Saving Sky (8 page)

“K
AREEM
,” S
KY WHISPERED
. “W
AKE UP
.”

“What time is it?”

“I don't know. I was so excited I forgot to look.”

He turned to face the back of the couch and put the pillow over his head.

“Come on, Kareem. There's something I need to show you.”

“It's the middle of the night, Sky. Why aren't you asleep like everybody else?”

“It was too quiet. It woke me up.”

He removed the pillow and sat up.

“The
quiet
woke you up?”

“Yeah. Listen.”

They did.

“Okay, so it's quiet. But it
woke you up
?”

“What can I say? It did.”

“Sometimes you can be really strange, you know?”

“Yeah. People tell me that all the time.”

Muddy awoke from whatever luscious dog-dream he'd been enjoying. He looked around, a little confused by the lateness of the hour and the undeniable fact that people were in the room, awake and talking. Time to go to work, then, never mind how dark it was. He hoisted his arthritic frame from his sleeping spot and began his search for a likely object. At the foot of the couch he found a shoe and trotted over to offer it to Sky.

“That's a good boy,” she crooned, then handed the shoe to Kareem. “I believe this is yours.”

“Why does he keep
doing
that?”

“He's a retriever. It's in his blood. He can't help himself.”

Kareem groaned. “I live with crazy people who have crazy dogs.”

“Just one dog. You awake now?”

“What do you think?”

“Good. Then you have to come see.”

She offered him her hand and he took it. Then she led him over to the window, where they stood side by side, gazing out.

“Now, isn't that something?” she said.

The snow had been falling for hours already—fat, heavy
flakes, coming straight down, with no wind at all. It had transformed the familiar landscape into a vision of white perfection, the edges smoothed out, the shapes simplified, and everything glowing in the light of the moon shining dimly through a veil of clouds and snow.

It was like the world had just that minute been created, and no one had touched it yet.

“That's the best thing I ever saw,” Kareem said.

“I know. Isn't it amazing? And guess what else.”

“What?”

“Do you know what day this is?”

“Sunday?”

“It's the eve of the winter solstice, Kareem. A very special day. The
exact
moment when the earth begins to shift from darkness to light. And after all these months without any snow—and here it is December, and we usually get our first winter storm in October—then here comes this huge, gorgeous, perfect snowfall. And it arrives on
this particular day
. It
has
to mean something, don't you think?”

“
Mean
something?”

“Yeah. Maybe it's like Ms. Golly said—about the war and everything coming to an end. Remember, I told you? About the fireworks and all?”

He nodded.

“Well, what if the season for killing and hating is over? And the world is moving on to something new, moving
toward the light. And the snow—it's a promise. A blessing.”

“I don't understand the logic of that, but it's a really nice thought. I hope you're right.”

“I think I am. And you know what else?”

“I never do, Sky. Just tell me.”

“This is going to be a perfect day.”

A
ND IT WAS.

By early afternoon the clouds had vanished and the sky had turned a deep, winter blue. The sun, so intensely bright in the thin mountain air, made twenty degrees feel warm. And all around them in that dazzling light, the crystalline snow sparkled like glitter.

They had finished all their chores by then. Luke had twice gone up on the roof to sweep the solar panels clean, while the kids shoveled the walkway. The horses' drinking trough was clear of ice, and the roofs of the greenhouse and the chicken coop had been knocked free of snow. Now it was time to play.

While Sky was out in the barn saddling Blanca, Luke went to the toolshed for the blue plastic sled and a length of nylon rope. He fed the line through the pull-rope in the
front, making sure both sides were of equal length. Then he set it in place with a knot. When Sky brought out the horse, Luke began attaching the loose ends of the rope to the saddle, one on each side.

“Ever ridden on a sled before?” he asked Kareem. He was tugging hard, making sure his knots were secure.

“He's never even seen snow before!” Mouse said.

“Ah. Well, now's his chance.”

Kareem made an inscrutable sound—sort of
I'm not sure
mixed with
I don't think so
.

Luke responded with a quizzical lift of the eyebrows.

“I'll watch,” Kareem finally said.

“That's fine. But there's nothing to it. All you have to do is hold on.”

“I know.”

“It's easy,” Mouse said.

“I know.”

“And really, really fun!”

“He
knows
!” Sky said. “Shut up, Mouse, and let him be.”

She shrugged. “Fine. Then I get first dibs.”

“Okay,” Sky agreed, “but I want to drive. Can I, Daddy? Please?”

Luke didn't answer. He just looked at her, thoughtfully.

“I know how.”

“I'm well aware of that.”

“So?”

“No funny stuff?”

“Absolutely.”

“Positively?”

“It's a promise.”

“All right.”

Sky climbed up into the saddle, while Mouse settled herself on the sled and grabbed the handles good and tight.

“Are you ready,” she asked.

Ana came out of the house just then and stood on the
portal,
watching. “You girls be careful now!” she called.

“We will!”

And off they went, down the snow-covered drive, rapidly picking up speed. When they reached the front gate, Sky turned off to the right and up a shallow slope, then made a wide loop around a clump of trees, wound through the orchard, and headed back up the driveway again, moving at a good clip now.

“Rock and roll!” Mouse shouted.

“No.”

“Please!”

“No!”

“Please!”

“Daddy'll kill me.”

“Come on, Sky.
Please!
”

“Oh, all right.”

Sky turned to the left, then to the right, then to the left again. Mouse went sliding all over the place, narrowly missing a tree, some brush, the dog. She squealed and shrieked with joy.

Sky turned and looked back at her sister. “Dump and thump?”

“Yes!” came the answer.

Just short of the house, Sky made a sharp turn. The sled tipped over, and Mouse went rolling off, laughing hysterically.

It was a huge mistake, of course. Sky had known this even while she was doing it—only she'd been swept up in the moment, and Mouse was having such a good time.

“Get down!” Luke roared.

“It's okay, Daddy,” Mouse said, brushing herself off. “It was my idea. I
asked
her to.”

“She
begged
me to.”

“It's fun!”

“It's
dangerous
,” Ana snapped.

“I won't do it again. I promise.”

“That's true,” Luke said. “You won't. Hop on down, now.”

“Daddy,
please
?”

He gave her the famous
look
, and Sky dismounted.

“
See
,” she hissed at Mouse. “What'd I tell you?”

“You said he'd kill you.” She shrugged.

“I didn't mean
literally
, you dope!”

“That's enough,” Luke said. “Kareem? Want to try it? A better driver this time?”

He shook his head. “I'll go next.”

“Can't say I blame you, after that. Sky?”

“Okay,” she said, a little sullenly, and took her sister's place on the sled. Luke waited while she arranged herself, feet braced, hands gripping tightly.

“You all set?” Luke asked.

She nodded.

“You sure?”

“Yes!” she crowed. “Let's
move
this thing!”

“All right, then. Watch, my children, and ye shall learn.
This
is how it's done.”

He urged the horse forward till the sled was directly behind him and both ends of the rope were pulled taut. He gave Blanca a nudge and they moved slowly down the drive, advancing to a fast walk, then a trot. Luke looked over his shoulder at Sky.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

“All righty, then!”

Blanca took off, nostrils flaring, hooves pounding. Snow flew into Sky's face; the wind blew it away. Muddy loped
along beside them, barking joyfully. And Sky could feel the ground beneath the sled, and the thrill of going fast and of not being quite in control—and she felt a wild rush of perfect happiness.

“Turning now,” Luke called; and she leaned into it, feeling the sled rise up as it left the drive, out among the trees, toward the barn, around it. They circled the
casita
and the big clump of junipers—heading straight for a small mound covered with snow.

“Daddy,
no!
” she screamed. “The manure pile!”

Luke laughed, skirting the mound gracefully, then headed back down the driveway again.

“Want to go faster?”

“Yes!”

He gave Blanca a good kick, and she broke into an easy canter. They were racing along, Sky almost blinded by the flying snow, when Luke reined in the horse and slowed her to a trot. Muddy dashed between the horse and the sled—a narrow, terrifying miss—and ran, barking wildly, toward the gate.

“Be right back,” Luke yelled, and waved his arm. Then he made an abrupt turn around a copse of piñons and cantered back up to the house.

Sky had been looking straight ahead. It helped her maintain her balance and gave her warning of what was coming next. But when the dog ran off, and Luke shouted,
she'd glanced over at the gate.

It was only a flash, but she was sure of what she'd seen. A silver van, parked at the entrance. And a man in a dark coat, with a shaved head, his hand on the buzzer.

“T
HEY'RE AT THE GATE
.”

Luke dismounted quickly and handed the reins to Mouse.

“The agents?” Ana unconsciously put her hand to her heart.

“Yes. Get Kareem into the hiding place, fast. Girls, unhitch Blanca and put her away. I'm going back down there to let them in.”

With nervous hands, Sky began untying the rope on one side of the saddle while Mouse worked on the other. The knot was tight, and Sky was trembling; she couldn't seem to control her fingers. She made a growling sound of frustration.

“What's the matter?”

“Shut up, Mouse.”

Finally the knots were undone. While Mouse went off to put away the sled, Sky led Blanca back to the barn.

Kareem was already in his hiding place. The panel was closed, and Ana had shoved the blanket box up against it. Now she was wiping out the drag marks with her feet.

“You missed a spot,” Sky said, pointing.

“Thanks.” Ana made another pass.

“Mom?”

“What, honey?”

“You won't forget our story.”

“No.”

“'Cause they might split us up, you know. Question us separately. And if you say one thing and I say something different—”

“I
remember
, honey. We've been over this already.”

“Okay.”

From inside the wall, Kareem coughed.

“Shoot!” Ana said. “It's the dust. Sky, get those cough drops out of the tack room. Quick as you can! They're coming.”

By the time she was back, Ana had pulled the chest out from the wall and the panel was open a crack. She could see Kareem's face in the shadows. Sky handed the box to her mom, who shook five or six jewel-like hard candies onto her palm.

“Here,” she said, giving them to Kareem. “Put these in
your pocket. Keep sucking on them if you need to.”

He nodded and pushed the panel shut. Sky heard the bolt slip home.

“Give me one, too,” she said.

Ana looked surprised, but she fished one out and handed it over.

“They smell, Mom. Like cherries. If the agents smell it on me, then they won't be curious about it. We'll leave the box on the shelf, in plain sight, and I'll cough a lot.”

“Smart girl,” Ana said. “Now give me a hand.”

They slid the blanket chest back into place and skated around the room, scuffing the floor, erasing footprints and drag marks again.

A car door slammed outside, then a second and third one followed: two agents plus Luke, who had ridden back to the house in the van. Mother and daughter exchanged a look of sudden panic. They scanned the room for anything that might be amiss. But there was nothing.

“All right,” Ana said. “Go get Blanca unsaddled. I'm heading back to the house to work on dinner. We'll just try to act normal.”

“Okay.”

Sky removed Blanca's bridle and replaced it with a halter. By the time Luke came into the barn, accompanied by one of the agents, she had the horse tied up in the breezeway and had put the bridle away.

“Sky,” Luke said, “this man wants to speak with you. He's an agent with Homeland Security.”

It was the one with the mustache and the meaty hands.

“I met you before.”

“Yes,” he said. “Last month, at your school. I have a few more questions to ask you.”

“Okay.” She continued unbuckling the girth on Blanca's saddle. She really didn't want to stand there looking the man in the eye.

“We're fine here, Mr. Brightman. Thanks.”

“Pardon?”

“You can go on inside.”

“Sorry, but if you're going to question my daughter, I insist on being present.”

“Hold on just a minute,” Sky said. She carried the saddle into the tack room and set it on the saddle stand. Then she came back for the blanket.

“Sorry,” she said, disappearing into the tack room again, returning this time with a towel and the grooming bucket.

“Are you finished?” the agent asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “For the moment. Go ahead, ask.”

She set to wiping Blanca down, moving around the horse so she'd be out of view as much as possible.

“All right,” he said. “When we spoke to you before, you said you left class to go use the restroom. Then you came
back and said Kareem's mother had arrived to take him to the dentist. You were gone for ten minutes according to your teacher—yet you still hadn't made it to the restroom. See, I'm wondering about that. Seems like kind of a long time for what had to be a short conversation. What else were you doing?”

“I was talking to my mom on the phone.”

The agent looked startled, as well he might. This was a totally different story from the one she'd told at school. But Sky knew what she was doing. She was spinning her new time line, the one she'd spent hours working out that night after the family meeting. It explained everything—the phone calls, Ana's absence from the hospital, even the reason why she'd lied.

“Really?”
the man said. “That's not what you—”

“She called to say I'd left my arts paper in the car. I gave it to my sister to read, and then when we got to school, I forgot to ask for it back. Mom noticed it when she got to the hospital and was getting her coat out of the backseat. And it's a lucky thing, too, because the paper counts for a third of our grade, and Mrs. Cunningham
hates
excuses. It was really good, too. I got an A on it.”

“That's not what you told your teacher, Sky. You said you were going to the bathroom. You said the same thing in the principal's office, too. Want to explain that?”

“Isn't it obvious?” She hung the wet towel on a hook
and got a brush out of the grooming bucket.

“No.”

“We aren't allowed to use our phones in school. They're for emergencies only. And my mom knows that perfectly well, so when I saw that she'd called, I figured it had to be something, you know, really serious. Maybe another terrorist strike, or an accident, or a heart attack, or—”

“You couldn't just tell the teacher that?”

“Yeah, and then whatever my mom was calling about, I'd have to stand there in front of the whole class and take the call. You don't have kids, do you?”

“My personal life is—”

“That's what I thought.”

“Sky!” A warning from Luke.

“Sorry.” She moved over to Blanca's other side, brushing away. The agent followed, keeping her in sight.

“How did your mother sound when she called?”

“I don't know what you mean.”

“Was she calm? Agitated? Upset?”

“Irritated, I guess.”

“Irritated?”

“I'm supposed to be responsible for my own stuff. She was annoyed.”

“And she didn't mention anything that had happened at the hospital?”

“Like what?”

“Like Kareem's father being taken into custody.”

“No! Our parents
never
tell us bad stuff like that. They're trying to protect us.” She grinned at Luke, but he just stood there stone-faced.

The agent cleared his throat. “All right,” he said, “let's move on. So you went out to take the call, heard about this paper you'd left in the car, then ran into the woman on the way back.”

“Right.”

“Did she say she was Kareem's mother?”

“No. I assumed that's who she was. Didn't I tell you this at school?”

“Just answer the question.”

“I already did.”

“Can we wrap this up soon?” Luke said.

“We'll finish when we're finished, Mr. Brightman.” The agent shot Luke a hostile look.

“So after you called Kareem out of class, you saw him leave with the woman?”

“No. She said she'd wait for him out front. I was going in the other direction.”

“All right. So then you went for your unusually long visit to the bathroom, after which you returned to class.”

“No.”

“No?”
He was clearly exasperated now.

“I went for my extremely
short
visit to the bathroom,
then I went outside to wait for my mom.”

“To wait for your mom.”

“She was bringing my
arts paper
over. The one that counted for a third of my grade and was very, very good. Remember?”

“So that's it? The whole story?”

“Unless you want to know what I had for lunch.”

He looked at her with ice in his eyes. Sky turned away.

“That's all for now,” he said. “But we'll need to search the property.”

“You have a warrant?”

“I do.” The agent handed it to Luke. “You know, we're not the enemy, Mr. Brightman.
They're
the ones who go around blowing things up.”

Luke didn't respond to that, just studied the warrant quietly for a minute. “Can you tell me exactly what we're suspected of?”

“Hiding a fugitive,” the agent said. “Which is a criminal offense, in case you weren't aware of that.”

“I see. And the fugitive you're referring to—that would be the child who is missing from my daughter's school?”

“You know who we're looking for, Mr. Brightman.” He stared down at his feet then, just for a second. Was he maybe a little
embarrassed
?

Luke handed the warrant back to the agent. “Have at it,” he said.

“Any of those outbuildings locked?”

“The
casita
.”

“The key, please?”

Luke reluctantly took a ring of keys out of his pocket, and removed one, and handed it to the agent.

“Please don't handle any of the paintings. Or the art materials.”

“We'll be careful. Now, why don't you both just go on inside and wait? We'll let you know as soon as we're done.”

“I'm not finished yet,” Sky said.

The agent sighed. “Fine. Just keep out of my way.”

“I will. You can go inside, Daddy. I'm okay. Really.”

Luke was about to say something when Blanca, bless her heart, lifted her tail.
Plop, plop
, she did what horses do, barely missing the agent's shoes.

For a moment he just stood there, staring in disgust.

“Oops,” Sky said.