The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1) Read online

  Ahmad turned and stared at Mohammed. What had he gotten into?

  “That’s outrageous,” Ahmad said. “We’ve done nothing.”

  “We’re not going to be able to allow you to enter the U.S.” The CBP agent held the door open.

  ****

  Edmonds, Washington

  The battered silver Mitsubishi Mirage pulled into the circular driveway. Ted hopped out and ran around to the passenger side to open his mother’s door.

  “I don’t know, Mama,” he looked up at the big house with yew trees lining the drive. “This might not be a good idea.”

  “No te preocupes, Mijo,” she replied. “Chrees, he wants you here and he ees your best friend, you’ve lived with him for four years.”

  “I wasn’t sure about Chris at first.” Ted closed the car door. “He seemed out of my league.”

  “Si,” Mama said. “But you did like we always taught you and didn’t judge him jeest because he was rico. You’ve come a long way together.”

  Before their sophomore year Chris’ dad bought a house in the U District for Chris to live in while attending school. When Chris asked Ted to move in with him, he jumped at the offer.

  “I’ve hung out with Chris for four years,” Ted looked up at the imposing structure. “But I’ve only been to his dad’s house a couple of times.”

  “When I meet Meester Hardwick at the graduation ceremony today he seemed very gracious.” Mama, a small, dark, middle-aged woman, wore her years well.

  It made Ted proud to be seen with her. While Papa remained in LA to take care of the rest of the family she took her first airplane trip to Seattle to see Ted’s graduation.

  Ted’s heart nearly stopped when a willowy thirty-something woman with long black hair met them at the door.

  “Ted, you finally made it. Please come in. I’ll find Chris for you.” Her voice was like velvet, her emerald green eyes melted Ted’s brain.

  Seeing Candace took his breath away. She was like something out of a fashion magazine, a whole different species from Mama and him.

  “Candace,” Ted unraveled his tongue and motioned the dark haired woman back. “I’d like you to meet my mother, Roberta Higuera. Mama, this is Candace Anderson, Mr. Hardwick’s fiancée.”

  Old Harry made out like a bandito, Ted thought. Candace was closer to Ted’s age than to Chris’ dad’s age.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, Meess Anderson.” Mama extended her hand.

  “El gusto es mio.” Candace smiled back. “And Candace, please.”

  “I was so pleesed to hear about your engagement,” Mama said in her singsong accent. “Eet’s good to see that Mr. Hardwick ees getting on with his life.”

  “Ted, Mrs. Higuera,” Chris interrupted as he came into the foyer, a petite blond on his arm. “Come in. Let me show you around.”

  “Please, Chreestopher, call me Mama.”

  “All right. Mama, I’d like you to meet Meagan O’Donnell. Meg, this is Mama.”

  “I’m please to meet you Mrs. . . Mama.”

  “I’ve heard so much about you, Meagan.”

  Yeah, Ted thought, but it sure ain’t been good. He thought back to how he and Chris first met Meagan at the Aquarius Tavern after a ball game. She practically seduced Chris, right there on the dance floor. Chris must have had a big dollar sign painted on his forehead.

  “Mrs. Hi. . . Mama, let me show you to your room.” Candace bent over to pick up Mama’s bag. “I’m so glad you can stay with us.”

  Ted came back to reality. Man, that’s one fine ass.

  Chapter 2

  Toronto, Canada

  Ahmad slammed the door behind him as he entered his parents’ house

  “Father, how can you listen to such a man?” They had just returned from Rogers Centre at Exhibition Place for a rare family outing. It was Allah’s will that he respect and help his parents, but they were so far from the true path that he could barely tolerate being around them.

  His father, Mahmoud Fazul, was an older version of Ahmad. His dark skin, darker eyes and hawk-like nose all mirrored his son’s appearance. Tall and thin, with short-cropped dark hair graying at the temples, he had eschewed wearing the traditional headgear of his ancestors.

  When his father asked him to accompany them to see the Islamic cleric Amr Khaled, Ahmad thought maybe they were ready to begin the path back to Allah.

  “Amr Khaled is the most popular cleric in the Islamic world.” His father hung the car keys on a hook by the front door and precisely placed his umbrella in the stand. He stopped to adjust all four umbrellas equidistance apart. “He broadcasts in eighteen languages. He has millions of followers.”

  “He’s a charlatan!” Ahmad brushed past his father and started towards the living room. “Did you not see how the audience dressed? Young girls in tank tops and jeans, their heads uncovered. He’s not an imam. He’s a rock star.”

  “He preaches a message of peace and co-existence. We need to listen to men like him to get along in this world.”

  “No,” Ahmad slammed his hand against the table. “If we listen to men like him, we’ll lose all that is great about Islam. We must follow the path of the prophet Mohammed.”

  Mahmoud picked up the newspaper that was neatly placed on the coat stand and walked into the living room.

  “As Khaled reminded us,” Mahmoud stared at Ahmad. “Mohammed said, ‘Whoever puts joy in the hearts of the believers, his reward is not less than paradise.’”

  “Paradise will come to those who fight for the true faith.” Ahmad returned his father’s gaze.

  “Be careful, my son.” His father reached out for Ahmad. “You are getting close to the evil ones who are making life nearly intolerable for us.” Mahmoud shook his head slowly. “Their path is not Islam. We must reject it.”

  “Father, look at the world around you.” Ahmad made a broad sweeping motion with his hands. “On every continent we’re being repressed. Our people are being slaughtered daily by the Americans and their toadies, including your beloved Canadians”

  “I don’t agree with what’s happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Mahmoud flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his sleeve as he took his place in the recliner and adjusted his glasses, then straightened his tie unnecessarily. “But we have to make our views known through the political process. Already Canada is wavering in their support for the American president.”

  “You came to this country to escape the revolution in Iran.” Too agitated to sit, Ahmad paced the living room. “But you were on the wrong side. You should have stayed and taken the words of the Prophet to heart.”

  “And the Prophet taught you to disrespect your father?” Mahmoud glared at Ahmad.

  “Father, you’ve fallen away from the faith.” Ahmad felt patches of moisture spreading from his arm pits. “You’re being assimilated by this corrupt Western culture. You’ve completely forgotten the true faith and our heritage.”

  Ahmad withered under the stare from his father. What am I, ten years old?

  After what seemed an eternity, his father finally took a deep breath and spoke. “My son, the Prophet taught us mercy and kindness. He wanted us to co-exist with others that are different from ourselves. He showed us that Allah created us different so that we could get to know each other, to learn from each other.”

  In a low vice, Ahmad responded to his father. “I was ashamed to be seen in Khaled’s audience.”

  “Amr Khaled instills pride in us. He shows the happiness and joy there is in being Muslim. He has helped to strengthen the faith worldwide.”

  “He’s helping to bring down the traditional values.” Ahmad retrieved his coat from the rack by the door. “Men like him are more dangerous than men like Bush. He’ll weaken the faith, one brick at a time, until the whole tower crumbles. We must remain strong. God knows that following His path isn’t easy. It’s only the strong who can remain true.” These last words were spoken as Ahmad turned his back on his father and walked through the doorway.

/>   ****

  Edmonds, Washington

  Candace latched on to Mama. They were off meeting the governor. Ted hung out with Chris and Meagan by the buffet table, he really didn’t know anyone else here.

  “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Ted whispered to himself.

  A band played in the background.

  Anybody who is anybody is here. Ted noticed everybody from local celebs to politicians to businessmen. The patio, pool area, tennis court and lawns of Harry Hardwick’s large home on the bluffs overlooking the Edmonds ferry landing crawled with glam.

  Japanese lanterns glowed in the professionally manicured garden. Looks like old Harry had a bunch of hermanos working overtime. Ted spent last summer working with the landscaping crew at Mama’s employer’s house.

  A cool ice sculpture of a dolphin sat next to a champagne fountain on the large buffet table. The event was catered by Harry’s favorite restaurant. A cabron, dressed in chef’s whites with a tall hat, chatted up an older woman in French. While he talked, he carved thin slices off of a huge steamship round of beef and piled them on baguettes to make little sandwiches. A chunk of meat that big could feed Ted’s whole neighborhood for a week.

  Sissy-assed French pastries covered the table. A dude with a little gold cup on a chain attached to his vest pushed an assortment of wines; a bartender rushed to keep up with the demand for cocktails.

  The restaurant Papa worked for often catered events like this. Ted picked up pocket money during high school working with Papa. He felt like he should put on a vest and grab one of the waiter’s trays.

  “You kids having a good time?” Harry, his trademark glass of Scotch in hand, joined Ted, Meagan and Chris.

  “You sure know how to throw a bash, Mr. H.” Ted took a pull on his Henry’s long neck.

  Meagan slipped her arm around Harry’s waist. “Mr. Hardwick. This is an outrageous party,” she cooed.

  Meagan was pretty enough, with blue eyes and perky blonde hair. Her short, low-cut dress was skankalicious, great for a night on the town, but to meet her boyfriend’s dad? Ted would never have let his little sister out of the house dressed like that.

  “Harry, where have you been all night?” Candace, with Mama in tow, slid in next to Harry. Her red cocktail dress was appropriately conservative, but with her bod, she’d look good in a gunny sack.

  Candace delicately removed Megan’s hand from Harry’s waist. “Have you seen the governor yet?”

  “I was just getting to know Meagan a little.” Harry turned to Meagan. “It’s too bad your parents couldn’t be here.”

  Meagan reached for another glass of champagne. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m used to it. They’re never around for my events.”

  “I would think that this would be a pretty important day for them.” Harry swirled the Scotch in his glass.

  “My Dad’s in India, working on some kind of project.” Meagan’s finger rubbed the rim of her champagne glass.

  “He works for Microsoft, doesn’t he?” Harry asked.

  He seemed to be sizing Meagan up.

  “Yeah, he’s some kind of software geek or something.” Meagan hunched her shoulders and looked down.

  “How about your Mom?” Harry pressed.

  “She works at Microsoft too. She’s a technical writer.”

  “No, I meant why couldn’t she be here?” Harry snagged a hors d’oeuvre from a passing tray.

  “Oh, well . . .” Meagan’s voice trailed off. She looked everywhere but into Harry’s eyes. “She had another one of her migraines.”

  “Those can be rough.” Harry never took his eyes off of her.

  Ted felt a slight twinge of satisfaction. The ritualistic first grilling of the girlfriend.

  “Harry, where are my manners?” Candace interrupted. “Have you met Ted’s mom yet? Roberta, this is my fiancé, Harry Hardwick. Harry, this is Roberta Higuera.”

  Ted’s heart stopped. How would Mama handle this? She was a tiny woman with no schooling. Her English was okay, but it wasn’t up to Harry’s standard. Harry was one of the top lawyers in Seattle. Hell, he was one of the top lawyers in the country. He had defended capital murder cases and argued in front of the Supreme Court. He had an ex-governor and an ex-senator working for him.

  “We met earlier at the graduation. I’m really happy you could make it up for Ted’s graduation, Mrs. Higuera.” Harry extended his hand. “I’m as proud of him as I am of my own son.”

  Mama took his hand. “My son has told me so much about you. You have a lovely house.”

  Ted cringed at her heavily accented English. Harry didn’t seem to notice.

  “It’s mostly Chris’ mother’s doing.” Harry stared out over the water. “She always wanted a large family. We bought this house so the kids’d have lots of room to run.”

  “Teddy told me that she passed away while Chrees was still in high school.”

  Harry paused. There was a moment of awkward silence.

  Ted looked at Harry, at Mama, then back at Harry.

  “Mr. Hardwick?” Mama finally broke the silence.

  “I’m sorry . . . ah . . . I was thinking about Sally,” Harry slowly returned to the present. “We met when I was at the lowest point of my life.” He seemed to recover his composure. “I was a football player at the U-Dub.”

  “A football player? You were up for the Heisman Trophy.” Ted remembered the Harry Hardwick display in Husky Stadium.

  “In my senior year. I was leading the world in everything. Then some bastard linebacker from Oregon gave me a cheap hit. The whistle had blown the play dead and I was already out of bounds but he took my legs out from under me. Blew out my right knee. I ended up in the hospital and never played football again.”

  “I never like football.” Mama couldn’t hold back. “I always worry about Teddy getting hurt.”

  “It was good to me,” Harry went on. “I didn’t know it at the time, but getting hurt was the best thing that ever happened to me. Sally was a nurse’s aid. I met her in the hospital and fell in love at first sight.”

  “Que romantico.” Mama clasped her hands together and flashed her best smile at Harry.

  “She put me through law school,” Harry was talking for his own benefit. “I couldn’t do enough to pay her back. I spent my whole life doing things for her and she never once asked me for anything.”

  “That’s so sweet, Mr. Hardwick.” Meagan wrapped her hands around Harry’s bicep.

  Harry skewered Meagan with a penetrating glance. “I guess that’s what love’s all about. Putting someone else’s needs above your wants.”

  Hijo de dios. Old Harry has her number. Ted looked around for another beer.

  Chapter 3

  Edmonds, Washington

  Ted wandered to the cliff’s edge. Mama was doing just fine. She seemed to blend seamlessly with these ricos. Too bad Papa couldn’t be here. Ted would have given anything to be able to watch Papa be the guest for a change.

  The June sun finally slipped behind the pink tinged peaks of the Olympic Mountains as darkness settled in. The soft on-shore breeze brought a hint of salt air and a slight chill.

  Two white Adirondack chairs faced Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula across the water. Ted took his bottle of beer and headed for the chairs. This was a defining moment in his life. He needed a moment of solitude to absorb what it all meant.

  He wouldn’t be going back to LA. He hated the idea of living so far from his family, but he couldn’t bear to go back to a place where he couldn’t feel safe at night in his own house. Seattle was one of the hubs of the high-tech world. He already had several job prospects. None of the employers he interviewed with even seemed to notice he was Latino.

  “Whatcha doing away from the party?”

  The voice startled Ted. A petite girl, dressed from head to foot in black, tattoos on her arms and a gold ring in her nose, sat in one of the Adirondack chairs.

  “Sarah,” Ted said. “I didn’t know you were here.”

/>   Ted had never seen Chris’ little sister when she wasn’t in a dark mood. Chris nicknamed her “the Mistress of Darkness” because she walked around looking like a vampire.

  “Hey, it’s my party too,” Sarah said. “As if I care about all of Dad’s bullshit friends.”

  “That’s right. I guess I should congratulate you. Graduating from high school’s a big deal.”

  “Like that means anything.” Sarah took a deep drag on a long, thin cigarette.

  How could she be so negative about everything? She had all the money in the world. Her dad could open all sorts of doors for her. She could do anything she wanted. How could she not appreciate that?

  “Your dad is throwin’ you guys a pretty nice party.” Ted sat in the empty chair.

  “This isn’t for us.” She flipped the lit cigarette over the cliff. “It’s all about him. Showing off his money and power”

  “Hey, chica, it’s not a bad thing to have a dad that cares about you.” Ted finished the last drop of his beer.

  “Cares about me?” Sarah leaned back in the chair and stretched her legs out. “What a joke. You are so lucky.”

  What? “I’m so lucky? How?”

  “At least your family is for real. Your parents work for a living. They produce something. My dad’s a parasite. All he does is live off of other people’s misery.”

  Yeah, well that’s a tough problem to have. She didn’t know what it was like to sleep in a bath tub in case a stray bullet might pierce the walls at night. She sought out bad neighborhoods where drug marts thrived on every corner. He hadn’t had a choice.

  Thank God he was out.

  ****

  Toronto, Canada

  “This is just the kind of place we need,” Mohammed said as he and Ahmad made their way down the busy sidewalk. “They set a mechanical timer here to track your usage. There isn’t any software on the computers that tracks users, websites or how long you’re logged on.”

  Ahmad nodded his understanding. The neon sign hanging from the second floor above a pizza parlor on Younge Street said “The Cyber-Bean.”