?Goat,? he said.
Fire ants would have had less effect on my face.
I arrived home to an empty apartment. No surprise. But I was becoming anxious about Gabby, and hoped she would reappear. Mainly so I could send her packing.
I lay on the couch and turned on the Expos game. Martinez had just beaned one off the batter. The announcer was going crazy. Tough moving back up to starter.
I watched until the announcer?s voice faded to a hum and the noise in my head took over. How did Pitre and Gautier fit in? What did Khanawake mean? Pitre was Mohawk. The others had all been white. Four years ago the Indians had barricaded the Mercier Bridge, making life hell for commuters. Feelings between the reserve and its neighbors remained less then cordial. Was that significant?
Gautier and Pitre were hookers. Pitre had been busted several times. None of the other victims had police records. Did that mean anything? If victims had been selected at random, what would be the odds that two out of seven would be hookers?
Had the Morisette-Champoux and Adkins scenes really shown premeditation? Was I imagining the staging? Was it accidental?
Was there a religious angle? That was one I hadn?t really explored. If so, what did it mean?
Eventually, I drifted into uneasy sleep. I was on the Main. Gabby was beckoning to me from the upstairs window of a run-down hotel. The room behind her was dimly lit, and I could see figures moving about. I tried to cross the street to her, but women outside the hotel threw rocks when I moved. They were angry. A face appeared beside Gabby?s, backlit against the room. It was Constance Pitre. She tried to put something over Gabby?s head, a dress or gown of some sort. Gabby resisted, her gestures to me becoming more frantic.
A rock hit me in the gut, wrenching me hard into the present. Birdie stood on my stomach, tail in landing position, eyes fixed on my face.
?Thanks.?
I dislodged him and swung to a sitting position.
?What the hell did that mean, Bird??
My dreams are not particularly disingenuous. My subconscious takes recent experience and throws it back at me, often in riddle form. Sometimes I feel like Arthur, frustrated with Merlin?s cryptic answers. Just tell me! Think, Arthur. Think!
The rock-throwing. Obvious: Martinez?s bean ball. Gabby. Obvious: She?s on my mind. The Main. The hookers. Pitre. Pitre trying to dress Gabby. Gabby beckoning for help. A tingle of fear began to form.
Hookers. Pitre and Gautier were hookers. Pitre and Gautier are dead. Gabby works with hookers. Gabby was being harassed. Gabby is gone. Could there be a connection? Could she be in trouble?
No. She used you, Brennan. She does it often. You always fall for it.
The fear would not recede.
What about the guy shadowing her? She seemed genuinely frightened.
She split. Not even a note. Thanks. Gotta go. Nothing.
Isn?t that a bit much, even for Gabby? The fear became stronger.
?Okay, Dr. Macaulay, let?s find out.?
I went to the guest room and looked around. Where to begin? I had already gathered her belongings and heaped them on the closet floor. I hated to go through them.
Trash. It seemed less invasive. I dumped the wastebasket onto the desk. Tissues. Candy wrappers. Tinfoil. A sales slip from Limit #233;. An ATM receipt. Three balls of crumpled paper.
I opened a yellow ball. Gabby?s scrawl on lined paper:
?I?m sorry. I can?t deal with this. I would never forgive myself if . . .?
It broke off there. A note to me?
I opened the other yellow ball:
?I will not succumb to this harassment. You are an irritant that must . . .?
Again, she?d given up. Or been interrupted. What had she been trying to say? To whom?
The other ball was white and larger. When I unwadded it, runaway fear shot through me, vaporizing all the unkind thoughts I?d been nurturing. I flattened the paper with trembling hands and stared.
What I saw was a pencil drawing, the central figure clearly female, her breasts and genitalia depicted in minute detail. The torso, arms, and legs were crudely sketched, the face an oval with features vaguely shadowed in. The woman?s abdomen was open, the organs rising from it to circle the central figure. In the lower left-hand corner in a stranger?s hand was written:
?Every move you make. Every step you take. Don?t cut me.?
30
I FELT COLD ALL OVER. OH, GOD, GABBY. WHAT HAVE YOU GOTTEN into? Where are you? I looked at the mess around me. Was it normal Gabby chaos, or the aftermath of panicky flight?
I reread the unfinished notes. For whom were they intended? Me? Her stalker? I would never forgive myself if
Calm down, Brennan. Think!
The phone. I tried Gabby?s apartment and office. Answering machine. Voice mail. Bless the electronic age.
Think.
Where did her parents live? Trois-Rivi #232;res? 411. Only one Macaulay. Neal. An old woman?s voice. French. So glad to hear from you. Been such a long time. How are you? No, they hadn?t talked to Gabrielle in several weeks. No, that wasn?t unusual. Young people, so busy. Is anything wrong? Assurances. Promises to visit soon.
Now what? I didn?t know any of Gabby?s current friends.
Ryan?
No. He?s not your guardian. Anyway, what would you tell him?
Slow down. Think. I got a Diet Coke. Was I overreacting? I returned to the guest room and reexamined the sketch. Overreacting? Hell, I was underreacting. I checked a number, reached for the phone, and dialed.
?Y?allo.?
?Hey, J.S. Tempe.? I struggled to keep my voice steady.
?My God. Two calls in one week. Admit it. You can?t stay away from me.?
?It?s been over a week.?
?Anything under a month I interpret as irresistible attraction. What?s up??
?J.S., I . . .?
He caught the tremor in my voice and his demeanor changed, the flipness replaced by genuine concern.
?Are you okay, Tempe? What is it??
?It?s these cases I talked to you about last week.?
?What?s happened? I profiled the guy right away. Hope they realize that was your influence. Did they get my report??
?Yes. You made the difference, actually. They?ve decided to form a task force. That part?s moving right along.?
I wasn?t sure how to broach my anxiety about Gabby, didn?t want to abuse our friendship.
?Could I ask you a few more questions? There?s something else I?m concerned about, and I really don?t know wh-?
?Why do you even ask, Brennan? Fire away.?
Where to begin? I should have made a list. My head was like Gabby?s room, thoughts and images scattered haphazardly.
