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“Okay, let's try this another way. How much money do you have saved, including what you have access to in credit?” He waited, as if I’d give him a tally of my net worth, just because he asked.
I crossed my arms. “That is none of your business.” I wasn’t telling him my finances were in negative digits, that I’d need a gallon of red paint in order to sum up my accounts. Scrubbing his toilets was degrading enough for one day.
“Suppose I’m the thief you suspect—would a couple of hundred thousand cover your situation, with a little padding to boot?”
I was on the quiet side, but I wasn’t typically rendered speechless.A couple hundred thousand?I was lucky to have fifty dollars in my wallet. That kind of money would pay off my student debt and cover rent without fighting the raise.
“I guess that would work. Why?” I asked, leaning an elbow on the nearby shelf, as if I were completely cool in the face of that kind of money. In reality, I needed help holding me up in case he actually produced it.
“Stay here.” He walked out, leaving the door open.
I scanned the room, looking at all the filing cabinets, wondering what was in them. How long would he be gone? Most likely not long enough, even though my fingers itched to dig in.
He walked back in and held out one of those reusable shopping bags. It was filled with cash. Wads of twenty-dollar bills.
“Take it.”
I forced myself to grab it, almost expecting a trap if I dared touch it.
“You can hold on to that until you’re sure you haven’t been ripped off.” He waved a hand to the empty chair in front of the computer.
I took a seat, resting the bag of cash against my leg. He was standing behind me and I glanced up. He shook his head, as if my untrusting nature was merely amusing to him. He could laugh all he wanted, but I wasn’t typing anything until he moved. He walked over to the shelves and leaned there.
I typed the login to one of my credit cards. If he was a scammer, and he was trying to steal my information somehow, the credit card company would fight the charges for me. I only had a total of fifty dollars left of credit anyway.
No known user.
What? I retyped it more carefully, making sure I didn’t screw it up, and hit enter again.
No known user.
My hand shook slightly. This time I tried my bank account.
User not found.
No. This wasn’t possible. I tried the utility company, then the cable. Again and again, user didn’t exist.Ididn’t exist. I switched to my social media accounts. Even they were gone.
“Before you try to come up with some grand plan on how I hacked all your accounts, it wasn’t me. Your existence began disappearing as soon as you walked into the outpost.”
I didn’t say anything, didn’t look at him, but typed a few more things into the computer, random accounts on stupid sites that most people wouldn’t think of, especially if they were trying to scam me. I existed on none of them. Even my obscure reading group account was gone. How was this possible?
I leaned back, staring at the computer and then finally dragging my eyes to him. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be a tinker and do whatever it is you people do. I want my life back, and I’m not going to stay here.” It wasn’t a plea. It was the way things were going to be.
“Maybe you should’ve taken that up with Gram before she made that reservation. There are certain things that, once they are put in motion, can’t be undone.” He shrugged, as if none of my words mattered.“Take as much time as you need,” he said before he walked out, as if he’d sensed I wouldn’t let it go that easy.
He left.
I thought up some more sites to check.
Chapter Eight
Ipulled my phone out again, trying to get a signal. It was my fiftieth attempt today. Walking the hall, I held it out like an old guy combing the beach with a metal detector.
“That’s not going to work here,” Cookie said from the couch, where she was watchingFriends. Dice was on the other couch watching too. Connor was in the chair, nose-deep in a car magazine.
“Is there anywhere I can get service in this place?” I didn’t give up, going up on my tiptoes every few feet. I’d been gone all day. My mother might not notice my disappearance, but Johnny would, especially when he couldn’t get a call through.
“Getting things from Topside to work here is a real mess. Why do you think we’re watching DVDs? We’re too cheap for cable or something?” Cookie asked, making the guys laugh.
