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I could hear in her voice she was about to start an argument with me, but then my phone rang. I looked at it. It was a withheld number.
I answered. “This is my private phone,” I said. “You shouldn’t have this number. And I want to know who you are.”
There was dead silence; no one said anything. But there was a faint, crackly tone on the line and heavy breathing.
“Who is this?” I demanded. “It wouldn’t be difficult for me to trace this call, you know.”
Alicia was looking at me with an expression of concern. We were almost at the airport. Finally, the voice on the other end of the phone spoke. It was muffled, masked somehow, metallic and grinding, unnaturally deep.
“DON’T GO TO GRAND CAYMAN,” said the voice.
Then the caller hung up.
Alicia looked at me, and I looked at her. I wondered what she was staring at, until I realized that, for the first time since she’d met me, she’d seen a hint of fear in my eyes.
Chapter 11
Alicia
WhenIgotbackto Chicago that evening, I was feeling confused and a little strange. It felt strange that I was on a commercial flight back and Jake was coming home in his own private jet. Somehow, the distance between us had grown again, just when I thought that we were about to break down the barriers that had come between us.
I needed to talk to someone about it, and luckily, when I got back, I saw that the porch light was on. I could hear the TV on. I came in and put my bags down in the hallway. I could hear chatting from the living room. Sam clearly had guests over. But who?
I listened closely as I slipped off my shoes and began to pace quietly around to where the living room entrance was. I couldn’t hear anything now, just the sound of the TV and the occasional whisper.
I put my hand on the door, and as I did, I suddenly realized I was afraid. Was someone else in the house? Someone who shouldn’t be? I thought back to the strange, brief cellphone call Jake had gotten in the car on the way to the airport.
I gently turned the handle and pushed open the door in one swift movement.
The first thing I saw was my brother, Sam, still in his shirt and pilot’s tie.
The second thing I saw was the woman he was holding in his arms on the sofa, kissing.
I caught Sam’s eye mid-kiss, and he looked at me.
“This, uh …” he said.
I said nothing but covered my mouth and tried not to let my cheeks grow pink.
“This isn’t …” he said.
The woman turned around. She was a blonde with curly hair, wearing a pinstriped business suit with spearpoint collars straight out ofJackie Brown. She seemed to be in her late fifties at least.
“Hi!” she said. “My name’s Andrea. You’re Sammy’s sister, right?”
“Thishouseisjustgorgeous!” exclaimed Andrea as we settled around the island in the kitchen. I’d made myself a cup of coffee to recover from my trip and try to get over the fact I’d just seen my older brother kissing a woman I’d never met before in my living room.
“Thank you, Andrea!” I replied, trying to be as friendly as possible. “So, how long have you guys known each other?”
Sam rolled his eyes and looked at me.I’m going to kill you, he mouthed while Andrea’s back was turned.
“Oh, I can answer that!” said Andrea. “Sammy and I have been on three dates already. We’re taking things slow,” she whispered to me. Sam groaned.
“And what do you do for a living?” I asked.
“Sweetie,” she replied, “when you’ve had as many husbands as I have, believe me,you’llwant to retire early too.”
Sam cringed at that, and I had to stifle a giggle myself.
