CHAPTER 29

The next week was filled with trips to the bank, packing my car, meeting with a real estate agent for the rental and by Friday, I had it all complete. The check for the second mortgage was due the next week. It would be after I had set off the New York Times in Winslow’s driveway, but I figured I had a few days of grace. By Wednesday I had the check from the insurance company and the cash from my savings account. The real estate agent had a renter for me and I would meet him on Tuesday afternoon.

The weekend came and I finished packing my car. The house already seemed empty. Monday came and I got a telephone call that was suspicious. I was accustomed to calls from contractors offering discounts on home improvements, roofing companies offering to put on a new roof and recorded voices telling me that I had won a trip to the Caribbean. But this call was different. It started by calling me by name. And then it told me that I could get a new dog to replace the one that had died if I was interested. When I asked who this was, the voice said, “It doesn’t matter who I am. This is a notice that you will be dealt with. You have done enough and now is the time for you to either disappear or you will find yourself in serious trouble. You will be looking over your shoulder when you go out for coffee. Park your bike in that bike rack and it will be the last thing you do.”

So they knew where I lived, and where I went for coffee and now they wanted me to disappear. At least they weren’t trying to kill me. Or, perhaps they were. Perhaps they were warning me that they knew my habits and it was only a matter of time.

Time to deliver the newspaper.