Clouds darken the afternoon as I turn into the apartment complex. I stop on this side of the chain blocking the access road. When I get out of the car, I decide to leave the keys inside. Then I remove the chain, leaving it on the dirt across the entrance. A cold, wet breeze blows out of the east, slipping under my shirt. My teeth chatter, maybe from the chill. Maybe not. I pull out the phone and dial Bob’s cell number. He answers and the sound of his voice nearly breaks my heart.
“Patsy?”
“No, it’s Liam.”
“Liam?” He pauses, as if trying to understand why I would call from Drew’s wife’s phone. “Oh, man, what is going on? Everyone’s freaking out here. They’re saying that you . . . you have something to do with Lauren Branch’s disappearance.”
“She’s fine,” I say.
“How do you know?”
“I just do, Bob.”
There’s a silence before he continues, his voice guarded.
“Thank God. Was that . . . her? In your car?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, jeez. Where are you? Are you looking for your brother?”
“No,” I say. “I need your help. But you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone about what I am going to ask you to do.”
Bob does not speak at once. Instead, I just hear his breathing.
“This is about you and Drew, isn’t it?”
“Please, can you trust me this once?”
“Son,” he says softly, “I would trust you more than once.”
For some reason, his words make me cry. I try to hide it, but I know he hears it in my voice. There’s nothing I can do about that now.
“I need you to wait exactly half an hour and then call the police. Tell them that you got a call from me and that I told you I had Lauren at the old swim club behind the Arundel Apartments.”
“That’s it, huh?” he asks.
“That’s it.”
“Hmmm.” He pauses again. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. Don’t let him hurt you.”
“Him?”
“Your brother, Liam. I’m old but I’m not blind. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
I think about everything I have done so far, taking Lauren to the swim park, ditching her car in the middle of traffic, driving through our childhood neighborhood, my truck at Marci’s office. He’ll know them all by now, all of the steps I’ve taken. And I’m counting on that.
“I won’t do anything stupid,” I tell Bob. I just hope my brother does. In fact, everything counts on that happening.