Chương 11
I rubbed my face.
“Right.”
“So you have the dog.”
“Yes.”
Priya sighed.
“That’s cruel.”
The word made me uncomfortable.
“Complicated.”
“No.”
“Families are complicated.”
“Cruise bookings are not.”
I almost laughed.
Priya continued.
“You either have a reservation or you don’t.”
“They’re paying me back.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“I know.”
“Did they tell you before they left?”
I looked at Buddy.
“No.”
Priya swore softly.
“That’s cruel.”
This time I did not correct her.
We talked another minute about the walk-in.
Then she told me to stay off email and hung up before I could object.
The apartment became quiet again.
I tried watching television.
Buddy climbed onto the couch without permission, circled twice, and fell asleep with his head on my thigh.
At eleven sixteen, someone knocked.
I checked the door camera.
Evan stood in the hallway.
He wore the same gray sweatshirt from my parents’ security footage.
I stayed seated for a second.
Then he knocked again.
Buddy lifted his head and growled.
That surprised me.
Buddy loved almost everyone.
I stood.
“Easy.”
His growl stopped, but he remained alert.
I opened the door with the chain still latched.
Evan looked tired.
“Hey.”
“How did you know where I live?”
“Kyle.”
Of course.
“What do you want?”
He glanced down the hallway.
“Can I come in?”
“No.”
His mouth tightened.
“I just want to talk.”
“We can talk here.”
“Man, don’t make this weird.”
I almost laughed.
“Interesting choice of sentence.”
He looked at the chain.
“Seriously?”
“You entered my parents’ backyard before sunrise and took something Kyle won’t identify.”
“It wasn’t from your parents.”
“Then we’re doing great already.”
Evan lowered his voice.
“I need the shoe.”
For a second, I did not connect the words.
Then I did.
“The cream flat?”
He nodded.
I leaned against the doorframe.
“Whose is it?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It mattered enough for you to come to my apartment.”
“I saw it in the yard after I left.”
“You saw it?”
“On the camera.”
“You have access to their camera app?”
He hesitated.
That was answer enough.
“Kyle gave you that too?”
“Look, Daniel.”
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
Most people who knew my family called me Dan.
Hearing my full name from him felt rehearsed.
I opened the door another inch, still keeping the chain attached.
“What did you take from the patio bench?”
Evan looked past me toward the apartment.
Buddy stood behind my leg.
“A box.”
“What kind of box?”
“Small.”
“I saw that.”
“It belongs to Kyle.”
“What’s in it?”
“That’s his business.”
“Then why do you need the shoe?”
He rubbed his jaw.
“I don’t need it.”
“You just said you did.”
“I need you to give it back.”
“To whom?”
He looked toward the elevator.
That was the second time his eyes left mine.
Somebody was making him nervous.
“Evan.”
“Can you just not turn this into something?”
There it was again.
The family phrase, passed around like a membership card.
“Who taught all of you that sentence?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I looked down the hall.
“No one is here.”
“I know.”
“You keep checking.”
He shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pockets.
“I don’t want neighbors hearing.”
“They’re not listening.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You came to my building.”
“Because Kyle said you took the shoe.”
“I took it from Buddy.”
“Whatever.”
I studied him.
He was not angry.
He was scared.
Not terrified.
Not shaking.
Just carrying the tight, distracted fear of somebody involved in a problem that had grown beyond the original plan.
“What is in the box?”
He swallowed.
“Jewelry.”
I waited.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Whose?”
“Kyle’s.”
I almost smiled.
“Kyle owns jewelry he stores in his parents’ patio bench?”
Evan’s expression shifted.
“It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t think anything yet.”
“Good.”
“That isn’t reassurance.”
He took one step closer.
Buddy growled again.
Evan stopped.
“Can you just give me the shoe?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you still haven’t told me whose it is.”
He looked down.
For three or four seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he said, “Sabrina’s.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“Who’s Sabrina?”
“Kyle’s friend.”
“What kind of friend?”
Evan looked irritated.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because her shoe is in my parents’ yard and you’re trying to recover it while Kyle is on a cruise.”
“He’s not doing anything with her.”
“I didn’t say he was.”
Evan rubbed his forehead.
“This is why nobody tells you stuff.”
That one surprised me.
I stared at him.
He seemed to realize what he had said a second too late.
“What stuff?”
“Nothing.”
“No.”
I opened the door as far as the chain allowed.
“You don’t get to use that sentence and then say nothing.”
He looked toward the elevator again.
“Forget it.”
“What stuff?”
“Kyle said you always judge him.”
“I barely know what Kyle does.”
“Exactly.”
“That makes no sense.”
“He thinks you look down on him.”
I laughed once.
“I’m the family embarrassment.”
“Not to him.”
That stopped me.
Evan’s face changed slightly when he saw it land.
“What does that mean?”
He sighed.
“Can I please come inside?”
I considered it.
Then I closed the door, removed the chain, and opened it again.
“Five minutes.”
He stepped in.
Buddy moved between us and sniffed his shoes.
Evan held still until Buddy lost interest.
I pointed toward the kitchen.
“No wandering.”
“Fine.”
He sat on one of the stools.
I remained standing.
“Who’s Sabrina?”
“She works with Kyle.”
“At what?”
Evan gave me a look.
“Come on.”
“I’m serious.”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
He leaned back.
“Your brother sells stuff online.”
“I know.”
“Not jackets.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does he sell?”
Evan rubbed his hands together.
“Designer accessories.”
“That sounds vague on purpose.”
“Bags, watches, jewelry.”
“Are they his?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“He connects people.”
“With what?”
“Buyers.”
I stared at him.
The small box.
The backyard.
The secrecy.
Nothing was illegal yet.
May you like
Nothing even necessarily improper.
But the shape of it was getting worse.
