Madeleine did something I wished I had thought to do earlier; she printed the post so we had proof in case it disappeared. After she pulled the paper off the printer, she started rifling through what she called the cache trying to find the other Gate Crasher message. She went through the different windows too quickly for me to follow what she was doing and I got bored. Luckily, there were lots of things to look at. Shelves of CD’s and DVD’s in all kinds of colors. If I moved my hand in front of my face, I saw shadows. I was completely self-entertaining. Miss Independent, just like the song.
“Found it!” Madeleine sounded happy.
“You did?” I was thrilled. It meant I wasn’t crazy. Apart from the hallucinating, I mean. I looked at the page she’d printed out. There in black and white was the original Gate Crasher message. I read it and watched the letters turn into spiders and skitter away. I blinked hard, and they were back on the page. This was getting confusing.
Michael’s phone rang and I jumped up. “I’ll get it!” I couldn’t remember where the phone was. He had a cordless, like I did at the store; it could be anywhere. I looked at my guest helplessly. She found the handset in the bedroom under the pillow on Michael’s side of the bed. I grabbed it and we walked back into the computer room where the shiny things danced.
“Hello?”
A woman’s low voice answered me. She sounded confused. “Is Michael there?”
“No,” I said. “Who is this?”
“This is Ruby,” she replied with a rich Southern accent. “Is this Zofia?”
“Have we met?” Did I know anyone named Ruby?
“No, we haven’t but Michael talks about you all the time. I’ve wanted to meet you. Is he okay? He seemed kind of shaken up on Thursday when I saw him last.”
“When did you see him on Thursday?” I looked at Madeleine. “She saw Michael on Thursday! Where did you see him?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”
I didn’t think she sounded sorry. What the hell? “Why not?”
“I just can’t. Is he okay, Zofia? I was just worried about him.”
“But you can’t tell me where you saw him,” Tears of frustration welled in my eyes. I blinked several times. “Why did you call if you were going to be so mean?”
Madeleine gently took the phone away from me. “Hello? Hi, I’m Madeleine, one of Zo’s friends. Zo’s been sick, I think she’s having a bad reaction to her medication. No, no one’s seen him since yesterday. When did you? Yesterday afternoon. He was carjacked sometime after that. Yes, really. If you know anything, you need to go to the cops.”
“Cops,” I said scornfully. “They don’t like me. Keep arresting me for stuff I didn’t do.” I curled up on the floor and pouted dramatically. Life was so unfair. My boyfriend was gone and some woman I didn’t know was the last one to see him.
Madeleine rolled her eyes and kept talking on the phone. “Let me take a number and I’ll have Zo call you when she’s feeling better. I know she’s going to want to talk to you.” She found a pen on the desk, wrote a number down and hung up.
“Zo, I can’t stay here,” Madeleine said. “I have to go to work soon. Is there someone who can stay with you? You really shouldn’t be by yourself.” I watched the printer spit out another page, then another. Madeleine took one and put the other one in a tray on the desk.
Marie had hung up on me earlier, but there was no one I trusted more. I found my cell in between the cushions on the couch. I couldn’t see where my fingers were in relation to the tiny buttons, but I liked the way they sparkled. I handed Madeleine the phone. “It’s number one in the memory.”
“Michael’s not number one?” she smiled.
“I’ve had the phone longer than I’ve had Michael.” What if I never had Michael again? A surge of fury started in my gut and spouted out my mouth. “Where’s Holly? I want to have a talk with that bitch.”
“So do I,” Madeleine muttered. “But you’re in no shape to confront anyone. Are you tired at all?”
I thought about it. “No, not at all. If anything, I’m kind of hyper.” A coughing spasm wracked my body. “Then again, maybe rest would be good. You’re not going to leave, are you?”
“Not until I can make sure someone’s here with you.” She found the memory button and pressed the one. I heard the click as Marie picked up. Madeleine handed me the phone.
“Hello?”
“Marie? It’s Zo. There was a fly in my soup.” I started giggling again. Madeleine took the phone and introduced herself. I sat on the rug and started counting the different shades of blue in it, but I kept getting lost and having to start over. “Oh good, you’ve done this before?” Madeleine was saying. “I really wouldn’t mind staying if I didn’t have to go to work. I like Zo.”
“I like you too,” I smiled. Everything was happy again. Everything was dancing its own little dance. If this is what the hippies were on all the time, it’s a wonder the Chicago Seven got anything done.
“It’s not a bad trip, she’s giggling a lot. Still, you know how good ones can go bad. She’s talking a lot of nonsense, but I think she’ll be okay. I brought her some vitamins and some bottled water. She’s very cooperative.” She covered the phone. “Marie says that means you must be on drugs. She’ll be here in half an hour.”