Chapter 7

"This isn't going to work," Taylor said for what felt like the hundredth time.

Isaac eyed his younger brother carefully. "If you have any other suggestions, I'm listening." Just as he predicted, Taylor was silent. "Look, Tay, I don't like this any more than you do, but I don't know what else to do. We can't go to the police as long as those two clowns have Zac. And you know as well as I do that if we just hand over the jewelry to them..." He hesitated, not willing to voice what he was thinking. They both knew their chances of getting out of this without a significant amount of trouble were almost nil.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Taylor interrupted, just as unwilling to hear the words. "But don't you think this is just as risky?"

"Probably," Isaac admitted. "But I don't see any other options."

The two brothers walked on in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. The had gone to the hotel, retrieving the remaining jewels, and were now headed back to where they were to meet Neil and Ben. They approached Hyde Park with thirty minutes to spare on the imposed deadline. They found a place where they could watch from a distance the bench they were supposed to meet the two men and sat down in the cool grass.

"Now what?" Taylor asked. His eyes scanned the surrounding area carefully. "I thought Nicole was going to meet us here."

Isaac was conducting his own scan. "We're a little early. I'm sure she'll be here."

Taylor threw his brother a nervous glance. Isaac didn't sound very convinced. How did they know this girl would keep her end of the bargain? They knew almost nothing about her. In fact, the only thing that Taylor was sure of, was that Nicole was strange. She seemed to appear at the most opportune moments, and until their last meeting, had had nothing to say. That she had wanted them to gather the jewelry was obvious, but why? What if she was in league with Neil and Ben? What if they were being set up?

The more Taylor thought about it, the more uneasy he became. A quick glance at Isaac's face showed he was thinking similar dark thoughts. Taylor was about to voice his suspicions when a deep voice spoke from behind them.

"Early bird gets the worm, hmm?"

The boys jumped to their feet and spun around to face the younger of the two men that had taken Zac. The gun was nowhere in sight, but he kept his right hand buried deep in his jacket pocket. The threat was obvious. The boys exchanged a nervous look.

"I'm glad to see you boys are so time-conscious. You have the stuff?"

"We've got it," Isaac answered, no trace of his nervousness in his voice. "Where's Zac?"

"Close by," the man replied. "Give me the stuff." He held out his left hand expectantly.

Isaac took a step backward. "Uh-uh. Doesn't work that way. We want to see Zac first." Where was Nicole? Isaac wasn't sure how long he could stall this creep. What would they do if she didn't show up?

The man actually laughed. "Guts must run in the family. You kids are either extremely brave or incredibly stupid." He gestured with his head behind him.

Taylor and Isaac followed his gaze and saw the other man on a foot bridge about three hundred yards away. The man had a tight hold on Zac's arm. The kid looked fine from where they stood, and both boys let out a relieved breath.

"Okay, now where are the jewels?" Impatience tinged the man's voice.

This wasn't going according to plan. They had to do something to throw the men off long enough to get Zac away from that goon. Taylor's mind raced, looking for a diversion. Suddenly, in a burst of inspiration, he said, "So, I guess you must be Neil." He hoped he had the right name. This one certainly seemed to be the most evil of the two, and Nicole had described Neil as evil.

The man's face paled. "How did you know my name?"

Feeling a renewed confidence, Taylor merely shrugged, trying to look casual. "Let's just say a friend told me."

The hand in the pocket jerked, and Taylor thought for a moment, Neil was going to pull the gun. Instead, he glanced back at his partner, who was unaware of the conversation.

Isaac seized the opportunity to press the advantage. "That must be Ben up there with Zac."

Neil's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he took a step forward. "I don't know how you found out our names, but it doesn't matter. I want those jewels, NOW!"

Taylor jumped a little bit at the man's tone, but pressed on, sensing the man was getting nervous. Maybe Nicole had been right about these guys being afraid of her. "I told you, a friend told us. The same friend that gave us the map and helped us find the jewels."

"What are you talking about?" Neil's voice was beginning to betray his tension. "What friend?"

"A mutual friend," Isaac supplied with a slight smile. "In fact, she told us quite a bit about you. She said that you intimidated Ben into helping you rob that jewelry store. It was your idea."

"That's not possible," Neil stammered. "No one knows about that except..." His voice faded away as he glanced back at Ben. The man and kid had moved closer, leaving the footbridge in an effort to determine what was taking Neil so long.

Neil turned back to face the boys, his eyes dark with anger. "I don't know what game you two think you're playing, but I'm ending it now. Give me the jewels, or you're brother is going for an unexpected swim."

"I don't think so, Neil," a soft, feminine voice said. All three of the them turned to see Nicole standing a few feet away. Neil's already pale face grew even whiter.

"I let you frighten and intimidate me once, Neil," Nicole continued. "I won't make that mistake a second time."

"Nicole?" The voice that emanated from Neil sounded like that of a frightened child. "That can't be!"

There was a sudden cry from the direction of the foot bridge. Taylor and Isaac turned to see Ben backing up, a look of horror on his face as he stared toward Nicole. Zac took advantage of the man's inattention and stomped down hard with his foot. Ben cried out again, this time in pain and dropped his hold on Zac to clutch his foot. Zac took off running toward his brothers.

As Zac dashed by, Neil broke from his trance to reach out in an effort to grab the boy.

"Hold it!" an authoritative voice boomed. Even Zac was stopped by the voice. Suddenly, the area was filled with police. Someone was pulling Neil's hands behind his back and cuffing him, while another man removed the gun from the jacket pocket. Taylor noticed that more police were apprehending Ben, before turning his attention to the man in front of him.

"Are you boys all right?" Mr. Hodges was asking.

Isaac nodded, not quite trusting his voice. Everything had happened so fast! And now the adrenaline was starting to wear off, leaving him a bit shaky.

"We're fine," Zac said excitedly. "Better than fine. This has been the most awesome day! You wouldn't believe all the things that have happened."

"How did you know to come here?" Isaac asked suddenly. "How did you know what was going on?"

"We didn't, actually," Mr. Hodges admitted. "When I got back to the hotel this afternoon, there was a message for me, telling me that you boys were in trouble, to bring the police and meet you here. I thought it was a prank, but then when I couldn't find you, I begin to grow concerned."

Taylor and Isaac exchanged looks, understanding in their expressions. "Nicole," they said as one. They turned to survey the area, but saw no trace of the girl.

Isaac turned back to Mr. Hodges. "Did you see where that girl went?"

"What girl?"

"The one that was standing here when you arrived."

A policeman spoke, moving closer to the boys. "There was no one here but you three and those two. If there was a girl, she left before we got here. I'm going to need for you boys to come down to the station to give a statement." Mr. Hodges nodded. "Of course. I'll see to it, officer."

The policeman nodded and moved away, following the two handcuffed men that were being led to nearby police cars.

"Well, boys," Mr. Hodges said, ushering them after the officers, "let's get this over with, shall we?"

* * * * *

Taylor leaned back against the headboard of his bed, lost in thought. It had been a long, eventful day, but he found he wasn't the least bit sleepy. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush. But even as he thought it, he dismissed the thought. He knew exactly what was keeping him awake. It was the information they had picked up at the police station. It was just to strange, too unbelievable for his brain to process.

"Hey, bro, you still awake?" Isaac's voice floated through the darkness.

"Yeah, come on in." He waited until Isaac was seated on the edge of the bed, then said, "You can't sleep either?"

"Uh-uh. At least Zac is having no trouble. He was sawing logs when I came through his room."

Taylor chuckled. Zac could sleep anytime, anywhere. Nothing seemed to affect their younger brother for long, not even being kidnapped and held at gun point. Although, judging from the statement the kid had given the police, it hadn't been much more than an opportunity to eat and watch television all day.

"Listen," Isaac began, then stopped. He seemed to be having trouble finding the right words.

"I know," Taylor said. "I know what's keeping us both awake. You don't think it's possible, do you?"

Isaac shook his head slowly. "I don't know. If you had asked me that a few days ago, I would have laughed in your face. But now...I don't know what to believe."

"Neil and Ben seemed to believe it readily enough," Taylor pointed out.

"Yeah, there was no mistaking the look on their faces when they saw Nicole. But couldn't there be another explanation? Something a little more logical?"

"Sure, Mr. Spock," Taylor teased, trying to lighten the mood. "Logic dictates there can be no such things as ghosts, right?"

Isaac smiled back. "Right. Then how do you explain seeing and talking to a girl that was pushed from a bridge by Neil and Ben almost a year ago?"

"Mass hallucination?" Taylor offered.

Isaac chuckled, almost willing to buy that explanation. It made as much sense as anything else. Not only had they seen and talked to a girl that was supposed to be dead, but that same girl had helped them solve a crime, put two criminals behind bars, summoned the police to help just in time, and had conveniently disappeared before anyone else could see her to back up their story. It was just too spooky to think about for long, especially in the dead of night.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from the darkened doorway. "Hey, you guys are up, great. I was just thinking about a midnight snack. Reckon we can get room service this late?"

The sound of laughter chased away all dark thoughts from the room, lightening the boys' moods and bringing a smile to the face of the lone figure in the dark beyond the window as she faded away.

THE END...??