My legs feel even weaker now as I make my way back to the couch, where a phone sits on one of the side tables. When I pick up the receiver, I notice how much my fingers are trembling. I start pushing, 9, then 1, then I start shaking more. Gabe's earlier words come back to me. The way he interrogated me. It scared me. I left the scene of a murder.
Oh God. I left the scene of a murder!
Not that I was anywhere close to being in my right mind, but I can already see how the cops will look at it.So you left with a complete stranger? God help me, I did. I didn't even fight him. What the hell is wrong with me?
I can't go to jail. I can't leave Mom. And a lawyer? I don't even know how I'm going to pay for Pete's funeral, let alone a lawyer… Pete's funeral. I start shaking all over again. Gabe mentioned Pete's life insurance, but I'm still too distraught to really think about anything other than the emotions racing through me.
"I don't think we can," I admit in a low, broken voice, dropping the receiver back into its cradle.
"Why not?" she snaps, turning to me. "For the last time, who is that man, Audra?"
I glance toward the open space where Gabe disappeared earlier. "His name is Gabriel D'Amato, that's all I know." It sounds ridiculous even as I say it.
"Oh," is all mom says.
Everyone in Vegas knows the name. You can't live in the city and not. I shake my head and press my fingers against my temple. "I know."
Silence stretches. Before I can say anything else, there's movement behind us. Heavy footsteps. My heart threatens to jump out of my chest as I turn and watch three men enter the living room. For a second, my brain refuses to process what I'm seeing.
Two carriers, a cat in each of them. My mom's cats. Wide-eyed with indignant meowing.
"Oh my God," Mom gasps, pushing herself up. "Mittens!" Her entire energy shifts instantly as she rushes forward. "Mr. Fluffball!"
"Careful," one of the men mutters, setting the carrier in his hand down like it might explode. All three men look like they've been through the wringer. Ugly scratches move up and down their arms, and one sports an ugly gash on his face.
The third man drops two duffel bags on the floor. "Clothes," he announces curtly.
I stare at them. At the bags. At the cats. Processing the fact that someone went into our house. Packed our things. Brought them here. Without asking. Without permission. A cold realization settles in my chest. This isn't help. This is control. I look toward the hallway again. Toward where Gabe disappeared. A different kind of fear creeps in. Who is this man? What does he want from us? Me? Why was he there?
The arrival of two more men rips me from my dark thoughts.
"Where do you want this, ma'am?" one asks, holding the cat litter box as far away from him as possible, his head turned so he doesn't have to breathe in the foul odor coming from it.
"Here, here." Astonishingly spry, Mom hops ahead of the men toward the bedroom she must have been using last night.
I should follow, but suddenly I feel so incredibly tired that my body won't obey me and get off the couch.
"Mr. D'Amato asked me to give you this, ma'am." One of the men holds out a shiny object. My phone!
I don't question where Gabe, or the men, got it from. I'm just grateful I have it back. The screen has a small scratch, but it's just the screen protector, fixable. I almost laugh. If only everything were that fixable.
As if on cue, it starts ringing. With growing dread, I stare at the chipped screen. A name, innocent enough, pops up, Kelly. The lump in my stomach grows to the size of a boulder. My mother-in-law. I don't want to answer. I really don't. But I know I have to.
"H—hello?" My voice squeaks.
"Audra? Oh my God, Audra?"
"Yes," I whisper.
Silence reigns on the other end. I hear her heavy breathing. I suppress a sob, and tears escape my eyes, rolling down my cheeks.
"The police called me, Audra… they said… they said Pete is d—dead?"
Dead. How I hate that word.
"I'm so sorry, Kelly. Yes. He… they killed him."
"Who arethey?" My mother-in-law screams. "Audra, who arethey? What in God's name happened?"
