“Where is she?”
“Who’s this?”
“I think you know.”
Bobbie swallowed. She knew someday this call would come. “She’s not here.”
“Your mother said you needed to tell me something, Bobbie.”
Damn her. “I can’t imagine why she told you that.”
“Because she wants more money as always. Need I remind you that you have one or two secrets you don’t want getting out? One dates all the way back to when you were sixteen.”
She inhaled slow and steady. Tears pricked her eyes as she fought to hold back the anger. She knew one day she’d have to deal with that lie, but she wasn’t ready yet. “No.”
“I don’t like being lied to. You told me you haven’t been in touch with her since you were sixteen.”
“I hadn’t. I swear to you. She just contacted me recently. I’ve been trying to get close so I could find out what’s going on.”
“I want to know what’s happened to her over the last three years. You better have answers. And soon. Keep her close. Do not let her out of your sight.”
Bobbie clutched the phone long after the conversation had ended. What mess had her mother created now and more than likely because she wanted something else she couldn’t afford? Finally, she hit the speed dial on her phone and waited.
“Get over here now. What have you done?”
~~~~
Tarin grabbed Chance and raced out of the building.
“Where are you going?”
“Bill.” She took a deep breath and tried to still her thumping heart. She had no idea where she was going; she only knew she needed to do something. “I’ve got to get Chance home. He’s tired. Time for his nap. Bye.”
He nodded so she took that as his consent. She was never sure what to expect with him. After strapping Chance into his car seat, she climbed into the driver’s seat. Before starting the car, she had a strong urge to call Bobbie. She’d been very concerned by her odd behavior and taking Chance that morning was like waving a red flag in her face.
“Tarin, where are you?”
“Bobbie, you sound upset. What’s going on?”
There was a muffled sound as though she was trying to cover the mouthpiece while she talked with someone.
“Bobbie?”
“Yeah. Here. Sorry, just picking up some papers I dropped. Where are you?”
“Just taking Chance to the park or the zoo. Can’t decide which.”
“The park. It’s supposed to rain.”
Tarin looked out her window at the sunny, cloudless sky. What’s going on? “Yeah. Or maybe we’ll just go for an ice cream.”
“Why don’t I come with you?”
It was the desperation in her voice that grabbed Tarin’s attention. Bobbie had always been the tough one at school, the one who wanted to be adventurous, to break the rules. Tarin had always been too timid. The only time she’d heard her voice so strained was when Tarin had been accused of something she hadn’t committed.
“Why don’t I come and get you?”
“That sounds great. You know you never did tell me where your office is?”
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. “No. I guess I never did. Hmm, I’m almost fifty minutes away, what with rush hour, maybe longer.”
“Great, we’ll see you in an hour.”
She sat there for a long time, only becoming aware of the sweltering heat when Chance started whimpering and she saw how red his face was. The air conditioner wasn’t great but in ten minutes the car was cooled off to a manageable temperature, yet she still hadn’t moved. Where could she go? She could go back to Bobbie’s but who had she been referring to as we? Intuition told her she wasn’t referring to Kim. Bobbie had been hiding something. It left a cold, unsettled feeling like an icicle’s constant, incessant drip.
Someone knocked on her window. She jumped in surprise, jamming her knee on the steering wheel as her foot kicked the gas pedal, revving the car. She hurled around, her heart thumping and her breathing rapid. Then with relief, she opened the door.
“What happened? What’s going on?” Graham squatted so they were eye to eye and gently pulled her toward him.
She wanted to resist but couldn’t find the strength. “Nothing,” she whispered as she pressed her face into the V of his neck.
He held her tenderly, one hand cradling her head and the other rubbing her back in reassuring circles. The tension finally eased from her shoulders but the chill that had invaded her core remained. She pushed away, leaning back against the seat.
“I don’t know what’s happening. I just know I’m scared.”
“Talk to me.”
“Bobbie’s acting suspiciously. And someone’s at my house. She tried to muffle the mouthpiece but I heard her tell someone that she’d find me. Why would she say that? Who was she talking to? I thought I was safe there.”
“Let’s go inside and see what we can find out.”
It took several minutes for him to convince her but finally she acquiesced. She had no plans. For the first time she felt completely lost.
After carrying Chance up the long stairway and settling him into the bed in his office for an overdue nap, Graham logged onto his computer. Tarin sat beside Chance and lovingly brushed back his fine, sandy blonde hair. The careful way Graham had carried him, like he was his own precious son, was something she’d never forget.
“What’s Bobbie’s last name?”
“Benson.”
He asked her for more information about her friend. As she answered, she felt as though she was betraying a confidence, but the disconcerting call she’d had with her hung over her like a cloud. After the first few questions, she had no problem giving him all he needed.
“Did you know your friend doesn’t work?”
“Yeah, I knew that. She looks after her mom who lives in the same neighborhood.”
“No. Actually her address is... in Leaside.”
“Impossible, that’s an expensive neighborhood. She can’t afford that.”
Graham was silent for so long that curiosity got the best of her. She made her way behind his desk where she peered over his shoulder. A recent picture of Bobbie was open on one screen, the address of an expensive house on another, and her bank account data on a third.
Tarin blinked a few times as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Graham showed her property ownership records; she had acquired two houses, one she was sharing with Tarin and a million dollar property her mom was living in.
“It can’t be true. Where’d she get that kind of money? Could her sister have had life insurance?”
“It appears she’s getting a yearly salary.”
“From whom? For what?”
“I’d have to do more digging.”
“I’m going out there.”
“Not without me you’re not.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” She stopped, barely taking one step before stopping to observe Chance sleeping. To protect him, she couldn’t be dragging him around town.
“I have a suggestion but you might not like it.”
Twenty minutes later they were on their way to check out Bobbie’s other residence. She pressed her hand to her belly in an effort to quell the queasiness and focus on what they were doing. Every time she thought of leaving Chance behind, she wanted to heave. Graham squeezed her hand as though he knew what she was thinking. She had to trust someone, not that her judgment had been any good in that department.
“He’ll be fine. He’ll probably sleep the whole time we’re gone. Bill won’t let anyone near your son. He’s a gentle soul. And the place has a good security system.”
She nodded but thought she needed her head examined. She’d left her son with someone who reminded her of a homeless man. Nervous laughter bubbled inside her but she tamped it down, concerned if it escaped Graham would think she was nuts. Her fingers pressed against the tender spot on her forehead. Maybe that incident had done more damage than she’d first thought. The memory brought back all that had happened in recent days. Her stomach convulsed and her throat compacted. She closed her eyes and tried to push away her thoughts and the gut-wrenching feeling that had taken hold of her.
They came to a stop across the street from a three-story Tudor-style house with expansive, immaculate gardens. Bobbie wasn’t and never had been earning that kind of money. There was no way she owned it.
“I’ll be right back,” Graham said.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“I’m just going to see if anyone is there. Stay here.”
She watched as he walked down the block and disappeared around the corner. Tapping her fingers against her thighs, she was almost ready to follow him when she spotted him sticking his head out the front door, waving at her. She hurried toward him and followed him into the house.
“Are you nuts?”
“Yes. Now see if you can find some clues as to who owns this place.”
The living room with closed French doors sat off to her right. Alongside a set of stairs, leading upwards, was a hallway that led to the back of the house, to what looked like the kitchen. To the left was a closed door. Graham turned the gilded knob, revealing a huge oak desk.
Tarin moved toward it, pausing only when several family pictures arranged on a wall unit behind it caught her attention. She gasped as she picked up the first one within reach. It was a faded picture of her and Bobbie in school. She used to have the same one but had no idea where it had gone over the years. In the middle of the shelf was a recent picture of Bobbie, her mom and niece, obviously professionally photographed. They were all smiling and looking happy. The diamond teardrop necklace Bobbie was wearing caught her attention. Tarin hadn’t seen it since her dad had given it to her for her sixteenth birthday. She’d been sure it had been lost.
Sitting behind the desk, she opened the laptop. A short time later she had figured out Bobbie’s password; what she called her when they were twelve—y2ktarin. The name had come about because of her fascination with computers and the Y2K scare, where everyone was sure with the approaching millennium computers were going to crash. Tarin had been convinced they would die out after that. So Bobbie had dubbed her y2k Tarin.
“We’ve got to go. Come on.”
“Just give me a sec.”
“Now... Now... Now... Someone just pulled up.”
“I’m hurrying.”
“It’s an older woman. She’s out of the car and on her way to the door. She looks pissed.”
Tarin slammed shut the laptop and followed Graham out the back door.
“Did you close the office door?”
“Yes.”
“Everything’s the way we found it, right?”
Tarin gave a barely perceptible nod. She pretended to be cautiously looking around to avoid the questioning look in his eye. The small picture she’d taken probably wouldn’t be noticed.
“I don’t understand. Why would she lie to me?”
“Hey. Don’t think about it, I know it sucks. How do you know her?”
“We met in first grade and we became instant friends. We went through so much together. I don’t know what I’d have done without her. Why?”
Graham pulled the car over.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you a shoulder to cry on.” He turned and took her into his arms.
She tried so hard not to let him in but she was alone and didn’t know who was trying to hurt her. All she knew was that Graham, a virtual stranger, had treated her better than her family and friends had. That alone opened the floodgates.