plucked my cell phone from my belt with the other, flipped it open with my thumb then scrolled through the stored contacts and dialed a number. I was just starting a fourth round with the wet rag when Doctor Jante’s voice issued from the speaker and into my ear, so I stopped scrubbing and shut off the water.
“Mister Gant,” she said, her tone noticeably cool. “Given our earlier discussion, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you quite this soon, if at all.”
“Believe me, I didn’t expect to be calling.”
“I’m sure.”
I was operating under the assumption that she was still just as interested in having me meet with Annalise again as I now needed to be. But, by the same token I was also well aware that I was preparing to start across a bridge I’d all but set ablaze earlier in the day. Therefore, I swallowed my pride and endeavored to douse any remnants of the fire.
“Look, I need to apologize,” I told her. “I know we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms this afternoon, and I’m truly sorry for my role in that.”
“Accepted. Now, are you merely calling to apologize, or should I assume this also means you’ve changed your mind?”
“About the meeting, actually, yes. I would like for you to go ahead and arrange that, if it’s still on the table.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then I guess I have to figure out how to talk you into it again, which admittedly won’t be easy for me. So, I’m hoping I don’t have to.”
She paused for a moment and then said, “Do you mind if I ask why this sudden change of heart?”
“I’m working on a theory.”
“I see. Is this theory something we should know, Mister Gant?”
“I’m not really sure just yet,” I replied. “Can you tell me if Annalise is monitored at all?”
“Yes she is. Why do you ask?”
I glanced at my watch and did a quick mental calculation. “Because if it’s possible, I’d like to find out who she was roughly an hour and a half ago. Annalise or Miranda.”
“Why is that important?”
“Let’s just say it has something to do with that uncanny intuition thing you’re so interested in.”
“Mister Gant…”
“Listen, Doctor Jante, I’m honestly not trying to start another argument with you. Believe me, I’ve had more than enough drama for one day. But, this is very important and not all that easy for me to explain.”
She sighed. “Well, I’m not currently at the facility. Let me make a call and see what I can do about arranging the meeting. Where are you now?”
“My hotel room. I’ll be here for a while, but I’ll have my cell with me if I leave.”
“Give me a few minutes to see what can be arranged, and I will call you back.”
“Thanks,” I told her. “And don’t forget to find out about who she was.”
“I’ll try,” she agreed. “But that’s something that may be hard to determine depending upon the circumstances.”
“I understand,” I said, nodding as I spoke, simply from force of habit. “But if it’s at all possible, it’s very important that I find out.”
“Can I assume you’ll give me a more coherent explanation about all of this in the not too distant future?”
“Yes, as soon as I can give you one, I will. I promise.”
“Fine then. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.”
“Thanks.”
I closed the phone and laid it aside before returning to the cleanup task at hand. Less than five minutes later the device was warbling out an electronic peal. This time the conversation was exceptionally brief, and while I still didn’t end up with an answer to my question, I did have a scheduled meeting with Miranda at 10 the next morning. Now, I desperately needed to start worrying about exactly what I was going to do once I was back in the same room with her.
I absently clipped the phone onto my belt and then started back in on the task of trying to make myself presentable. Unfortunately, the face staring back at me from the mirror really wasn’t looking much better than it had when I started. Giving in to the futility, I tossed the now pinkish washcloth aside and headed for the shower.
As I stood under the steaming jets of water, I forced myself to relax in hopes that would help me formulate a strategy. Of course, I was also well aware that even my best-laid plans were virtually guaranteed to go astray. I had too many years of anecdotal evidence to support that fact. Even so, I gave it a try. And, as always I kept coming back around to one fundamental issue: Above all else, I had to keep Felicity safe.
The real question was how.
“You ain’t bleedin’ all over my girlfriend again, are ya’?” Ben asked. The question sounded half serious and came in place of a simple hello when he answered my call.
Without missing a beat I replied, “If I was, I probably wouldn’t be the one calling you, now would I?”
“Yeah, well stranger shit has happened where you’re concerned.”
“Yeah, I guess it has,” I agreed. “Well, don’t worry. I haven’t done any bleeding since lunch.”
“Good,” he grunted. “You had Constance a bit worried.”
“Really? She seemed to handle it like a pro.”
“That’s ‘cause she’s a copper,” he replied. “She is a pro. We deal with shit then worry about it later. It’s part of the job. So listen, if you’re callin’ about a body, we still don’t have one yet. Not that I’ve heard, anyway. But if ya’ got any ideas where we should look, I’m more’n happy ta’ listen.”
“No, not yet.”
“Okay…” he said with a questioning note in his voice, then allowed a short pause to hang in the air before pressing, “Okay… So, are ya’ callin’ about that necklace again? ‘Cause it’s still right here in my pocket.”
“That’s good to know,” I replied. “But, no, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else.”
“Okay, spit it out, white man. You called me, remember? I ain’t in the mood ta’ play twenty questions.”
“Sorry…” I sighed. “I guess I’m still a bit preoccupied by all this.”
“Yeah, no shit. I’ve interviewed suspects with more to say.”
“So, anyway, I was wondering… Do you have anyone you trust who owes you a favor?”
“Yeah,” he quipped. “You. And by my count it’s more like several favors.”
“I’m serious, Ben.”
“So am I,” he huffed in retort. “But since you’re the one askin’, my guess is ya’ mean somebody besides you, huh?”
“Given that I’m in Texas right now, yes.”
“Well, I dunno. What exactly are ya’ needin’?”
“Someone to keep an eye on Felicity tomorrow morning.”
“What for? You don’t think she’s screwin’ around or somethin’ do ya’?”
“No,” I scoffed. “Nothing like that. Worse actually. I have another meeting with Miranda at ten.”
“Okay. So what’s that got to do with Firehair? I mean, besides… Well, you know what I mean.”
“When I talked to her earlier today she said she was having some issues…” I leaned heavily on the word and paused for effect. “The thing is, it seems they coincided with the timing of my meeting with Miranda.”
“So when you say ‘issues’ you mean that kinky Twilight Zone stuff like before when…” He allowed the sentence to remain unfinished.
“Yeah,” I replied. “The homicidal dominatrix urges like when Miranda was possessing her. She kept herself under control this go around, but I really don’t want to take the chance that she might not be able to do the same if it happens again.”
“Man, you’d think I’d be used to this shit by now, but workin’ with you two is just off-the-charts weird
