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For the crime of being the chosen one.
29
Be
Bear sat at her feet, swishing his tail against the floor, in sheer delight that he’d been freed from the basement, even if his mistress had lost her marbles. Be
“Be
“I’m okay. I’m fine.” Be
“What happened? Why did you run like that?”
“I don’t know.”
“You weren’t being chased.”
“I know. I had to get away.”
“Be
“Sorry.” She tried to think, but her brain was too tired. The phone hadn’t rung, or she hadn’t heard it. “Did I blow it? Did Alice see you?”
“No. No. I let you run on, I knew where you were going. You are so quick, woman. You haul ass!”
Be
“I don’t think I was seen.”
“Did you see her?”
“No.”
“Have you seen her at all?”
“No, but she’s there. Bet on it. This is when it matters, at night. If she makes any move on you, it’ll be after dark.”
“I don’t know, David.” Be
“Why? What do you mean?”
“How long can we do this? Maybe she’s not even there. Maybe this whole thing is crazy. I should just give up. I have so much to do.”
“Be
“No, I have calls to make. I should call the office. See if DiNunzio called in.”
“Forget about work now.”
“I should call Julien, the St. Amiens. I said I’d call if I had anything new to report.”
“Forget it for now. It can wait until the morning.”
“We got the case back again.”
“That’s nice, dear. Now, no more shop talk. Can you turn it off?”
“I should call Carrier and Murphy, and tell them to follow up on Linette. I should call Sam and tell him I’m back in business on the class action.”
“Linette can wait. Sam can wait. Everything can wait. For now, just rest. Don’t think. Breathe.”
“I am.”
“No phone calls. No work. No nothing. You need to get calm.”
“I know.”
“Nothing works if you fall apart, does it?”
“No.”
“’Ain’t nobody happy when Mama ain’t happy.’”
“Huh?”
“You never heard that?”
“No.”
“The gist is, we have to take care of you now. You don’t have any food in the house, do you?”
Be
“Any booze?”
“Does Gatorade count?”
“Only original flavor. The blue sucks.”
Be
“Get yourself something to drink. Water, at least.”
Her mouth did feel parched. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. She’d left the Palm doggie bag in the office refrigerator.
“Go now. Take the phone with you. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” Be
“I’m out back. I checked your alley, your backdoor, and back windows. Everything looks fine. I like your new bars, in the back.”
“Do you have your water yet?”
“Coming, Mother.” Be
“What happened with the cops? And before that, at the St. Amiens? But first, drink.”
So Be
By the end of the conversation, her breathing had returned to normal and her clothes felt dry. She was feeling so good and calm inside. It had been such a long time since she’d had a man in her life that even one on a cell phone could give comfort. It had been a long time since she’d even been in the company of a man. Heard a deeper voice in her ear. Considered a different way of looking at the world. Had someone agree with her, and more important, disagree.
“David?” she blurted out, right when he was in the middle of a sentence.
“Yes?”
But she couldn’t say more. She didn’t know what she wanted to say. Okay, maybe she did. She just didn’t know how to say it.
“What?” he asked, waiting.
She let it pass. “Where are you now?”
“Watching your house. From the front now.”
“What’s going on out there?”
“It’s dark out, and people are finishing di
Be
“And your neighbor on the other side is practicing his guitar, in front of the window. He’s pretty good. It’s classical, but it’s slow. Nice. Can you hear that, too?”
Be
“People are walking their dogs. Somebody has a yellow lab out here, with a red banda