he upset about losing his privacy too? David wondered.

"A few years ago," Carol said, "he found me unconscious in the tub. His body was in Sedona at the time. I'd been taking a shower and slipped, cracking my head on the side of the tub. He turned off the water first. It was scalding hot. I must've hit the faucet when I fell. Then he called an ambulance. I came to, and he helped me dress before the paramedics arrived. I suffered a slight concussion, so my injuries weren't serious, but the doctor told me another few minutes under the scalding water could have caused severe burns. As it was, like a snake, I shed dead skin for a week. Since then, I'm happy he checks on me whenever he gets the urge."

Joe gave David a serious look. "So, you had your fingers crossed when you made your solemn promise."

"My invisible toes, too," David quipped and grinned. "But only regarding my checking visits. I'll keep the promise otherwise."

Joe exhaled a huge sigh. "If I could do what you do, promise or no promise, I'd be hovering over my daughter more than half the time. She carries a gun for criminy sakes! I worry about her a lot, and knowing you'll be checking on her wherever she is and whatever she's doing makes me feel better. Check on her often, David. I'll keep your secret."

After a short run, some laps in the pool, and a half-hour in his gym, David phased out. Stuart Black was still alive, which proved David's hypothesis that the assassin didn't know who had hired him to kill Boynton beyond the now-dead Vinny. Black hadn't been arrested, which didn't surprise David, either. Nora had told him the FBI would investigate his allegations before reacting.

To that end, David connected with the Director of the FBI and landed in Washington, D.C., during a congressional hearing - a budget thing, David determined. The hearing was in a short recess, and David listened to a telephone conversation between the director and the agent in charge of the Boynton investigation, a man named Orville Simpson. The FBI had reacted. Black's phones were wired for sound, and he'd been placed under loose surveillance.

Shuttling connections, David created a file containing all FBI personnel involved in the case. Then he did the same with the N.Y.P.D. Vinny's body hadn't surfaced, so David e-mailed the director describing what happened to Vinny along with the location of his body. He used a computer at CIA Headquarters in Langley to compose and transmit the message.

Al's name, David discovered, was Alphonse Gannerelli, a mid-level soldier in one of the Mafioso families in New York City. Al reported to another Vincent, Vincent Bello, and David doubted anyone had the guts to call Bello Vinny. He was Don Joseph Maldonado's consigliore.

Enough, David decided. Don't mistreat your body again. After returning to his body, taking a leak, and pouring himself a glass of iced tea, he dialed Nora's cell phone number. The last time he'd checked on her, she was boarding her flight to Phoenix. He'd checked on her and his other loved ones four or five times that morning. Her phone was turned off, not surprising, considering she was probably ten or twenty thousand feet above the earth in an airplane. Just after he disconnected the failed call, his phone rang.

"David, it's Darla. We need to talk. Can you meet me for a late lunch?"

"Yes. Where and when?"

"Soon. Mom's agreed to tend the baby. Pick a place. I'll pick you up in a half-hour."

An hour later, they settled in a private booth in Macayo's, a Mexican restaurant on North Scottsdale Road. David sipped on a margarita and smiled. "I owe you an apology, sis. You were right. I went too far."

"Apology accepted, and I owe you an apology, too. My actions of late haven't been what I'd call laudable. I led you to believe you could do anything you wanted with me, but... dammit! This is difficult for me, David. I love you. I love what you do to me. Always have and always will, but I love Steve, too. I love the life Steve and I have created together, and with little darlin's arrival, we've become a family. David, I dishonored my husband, my marriage, and my family by messin' around with you."

She inhaled deeply and expelled a sigh. "Don't misunderstand. I enjoyed every minute I spent with your ghost. Judas! Talk about exciting! But if I don't get a handle on my urges again, I'll destroy the life I love, my marriage and my family. I need your help again, David."

Should he be honest and express how he really felt? Or should he let her off the hook and immediately comply with her request? He chose the former course.

"Darla, you were my first love, and I still love you. What's more I'll always love you. You're beautiful, not just in body, but also in mind and spirit. You want me to help you control your urges, and ultimately I'll agree with your request because I can deny you nothing you truly want. I have a suggestion, though, which I'll lay out for you in a minute that might solve your problem and mine, because I have a problem, too. I want you. Every time I see you, whether in my body or while on a trip, I become excited."

He took her hand and placed it over his erection under the table. She couldn't resist an affectionate squeeze, but with a shiver she moved her hand back to her lap.

"No fair," she muttered.

"Yeah I know," David said, "Right now, I want to take your lovely face between my hands, gaze into your wonderful, expressive eyes, and then taste your full lips. You'd respond, too. At first. But then you'd gather your resolve and pull away from me. If we were in a private place, we'd probably make love before your resolve kicked in, and then you'd kick yourself again, curse your lack of will power and redouble your efforts to remain faithful to your husband, your life and your family, that is, until the next time our urges coincided in a private place. Am I wrong?"

Tears welled in her eyes, poised to overflow. "No, you're right."

"I'm right because we formed a bond in our youth, Darla, a bond of love and sex neither of us can deny, a bond that can't be broken regardless of the lives we create with others. Here's my suggestion. Let's pick a time, a frequency, if you will. We'll meet, and we'll make love. We'll fuck. We'll do everything we want with each other. The meeting, the loving, the fucking, will be purposeful and planned. The meetings will be private, known only to us, and won't have an affect on others involved in our lives. We'll use the assignations as safety valves so we can control ourselves around each other at all other times. I may have found the love of my life, Darla. Nora Patterson is special, but if I fall in love with her or any other woman, I'll still need you in my life, and not just as a sister. If you'll agree to this plan, I'll help you control your urges between meetings, and I guarantee I'll control mine. Waddaya think?"

Darla's smile was almost wicked. "I think I understand, David, and it's a marvelous idea. It reminds me of an old movie about a man and woman who were married to others, but they met once a year for most of their lives. The movie was called Same Time Next Year, or something like that."

"I don't believe I've seen the movie; I'll need to rent it. I'm happy you agree with my suggestion. Okay, let's pick a frequency. No, you pick the frequency. How often can you meet and handle your guilt?"

"A year's too long. How about four times a year? We'll alternate the circumstances. We'll meet while you're in your body, and three months later, we'll meet when you're playing at being a ghost."

"Sounds about right," he said, but the frequency she selected surprised him. "What about the duration of the meetings? A few hours? Overnight?"

"A few hours when you're a ghost. Overnight, if we can arrange it, when I can feel your warm body next to mine."

"All right. When would you like to start?"

"Should we count the last time while you were a ghost?"

"If you want. I'd rather start fresh."

"Me, too, but I also want to test the viability of the frequency we've selected. Approximately three months from today, I'll meet you while you're in your body, overnight, if possible, and I'll turn you every which way but loose. Between meetings, do you promise to help me maintain my resolve to be faithful?"

"Yes."

"Your touch turns me on, David. Be careful how you touch me between meetings. You're still hard, aren't you?" She reached and gently grasped his erection.

"Very."

"And I'm sopping wet, and it isn't just because you're sitting next to me. It's anticipation. Ooh, I adore your suggestion, David." She shivered. "Pour us another margarita from that pitcher, and let's celebrate."

A few minutes later, Darla said, "I've changed my mind. You don't need to be careful about how you touch me between meetings. Knowing we'll make love in the not too distant future allows me to keep my resolve between assignations. Assignations. Love the word. It's naughty."

Her fondling fingers became more aggressive. She could feel his prick jumping and throbbing under his trousers. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair of me to forbid your touch once in a while knowing I'll certainly be touching you when I can get away with it. I can even tease you on occasion, like now, without being fearful you'll jump my bones at an inopportune time and destroy my marriage in the process."

"If you tease me, I'll tease you." His hand moved from the tabletop to her knee.

"Ooh, I surely hope so," she said as she opened her legs enough to let his hand move up her thigh until it cupped her mound.

When their waitress arrived with their meals, their hands returned to their own laps. They were silent for a few minutes while they ate until David asked, "What about guilt, Darla?"

"Ah, yes, the dreaded G word. I look at it this way. You were correct. We've formed a powerful loving bond that contains raw needs neither of us can deny. The best we can do is control our needs so they never affect the lives we enjoy with others. Same Time, Three Months From Now does that for me. Loving you, wanting you is part of my nature, David. I admitted and accepted that part of me years ago. What made me feel truly guilty was the distinct possibility that my need for you would escalate out of control and destroy my life with Steve and little darlin'. I unabashedly admit I don't think I'll feel guilty after our meetings. What about you?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

"Good. Now tell me about Nora. Was she the woman who revved up your motor when you kidnapped me from my bed?"

David laughed but blushed, too. "Yeah." He explained what happened.

"Thought so. Who helped you find relief eventually?"

"Mother."

"Really? Then you and Mother still... what about Joe?"

"To my great sorrow, she told me she loved the man and would give me up if he asked."

Darla looked shocked. "Has she told him about you? Me?"

"No, I don't think so."

I need a private conversation with my mother, Darla thought.

Nora's cell phone rang. David? She pushed the talk button and greeted the caller. Yes!

"May I connect with you?" David asked.

"Yes. I'm in my car..."

"Driving from the airport," David said from within the car after kissing her cheek. "Where?"

"Scary. I must remember when I give you permission to visit me that you'll be by my side the very next instant. Where, you ask? My office. My workday isn't over yet. Did you learn more about the Boynton case this morning?"

He brought her up to date.

"Hmm, as an aside, how much trouble would it be for you to do a complete organizational chart of the Maldonado Family?"

"Not much. A couple of extra hours at the most."

"Really?"

"It's about half-done now. I just need to connect with some family members I ignored because, through various means, I determined they weren't involved in the Boynton assassination."

"Do it, David. The director will be delighted."

"All right. Here's the way I see it, Nora. A person or persons contacted either Maldonado or Bello and asked them to arrange the Boynton hit. Bello then ordered Alphonse to set it up, but through at least one more intermediary. Al selected Vinny because he was dispensable. Vinny hired Black, probably at Al's direction. After Black killed Boynton, Al told a couple of his soldiers to take care of Vinny. Viola! Thread broken. I have a hunch, after I send my next e-mail to the director, Al isn't long for this world. Now I'll concentrate on Bello and Maldonado to find the connection outside the family. I'll also come at it from the other direction. Boynton was fiscally conservative and advised the president accordingly. He could have raised the hackles on some tax-and spend liberals, so I'll catalogue that bunch, too. At the same time, I'll develop a list of Boynton's known associates. There might be a bad apple or two among them."

"Don't forget to take a look at his family, especially any heirs."

"Will do."

"What about the gun?"

"It's still where we told the director he'd find it."

"Emphasize the need to pick up the murder weapon in your next e-mail."

"Okay. What about your investigation? Anything new?"

Nora frowned. "Not a thing. We've received hundreds of calls about men who resemble our sketch, but none of them have panned out."

"Is the list complete, the one that names the individuals who saw Hanna during the last three days of her life?"

"Yeah, and we're checking, but..."

"May I have a copy? I'll check on everyone on the list. Maybe I'll hear someone say something that will help you."

"David, the list contains over seven hundred names. How can... ?"

"My financial advisors number in the thousands, Nora. I can connect with all of them during my workday, and keep in mind, until I became involved with these investigations, I only worked half-days. It could take me a few days to connect with all the individuals on your list the first time, though. After that I can check on them with a burst until I hear a keyword before stopping for detail."

"I'm worried about you, David. It seems to me you're out of your body more than you're in it. Is that healthy?"

He huffed a laugh. "When I entered my body this morning, I noticed I'd been tripping for fourteen hours. My kidneys were screaming, and I had to run for the bathroom, so I decided to treat my body with a little more respect. After breakfast with my mother and your father, I took a short run, swam some laps and worked out in my gym before going back to work. I also took a lunch break with my sister."