Page 70 of Rage

“You left your sandwich,” I tell her.

She opens her mouth for a retort, but it doesn’t come. Too polite to close the door in my face.

“Are you Naomi?” I ask.

“Ja.”

“I’m Kate Burkholder. You called me. Why?”

“I … it wasn’t me.”

“I recognize your voice.”

I see her flight instinct kick in. She’s thinking about slamming the door and running. To what end, I have no idea. Judging by the way her hands are shaking, I don’t think she’s thought it through.

“Go away!” she hisses.

“You’re not in any trouble,” I say. “I just want to know why you called.”

“I didn’t mean to call you,” she says. “I have to get back to work.”

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” I set my hand on the door, open it wider, and usher her outside. “Come on out and talk to me.”

When she hesitates, I add, “Naomi, we can do this here nice and easy. Or we can do it at the police station. It’s your call.”

That’s not exactly the way it would go down; I’ve no cause to detain her or take her to the police station. But the implied threat works.

“I don’t know what to do.” Her breathing is elevated, her eyes flicking left and right. She’s spooked, I realize. Frightened. Of me? Or something else?

“Naomi, I’m a police officer,” I say gently. “If you’re in trouble, I can help.”

“I don’t need any help.” She struggles with the words, then squeezes her eyes closed for a moment. “But I think my friend does.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“Wilma Borntrager.”

The name impacts me like a bare-knuckle punch. “Is she in trouble?”

She’s looking at me as if she’s about to crawl out of her skin. “She told me not to talk to anyone about this. But I don’t think she’s thinking straight.”

“Do you know where she is?” I ask.

“Are you going to arrest her?”

“I’m going to talk to her,” I say firmly. “Where is she?”

She looks down, shakes her head. “Wilma texted me earlier this afternoon. Said she needed some money.”

“Is that unusual?”

“She has more money than I do.”

“Why does she need money?”

“She said something about running away. To Florida. There’s an Amish settlement down there.”

“Pinecraft?” I ask.