Broken Trust

by Shannon Baker

  Finally he answered. “Ah, Sylvia, mi corazón.”

  “Eduardo. Listen, I can explain.”

  His robust laugh sounded cheerful. “No need. Truly.”

  She didn’t trust his good cheer. “It was an error. I’m fixing it right now. I can send another ELF wave at dawn. You’ll see. I’ll do it for you, Eduardo.”

  “Yes. Yes. That will be excellent. Goodbye, Sylvia.”

  “Wait! Don’t—”

  He hung up on her. Again.

  Thud.

  What was that? Sylvia ran across the room and slapped off her office light. She couldn’t stop her rapid breathing as she snuck into the dark kitchen. She stood on tiptoe to see out of the window above the sink. In the unlit parking lot she made out the black Town Car sitting next to her Ferrari.

  The knob on the front door rattled and she felt the pressure in her ears as it opened.

  Sylvia tiptoed to the back door and stealthily turned the lock. She grabbed the knob, twisted, yanked. She didn’t bother to shut the door, knowing that Juan—or whoever it was Eduardo sent to kill her—would already be chasing her.

  She sprinted across the icy lawn, slipping. Is this what Darla felt like just before the bullet ripped into her back?

  thirty-six

  Abigail had coaxed Petal into Nora’s bedroom, convincing her to lie down. Petal would only relax if Abigail stayed with her. Both were sleeping when Nora checked on them a half hour ago. Cole hadn’t made any move to leave and Nora hadn’t asked him to. They’d been sitting on the couch ever since, staring at the television.

  After the Petal drama and the exhausting day, Nora didn’t know what to do. Tomorrow morning she’d take Petal and the spreadsheets to the police. Tonight, she felt helpless. She plopped down on the sofa and turned on The Colbert Report. Uninvited, Cole sat next to her. She didn’t complain. Colbert reported on the day’s events with pithy political commentary. Cole stared at the screen without any reaction and Nora assumed he heard as little of the show as she did.

  Too bad Nora didn’t have any more beer. She could use another cold one.

  Too many questions banged around her brain to concentrate on television. What if what Petal said was true? Did Sylvia really possess the means to alter the weather and kill birds? If so, did that mean Petal’s life was in danger?

  Abbey lay in his bed under the corn leaves, snoring softly.

  Cole stirred. “What was Petal saying about Tesla?”

  Nora sat up. “I don’t have any idea. I thought Tesla was a car. I didn’t know it was a person.”

  Cole scanned the apartment. “Do you have a computer?”

  Nora hurried to a small desk in the corner of the room. She shoved the leaves of a corn plant out of the way and grabbed her laptop. She booted up. “Okay. We’ve got weather and Tesla and HAARP.” She typed them all into the search engine and hit Enter.

  Cole leaned into her and read the screen. “Might want to narrow that down.”

  She grinned at him as results appeared and she clicked on one. She scanned it then read to Cole. “Tesla was also reportedly working on resonance machines, or devices whereby he could shake one or many large city buildings from some distance away. This capability has now blossomed into the ability to create earthquakes in any desired location on Earth, of the desired magnitude, and desired depth. HAARP can create such earthquakes.”

  Cole lifted the computer, settled it on his lap, and kept reading. “Tesla’s experiments in Colorado produced powerful artificial lightning, in the millions of volts. Producing this lightning was one of the earliest examples of Tesla being able to create weather phenomenon. A mushroom-shaped radio tower was instrumental in Tesla fine-tuning his ability to create all manner of weather. As he beamed radio waves at the exact ELF frequency by which Earth’s weather is naturally created, Tesla discovered he could alter the weather.”

  A chill spiked up her neck. “Sylvia is going to create an earthquake.”

  Cole’s eyebrows shot up. “Not jumping to conclusions, are you?”

  “Well, maybe. It could be.”

  Cole laughed. “You’re sounding like Petal. Just because the first site you randomly hit spouts crazy conspiracy theories, it doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  Maybe she was getting carried away. She shot him a sheepish grin.

  Instead of teasing, as she’d expected, he grew serious and his eyes darkened.

  She caught her breath. She tried to tell herself she didn’t really know him, but she understood his expression. He leaned into her, sliding his warm fingers along the back of her neck. With the gentlest touch, he drew her toward him.

  “Is it okay if I kiss you?” he whispered.

  She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  They’d only kissed once before and yet his touch felt natural and familiar. She closed her eyes and blood rushed through her ears. His lips moved with soft pressure against hers and suddenly her arms and legs felt like pudding. She smoldered against him.

  Cole stopped long enough for Nora to set the computer on the floor.

  His arms encircled her, pulling her against him as his heat matched hers. They paused for breath and Nora sank into his eyes, dark with passion. Without thinking, she allowed herself to fall into another kiss. And another.

  How many years had it been since she’d made out on a couch with her mother asleep in the next room? It was as exciting and erotic now as it had been at seventeen. The bad tension eased from her shoulders, replaced with the good kind—the tingly kind that accelerated her pulse and made her warm all over, some places downright steamy. She could go on like this forever. No guilt, no expectations, no past or future.

  She was so far gone she didn’t hear anything until Abbey woofed and focused on the door. That’s when she realized the pounding came from fists on the door and not the blood in her ears.

  “Oh.” She stood up and yanked at her shirt that had twisted around her belly. She walked to the door on shaky legs, rubbing her mouth and struggling to regain some dignity.

  In the year Nora had lived in the apartment, she could count visitors at her door in the single digits. They’d all been trying to sell her wrapping paper or hoping she’d help fund a grade-school field trip or wanting her to buy magazine subscriptions to help an inner-city delinquent on the road to better himself. Maybe this time the cops waited on the other side. They might have found out Petal witnessed Darla’s murder and needed to question her.

  Or it could be the bad guys that Sylvia supposedly worked for, come to pop a cap in Petal’s brain. In which case, they’d kill everyone in the apartment.

  Not overreacting or anything.

  Nora slipped the chain on the door and opened it to peek outside. What waited outside trumped whatever fantasy she concocted. She slammed the door, unhooked the chain and swung it open again. She threw herself into waiting arms. “Charlie!”

  He hugged her hard, his grizzled face roughing her cheek. “You are sunshine and light and give me reason to live.”

  The snow fell in giant white flakes, swirling in the gusts. She drew Charlie inside, out of the storm. She’d missed his forest smell, the gravelly voice, and his strange way of speaking as though he were in a soap opera.

  Abbey wagged his whole body in delight to see his old hiking buddy and Cole grinned.

  Charlie scratched Abbey’s ears. “You’re a fine fellow. Fine fellow.” He straightened and surveyed the apartment. “Nice crop of corn.”

  She hugged him again.

  He grinned at her. “In a world of sorrow and pain you are a bright angel of joy.”

  Cole grasped Charlie’s hand. “Good to see you, man.”

  Charlie’s bright eyes traveled from Cole to Nora. “Awfully good to see you here.”

  Nora grasped his cold hand in both of hers. “Why didn’t you call and let me know you were co
ming?”

  His face grew serious. “A wise soldier relies on the element of surprise.” Charlie didn’t often speak in war metaphors. His eyes drooped with weariness.

  “Take your coat off and tell me what’s the matter.”

  “Element of surprise, is it?” They all whirled around to see Abigail standing in the dining area. Her hair was smashed against one side of her head and a dark rim of mascara smudged under one eye. Only a life-threatening emergency would bring Abigail out in in such disarray. “Don’t you mean ambush?”

  “Now, Abbie …”

  Nora tugged at the neck of Charlie’s army jacket as he shrugged to shed it.

  “Don’t you ‘now Abbie’ me.” She pointed at Nora. “Don’t take his jacket. He’s leaving.” Abigail made a chameleon seem consistent. She could go from pothead to Florence Nightingale to a panther all in the course of a few hours.

  Charlie gazed at Abigail with sad eyes. “I’ve come to take you home.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you. My home is here now, with my daughter.”

  Whoa! Cole and Nora watched like spectators in the Thunderdome.

  Charlie stepped toward Abigail. “You are my very breath. My home and my bed are cold and empty without you.”

  Nora cringed.

  Abigail held her hand up to stop him. “You’ve destroyed whatever home we had together. And as for your bed …”

  “Okay, okay.” Nora stepped between the two. She had to stop this talk before she was scarred for life. “I’ll make some tea and we can sit down and discuss this like adults.”

  Abigail’s voice rose an octave or three. “He won’t drink anything but beer so unless you have a twelve pack on hand, don’t bother.”

  “Hey,” Nora said. “You knew he drank beer when you married him.” Everyone knew Charlie drank beer. He kept the pockets of his army jacket well supplied. Come to think of it, she hadn’t felt any cans when she’d hugged him. Maybe he wisely didn’t drink and drive.

  “ ‘The heady party of our love has faded to the painful pounding of a hangover.’ ” Abigail cast about, probably for paper to record her poetry. The universe would be forever grateful to lose that particular verse. Abigail turned her attention on Nora. Her eyes glistened with tears. “I won’t sit down with you and Charlie together. You always take his side.”

  Nora stammered. “What side?”

  Abigail ignored her and shot back at Charlie. “Are you so immune to your effect on women?”

  Charlie? He didn’t stand more than five-eight. He smelled of pine forest and beer and wore baggy-butted jeans and a faded plaid shirt. He had a kind and gentle nature like a benevolent dwarf in a Disney movie. He was Nora’s dear friend but she’d never thought of him as romantic. Using the word sexy in the same sentence as Charlie would be a stretch.

  “Can’t we talk about it?” Charlie asked.

  “No. No. And no. You ruined our wonderful love with your thoughtless, selfish ways.”

  Nora knew Charlie to be one of the most caring and considerate people in the world. “Come on, let Charlie explain.”

  With all four of them standing in the apartment it felt as crowded as a Japanese commuter train at rush hour. And at least as uncomfortable.

  Abigail tossed her head back. “You!” She shot a finger at Nora. “I would think after what you went through with that philandering husband of yours, you’d understand.”

  Nora tried again. “Charlie wouldn’t cheat on you.”

  “See? I told you. You’re taking his side and you haven’t even heard the facts. Fine.”

  Charlie started, “I’m not—”

  Abigail whirled around. “As far as I’m concerned, you deserve each other. I’m through with both of you.” Abigail stomped down the hallway and into her room. It surprised Nora that Abigail didn’t slam the door. She probably did that out of consideration for Petal.

  Nora exhaled and said to Charlie. “I have to ask. Did you have an affair?”

  Sorrow wafted around him like flies on a corpse. “No.”

  Nora pulled out a chair at the table and sank into it. Cole and Charlie followed her. “Then what is she talking about?”

  Abbey sat next to Charlie and rested his muzzle on Charlie’s lap.

  Charlie stared down the hall and petted Abbey. His face grew rigid. “I would walk across hot coals for your mother. I would chase the great white whale to please her. I would rope the wind, cage the man in the moon. I would—”

  Nora rested a hand on his. “Okay. But what did you do?”

  He focused on Nora. “I gave up beer.”

  Those were the last words she expected from Charlie.

  Cole’s chair creaked as he sat back, as astonished as Nora felt. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

  Charlie nodded. “I thought she wanted me to.”

  “What does giving up beer have to do with you having an affair?” The connection didn’t seem obvious to Nora.

  Charlie went back to staring down the hallway. “I had a little trouble giving it up cold turkey so I went to someone the VA paid for.”

  “A therapist?” Cole asked.

  “Yep. A pretty young thing about your age.” Charlie propped his elbow on the table and leaned his face against his hand.

  Nora stood and slipped around to the kitchen. She spoke over the counter bar. “Good for you. Did she help you?” Nora filled her tea kettle and set it on a burner.

  Charlie lifted his head to answer her. “Oh, sure. She helped me a whole lot. But she had me start going to meetings.”

  Cole nodded. “AA meetings.” A gust rattled the patio slider.

  Abbey placed a paw on Charlie’s knee as if commiserating. “And they helped. So I went to them every day. And I quit.”

  “That’s great. Was Abigail happy?”

  He turned his sad eyes to Nora. “If she noticed she never said a word.”

  Nora leaned over the counter. “Ouch. Did you ask her about it?”

  Charlie stroked Abbey’s paw. “She had other things on her mind. She wanted to know where I went every day. I lied and told her I went to the forest, like I always do.”

  “Why didn’t you tell her the truth?” She pulled out three heavy mugs.

  “I was ashamed I couldn’t quit on my own.”

  Nora grabbed a few boxes of tea bags from her cupboard. She caught Cole’s eye and started tossing them to him. “So you kept going to meetings and lying, and she knew you were lying.”

  He shrugged. “I guess so. She followed me.”

  She brought the mugs around and placed them on the table. “And she saw you went to a meeting right? So why does she think you were having an affair?”

  Abbey dropped his paw and closed his eyes, still leaning into Charlie. “Because the day she followed me was a big test day. I met my therapist at a bar downtown and she ordered a beer. I had a club soda, which is a poor substitute, by the way. We stayed there for a few rounds so I could get a feel for what it was like to say no.”

  “And Abigail saw you,” Cole said.

  “That would be my guess.”

  Nora brought the kettle from the kitchen. “You didn’t talk to her?”

  Charlie’s chin fell to his chest. “I didn’t know she was there. When I got home, her bags were packed and she was gone.”

  “So tell her now.” Nora picked an Earl Grey tea bag for Charlie, dropped it in his cup, and poured the water.

  He wrapped a hand around the mug. “Nope.”

  Oh no. Charlie needed to make up to Abigail, and the sooner the better. If not, Nora would be stuck living with her in perpetuity. “You have to talk to her, tell her the truth.”

  Cole chose orange-flavored black tea and steeped it in his mug.

  Charlie stared at his tea. “Don’t you see, sweet child? If she doesn’t have fa
ith in me, there’s really nothing for us.”

  Cole stared down the hall. “Does it feel cold to you?”

  Nora noticed the chill. She stood and started down the hallway to investigate a draft. Cole followed.

  She opened her bedroom door expecting to find Petal curled up on her bed. Instead, the bed held nothing but a pile of rumpled blankets. The curtains billowed with the storm blowing in the open window.

  thirty-seven

  Nora raced to the window and scanned the balcony that ran along the second floor of the building. Most of the well-lit parking lot was visible from that vantage point. Snow accumulated where it caught in ridges and tiny drifts. The wind caught the bent screen and banged against the building. Nora slammed the window closed.

  “Is she out there?” Cole asked.

  Charlie appeared uncharacteristically rattled. “She ran from me? Why would she have to steal into the frigid night to escape from me. My Abigail angel.”

  Abigail answered from behind him. “I haven’t gone anywhere, you old fool. It’s Petal who’s jumped ship.”

  “Thank the morning star you’re safe,” Charlie said. “Who is Petal?”

  Abigail now wore one of her velour jogging suits with matching jacket. She’d repaired her hair and makeup. “How long has she been gone? What did you do to her?”

  Nora snapped on a bedside lamp but it did little to illuminate the room. She made her way around the rustic log footboard of the bed and squeezed past Abigail to check the closet. “I didn’t do anything. Last I knew, you were napping together.”

  “Humph.” Abigail watched Nora as she closed the closet door and scanned the small space between the matching log night stand and the wall, then turned and focused on the corner by the dresser. “You need a bigger bedroom. Or smaller furniture. Or both, would be my opinion. That rustic decor is …”

  Nora glared at her.

  Abigail sounded disdainful. “I suppose you think Petal running off is my fault, as you think everything is my fault.”

  Nora held back a retort. She wished she had more light in the dim room.