still actively searching for him, it wouldn’t have been safe to go near an airport. So she had driven, stopping overnight in another motel in Fresno before arriving in Los Angeles the following afternoon, grimy and bleary-eyed from so much driving.
As they came down over the valley, Jamie had caught sight of the famous Hollywood sign, the white letters reflecting the rays of the sun. He’d seen it often enough on TV. This was the city of angels, the dream factory, home to the stars and the beautiful people. All sorts of cliches tumbled through his mind. But he felt nothing. He had come here because he had to. Los Angeles meant nothing to him. And as for the sign – what was it? Just some big letters on a hillside.
He was exhausted, hollowed out. Don and Marcie had been killed and the police thought he’d done it! The story had been reported all over America. After all, he was only fourteen. A juvenile, on the run, guilty of two homicides. The newspapers had lapped it up. But worse than all this, worse than anything he had ever experienced, was the knowledge that Scott had been taken. Driving into this new city, he once again reached out for Scott’s thoughts, wondering if – against all odds – he might get some tiny sense of his brother’s presence. But there was nothing. In fact, Scott felt further away than ever.
Jamie had wanted to stay in Reno but Alicia had persuaded him that it would be too dangerous. They had one clue: a name on a small white card. Nightrise Corporation. Alicia had checked on the Internet. Nightrise was based in Hong Kong but had offices all over the world. Two addresses were listed in the USA: one in New York, one in Los Angeles. Driving all the way to the East Coast was out of the question. Coming here was their only option.
And so here they were, parked opposite a skyscraper that was nothing more than a rectangular block, fifty storeys high, its identically sized windows punched in with mathematical precision. The top six floors belonged to Nightrise, with banks, insurance companies, law firms and dozens of other businesses below. Jamie and Alicia had been here for an hour, watching people come and go. Right now it was five o’clock and the rotating doors were never still as workers hurried out, eager to get home.
But there had been no sign of Colton Banes or the dark-haired man with the ponytail who had been sitting next to him at the theatre. Perhaps they weren’t here at all.
They waited another hour, then Alicia sighed and started the engine. “This is a waste of time,” she said. “Are you hungry?”
Jamie nodded. He had no real appetite, but he hadn’t eaten anything since the morning and he could feel his energy levels falling. Alicia pulled out and they drove back towards where they were staying in West Hollywood. Alicia had mentioned she had a sister. It now turned out that she was a flight attendant and lived in Los Angeles. She would be away for a week and had gladly lent them her house. Alicia had telephoned her from Fresno. She hadn’t mentioned Jamie.
They stopped at a restaurant on Melrose Avenue, a shabby, colourful street full of shops mainly selling antiques or clothes. They sat in the open air under a giant pink umbrella. A waitress came with the menu. Alicia chose a salad. Jamie hesitated. He looked awkward.
“What is it?” Alicia asked.
“I’ve never eaten in a smart restaurant like this,” Jamie said. Alicia smiled. “It’s not all that smart,” she said. “It’s just a cafe really.”
“I can’t afford to pay for this.”
“I’ve already explained. You don’t have to pay for anything.”
Alicia had bought Jamie a set of fresh clothes in Fresno. He was wearing a brightly coloured Hawaiian shirt. It wasn’t his style, but the more striking the shirt, the less likely people would be to look at his face. At least, that was what Alicia had said. She had also bought him sunglasses and a baseball cap, the uniform of teenagers all over America. Even if the police were looking for him in California, they would never spot him now.
Jamie ordered a hamburger and the two of them sat in silence sipping freshly squeezed orange juice until their meal arrived. It was only when Jamie began to eat that he realized how hungry he was and wolfed the food down. Alicia ate more delicately. Jamie had already noticed that she did everything very carefully. Even making the coffee in the morning, she handled the cups as if they were made of expensive porcelain.
“We need to work out what we’re going to do,” Alicia said.
“Nightrise.” Jamie muttered the single word with a sense of dread.
“Think back to Reno, Jamie. You said there were four men at the theatre. How many of them do you think you’d recognize?”
Jamie thought for a moment. “The bald man. I’d know him anywhere. He looked creepy. And his friend – the one who got bitten. I’d know him too.” He tried to remember the sequence of events. Everything had happened so quickly. “One of the men, the driver of the car, got hurt. He cut his head. He’d have a wound.”
“The men in the car may have been local. Was there anyone else?”
“I didn’t see anyone.” Jamie had finished eating. Everything had gone, right down to the last salad leaf. He pushed his plate away. “What difference does it make, Alicia? Even if we catch sight of one of them, we can’t go to the police. They’ll just arrest me and that will be the end of it.”
“That wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“Then what are we going to do?”
“I’ve got an idea – but I’m afraid I’m not going to do anything, Jamie. This is down to you.”
“What do you mean?”
Alicia put down her knife and fork. She thought for a moment, searching for the right words. “Look, I know you don’t want to talk about this,” she said, “but we can’t avoid it any more. You’re very special. You have a power. I know you don’t like it. But you can use it to find Scott.”
“How?” Jamie asked. But he could already see where she was going.
“We find one of these men – Banes or the other one – and you go up to him and you ask him where your brother is. Just like that. Of course he won’t tell you. But that doesn’t matter, does it? Because you can read his mind. You can find out the answer without him saying a word.”
“No!” Jamie clenched his fists. He had shouted his refusal and two people at the next table turned briefly to look at him.
But Alicia wasn’t giving up. “Why not?” she insisted. “What’s the matter with you? Have you got any better ideas? Why don’t you want to help?”
“I’m not going to do it,” Jamie said. All the colour had drained out of his face and his shoulders were rising and falling as he caught his breath. “I’ve already told you. I don’t even want to talk about it.”
“But what about Scott?”
“You don’t care about Scott. You don’t care about either of us. You’re just using me because you want me to help you find Daniel.”
As soon as he had said the words, he regretted them. But it was too late. Alicia looked at him as if he had just slapped her across the face. “That’s not fair,” she said in a quiet voice. “Daniel is my son, it’s true. Of course I want to find him. I want it more than anything in the world. But do you really think I’m just using you? Do you think I’ll just forget you if I find my boy?” She paused, then continued more slowly. “I can’t even be sure that the same people have taken them both. We know people from Nightrise were there in Reno. But there’s nothing to say they were in Washington eight months ago. Maybe I’m just clutching at straws and Danny was murdered the day he disappeared. But that won’t stop me searching for Scott. We’re in this together now.”
“I still can’t do what you’re asking,” Jamie said.
“Fine.” Alicia sat there, rigid. “Then let’s go home.”
They drove back in virtual silence. In fact, Alicia only spoke once. As they reached the main intersection at Santa Monica Boulevard, she noticed a huge billboard. It showed a man in an open-necked shirt, leaning against what might have been a gate or a fence. The photograph looked casual, almost like a family snap. There was a headline: AN HONEST CHANGE. And, at the bottom, a straightforward announcement in black letters:
SENATOR JOHN TRELAWNY TALKS AT THE LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER. 8.00 P.M. JUNE 22
“That’s the day after tomorrow,” Alicia said. “I didn’t know he was coming to Los Angeles.”
Jamie wondered why she cared.
“I used to work for him,” she reminded him. “In fact, I still do.”
“I thought you said you resigned.”
“I tried to, but he put me on indefinite sick leave… until I found Danny. I still get a pay cheque every month.
