Black

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A harsh wind tore at the scrub along the edge of the rural road, the gusts assaulting the hills with startling ferocity. Electricity crackled across the elephant-hide sky as the Ford Econoline's tires shrieked in smoking alarm. The heavy vehicle lumbered around a hairpin turn, far in excess of any sane speed, engine roaring as it labored toward the summit. The Ferrari California 30 convertible ahead of it negotiated the curves like an Olympic skier, its red taillights winking at the van like a taunt, the deceptive twists a slim challenge for its driver, even after more than a few drinks.

It was late afternoon and a front had moved in, one of the freak storms that could come out of nowhere and disrupt the late spring warmth that was the birthright of Southern California's privileged. Flashes of light pulsed within the blanket of dark clouds brooding over the hills, threatening a downpour at any moment, but for now the heavens' growling was the harmless protest of a caged bear.

Another curve, another screeching drift as tortured rubber fought to grip the asphalt and the huge motor propelled the cargo vehicle closer to its elusive quarry. Inside, a hirsute young man with two days' growth dusting his swarthy features gripped the black lens of a Canon EOS 5D camera and gritted his teeth as the driver gave the van everything he had, pushing the ungainly conveyance to its limits.

"Damn. Slow down, would you? It's not worth getting us killed," he complained.

"Relax, Omar, I've got it under control," the driver snarled, his furrowed brow betraying the lie in his assurance. An old Chevrolet pickup truck swung around the bend and narrowly missed the van's front fender, causing them to lose a few precious seconds as the Italian car pulled over the rise and began its descent down Malibu Canyon Road, the sheer drop to the rocks hundreds of feet below a slim deterrent to its increasing speed.

"Crap. We're DOA if we can't catch up," Omar said. "DOA pays lousy."

"I intend to get paid," the driver muttered, and tromped on the gas as the Ferrari disappeared from view around another curve.

~ ~ ~

The Ferrari driver wiped her face with the palm of her hand and shifted into third gear, increasing the engine revs to buy traction as she crested the summit. The clouds roiling over the ocean pulled her attention toward the water, a slate mirror stretching to the horizon, calm before the heavens let loose. Snoop Dogg's hypnotic atonal delivery wove its serpentine spell over a booming bass groove pulsing from the stereo, and after twisting the volume louder she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in time with the rap beat. She glanced at the van in her rearview mirror and allowed herself a small smirk before her eyes drifted back to the road. Another hairpin was coming up, one she knew well from having almost lost it there the last time she'd had a few too many at one of her Valley hangouts, and she downshifted with a sloppy stab at the transmission paddle.

The high-performance eight-cylinder thoroughbred racing engine whined as the RPMs hit the ceiling, the tachometer needle pegging into the red, and then the car began to gradually but reluctantly fight gravity, enough so that she could keep it mostly in her lane. A rush of adrenaline surged through her system as she guided the vehicle along a knife's edge, the painted divider line the only thing between her and oblivion, her dilated pupils taking in the panoramic tableau of Malibu laid out before her. Her stomach seemed to float for a brief second, as it did on the first drop of a roller coaster, and then her eyes saucered as she saw her future approach from around the treacherous turn, offering no time to react.

~ ~ ~

Omar's face blanched as they picked up speed, and he noticed the Italian car's brake lights remained dark as it headed for one of the dead man's curves on the drop to sea level.

"Come on, man. Be careful. She's whacked out of her mind. No way should she be moving that fast on this stretch," he said, trying to steady the camera's telephoto lens and get some shots of the car hurtling at breakneck speed in front of them.

"Maybe she'll get it wrong and we'll have an exclusive on the biggest story of the month," the driver said, an ugly grin twisting his features. "You getting anything?"

"We're bouncing around too much. Holy shit. Look out!"

The Ferrari struck a glancing blow to a red Mercury Montego straining up the hill in the outside lane and then careened against the steep rock face, slammed onto its side, and plunged through the guardrail into the chasm beyond.

Time seemed to compress as both men found themselves staring at the Mercury's grill partially in their lane, the car overcompensating from grazing the Ferrari a few seconds before, instinctively trying to inch away from the ravine edge as it fought for stability. The middle-aged woman's face was framed for a split second by her windshield, dried insect smudges a testament to the rural road's unspoiled allure, and then the van driver wrenched the wheel to the right and stood on the brakes as Omar wedged his legs against the dash in an effort to brace against the impact.

But the pedal felt mushier than usual, and after a token resistance it dropped uselessly to the floorboard with a soft clunk.

The van's high center of gravity and inadvisable speed carried it into a sideways drift, the back end swinging around as its rear wheels lost traction in a slow-motion pirouette. The screech of smoking brakes echoed through the canyon as the Mercury rolled to a stop just in time to see the van flipping in a series of cartwheels, drawn inexorably to the precipice.

It smashed into the guardrail and seemed to hesitate for a brief eternity before executing its final somersault into the void. The fireball that followed its drop to the distant rocks could be seen as far away as Malibu, and by the time the shaken driver in the Mercury had stopped her car and was digging in her purse for her cell phone, a local squad car was already wending its way up the hill from town, lights flashing and siren keening as the pregnant clouds finally let loose their deluge with a rumble.