Chương 8
That possibility had not occurred to her.
I walked toward the kitchen window.
Outside, one of the neighbors was taking down a folding table.
A police car was gone.
Marcus was gone.
The street was already trying to become ordinary again.
My phone rang in my jacket pocket.
I pulled it out.
Daniel’s name appeared on the screen.
My stomach tightened.
Rachel saw it.
“Did Lily call him?”
“I don’t know.”
I answered.
“Hey.”
“What happened?”
No hello.
No accusation.
Just the careful voice he used when something involved Lily.
“She’s okay.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
I closed my eyes.
“She saw an altercation.”
“With Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Was she hurt?”
“No.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
A pause.
“Claire.”
“I’m fine.”
“That usually means you’re not.”
Rachel pretended to become extremely interested in the mortgage folder.
“Marcus threatened me and grabbed me.”
Daniel went silent.
“He did what?”
“He was arrested.”
Another silence.
This one had weight.
“Lily texted me that you fought him.”
“She saw more than I wanted her to.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I defended myself.”
Daniel exhaled.
“I’m not judging you.”
“You sound like you’re building toward it.”
“I sound like I’m trying not to panic because our daughter sent me a message saying you threw Marcus on the ground and the police took him away.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“That is essentially accurate.”
“Great.”
“I said essentially.”
“Is she with you?”
“In the car.”
“Why is she in the car?”
“Because I’m inside Rachel’s house.”
“Why?”
I glanced at my sister.
Rachel lifted both hands in surrender.
“Longer story.”
“Claire, I need something better than that.”
“You’ll get it.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Are you taking Lily home?”
“Yes.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“Of course.”
I started toward the door.
Daniel stopped me.
“Wait.”
I stopped.
His voice changed.
“Are you safe right now?”
The question landed strangely.
I looked at the gym bag.
“Yes.”
“You hesitated.”
“I’m with Rachel.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
I almost snapped at him.
That old reflex came quickly.
Turn concern into intrusion.
Turn questions into control.
Build the wall before anyone could reach the place behind it.
I had been very good at that once.
“I’m safe,” I said.
“That’s the truth.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll have Lily call you.”
“Claire.”
“What?”
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
I stared at the floor.
“Thanks.”
He hung up.
Rachel looked at me.
“You two still do that.”
“Do what?”
“Talk like every sentence has broken glass underneath it.”
“He was worried.”
“Exactly.”
I ignored her.
The cheap phone buzzed again.
Rachel walked to the bag before I could stop her.
This time she did not remove the phone.
She only looked through the opening.
“What does it say?”
I hated myself for asking.
She read the preview.
MARCUS, CALL ME BEFORE SHE SEES THE PHOTOS.
The room seemed to contract.
Rachel slowly pulled the device out.
“No.”
I held out my hand.
“Give it to me.”
“You just told me not to touch it.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Because someone thinks there are photos involving me.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at the screen.
“It isn’t locked.”
“Don’t open the messages.”
“Why?”
“Because if this becomes evidence, I don’t want us wandering through it and giving Marcus an argument that we changed something.”
Rachel stared at me.
“You think this is criminal.”
“I think I don’t know what it is.”
“That’s your answer for everything today.”
“It’s a useful answer when we don’t know things.”
She handed me the phone.
I held it by the edges.
The message preview remained visible.
The sender was saved under the single letter B.
No photograph appeared on the lock screen.
“Do you have a paper bag?”
Rachel blinked.
“A what?”
“Paper.”
“For a phone?”
“Yes.”
“You carry weird knowledge around.”
“I also know how to make pancakes.”
“You made twelve.”
“You keep bringing that up.”
She found a brown lunch bag in a drawer.
I slid the phone inside without manipulating it further.
Then I folded the top once.
Rachel watched.
“Are you going to call the police?”
“Yes.”
Her face changed immediately.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“If this has nothing to do with today, Marcus will say I went through his things.”
“You didn’t search for the phone.”
“I opened his bag.”
“Because it was sitting on your porch and you recognized something inconsistent about where he said he’d been.”
She shook her head.
“You make everything sound like testimony.”
“I’m trying to keep facts separate from fear.”
“I’m failing at that.”
“I know.”
She bristled.
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
“Well, it was efficient.”
I took my phone out again.
Before I could call, Rachel grabbed my wrist.
Not hard.
Still, my body reacted.
My arm pulled back.
My weight shifted.
Rachel released me instantly.
Her face went white.
“I’m sorry.”
I stepped away.
“No.”
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“I know.”
“You looked at me like—”
“I know.”
She wrapped both arms around herself.
“I’m sorry.”
This time I made myself stand still.
“It wasn’t you.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“It wasn’t supposed to.”
We stayed several feet apart.
A refrigerator compressor hummed behind us.
From outside came the soft thunk of someone closing a car door.
Ordinary sounds.
Useful sounds.
I dialed the police department’s nonemergency number.
After an automated menu and a short wait, I reached a dispatcher.
I explained that officers had just responded to the address, that an arrest had been made, and that we had found a second phone belonging to the arrested person with messages referencing me and unspecified photographs.
The dispatcher did not react dramatically.
She asked whether we were in immediate danger.
I said no.
She told us not to manipulate the device further and said an officer could return to speak with us.
Rachel mouthed, “How long?”
I asked.
May you like
The dispatcher said she could not give a precise time because units were tied up.
That seemed wonderfully normal.
