Chapter 20

Despite the girls' efforts not to wake him, Thule was up shortly after nine. He'd woken up earlier, but a quick glance at the other bed coupled with the sounds of muffled giggles and other, more guttural sounds convinced him that getting up at that point would either force him into an awkward rejection or make them take even longer than it already was to get out of the city.

In spite of that, he still nearly got up anyway. It clearly didn't fit into his plans, but he was still male and human. Sleep had eventually won out, though. Thule suspected he would have another chance.

When he got up around nine, Thule actually felt refreshed for the first time in weeks. Other than a slight headache from oversleeping, he guessed he'd finally caught up on the perpetual sleep debt. By that time, Dawn and Marigold were dressed, packed and ready to go. Marigold's dress was still short on Dawn, but not as dangerously so as the sun dress she'd worn yesterday. Thule wondered why Marigold hadn't offered her the more respectable looking dress for church, but decided that he probably wouldn't like the answer.

He watched Marigold with a critical eye, wondering what he had wrought. She seemed determined to do an abrupt personality about face, something Thule emphatically did not want. If she proceeded as she was going, he would have to gently remind her what he had fallen in love with her for in the first place.

Watching Dawn and Marigold interact, he could see that the two were bound to each other as strongly as they were bound to him, maybe more so. He'd watched Dawn try to protect Marigold both from herself and from Maya yesterday. Marigold had always been protective of Dawn, even if she had an odd way of showing it.

He knew, as well as he could know such things, that he could trust either of them to never betray him. He didn't entirely trust either of them to keep secrets for him, though. They just weren't wired for it. That was a relief, too. He couldn't imagine getting involved with a woman as paranoid as he was. The idea of PGP signed love notes was just too much of a stretch.

Of course, if he were really as cautious as he liked to pretend, things would not be gradually spiraling out of control for him. He'd told too many people too much already. Maya, Marigold, Dawn, Jonas, Svetlana. What the hell had he been thinking with Svetlana? There were so many different ways he could kick himself in response to that question. Once he had decoded the video of June Kane's rape, one way or another, he was going to have to go to the FBI with what he had. It was only a matter of time before somebody spilled the beans.

They managed to get out of the hotel shortly after ten and to the Spy Store just before eleven. Thule retrieved the parts he needed from an apologetic sales representative, not even stopping to browse. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. When they stopped for lunch at a non-descript little diner outside of the city, Thule paged Oksana. She called back a few minutes later.

"Thule," she said, "I was wondering where you were. You're missing a hell of a day."

"Oh?" asked Thule. "Do tell."

"The cops came by like a half hour ago and took Ian, Brianne's ex-boyfriend, out in cuffs. Then, they clipped the locks off of both of his lockers and took away everything in evidence bags.

Thule rubbed his temples. He'd been sure that neither Ivan nor Svetlana would call the cops in on this one. Had Randy? Wanting to know how much information was available, he asked, "Did they say why?"

"No," said Oksana, "but, it's pretty obvious. He was handing out flyers for his new website this morning and, while I personally didn't see it, everybody's saying that it was full of pictures of Brianne having sex with like a dozen different guys, including some wild footage from this vacation they went on together in Mexico last spring break."

"I'm not following," said Thule, "What did he get arrested for?"

"Well," said Oksana, "there's a question as to how consensual some of the situations were--and some of them go back a few years. So, I would guess it's some kind of kiddie porn thing they actually arrested him on. But, that's not the wildest part. While the police were going through his locker, they got real excited all of a sudden and evacuated the school. We're all out on the front lawn right now. Word is that they're cutting the locks off of every locker in the school now. And, it's not just local police. It's state and FBI too. Plus, there are some TV news vans coming in now."

"Shit," said Thule, "Has anyone commented on my absence?"

"Not to me," said Oksana, "Where are you anyway?"

Thule sighed, "Marigold, Dawn, and I came into the city to help Maya move. It took a lot longer than expected. Listen, did you notice if June Kane is there today?"

"She's not," said Oksana, "As soon as Brianne found out about the web site, she left. Since then, the cheerleaders have been running around like a bunch of color-coordinated chickens with their heads cut off because."

"Okay," said Thule, "thanks."

When he got off the phone, he turned to Dawn, "Call June Kane. If she answers, ask her to pick up your homework for you."

"Homework?" asked Dawn, "Thule, you've got some screwed..."

"Just do it," said Thule. "It's not about homework."

Dawn dialed her phone, listened, then hung up. "It went to voicemail."

"Call her at home," said Thule.

"I don't know her number," said Dawn.

"Use information. There should only be one Kane family in Mannsborough." Thule said. Then, he had to explain to Dawn how to use information on her cell phone. As he was explaining, his cell phone rang. He answered it.

"Dule," said the voice on the other end.

"Svetlana," said Thule as calmly as he good, "It's a surprise to hear from you. What can I do for you?"

"I am just settled in with nice man in New York," said Svetlana, "I was thinking maybe you come to New York and visit."

"Sveta, you know better," said Thule, "but, why don't you give me the number there? Maybe I'll call you in a few weeks when things settle down."

"I am getting cell phone today," said Svetlana, "But, here is number." She read off the digits. Thule wrote them down.

"Who was that?" asked Marigold, clearly trying to make it sound like a casual question.

"Svetlana Vandevoort," said Thule, trying to be equally casual.

"Randy's mother?" Marigold asked. "Why would she be calling you?"

"Stepmother," said Thule, not sure why he felt this detail was important enough to bring up at the moment. "I told her to get in touch with me when she settled in New York. She's getting divorced from Ivan."

"Oh, Thule," said Marigold, "you didn't sleep with Sveta Vandevoort. Did you?"

Thule didn't answer for a second. Marigold seemed content to wait for an answer, even if the pause seemed to speak volumes. Finally, he said, "Yes, after the party on Saturday."

"You did not," said Marigold, her voice incredulous. "Thule, how do you even know Sveta?"

"I... uh, didn't before the party," Thule said unevenly. "Wait a second. How do you know her?"

"We... met," said Marigold. "It was a long time ago. I was fourteen or so."

Thule noticed that Marigold seemed uncomfortable at the question. Before he could speak up, Dawn interrupted, worry clear on her face, "June's mother says she hasn't been home since Saturday morning."

"I was afraid of that," said Thule. "In a day or two, I'll call Silent Hills, see if I can't get a hold of her."

"Do you think she'll be there?" asked Marigold.

"I hope so," said Thule. Neither girl asked him to elaborate. He quickly filled them in on the situation at the school, adding, "It's probably better if we don't go in at all at this point. Whatever attention we might have drawn by not being there, it will be much heavier if we show up in the middle of the day. I'll take you two home, then see what's on this chip.

"I want to see what's on the chip," said Dawn. Her voice brooked no argument.

Thule looked her in the eye, "It won't be easy to watch. I have another clip, forty seconds long, bad focus, mostly audio, and it's very hard to review."

"I still want to see," said Dawn, "I need to know what almost happened to me. That wasn't my first near miss. I want it to be my last."

Thule sighed, "I really don't know what you hope to accomplish. But, it's up to you. Why don't I swing by your house so you can at least put on some of your own clothes before we proceed?"

"Shoot," said Dawn, "I still need to buy underwear. Where can we stop between here and home?"

"There are a couple of places on the way," said Thule. Both girls looked at him questioningly. He deliberately ignored them.

-=-

By two pm, they were parked outside of Dawn's house. As soon as they'd watched Dawn disappear into the house, Marigold turned to Thule, "So, are you planning on sleeping with her again?"

"Again?" asked Thule. "I haven't even slept with her once yet."

Marigold looked puzzled, then realization dawned on her face, "I didn't mean her. I meant Mrs. Vandevoort."

"Definitely not," said Thule emphatically. "It was a mistake to sleep with her the first time."

Marigold gave a harsh chuckle, but didn't say anything for a minute. When she did speak, she said, "Thule, would it be horrible if I said I wanted to renegotiate our agreement?"

"Not inherently," said Thule.

"Could you possibly promise me that you won't sleep with Svetlana again?"

Thule scowled, "I just said that. Didn't I?"

"No," said Marigold. "You said you didn't plan on it. There's a difference."

"I promise," said Thule. "But, if you've got a rule in mind, I wish you would say what it was. I don't want to have to keep having this conversation."

Marigold shook her head, "No Svetlana is the rule I want. If I'd thought even for an instant that it was a possibility, I would have made that a rule right at the start. Compared to Svetlana, I'd rather you sleep with Brianne."

Thule turned in his seat, "Why? Marigold, you seem to know her much better than I do. What did I get myself into?"

Marigold shook her head, "It's not that. She's just so beautiful and sophisticated and... wild. I could compete with Brianne, but I can't compete with that."

Thule raised one hand to stroke the side of her face and said, "Marigold, you have no idea how beautiful you are or you would never say that."

Marigold gave him a weak smile, "Maybe, but I can't be that wild."

"Little flower," said Thule. "You're already becoming wilder than I know what to do with. I fell in love with you the first time we came to New York. You don't need to change to keep me. It's actually making me nervous."

Marigold shook her head, "I'm not doing it to keep you. I'm not sure why I'm doing it... I just feel like it's something I have to do. I just feel like I missed so much."

Thule kissed her forehead, "I know. But, you've got your whole life to make up for lost time. Do you have to do it all at once?"

Marigold grinned and leaned into his hand, "I guess not." She reached up with both hands, took his index finger, guided it into her mouth, and gently bit the tip.

Thule removed his hand to make room for a kiss, sliding his arms around her, nearly pulling her into his lap.

When the kiss was over, Marigold asked, "Thule, did you use your little cameras and microphones on me, the way you do to Randy?"

"No," said Thule, "I observed you, but not like that."

"How, then?" asked Marigold.

"Like a man seeking revenge and looking for weakness," said Thule. "It's better that you not know the details."

Marigold shivered in Thule's arms. But, she did not pull away, only burrowed deeper into him.

"Dawn is taking a long time to change clothes," said Thule.

"How did you know I plagiarized my Harvard essay?"

"You left a copy of it on your Mac in the newspaper office, on the desktop," said Thule.

"Oh," said Marigold, blushing. "Was I really so careless?"

"You didn't know anybody was out to get you," said Thule, "or would recognize your essay."

Marigold looked up at him, "How did you recognize it?"

"As luck would have it," said Thule, "I wrote it--or, at least, most of it."

"No," said Marigold, "Karen Kane wrote it."

Thule raised an eyebrow, "Did you really think Karen Kane knew the word, 'captious?'"

"I didn't even know the word 'captious, '" said Marigold, "I took it out. Are you saying you wrote Karen's essay?" When Thule nodded, she asked, "Why?"

"Money," said Thule, "I was selling term papers to upper classmen at the time."

Marigold looked shocked, "You were blackmailing me for doing what you helped Karen Kane do for money. Didn't you feel a little bit hypocritical?"

"Only a little," said Thule, "College essays are a joke. I could have taught Karen how to write her own in fifteen minutes. Nobody gets into college based on one. If I'd thought you were doing something genuinely, seriously wrong, I would have ultimately had to turn you in."

"You would have done that to me?" asked Marigold.

"Probably not," said Thule, "not once I got to know you. But, that would have been the plan. I would not have counted on what a bad influence you are on my ethics."

Marigold looked like she wanted to protest, but her phone rang before she could.

"That must be my parents," she said. "Hello. Oh, Dawn. What's up?" She listened for a while, then said, "hang on." Covering the mouthpiece, she said, "Her mother just told her that, if she goes out again, she's not to come back."

Thule nodded, "All right. Tell her I'll show her the recording as soon as we get a chance."

Marigold shook her head, "She sounds like she wants to get out of there. She's really upset."

"Does she have somewhere she could go?" asked Thule. Then, he saw the way Marigold was looking at him, "Oh, no. What about your place?"

"I can ask," said Marigold, "once Jonas gets home, if you like. But, it would feel weird. Having her sleep over under my parents' noses is one thing, but... well, you have all that space and you already did it once for Oksana."

"What about after we leave for Boston?" asked Thule.

"I could ask Jonas if she could take over my room," said Marigold. "It wouldn't be so weird if I weren't there. Or, you could see if your father would let her housesit."

Thule sighed, "You really want this, don't you?"

Marigold's eyes shined, "Whenever she talks about her home life, she's very circumspect, but it sounds just awful. We just saved Maya from a bad situation. How can we do any less for Dawn?"

"Marigold," said Thule, "if you move Dawn in right under my nose..."

"I know," said Marigold. "It's all right, Thule. I would be happy to see you two together. It would be perfect."

Thule sighed. It wouldn't be perfect. But, Dawn was waiting for an answer and, even if Marigold was trying to play him like a cheap flute, she was also the one whose feelings he was trying to spare. He gestured to her, "Give me the phone." Into the handset, he said, "Dawn?"

"Thule?" asked Dawn. Marigold had been right. She sounded miserable.

"Dawn," he said reassuringly, "do you want to get out of there?"

"Yes," she said, sniffling. "Desperately. But, they're threatening to throw me out if I do."

Thule took a deep breath before continuing, "Dawn, if it's important enough, you could come live in my sister's old room, like Oksana used to. We would still have to figure out what to do with you after Marigold and I left for college, but we've got some pretty good ideas."

There was a long pause before Dawn answered. Thule could hear people yelling in the background. When Dawn spoke, her voice was calmer, "I could stay with you? That wouldn't be weird?"

"It would be extraordinarily weird," said Thule. "But, yes. You could come and stay with me. Would you like that?"

"Y-yes," said Dawn.

"All right," said Thule, "Can you just walk out or should I come inside and make sure you can get out okay?"

"Come and get me," said Dawn, "please."

"Okay," said Thule, "where are you now?"

"In my room," said Dawn.

"Okay," said Thule, "should I come in now or would it be easier for you to pack before I come in and tell your mother I'm taking you out of there?"

"Um..." said Dawn, "I should pack first."

"Okay," said Thule, "Do you want me to stay on the phone or will you call me back when you're ready for me to come and get you?"

"I can call back... Thank you so much, Thule."

"Anything for you, kiddo," said Thule. "How long do you think it will take to pack? Don't worry about getting everything--just clothes and whatever you can't do without. We can come back for the rest later."

"Fifteen minutes," said Dawn.

"Okay," said Thule, "If you don't call me in twenty, I'm coming to the front door. So, make sure you call me before then, even if only to tell me that it's going to take longer. Can you do that for me?"

There was silence. Thule said, "I can't hear you if you're nodding."

Dawn giggled unevenly, "I'll do that. Thank you, Thule. I'll call you."

Thule snapped his phone shut, then turned to Marigold, "I don't like being put on the spot like that."

"I know," said Marigold. "I'm sorry. I knew about her situation at home and talked to Jonas about her moving in with us. But... it would be weird now."

"It's going to be weird to have her at my place," said Thule. "It pretty much guarantees we're going to sleep together."

Marigold grinned, "That wasn't already guaranteed?"

Thule scowled, "No, Marigold. You've done an excellent job of throwing her at me if that was your intent."

Marigold shrugged, "I know the two of you are going to sleep with people other than me. Is it so crazy that I would rather it be each other?"

"I don't know," said Thule. "Maybe we could swing by Wingside and ask their opinion."

Marigold stuck out her tongue. Thule leaned forward and licked it.

Thule's phone rang. He opened his phone, listened, and nodded into it, "Okay. Come down to the front door when I ring the bell. How many suitcases do you have?"

"Three," Dawn said, "and a backpack."

"Okay," Thule said, "Bring down the backpack with you or nothing at all. You'll want at least one hand free. I imagine there will be a confrontation of some sort. I'll send Marigold up the stairs with you to get the rest. We're heading up the path now."

When Thule and Marigold got to the door, Dawn's father opened it. He was a worried-looking, balding man dressed in black slacks and a button-down shirt. He was about the same height as his daughter and had to crane his neck way back to smile wanly at Thule. He spoke politely, "Can I help you?"

Thule felt bad about having to risk conflict with this man. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Speaking almost deferentially, he said, "Hello, Mr. Cavendish. We're here to pick up Dawn."

"Dawn's not going out anymore today," her father said. "She's grounded."

Dawn came down the stairs, backpack in her hand. Before her father even knew she was there, she slipped under his arm and was headed out to the car.

"Dawn," her father shouted. "Dawn, come back here. You're grounded." Pushing past Thule, he chased her up the path. Thule followed him. Dawn had put her bag in the backseat and turned to head back to the house when her father caught up with her. Grabbing her by the upper arm, he said, "Dawn, get back in the house this instant."

Thule caught him by the wrist. Holding the wrist as gently as he could, he said, "Mr. Cavendish, I'm going to have to ask you not to touch her. Dawn called and asked us to help her move out."

The man looked grimly determined and didn't seem likely to let go. Thule applied a little bit of pressure to his wrist.

"Dawn," came a shrill voice from the front steps. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

On hearing the voice, Dawn's father immediately released her forearm.

"Mr. Cavendish," Thule said quietly, releasing the man's wrist, "I'm sure you don't want to do this out in the front yard. Why don't we go inside?"

Dawn's father glanced from Thule to his wife, standing on the front step, dressed in a smart aquamarine suit. Thule was already trotting up the path, trying to get ahead of Dawn, when the woman shrieked again, "Dawn, get in the house this instant."

"Get in the house, Margaret," Dawn's father said as loudly as he could without shouting, following Thule up the path.

Dawn's mother intercepted her a third of the way up the path, catching her in the same place on the arm that her husband had. Not looking at Dawn, she said to her husband in a low voice, full of menace, "How... dare... you?"

Before the man could answer, Thule said, "Mrs. Cavendish, I'm going to have to ask you not to touch your daughter. She..."

Dawn's mother reached up and slapped Thule in the face. Everyone froze.

Thule rubbed his cheek. Quietly, he said, "Marigold, go and get Dawn's bags, please."

Dawn's mother reached up and slapped him again. Dawn pulled away from her grasp and screamed, "Stop it." Thule laid a hand Dawn's on her shoulder.

"Mrs. Cavendish," he said quietly, "stop slapping me."

She turned on him in a rage. Dawn started to walk back towards the house. Thule stood his ground, knowing that, even if she attacked him, he was buying Dawn and Marigold time and she probably couldn't do much damage.

Mr. Cavendish put a hand lightly on his wife's shoulder, opening his mouth to say something. She whirled on him, shrieking again, "Don't you dare touch me." He pulled his hand away as if burned.

Realizing that the scope of the conflict was not likely to be contained by the fact that it was going on in their front yard and in easy sight of a dozen neighboring houses, Thule said as calmly as he could, "Mrs. Cavendish, Mr. Cavendish, why don't we take this inside? You don't need your neighbors watching."

Dawn's mother whirled on Thule again. He wondered if she wasn't getting dizzy with all of the spinning. She shouted, "I will go inside." Eyes flashing dramatically, she announced, "to call the police." She ran in the house, her husband trailing behind her.

Thule walked up behind them. Taking quick stock of the room, he positioned himself diagonally between the base of the stairs and the front door. The staircase was built against the wall. Either one of Dawn's parents would have to push past Thule to go up the stairs.

Dawn's father was trying to talk to her mother. The mother was having none of it and had started shrieking again. Thule could see that the man was only exacerbating his wife's anger, but didn't feel up to playing marriage counselor. As long as they were focused on each other, they weren't screaming at him.

Mrs. Cavendish turned to scream at Thule again, "Did you hear me? I'm calling the police."

"That would be inadvisable," said Thule, his eyes hard. "You assaulted me outside. You assaulted your daughter."

She gave a shriek of incoherent rage. Thule didn't budge. She screamed in his face, "You broke into my house and kidnapped my daughter."

In spite of the situation, Thule had to stifle a laugh. Dawn's father tried to speak up again, but his wife shot him such a withering glare that he closed his mouth.

"Mrs. Cavendish," said Thule calmly to the frothing woman, "if you feel the need to call the police, you should do so. But, I don't believe that they're going to charge me with breaking and entering or kidnapping."

She stared at him. There was something frighteningly feral about the look on her face. Thule could tell that she was considering how much damage she could do if she attacked him. He relaxed a little. That sort of thought pattern at least implied some degree of ratiocination.

She stormed over to the phone, "I'm calling the police."

Thule didn't say anything. There was still a small chance that she was bluffing and he didn't want to antagonize her into going through with it.

It didn't matter. She dialed, then said, "Hello. I would like to report a break-in."

"For Heaven's sake, Marla," her husband shouted. "He knocked on the front door. We let him in."

Marla glowered at her husband and said into the phone, "And a kidnapping." She listened, "My daughter." Pause, "Upstairs, in her bedroom." Pause, "No, he's down here in the living room." Pause, "Um, about six and a half feet."

"Six five," said Thule. That earned him another glare.

"He's got a buzz cut, like a serial killer. And, he's big," she said into the phone. Thule could feel that she was warming to the subject.

"You might just want to tell her it's Thule Roemer," Thule said.

Donna's mother glared at him again, "He says his name is Thule Roemer." Pause, "What?" Pause, "No, I..."

She thrust the phone at Thule angrily, "She wants to talk to you."

Thule took the phone, "Hello."

"Thule, hon," said a voice he didn't recognize, "Officer Yudin would like to speak to you."

Apparently deciding that it had been quiet long enough, Dawn and Marigold appeared at the top of the stairs, arms full of suitcases. Mrs. Cavendish looked like she might lunge for them, but Thule interposed himself long enough for them to scamper by.

"Thule," said a familiar male voice, "It's Vladi. What's going on over there?"

"Hey, Vladi," said Thule, "I'm just helping a friend move. Her parents have some concerns over the legality of the situation."

Vladi chuckled, "Want me to come put the fear of God in them?"

Thule mulled for a moment. It would certainly make life easier. But, he doubted Dawn would appreciate if he used his influence to have the cops come rough up her parents. So, he said, "No. I think you should do this one by the book."

"Thule," said Vladi, "if I did this by the book, I'd probably have to bring you all in while we untangled the mess."

Thule sighed, but got an idea, "I'm going to give Mrs. Cavendish the phone back. Maybe you should explain that to her. It might facilitate things."

"Sure, buddy," said Vladi, "Anything to avoid the paperwork."

Thule handed Dawn's mother the phone. For a while, she transferred her rage to Vladi over the phone. Whatever he told her, Thule saw the look on her face change from rage to fear. He wasn't even hearing the words anymore. His mind was already on what he needed to do next. This had already taken longer than he felt like he had time for.

So engrossed was he in thought that he almost missed it when Dawn's mother put down the phone and said shakily, "Get out of my house."

Thule shot a sympathetic glance at Dawn's father before turning to go. As he opened the door, her mother added scornfully, "And tell that ungrateful whore to never come back here."

Thule considered a number of possible responses, but in the end, decided to just pull the door closed behind him.

Out in the car, Marigold sat in the back seat, cradling Dawn's head on her shoulder while Dawn cried and shook. Thule wanted to comfort her too, but decided putting some distance between them and the house would ultimately be more useful to her state of mind.

Still, as soon as they'll pulled out of the development and onto the county road, he turned enough to say, "You handled that well back there, both of you."

Dawn laughed, creating a short-lived snot bubble, "Yeah. Future generations will refer to the tactic of running out the door with your tail between your legs the 'Dawn Cavendish.'"

Thule said seriously, "That could have been a lot worse."

Dawn nodded, "I know. I was surprised we didn't see any police."

Thule just nodded. He didn't relish trying to explain what just happened without making it sound like he had used his influence to have the police lean on Dawn's mother.

"So," he asked, "did you manage to get everything you need?"

Dawn nodded, "I think so. Marigold spotted a few things I would have really missed if I didn't bring them."

Thule nodded, "We'll set you up in Becky's room. I'm afraid I haven't been in there to clean in a few weeks, so it might need a good vacuum and dust before you take up residence."

Unexpectedly, Dawn started giggling. It wasn't the giggle of someone losing their mind either, but the rich, honest giggle of insuppressable amusement.

Thule looked in the rearview mirror, "What?"

"When you dust," Dawn asked, "do you wear an apron?"

Thule scowled a little, "Of course. I don't want to get dust all over my clothes."

Dawn looked at Marigold. Thule now realized that his girlfriend had been repressing a giggle of her own. It burst forth now. Soon, both girls were giggling, unable to stop. Thule still had no idea what was so funny.

When they had managed to get it somewhat under control, he said, "It's not like a pink, frilly apron, mind you. It's a very masculine one."

Another dam burst. Now, they were laughing out loud. Thule suddenly realized that he was bridling, his shoulders hunched. Marigold had laughed cruelly at him enough times over the last few years that it could still raise his hackles. He forced his shoulders down and made himself relax. There was no malice here and both of them could use a good laugh.