It had never occurred to me it was anyone’s fault except Eric’s.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I was so upset that I forgot to text. I whisper-shouted my replies. “It annoyed me you didn’t believe me about Eric. Then I was irate when you had Christopher sent to jail. You didn’t trust my judgment, drugged me, and sent me to the psych ward. But I didn’t blame you for what happened later.”
“Your story was far-fetched.” She looked up, her dark eyes ringed with red. This wasn’t the first bout of crying.
“You could have chosen not to believe without trying to have me committed.”
She stared at me as though she didn’t recognize me. Maybe because I’d defended myself.
“Just because I can’t talk, doesn’t mean I’m mentally ill or incapable of recognizing when I’m being stalked, or that someone tried to rape me. I can tell the difference between a creep and someone I love.”
“I know.” She looked down. “Andrew and Dad already let me have it. They’re pro-Christopher.”
“Good.”
“I’m sorry for all of it,” she said. “The whole mess.”
“Whispering is progress,” said Andrew as he rejoined us in the kitchen. “Not everything in the world has a reasonable explanation. Some things we have to take on faith, even when we don’t agree or understand. That’s how I’m choosing to look at it.” He unpacked dinner onto the counter and opened the lids to the containers of hot food.
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a hug.
“Your house is lovely,” Meghan said, trying to change the subject.
“It isn’t my house yet,” I said, my eyes feeling wet. There’d been enough tears already.
“You know, you’re still whispering,” said Andrew, stepping around the island to give me a hug. “I’m glad you’re doing better. Christopher has been good for you.”
I had forgotten, but they weren’t strangers.
He smiled. “Where are the plates? I promised food.”
I set the table, and we sat and ate. Over dinner, I told them about my meeting with the Wilsons.
“That’s great that they met with you so soon,” Andrew said. “They’re motivated.”
At the end of the meal, Andrew and Meghan packed up and left with more hugs. Dinner hadn’t been tense once we’d cleared the air. They’d been a welcome distraction and made the house feel lived in again. They agreed to talk Dad into coming next week and volunteered him to cook the dinner. I would host again. I wouldn’t be alone, but wouldn’t have to drive in the dark. I appreciated their company and their accommodation.
. . .
Tuesday at lunch, I checked my messages, surprised to see a text from Ella suggesting I stop in after work. My pulse quickened at the idea that they might already have news. I couldn’t believe how fast they worked. Their office was just around the corner, so I walked. It made me nervous to be outside alone, but I stopped outside at the bottom of the stairs, planning to give money to my favorite homeless couple, the ones who’d foiled Eric at the Christmas party. The woman was alone.
“Frank disappeared over a week ago,” she said in answer to my question. “Maybe aliens. He and four others from the park are all missing.”
That was close to the same time Christopher had disappeared. I dropped a couple of dollars in her money tin and kept walking. Maybe this was something bigger than myself and Christopher. Maybe it was Real Tech, and they needed subjects for their human trials. I didn’t feel well. I hurried to hear what the Wilsons had to say.
“Yesterday, I tailed the black SUV that followed you to work,” said Ella, once I was seated at her desk in front of her laptop and she’d moved to sit on the arm of Luke’s chair.
Horace and Jasper had followed me, even though I hadn’t known. I seldom saw them anymore. I hadn’t noticed Ella in my neighborhood or near my work. She excelled at blending in.
“After you arrived at the Museum, they didn’t wait, but drove to the Real Tech lab. That didn’t surprise us, but we wanted to be certain where they reported.”
“I snooped at Real Tech last night,” said Luke.
He may as well have said he’d wandered around the White House at night and evaded security. They’d built the place like Fort Knox and I’d never made it past reception.
“How did you get past security?”
“Invisibility cloak.”
