“I know, right?” Nan laughed. “There was a maniac hypnotizing people online. Friggin’ incredible. I caught his site and recorded it when no else could. I can’t even talk about it. But my awesome hacking skills helped them catch the bad guys, and I met this hot cop.” Nan closed her eyes with a dreamy look that Zoe had never seen her use before. “The guy is unbelievable in bed.”
“I leave you alone for a few days and this is what happens?” Zoe exhaled and it came out with a whoosh.
“Finding the bad guys is way more fun thanbeingthe bad guy.” Nan began to close up the leftover food in the containers and put them in the refrigerator. She pulled out a bottle of wine from the bottom rack. “Hey, look what I found. Want a glass?”
Zoe nodded, found a couple glasses, and took them over to the counter. She poured, took a sip and grimaced at the cheap wine.
Nan sat down on the old grey couch and patted the spot beside her. The only other furniture that could fit in the tiny room was a coffee table and a wall with a monitor. Instead of sitting next to Nan, Zoe perched on the edge of the couch.
“So, while we wait to see if something pops up on your stalker, did you find your great-aunt yet?”
“You mean the witch?” Zoe rolled her eyes and laughed. “That was one strange weekend.”
“I hardly remember much of it.” Nan smirked. “Or your parent’s funeral. We drank what was left of their wine collection?”
“I’m surprised we finished before the cops locked us out of the house. How the hell does anyone rack up over a million in debt?”
“Probably ‘bout a hundred thou’ a year for ten years….” Nan chuckled.
“Ha. Ha. Thanks for the math lesson. But Iamglad we got my papers out of the filing cabinet. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even known where to start looking for my biological family.”
“I still can’t believe they never told you, you were adopted. Your parents had some serious issues…” Nan stopped as if she’d stepped in a pile of dog shit. “Oh Zoe, I’m so sorry.”
Crap. Here it comes.Zoe tried to swallow back the horrible memories, the anxiety that formed a baseball size lump in her throat. But just as her therapist, Doctor Larry, had explained, the more you try to stop it, the more it’ll attack. She let a few pictures of her past dribble into her mind like a leaky faucet. Man. Her father was so screwed up. What kind of pervert got jacked up over touching a kid?
When the memories faded, Nan was there, watching her patiently.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Zoe shook her head, then took a deep sip of her wine.
“Okay.” Nan gave her a sad smile.
“Don’t do that pity thing. I hate that almost as much as the memories. Dammit. How long you think it’s going to take before I don’t feel so shitty every time someone mentions his name? It’s like having my own personal Susquehanna Hat Company.”
“I don’t know.” Nan put her hand on Zoe’s leg, then drew it back when Zoe flinched.
“I didn’t find anything else about the…” Zoe made air quotes. “Witch. But, I did connect with a distant cousin on Facebook. She wants me to come visit.”
“Hmmm…Maybe that’s our answer to the stalker. You can work remotely, right?”
“I guess.” Zoe frowned and glanced down at her wine. “I can ask.”
“I think you should clear out of town for a little bit.”
“I’d miss you.” She hated how whiney she sounded, but the thought of not having Nan to talk to left an empty space in her chest. “You’re my only family now.”
“And you’re my little sister, but I’d feel better knowing you were out of the city because I think my new job might be sending me overseas.”
Zoe’s mouth dropped open in shock. “So soon? For what?”
“Well they didn’t tell me exactly, so I kind of snooped around.”
“Shit, Nan, you hacked into the FBI? Your would-be employer?”
“Well, let’s just say that some of the guys just happened to be logging in as I walked by, and I just happened to remember their keystrokes. I found an empty computer on the way to the lady’s room.”
Zoe held out her empty glass for Nan to fill, and shook her head. “So where are they sending you?”
