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I hang up and dial again. I do it twice more. I tell myself it doesn’t mean anything that she’s not picking up. June doesn’t know what to think of me right now. I bet she hates me. She’s convinced I killed Isabelle, and maybe even tried to pin it on her. She believes I’m insane and I’m dangerous. Of course she’s not taking my call.
I call Luis’s dad. He answers on the first ring, his voice raspy by decades of smoking.
“Anna, you okay? I heard—”
“Rob. Is Luis there?”
“Luis? No, why? Should he be? I thought Carla and Matti were staying till tomorrow.”
“Listen, Rob. If Luis comes over, don’t let him leave till I get there, all right? Tell him to wait for me. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Everything is fine. I’ll see you soon. Call me if Luis gets there before me.”
But I will go to June’s house first, and if she’s not home I’m going to leave her a note. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll tell her in writing. And if she is there but won’t let me in, I’ll scream it in the window.
Then I’ll go and get my kids. That’s what I’ll do.
I drive so fast I almost have an accident, twice. At June’s, I abandon the car across the road and run to her house. I slam on the door with both hands.Open the door!But she’s not there. I turn to rush back to my car, find a piece of paper to write on, when I catch something in the window. It’s the blinds. They’ve moved, I’m sure of it. Just an inch, like someone is peering through the slats. I slap the glass with the palm of my hand. “June! I know you’re in there! I have to talk to you!”
I’m frantically searching for a rock at my feet, something to throw, when the blinds suddenly fly up in one quick rush, and I scream.
Luis’s face stares back at me.
“You shouldn’t have come, babe.”
He has opened the front door and pulled me inside.
“Oh my god.” June is tied up in the corner, a scarf tied around her mouth. Her eyes are red, wild with terror. I rush to help her but Luis has wrapped an arm around my shoulders and he’s pulling me back.
“You shouldn’t have come. I told you not to come here, Anna. Didn’t I say? Don’t go to June? Wait for me at home? Didn’t I say that?”
“You have to let her go! She has nothing to do with anything!”
“She shouldn’t have tried to track down your mother!” he shouts, pointing at her. “And that’s on her, okay?” He turns around and grabs his hair with his fists, pacing the room. “I have to take care of it now. I’m taking care of it.”
I’m crying so much I can barely speak. “Who are you? What did you do, Luis? Did you really do all those things? Did you really hurt all these people?”
He looks into my eyes for a long time, then his face slowly crumbles with misery. “Don’t look at me like that. Of all people, Anna, you’re the only one who would understand.”
He drops to his knees and holds on to my jacket, his face upturned, pleading.
“What are you doing here, Luis?”
“I’ve come to take care of June,” he says quietly. “You have to trust me, Anna. Everything will be fine. I promise.”
“No. Please don’t hurt her. I’m begging you! You have to let her go.”
He pulls me down so that we’re both on our knees. He takes my hands in his. “Come on, babe. You understand, don’t you? Of course you do. Because you’re dark, like me. We’re the same, you and me.”
“No, Luis, we’re not.”
“We’re going to be okay. I’ll take care of this, then we’ll get the kids and we’ll go away. The four of us, okay? We’ll go wherever you like.”
“What did you do to Isabelle, Luis?”
“I made a mistake. I told you that. I should never have done it. I could never be with someone like Isabelle. Women like that, they’re too bright, too shiny, too perfect. It was just a fling, that’s all, but she wanted more—she wanted to have a baby and how could I leave you?”
