by John Rector
“I’m parked up here,” I said. “It’s not far.”
She nodded, walked faster.
When we got to the car, I opened the passenger door, and Abby slid in without a word. I went around to the driver’s side, then stopped and scanned the street. The black SUV was gone, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching us. I stood by the car, searching, but eventually I gave up and climbed in.
Abby was tucked down in the passenger seat. She wasn’t crying anymore, and that was good, but she also wasn’t talking, and that worried me.
“You doing okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” She had her arms folded gently over her chest, and she didn’t look at me as she spoke. “Can we get away from here, please?”
I started the engine.
Five minutes later we were on the highway heading south to Kara’s house. I took the cell phone from my pocket and tried calling her one more time, but once again there was no answer.
When I hung up, I saw that Abby was crying.
“Hey,” I said. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Will we?”
“Of course,” I said. “We’ll get out of this, find someplace safe. It’ll be okay.”
Abby nodded, looked away.
“We’ll work it out, I promise.”
“I just don’t understand.” She ran her fingers under her eyes, then wiped them on her jeans. “I’ve never done anything to that woman. Why would she send those men to my house? Why would she have them . . . ?”
Her voice cracked and she turned away, staring out at the city lights passing outside her window. She didn’t say anything else, and for a long time we drove in silence.
I didn’t mind.
There was nothing I could say to her that would make her feel better, and I had other things to think about.
What was I going to say to Kara?
Keeping her out of this was no longer an option. They knew who she was. They’d threatened her directly, and she deserved to know what was going on. I had to tell her the truth about everything, even if it meant killing what little trust she had left in me.
I couldn’t see any other choice.
As I drove I went over everything that’d happened at Abby’s house. I tried to make sense of it, but the more I thought about it, the more confused I felt.
Nothing added up, and I knew something was wrong.
I looked over at Abby. She was leaning against the passenger door with her eyes closed, but I didn’t think she was sleeping.
“Why didn’t they take the money?”
Abby opened her eyes slowly. “What?”
“There’s twenty thousand dollars in that envelope,” I said. “Why didn’t they take it?”
She sat up, stretched. “Why does it matter?”
“Because it doesn’t fit,” I said. “Nobody hands over that kind of cash. I don’t care who you are.”
“I really don’t know.”
“Me neither,” I said. “But it makes me wonder.”
“About what?”
I paused. “About what’s on that flash drive.”
15
Kara lived on the outskirts of Ponca Hills in the house we bought together. I hadn’t been back since the separation, and when I pulled up out front the memories of our time there came flooding in.
I parked along the sidewalk, then leaned over to look up at the house. Kara’s car wasn’t in the driveway, and the windows were dark.
“Is this it?” Abby asked.
I told her it was, then shut off the engine and opened the door. The overhead light came on, bright, and I reached up and shut it off.
“I’ll be right back. This shouldn’t take long.”
Abby sat up. “I’m coming, too.”
Before I could argue, she opened the passenger door and got out. I watched her take a pink hair tie from her pocket and pull her hair into a ponytail.
She leaned into the car. “You don’t mind, right?”
I frowned, got out of the car, and walked around to the sidewalk. I tried to think of a way to get her to stay, but I couldn’t, and I didn’t think it would matter anyway.
She was coming.
Showing up at Kara’s unannounced was one thing. Showing up unannounced with a young blonde was completely different, and I didn’t see any way that it would end well. Then again, considering what I had to tell her, I didn’t think anything could make the situation worse.
“If you’re going to come along, don’t say anything. Let me do the talking.”
“Fine, as long as I’m not out here alone.”
I told her I understood, and it was the truth. After everything she’d been through, I didn’t blame her.
Kara’s house—our house—was a two-story brick Tudor that was framed with juniper bushes and a tall wooden fence surrounding the backyard. There was a stone stepping path leading to the front of the house, and as we walked along it, I glanced up at the arched window on the second level.
At one time that’d been my office, and it was where I’d done most of my work. I’d had a desk at the Tribune, but everything that mattered had been done in that one room behind that black window.
When we got to the front door, I reached out and rang the bell.
Abby straightened herself and brushed her hands over the front of her shirt. She took a deep breath and let it out slow, then looked at me and tried to smile.
“You’re fine,” I said. “Just let me talk to her.”
“What do you think she’s going to say?”
“No idea.”
I knew exactly what Kara was going to say, but I kept that to myself. Abby had been through enough, and I didn’t see any reason to worry her more.
Except no one answered.
I rang the bell again.
Abby moved to the window and tried to see inside. “I don’t think she’s home.”
“I’ll go around back and check the door,” I said. “Wait here. I’ll be—”
Abby moved first, cutting in front of me and walking around to the wooden fence alongside of the house.
I shook my head and followed.
We stopped at the gate, and I flipped the metal latch and pushed it open. We went through and followed another stone stepping path around to the backyard.
Abby went up the porch steps to the door.
“It’s locked.”
I stayed in the yard and looked around. There was a bed of river rocks bordering the porch, and I scraped my foot across the surface, moving the rocks, searching. When I found the one I was looking for, I picked it up.
“What are you doing?”
There was a plastic plug on the bottom of the rock. I pulled it out and shook the rock over my hand. A silver key dropped into my palm.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked. “If she’s not home, we should wait and try calling again.”
I went up the steps to the back door and slid the key into the lock. It turned, and I pushed the door open.
The house was quiet.
“Kara?”
There was no answer.
I replaced the key in the false rock and tossed it over the side of the porch.
“Nick, are you sure about this?”
I told her that it was fine, then pushed the door the rest of the way open.
“Anyone home?”
The back door opened into a mudroom just off the kitchen. I moved slowly, listening, but the only sounds I heard were the low breath of the furnace fan and the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock.
“We shouldn’t be in here.”
“I’m going to look around,” I said. “You can wait in the car if you like.”
Abby exhaled loud and stepped inside. I could tell she wanted to say more, but to he
r credit she didn’t.
I walked the rest of the way through the kitchen and out into the dining room and the living room beyond. This was the first time I’d been in the house since I’d moved out, and the familiarity of it was hard. Some of the furniture had been moved, and there were a few new photographs on the mantel above the fireplace, but other than that it was all exactly how I remembered.
I let the memories fill me.
“I don’t like this,” Abby said. “We should go.”
“In a minute.”
I crossed the living room toward the open arch leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom. I went through them one by one before stopping in the bedroom.
It was hard to stay focused.
Kara and I had been separated for a while, but part of me still thought of this place as home. Except it wasn’t. This was Kara’s house.
“Nick, we really shouldn’t—”
“I know.” My voice came out harsher than I’d intended, and Abby took a step back. I saw a flash of fear on her face, and I held up my hands. “Just give me a minute.”
“Okay,” she said. “But we’re in your ex-wife’s house, and she’s not here. That’s bad.”
“She’s not my ex-wife,” I said. “We’re separated.”
“That doesn’t make it any better.”
I felt another twinge of anger, but it faded.
She was right. This was bad, but I didn’t care. After everything that’d happened, I wasn’t leaving until I knew that her house was safe.
“I’m going to check upstairs.”
“Wait, Nick—”
“They were in my apartment last night and I didn’t know it,” I said. “I’m not leaving here until I’ve looked around.”
“But—”
“You wanted to come along,” I said. “This is what I’m doing. If you’re uncomfortable, wait in the car.”
Abby didn’t say anything else. She just stood there, staring at me with her mouth open as if I’d slapped her.
“I’m going to check the rest of the house.”
I turned and started for the stairs.
“If you really want to help her, we need to talk to Patricia.”
“Talk to Patricia?”
“It’s the only way we’re going to get out of this.”
“I’m not talking to anyone,” I said. “I’m going to tell Kara what happened and convince her to leave with me.”
“You told him you’d fix this.”
“I told him what he wanted to hear to keep them from killing us both,” I said. “I don’t know what was supposed to be on that flash drive, but considering what he was willing to do to get it, I don’t want any part of it.”
Abby stared at me. “They’ll kill you.”
“We’ll see.”
“What are you going to do?”
I stood there for a moment and thought about my answer. I didn’t know what I was going to do, not until I talked to Kara. Until then it was one step at a time.
“Right now?” I motioned toward the stairs leading to the second floor. “I’m going to check upstairs.”
Abby didn’t say anything else.
I turned away, but then I heard footsteps on the porch and the delicate chime of keys in the lock.
I stopped, and everything inside me went cold.
Abby’s eyes were wide. She ran to where I was standing and grabbed my arm. “We have to go.”
I pulled my arm away, waited.
The door opened, and Kara stepped inside, her silhouette filling the doorway. I knew I should say something to warn her, but before I could she reached out and flipped the light switch.
It was too late.
16
What the hell is this?”
Kara stood in the doorway. I moved toward her.
“You didn’t answer your phone,” I said. “I—”
“Did you break into my house?”
“We need to talk,” I said. “This is important.”
Kara stared at me, and I could feel the tension building in the room. I tried to think of something to say, but then Kara looked past me toward Abby.
“Who is this?”
“This is Abigail Pierce,” I said. “She’s involved.”
“Involved?”
Kara closed her eyes, then pressed her hands together in front of her mouth, as if in prayer. When she spoke next, her voice was a whisper.
“Nick?”
I stepped closer. “Yeah?”
“Get out of my house.”
“Kara—”
“Get out.” She opened her eyes, stared at me. “Now.”
I didn’t move.
“I mean it, Nick.”
“I can’t,” I said. “We need to talk.”
“Do I need to call the cops?”
I turned to Abby. “Will you give us a minute?”
Abby nodded and started for the kitchen.
“Wrong way, sweetheart.” Kara moved away from the front door, clearing a path. “Out, both of you.”
“I’m not leaving until you hear what I have to say.”
“And what’s that, Nick?” She folded her arms over her chest. “Are you going to ask me to run away with you again, or are you going to explain why you and Bubbles here broke into my house?”
“You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t care. There’s a difference.” She waved a hand in the air between us. “This—you being here—is not acceptable.”
“I can explain if you’d listen to me.”
“There’s nothing you can say to me that I haven’t heard from you before.”
“You might be surprised.”
Kara stopped talking, shook her head. “I can’t believe you broke into my house. This is low, Nick, even for you.”
The tone of her voice was harsh, and I could feel the frustration building inside me. I tried to push it away, but it didn’t work.
“My name is still on the goddamn title, Kara.”
“You’re right,” she said. “Maybe that’s something we should talk about.”
Abby inched forward and motioned toward the front door. “I think I’ll wait out on the porch.”
“Not just you,” Kara said, never taking her eyes off me. “I want you both gone now, or the next time you and I talk about anything it’ll be through a lawyer.”
For a moment we just stared at each other, and neither of us moved.
Abby slipped between us and walked outside.
Once she was gone, Kara shook her head.
“Is this what you’re doing now?”
“What’s that?”
“I won’t run away to Mexico with you, so you bring a child to my house?”
“She’s not a child.”
“You’re a little young for a midlife crisis, so what exactly are you trying to prove?”
I felt my muscles get tight, and I stepped closer.
Kara backed up against the wall. “Don’t touch me, Nick.”
I didn’t touch her, but I didn’t let her move, either. I understood why she was angry, but this had gone on long enough. I pressed my hands against the wall on either side of her head and leaned in.
“Someone wanted to kill the two of us tonight, and they almost did.”
Kara watched me as I spoke, silent.
“I talked my way out of it, but now they want me to do something for them that I don’t want to do. And if I don’t do it, they’re going to come back, and this time I won’t be able to talk my way out of it.”
Kara’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do, Nick?”
I took a deep breath, exhaled slow. “I pretended to be someone else.”
“What?”
“It’s not important right now,” I sa
id. “I’m here because they broke into my apartment last night, and now they know about you.”
I saw a flash of fear pass over Kara’s face, but then it was gone as quickly as it’d come.
“Jesus.”
She put her hands on my chest and tried to push me away, but I didn’t move.
“I want you to stay at Charlie’s tonight.”
“Absolutely not.”
“It’s not safe here,” I said. “At least if you’re there I’ll know you’re okay.”
Kara smiled, then reached up and touched the side of my face with her fingertips. She moved them slowly across my cheek to my lips, then leaned in and whispered.
“I don’t care what you want,” she said, her breath warm on my skin. “Now get the fuck out of my house.”
We drove for a long time, and Abby didn’t say a word until we were far away from Kara’s place.
That was a good thing.
I needed time, and Abby somehow understood.
It wasn’t until we were back on the highway, where the only sounds were the low drone of the engine and the wind passing outside, that I started to relax.
I hated the idea of leaving Kara alone, but she didn’t want my help, and there was nothing I could do to change her mind. I didn’t blame her, either. Everything I touched fell apart, and no one knew that better than her.
Still, I wasn’t ready to give up.
I’d bought some time with Victor, and I could try talking to Kara again in the morning after she’d had a chance to calm down. If I told her everything that’d happened, and if she saw the danger she was in, maybe she’d change her mind about leaving.
“Are you taking me home?”
I glanced over at Abby in the passenger seat. “Is that where you want to go?”
She shook her head. “No.”
I checked my watch. It was late, and my options were limited.
“I can find you a hotel.” I paused. “Or you can stay at my place. It’s small, but the couch is comfortable.”
“You don’t mind?”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about her staying with me, but I kept that to myself.
“No,” I said. “I don’t mind.”
Abby smiled and eased back in the seat. She was quiet for a while. Then she turned to me and said, “I’m sorry about your wife. That could’ve gone better.”