Page 52 of Once Hidden
“I’m sorry,” Tony added, his voice catching.“But you know I’ll make it right.Tomorrow.I promise.”
The air conditioner sputtered, momentarily falling silent before resuming its labored breathing.In that brief pocket of quiet, Tony thought he could hear Jay’s voice—not audible, but present in his mind, urging him forward, reminding him of their pact.
Tony returned his attention to the board, moving a pawn forward in defense.Jay countered immediately, his queen advancing with lethal intent.Each piece Jay moved seemed charged with the anger Tony imagined his brother felt—anger at being left alone on that cliff face without their lucky charm, anger at the system that had failed him, anger at Tony for not yet bringing that system fully to justice.
“I don’t understand why you’re pushing so hard tonight,” Tony said, rubbing his temples.The room’s dim lighting was giving him a headache, or perhaps it was just the intensity of Jay’s gaze from across the board.“We’re on the same side, remember?”
Jay’s queen took Tony’s knight, and suddenly the board looked different—vulnerabilities opened up that Tony hadn’t noticed before.His brother had always been better at seeing five moves ahead, at planning for contingencies Tony couldn’t anticipate.
In Tony’s mind, Jay’s voice finally came:Would you like to concede?
“What?No.Why would I?”Tony frowned, scanning the board for a way out.
Checkmate in five moves.
Tony’s frown deepened as he studied the arrangement of pieces.Jay had maneuvered him into a corner with such subtle precision that he hadn’t even noticed it happening.His king was already trapped, the paths of escape closing with each move Jay had made while Tony was distracted.
He traced the potential moves with his finger, hovering over pieces but never touching them.One move, then Jay’s counter.Another desperate shift, another crushing response.No matter how he played it out, his king would fall in five moves, just as Jay had said.
“You’re right,” Tony said finally, tipping his king onto its side.The tiny magnetic piece made a soft click against the board.“I concede.”
A smile ghosted across Jay’s face—or at least, Tony thought it did.The motel room’s lighting played tricks, shadows shifting with every passing car outside.
What delivery do you have planned for tomorrow?Jay’s question filled Tony’s thoughts.Where will it happen?
Tony reached for the plastic cup of water at one side of the table.“I want it to be a surprise,” he said after taking a sip.“But you’ll be deeply pleased.I promise.This one...”he paused, setting the cup down carefully, “this one will truly avenge you.Once and for all.”
Jay’s expression turned serious, concerned even.Be careful.Don’t get overconfident.
“I won’t,” Tony assured him, beginning to reset the chess pieces for another game.Each piece clicked satisfyingly into its starting position, order restored from the chaos of play.“I’ve planned my game many moves ahead, just like we’ve always done.They may think they understand the pattern now, but they’re looking at the wrong pieces.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out their shared treasure—a small brass compass, its surface worn smooth from years of handling.The engraved words “Find Your Way” caught the light as he rotated it in his palm.
“Besides,” Tony continued, “nothing can go wrong as long as I have our good luck charm with me.”
Jay said nothing to this, but Tony didn’t need him to.The compass had been part of their ritual, their superstition, their bond.
Outside, a car door slammed in the motel parking lot.Tony’s head snapped toward the window.But after a moment of silence, he relaxed again, turning back to the chess board and his brother.
“One more game?”he asked, already knowing Jay wouldn’t refuse.They had played chess together since they were five years old, a couple of years before their mother disappeared, long before their father’s depression and eventual death from mesothelioma.The game had been a constant in their ever-moving childhood, a portable stability as Carl Bartlett’s work took them from county to county across Virginia.They had made chessboards and pieces out of whatever was at hand, until they had finally acquired this little travel set.
Jay agreed, and Tony made the first move—pawn to e4, opening up lanes for his bishop and queen.Classic, predictable, but sometimes the expected move was the right one.Jay countered immediately, and as they settled into the familiar rhythm of play, Tony felt a sense of peace wash over him.
Tomorrow would be different.Tomorrow would be perfect.Tomorrow, he would deliver the justice Jay deserved, and maybe then his brother could finally rest.But tonight, in this anonymous motel room with its humming air conditioner and flickering lights, they were just two brothers playing chess, finding their way move by move through the darkness.
Tony’s fingers lingered on the compass before returning it to his pocket.After tomorrow, the game would truly be over.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The road wound through thickly forested hills, rising and falling with the country landscape.Riley slowed the Bureau sedan as they approached an unmarked turnout.She pulled to a stop there, cut the engine, and sat for a moment, staring through the windshield at the place where Jay Bartlett had died five years ago.Just a few trees stood in front of her, then a vast emptiness beyond.
“This is it?”Ann Marie asked, leaning forward in her seat.“Doesn’t look like much from here.”
“A lot of death scenes don’t,” Riley replied.
They stepped out of the car into the cool morning air.The early June sun hadn’t yet burned away the mist that clung to treetops and seeped into the hollows of the land.
Riley walked toward the far edge of the turnout.Beyond a simple wooden guardrail lay Raven’s Leap Cliff.
