Lila finally knew what she’d been missing all these years. Her stomach still fluttered from all the pleasure Damon’s touch had given her. Even wearing clothes from the day before with their worn odor, couldn’t diminish her sense of herself as a woman worthy of Damon’s attentions.
She rinsed out her mouth, placed the toothbrush on the counter, and left his bathroom. The first level of Damon’s house was easy for Lila to navigate. Like her, he did not have a lot of furniture, which left a lot of room for her to move around in.
From the base of the staircase, she found her way to the next room and over to the couch. The smell of caffeine served as a guide, the strong aroma, mixed with the sounds of Damon moving around, led her to the kitchen. “I’m starting to get to know your house,” she said, entering what she hoped to be the right room.
“Straight ahead of you, about twenty steps, you’ll run into the counter. There’s a coffee pot and a mug there,” he said, not offering to do this for her.
“Thank you,” she said, suppressing a smile. “I appreciate you letting me do for myself. I can get pretty stubborn with people insisting they do everything for me.”
“No kidding.”
“I like to prove that I’m capable of doing regular tasks like everyone else.”
“Sounds exhausting.”
They both laughed.
Years of making errors in the kitchen had helped prepare her to do things on her own. The last thing she wanted was for Damon to jump in and try to do this for her, or worse, make her feel like she couldn’t handle herself in front of him.
“Prove to other people or me in particular?”
“I’ll keep you guessing.” Fully of aware of his presence, she felt the space in front of her. The heat from the coffee pot indicated her hand’s proximity and she grabbed for the handle.
“I’ll give you independence so long as you don’t wind up in the emergency room.” He moved away from her and pulled out a chair or a barstool. The legs scraped across the floor. “But really, I have to ask, don’t you ever burn your fingers?”
She began to pour the coffee into her mug. “I used to, all the time. Not anymore.”
“You get the measurement right every time?” he said, incredulous.
“Yup. Watch.” Lila demonstrated, counting the three seconds to fill her mug. “If I’m wrong, which isn’t often, I touch the drink and add more. Cold liquids are less harmful, but in general, I use my finger as a measuring stick. There’s also gadgets to use in the kitchen, but mostly, I create my own system.”
“You cook too?”
“Yes, I love to cook.”
“Aren’t you afraid to lose a finger?”
Lila held up her hands. “Last time I counted I still have ten. Now, enough about me. What is the plan for today?”
“I did some reading up on Golden Gate Park while you took a shower,” he said, ending the small talk. “The park is over three miles long. That’s a lot of ground to cover. And unless you know where to look, it’s a longshot.”
Lila closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. They’d come full circle in a matter of days. Literally. She was standing in his house with information he wanted.
“Lila?”
“I have a pretty good guess as to where the coordinates will take us,” she admitted, taking a casual sip of the coffee. She choked on the bitter flavor and put down the mug.
“Of course, you do.” Damon did not hide the fact at how convenient this sounded.
“Hard to believe, I know, but hear what I have to say. The first few months living with my uncle, I was hustled between school and doctor visits. I wanted to graduate with my class. I was trying different drugs and therapies for my eyes. I was living in a new place and grappling with a diagnosis I never saw coming. All of that aside, my uncle was on some mission to cram in every possible experience for me to see. He took me to restaurants, tourist sites, operas, ballets, symphonies, walking tours, boat rides, what else…trolley car rides, visits to the marina, walks across the Golden Gate Bridge, I went everywhere with him. As great as this sounds, I was struggling. I didn’t know how to accept my new family and a future I didn’t know anything about. I was overwhelmed. I wasn’t thinking about how I would need to remember those times ten years later. Do you remember every detail of your adolescence?”
Damon scoffed. “That would be torture.”
“That was a long time ago for me. Apparently much longer for you.”
“How old do you think I am?”
Lila laughed. She swore he did, too. She liked his laughter. “I haven’t had to think about any of this for some time. My uncle kept showing me these places, but on the inside, I was dealing with a lot all at once.”
“If you say you know where to look, I believe you.”
“The Rose Garden,” she said simply. “He loved going there. More than any other place we visited, this is where we went many times. There’s one bench we used to sit on and take in the sight of the roses. We should start there.”
“What about your ankle? Is that going to be a problem?”
“The ankle is fine so long as you don’t expect me to sprint.”
“I’ll drive you to your house first if you want to get your cane.”
“I don’t want the cane,” she said quickly. “I just want to go and be there.”
“I’ll get my backpack and we’ll be on our way.”
They were going to take the next step together. First at Coit Tower, and now, within Golden Gate Park. Things had changed between them, although she didn’t know the exact moment. Every time she thought it best to stay away from him, they wound up together anyway, as if they didn’t have a say.
“Put this on,” Damon said, placing a fleece in her hand. “The weather is relentless.”
They left his house together and stepped into the wet and miserable morning. It was as if fall had arrived overnight with a big rainstorm for its opening act. Shivers ran down her back, her teeth chattered, and her fingers went cold all before she made it to his car.
“You’re not going to last ten minutes,” Damon said, unlocking the car door.
“I will,” she said, getting into the car, “if only to prove you wrong.”
Damon started the engine. “Suit yourself,” he said, though she thought he might be grinning.
Despite her teasing tone, Lila’s worries began to pile up, one on top another. She didn’t know how she’d be able to keep up with Damon. She didn’t want to slow him down, and, unlike the last time they did this, she knew whatever clue they found she needed to keep it in her possession.
She rubbed her hands together for warmth. Her empty stomach didn’t help her morale. Nor did the lack of caffeine. Or thinking about Jeremy. Or wondering how long she’d be with Damon like this.
Damon switched on the radio. A concerned announcer spoke. “We’ve been following the story about our city’s own Christopher Barrett and his possible involvement in embezzling, fraud, and financial schemes, now being investigated by the police. The son of the late multi-millionaire, Jeremy Barrett, is in police custody. The reason is unclear, but given the revelations about the alleged financial abuse at Barrett financial, there is talk of Jeremy’s involvement…”
“Turn up the volume,” Lila said, feeling worse than she already did.
“As if the Barrett name isn’t already under fire,” continued the announcer, “we’ve received exclusive information that a brick belonging to the niece of Christopher Barrett was damaged and taken from Coit Tower.”
“That’s enough,” Damon said, turning off the radio.
“Detective Cascade is probably looking for me,” she said.
“The brick is the least of our worries. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
A sudden onslaught of rain hit the windshield, causing Lila to jump. “How close are we to the park?”
“A few more traffic lights and we’ll be there. I’m already on JFK. This street should take us into the park and close to our destination. I actually think the rain will work in our favor. No one will be here.”
Damon slowed down and, eventually, the car stopped moving. “Well, Miss Kent, there’s no turning back now,” he said, cutting the engine.
Lila pulled her sleeves over her hands. “I don’t want to turn back.”
Within seconds of leaving the car, Lila was soaked. A frosty breath rolled off her lips, her bones chilled, and her teeth hammered up and down. The hard rain blocked out other noises, leaving her unaware of which direction to move.
Damon grabbed her hand. “Keep up,” he said, breaking into a jog.
The park was too big for her to find her way around. She had no choice but to try and run, even with awkward footsteps. With every step, she gained confidence in their plan. It felt good to get her heart pumping and muscles working as if they didn’t need additional support from a cane or other senses.
“Do you see anything?” she yelled as her hand slipped from his.
“We’re close. I see the signs,” he shouted back.
Damon put his hand on her shoulder and turned her a sharp left. “This way.”
“What do you see?”
“Lattices!” he kept his voice raised.
The rain made hearing clearly difficult, even for her. Damon took her hand again. Instead of running, they walked. A crack of thunder hit the sky. Lila jumped. She landed awkwardly on her ankle, but didn’t complain. She didn’t see how they would ever find what they wanted.
“My God,” he said with awe.
“What is it?” she angled her body into his.
“There are roses everywhere. Rows and rows of them. They’re sectioned off in beds. They must be clustered by type. You said there’s a bench?”
“It was right inside the entrance!”
“Stay here while I look.”
Damon left without saying another word.
The next clue was at their fingertips. The mixed aromas of refreshing rain and countless roses surrounded Lila as she stood there thinking of all the shades of red and pink or yellow and white. She remembered sitting with her uncle on the bench, talking about nothing and about everything. For reasons she didn’t understand, he kept bringing her back to this place. The roses, the crowds, the beauty—what had he been trying to show her?
Rain continued to hit her face with no chance of letting up. Heavy, slushy steps headed towards her. “Damon?” she said.
“It’s hard to see if there’s names on the roses, like plaques, or signs. There’s a small fountain—”
“It’s the fountain,” Lila said, gasping as she remembered. “There’s no other place. It’s small, right? Like a pedestal? This has to be the place. I’ve been thinking about where in the garden. The roses are in beds. They’re in dirt. Anything buried would have been discovered. It has to be something concrete, something he could have bought.”
Damon’s arms thrust Lila up off the ground in a swift motion. “Let’s go have a look.”
Cradled against his chest, Lila did not protest. They were so close she wanted to cry. He set her on the ground and unzipped his backpack.
“Can you see the details on the fountain?” she said.
“I’ve got a flashlight,” he answered. “I’m checking...”
Come on.
“There’s words on the fountain,” he said, relieved. “I’m looking and I don’t see anything any words…there’s…”
“I don’t know where else to look in the park,” she said, beginning to panic. “We went all over the park, taking in the carousal, the amphitheater, the tea garden, and the botanical garden. But this is the only place we came to more than once!”
Damon clapped her on the back. “Relax, Kent. I think I see what we want.”
Lila crouched down. The smell of earth filled her nose. She didn’t think twice about reaching out and touching the fountain.
“We have a winner,” Damon said.
Lila looked up. “What do you see?”
“There’s a small plaque towards the base. With your name on it.”
“Again? What did he do, put my name all over the city?” She stood. “Tell me.”
“All it says is for Lila.”
Damon worked opposite of where she stood. The hammer against stone, a sound all too familiar. She imagined him, face-flushed and out of breath, swinging his arms with harsh, blunt movement, breaking up the stone. He could knock down the entire fountain for all she cared. They’d found the next marker. In front of her. Within arm’s reach.
“Another box?” he shouted.
Lila’s hands flew forward to take what was hers.
“Run,” he said, gripping her wrist and launching into a sprint.
Damon’s hand slipped from his grasp, sending Lila forward on her own, running hard. The ground was slick and soft beneath her feet. She screamed as she tumbled forward, landing face-first in a thicket of thorns. Their sharp points scraped her hands on the way down, snagging her fleece as she fell.
Caught in a literal web of roses, Lila disentangled her arm from the bushes, with tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes. The robbery, the intruder in her house, and all the pain she’d experienced hadn’t made her cry, but the thorns of a rose did her in. She rolled over, crawling on her elbows and knees, with her clothes clinging to her limbs as she made her way to the grass.
The breath in her chest felt light as she lay on her back. Thunder struck from somewhere far above her. Multiple footsteps came at her, moving fast. Prepared for someone to find her, she squeezed her eyes closed, knowing Damon was either hiding or getting back to his car. Somebody swished passed her side. Then another. A foot grazed her shoulder.
She heard arguing, rustling, wrestling, a thud. Lila froze. Someone rolled over her feet. A fist swiped her ankle. More cursing…moving…hitting…kicking. Then nothing.
Remaining on the ground, she said nothing. It was Damon’s office all over again. The fear taking over, rendering her silent and still.
“Lila,” Damon said, slipping his hand under her shoulder. “Sit up.”
“What happened?” she said.
“They got the box.”
“What? Who? How many?” She bent down, finding his hands and placing hers over them. She reached out to find his face and molded her hands to his strong jaw.
“Two of them,” he said, breathless.
“Two of them? Did you get a look at their faces?”
“No. They came at me from behind. The sky isn’t light yet. It’s raining…” Damon let go of her and rolled onto his back. A string of expletives flew off his lips.
“If they followed us, fought for the box, and got away, then there’s something that doesn’t make sense. Jeremy is in jail.” Lila scooted away from him, bitterness forming on her heart. The sweet taste of victory was gone. She arched her head up to the sky and pursed her lips together. “Jeremy is innocent.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Damon said. “Your cousin isn’t the guy who robbed the jewelry store. He didn’t kill Kendra. Whoever did is still out there with his accomplice.”
“And they have the box.”