It was like standing onstage.
The house was full. Lights blazed down from the batten.
And I, the one-man show, had forgotten every word of my soliloquy.
“Sebastian?” The crunch of shoes on frozen ice and snow paused to my left.
I raised my head, took a deep breath, pushed my sunglasses up my nose, and glanced at the open alleyway.
Neil had entered. He continued forward, each step echoing through the enclosed space. He stopped beside me, tugged his trousers up a bit, and crouched against the wall in a similar fashion. He didn’t say anything.
“Helaughed,” I whispered. My lower lip wouldn’t stop quivering. “The Collector….” I shook my head, took my sunglasses off, and passed a hand over my face.
“I talked to Max,” Neil said after a lengthy span of silence. “On a hunch.”
“What hunch?” I whispered.
“The Collector texted Beth.” Neil shifted and removed his own cell. “Max confirmed receiving the same message as her from Calvin.” He offered his phone.
I put my glasses on, hesitated, and took it. “What?”
“Look,” Neil murmured, nodding his chin at the device.
I brought the screen close and squinted.
Sender: Calvin Winter (Det.)
Back off.
I turned my head to Neil. “When did you get this?”
“9:11 a.m.” He took the phone back. “Same as Max and Beth.”
I knitted my brows together. “What does it mean?”
Neil tucked the phone into his pocket. “It means… this Collector is aware ofwhoin Calvin’s list of contacts is considered a personal relation to both of you.” He stared at me once more. “Quinn got the same message as me.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Calvin’s address book is exhaustive. Beat cops, administrators, crime-scene crews, lab technicians, medical examiners—”
“I called your father,” Neil said, stopping me.
“You what?”
Neil was grimacing. “William received the same text.” He finished very quietly with “Like Max and Beth.”
I quickly pushed to my feet.
Neil stood too. “Sebastian—”
“No,” I said, louder for those in the goddamn back. “This is… it’sinsane, Neil. The possibility of some batshit crazy motherfucker out there who—who’s kidnapped my fiancé off the streets of New York City as if he were some drifter, never to be missed.”
Neil looked down at the ground.
“And now they’ve sent threats and warnings to the closest people in my life?” I jabbed Neil hard in the chest. “Threats that if I don’t do this alone, if I seek police assistance like any rational citizen would, Calvin will… what?Die?”
“Seb.”
“Do you understandwhyI might not want to accept this as gospel?” I said, poking him harder as hot tears blurred my vision once more.
