Andrew Klavan - The long way home

"Okay," said Josh-and now he sounded like he was really enjoying himself. "I'm gonna send you something really cool, some really cool software. It's called Private Eye. All you gotta do is download it onto a disk, personalize it to your computer, then upload onto the other guy's computer. Then, on your computer, you'll be able to read every keystroke he makes, his e-mails, everything. And when he types in his password, you'll get it-and then you can get into his computer and get anything you want."

"Cool," I said.

"Wait a minute," said Beth. "How's he going to do that? How's he going to upload the program onto the person's computer?"

Josh rolled his eyes. "Well, duh, Beth. He goes to the guy's computer and puts the disk in."

"Well… that's not legal, is it?"

Josh smacked himself in the face with both hands as if this was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

"Beth," I said gently. "I'm already wanted for murder. It's not gonna matter much if they tack on a charge of breaking into a guy's computer. They can't exactly send me away for longer than life."

"I know," she said. "But… if you have to go to the person's computer yourself, you could be caught."

"He could be caught anyway!" Josh cried out. He laughed at her, a wild high laugh. He was being incredibly obnoxious.

"Josh," I said.

He laughed wildly some more. "What, dude?"

"Shut up."

"Oh." He stopped laughing. "Look, you could send it to him in an e-mail, but it's more dangerous that way and he might not execute the file."

"Just send me the program. I'll take care of it."

"Right, right. Here it comes."

I saw Josh fidgeting around on the monitor. A moment passed, then a file came over. I opened it and a download bar appeared at the bottom of my screen and started filling up quickly.

"Also, I need some way to keep my computer charged a little longer," I said.

"No problem. You get my car today. I'll leave it at Lake Center with a wire under the front seat. You can hook up to the lighter slot. Oh, and one other thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't let anyone find out you put this program in or they'll be able to trace it right to you. It's just like you're visiting a Web site. It's really easy for them to find your physical location. Seriously. If they have the right software, it'd take them about a second."

"Charlie," said Beth, "this sounds really dangerous. Please be careful."

"Beeee caaaaareful, Charrrlie," Josh sang in a falsetto voice, imitating Beth.

Another door-sound came over the computer. Then Rick was onscreen.

"What's going on?" he said.

"Josh is making fun of Beth because she cares what happens to me," I said.

"Nice, Josh," said Rick. "What are you, ten years old?"

There was another door sound. Miler. Now the screen was divided into four segments. All my friends were online.

"What's happening?" said Miler.

"Josh is ten," said Rick.

"Hey, Josh, happy birthday."

"Very funny."

"Will anyone see Mr. Sherman today?" I asked.

"I will," said Rick. "My stats class is in the room right next to his."

"What time?"

"Eleven a.m."

"Perfect. Do me a favor," I said. "Text me when you have him in sight."

"I will do it, mein kommandant."

The download bar was filled. "Program complete," the message said.

"All right, that's it," I said. "I gotta jump off to save my batteries."

"Beeeee caaaaareful, Chaaaarrrrliie," Josh sang falsetto again.

I moved the cursor and turned off his webcam. He winked out into nothingness-which actually improved his personality.

"Take it easy, guys," I said to Rick and Miler. Then I turned them off too.

Now it was just Beth again, like it was before.

"I really do have to save my battery," I said.

"Charlie," she said. "I don't care what Josh says. Really do be careful."

I smiled. "No one cares what Josh says. Anyway, it sounds a lot nicer when you say it."

She smiled too.

Then I shut down the computer and the darkness of the Ghost Mansion closed around me and I was alone again.

Something Unexpected The text came through at 10:55 that morning: Sherman in sight.

Rick was in his statistics class and Mr. Sherman was in the classroom next door. That's what I was waiting to hear.

I left the Ghost Mansion by the back way, my laptop in its case, the case strapped over my shoulder. I moved through the graveyard, the leaves rustling under my feet, the sunlight falling in beams through the branches of the trees.

As I passed the statue of the mourning woman, I felt a chill. Up close, there was something too real about her, as if that reaching hand of hers might suddenly move, might suddenly reach out even farther and grab me.

I kept an eye on her as I went past. I watched her over my shoulder as I went on beneath the trees.

I came to an open field, an expanse of brown grass and garbage. I could see the Lake Center Mall on the other side of it, protected by a screen of shrubbery. I moved toward it to find Josh's car.

I hated traveling by day. It made me feel naked, totally exposed to anyone who might recognize me and call the police. But at the same time, it was a rare treat to feel the sun on me, to see the world in the light, to hear the sounds of the world awake. As I came closer to the mall, I caught glimpses of the parking lot through the gaps in the shrubs. I could see the cars pulling in. I could see women-it was mostly women at this hour, mostly moms-getting out to do their shopping at the supermarket or the drugstore. To them, it was just an ordinary day in Spring Hill. To me, it was everything I'd lost, everything I missed so much. Just the sight of those women made me think of my own mom. I wondered if I'd ever see her again.

When I got to the shrubbery screen, I angled my way through, the branches scratching my arms. There was a low cinderblock wall after that. I climbed over. I was in the farthest corner of the parking lot where the mall Dumpsters were. I could smell the garbage in them, sour and sharp in the morning air.

I moved past the Dumpsters and spotted Josh's car: the black Camry. I walked toward it purposefully, without looking left or right. I didn't want to do anything suspicious, anything that would attract attention. It would be so easy now for someone to spot me.

I felt a lot better once I was inside the car, behind the wheel, hidden from easy view. I reached under the seat and, sure enough, there was the charging wire Josh had promised me. I hooked it up to my laptop and then plugged it into the slot for the car's cigarette lighter. It would keep the battery charged as long as the engine was running.

I started the engine and headed out.

Mr. Sherman lived in a section of town called the Terrace, I guess because it was at the top of a sloping hill. His house was a narrow two-story with a pitched roof above and a porch below. The house was made of yellow clapboards with brown trim around the windows and the door. It sat dark and quiet on the far end of a neat little square of lawn.

I drove a little past the house, then parked. I got out and looked around. The neighborhood was quiet. There was no traffic on the street, no one out walking. I could see a man mowing a lawn a block away. I could hear the stuttering buzz of the mower as he moved back and forth across the grass. And there was a mailman walking toward me along the sidewalk. He turned down a path to make a delivery about five houses down. Other than that, there was no one in sight.

I started up the slate path that ran over the lawn to Sherman's front door. I figured it would look less suspicious if I just walked up to the house directly, just acted as if I belonged there. I left the laptop in the car, but I had my computer disk with Josh's Private Eye program on it in the pocket of my fleece. I had Rick's Swiss Army knife in my hand, held down low against my leg so no one would notice it.