Chapter 10

"Holy hell! You never said we we're going in a private jet!"

Madison looked at Richie and then back at the plane in awe. They had just gotten through the private check in and security area and was about to make their way to the plane.

"I thought you said Jon 'booked' an early flight. Why would he have to do that if it's a private flight? I mean, he could have easily arranged for a more convenient time, right?"

That morning had been a mad dash to get ready as the girls had overslept, wiped out from the activities of the long day and night before. The hadn't had enough time for even a cup of coffee and hoped that meal service would be the first thing on the flight crew's itinerary.

"I told you, just to piss me off," Richie grinned.

The girls were looking at them with questions in their eyes so Madison let the subject drop.

Walking into the luxury craft, Madison gaped at the plush interiors. She let her fingers travel over the fine leather of the seats as she passed them and noted the polished wood accents as well as the thick carpeting underfoot.

She let Richie lead her to a window seat. He sat down next to her and explained that this side of the plane had the better view.

"Better view? I though we were flying over an ocean."

"Uh huh, but the ocean is bluer on this side."

Madison rolled her eyes but smiled at him. "You're a nut."

"Thank you. Considering my treatment by my so called friends, that's one of the nicest things said to me in the past few days."

"Why would they not treat you nicely?"

"Because." he smiled smugly, "I know a secret and I'm not telling."

"Really? That's a coincidence. I've been trying to figure out a secret, too."

"What kind of secret?"

Madison rummaged through her purse and pulled out the pendant.

*****

The take off went without a hitch and people were moving about the plane trying to find a more comfortable position. Most were content to find a place where they could stretch out and relax, which is what Jon did.

Drinks and a light snack were served and Madison sighed in contentment at her first sip of coffee that day. Everyone settled in for the long flight, either listening to their iPods or the droning of the plane's engines.

Joanna, Kris and Patti found themselves in the midst of a poker game with the band and crew.

"What are the stakes?" Kris was more curious than worried.

"That depends on whether we win or lose." David grinned evilly.

"What do you mean 'we'? Aren't we all playing for ourselves?"

"Our plane, our rules. It's the band versus the crew, versus you girls. The stakes are pretty high, ladies. Don't let your guards down for a minute." A waggle of eyebrows accompanied his evil grin this time.

"You're on, Shir.........er, David!" Kris had caught herself but not, apparently, in time. Joanna's eyes went wide and Patti studied the cuticles on her fingernails, a blush slowly creeping up her face.

David's jaw dropped and he jumped up from his seat pointing wildly at Kris. "You were gonna call me 'Shirley', weren't you?!"

Kris was mortified and wondered just how much David knew. When she saw Richie in his seat, shaking while trying to hold back his laughter, she had a pretty good idea who knew what.

David's remark was bad enough, but now she wished they were flying over the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe an alien abduction would take their minds off this.

Jon and the rest of the guys were watching curiously waiting for some kind of explanation.

It didn't come.

"Ummm...it's just that I always play poker with my friend Shirley.....just habit, I guess," she offered lamely.

"Nice job," Joanna muttered, shuffling her cards around.

"Shut up."

David eyed them suspiciously but let it go for now.

Madison looked over at Richie who was sitting there with a big satisfied grin. At her questioning look he told her, "I'll let you in on it later."

*****

The card game was under way again and Richie and Madison were looking over the pendant, Richie using this as an excuse to lean in close to her.

This did not go unnoticed by the women and Kris smiled as she nudged Joanna and Patti. Patti grinned back at her and Joanna just shrugged.

On the far side, the sisters sat sipping their martinis.

"Looks like you've got quite a challenge ahead of you, sister dear," Lindsey smirked in satisfaction. "I'd like to see how you're going to pull this one off."

"Shut the fuck up and worry about your own conquest. Aren't you the one who's always bragging that you could get Jon to forget who Dorothea is?"

*****

"Looks like something my daughter used to scrawl when she was two." Richie was trying to make some sense of the writing. "Either that or it's Jon's handwriting." Jon flipped him off without even looking up from his reading. He had borrowed Madison's book and was engrossed in it, forgetting some important calls he was supposed to be making.

They were studying the inscription on the pendant. "I think it's Latin and so does a friend of mine. It's just that the etching is so worn that it's hard to see what's on there."

Richie turned the pendant over and over looking at, what was in his mind, the 'scribbles'.

"You know, there are a lot of the same symbols. Maybe it's a code of some kind."

"A lot of the same? How can you tell?" Madison took the pendant from him and tried to study it in the light of the sun filtering in from the windows. "I don't see it. Where exactly are you looking?"

"Right there.'" Richie pointed. By the way the inscription was etched in, it was obvious that something should have been there but Madison still could not see it.

She wondered if Richie was just playing with her but his serious expression told her that he was not.

Deciding that that was enough for now, she changed the subject.

"So, what's the agenda like?"

"In a nutshell? We land, drive to the hotel, we eat, we sleep, get up, go to sound check, give a concert, go back to the hotel, sleep, get up, get ready to check out and..."

"Rinse and repeat?"

"Exactly." He smiled ruefully. "Life as a rock star isn't as glamorous as some may think."

"I'll trade you," she smirked. Thinking ahead to the upcoming school year, she was not looking forward to the first few days. Trying to calm twenty screaming three year olds, crying for their mommies, was taxing on anyone's nerves.

"Sweetheart, if you learn to play the guitar and take my place on the stage, I'll substitute for you any day. My daughter is ten, but she was three once and I handled her just fine. I can deal with a bunch of three year olds."

"How about twenty of them?"

Richie eyed her warily. "Twenty?"

"Yup, twenty."

"Darlin', for twenty of them you'd better learn how to play the talk box and sing backup as well."

"Huh...like that will ever happen. My musical repertoire consists of the ABC Song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

"No fair!" David piped up, "they're the same tunes."

"Not when they're sung by a three year old," countered Madison.

"She's right, you know," Jon laughed, as he recalled the many times that Romeo, his own toddler, had sung through an entire song before Jon figured out what it was.

He was taking a breather from reading and Madison leaned over Richie and handed the pendant to Jon. "My friend thinks there's some sort of clue in that book about this pendant. Do you think you can figure it out?"

Jon took the pendant and studied it. "Just give me some time. I'm good at stuff like this." As he ran his thumb over the inscription, something about it caught his attention and he rapidly began flipping through the pages.