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Chapter 20
Nayome’s phone started ringing as she approached the door to her condo. Fumbling to fish it out of her purse, she answered without looking at it. “Hey, good timing I’m just walking in the door—”
“Is this Nayome Miller?”
“Oh…sorry, who’s this?” Nayome asked, halting and frowning in confusion as she shut the door behind her, switching on the lights to her condo.
“Miss Miller?”
“Yeah, who’s this?” Nayome asked again, feeling irritation creep in.Damn spam callers.
“This is Federal Agent Crawford. Miss Miller, we have a few questions for you. Is this a good time?”
Nayome checked her watch, it was almost 9pm. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Is this a prank call, or something?” Nayome said, impatient to talk to Bal and feeling zero patience to deal with a phone scam.
“My Agent ID number is—”
“Alright, buddy you’ve had your fun. This isn’t a good time. There is no reason a real federal agent would be calling me, let alone this late in the day. Go find another mark, jackass.” Nayome hung up as she heard a protest start to form on the other end of the line, rolling her eyes.These scam calls are getting ridiculous.
Punching in Bal’s number, she was relieved to hear his voice fill the line.
“Hey,” Nayome breathed softly, sinking down into her velvet sofa, kicking her shoes off. “Is everything alright?”
“I think so, now. We had a security breach after you left.”
“Oh, wow. Another person wandered into your super-secret forest hideaway?” Nayome asked, letting a bit of sarcasm creep into her voice as she made herself comfy.
“Not exactly. It was more of an investigation. Some Fed’s have been poking around, asking people around town some probing questions about the area,” Bal said, then released an anxious breath. Nayome’s shoulders tensed as she listened, gripping the phone tight to her ear.Feds?
“Gabe and the twins had to do some cleanup, and it was all hands on deck for a bit,” Bal continued.
Nayome’s back straightened as she sat stiffly upright, interrupting Bal before he could continue any further. “You said Feds? What would they be doing in Scotland?”
“Yes, Feds. The U.S. has attache offices all over the world, working with the local governments and Interpol,” Bal confirmed, a heavy pause settling between them. “What happened? Did someone contact you?”
“I just got a call…I thought it was a joke and hung up on them. He said his name was Agent Crawford.”
“Damn it,” Bal cursed.
“Bal, what’s going on?” Nayome asked nervously, clutching the phone to her ear as she listened to Bal’s recounting of the last twenty four hours. Wiping a clammy palm on her pants, she rose and started to pace the length of her small living room, trying to absorb all the information Bal was giving her.
“Ok, hold on one second,” Nayome said, breathing out a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves a little bit. “So if you thought Gabe did his thing…I mean, got to everyone with his memory wiping mojo, who is this Agent Crawford guy then?”
“They must have logged enough information before we wiped their memories here to keep the bureau’s investigation open,” Bal said, and Nayome thought she could hear real concern in his tone.
“So what do I do?” She asked, feeling desperate. “He will probably try me again.”
“They don’t have much on us,” Bal said, trying to be reassuring. “Just give as little information as you can. You took a work trip, didn’t find anything, then saw some sights.”
“Right. Right. I guess I can do that,” Nayome said, gnawing on her lower lip as she tried to get back some perspective.I thought I left all this stress behind in Scotland.“It’s pretty much the truth anyway.” Nayome raked a hand through her hair, glancing out the window at the twinkling city lights. A nervous laugh bubbled up in her throat, but she managed to swallow it.
“Nayome, I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Bal said quietly.
“It’s not your fault, I was drawn there—you couldn’t have stopped me.”
“You belong here, with us, the forest called you home,” Bal said, a beat of silence falling between them after that.
“Bal, this is my home,” Nayome whispered. But as she watched the traffic chug along below her building, she wasn’t sure that statement rang as true as it once would have. The city was so bright, full of life. That usually would have lit her up, but now she felt like something was missing. She had felt a moment of fulfillment in the park this morning. Scotland had changed her, and she could feel a yearning developing deep in her gut that hadn’t been there before her trip. A connection to nature that she needed to explore more fully.
