“What do you do? If I’m not being too pushy,” Colleen asked.
“I work in IT. I’m what you might call a computer geek—one of those people who does online chats when you have a problem with your computer. I also work with software companies, doing beta testing on new programs. Pretty boring stuff, really.” Ellie wasn’t lying about the computer part. The “boring stuff” was definitely an exaggeration.
“I am not that tech-savvy. Just the basics,” Colleen said.
“That’s why there are dweebs like me.” Ellie chuckled.
“I won’t keep you from your geeking. It was nice talking to you, Ellie. And thanks again for the Buddy-Jackson connection.” Colleen was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Ellie. She seemed so “normal.”
“Nice talking to you, too. Enjoy your day.” Ellie hung up and put the burner phone on a shelf. Maybe she would keep this one just for Jackson and Colleen. She hadn’t made any other calls with it so far.
Besides her weekly calls to her mom and Kara, and maintaining her fabricated life, she felt a connection to Colleen. Maybe it was because she knew more about her than Colleen realized. Being a crackerjack computer geek, Ellie could be a good hacker when necessary. She knew that what she did was illegal at times, but her life depended on it.
Ellie had over a dozen repair calls that day. Mercury must be in retrograde, she thought to herself. A normal day usually brings five or six, lasting about an hour each. That day, it was one huge problem after another. Before she knew it, the buzzer at the gate rang. She looked at her watch. It was 3:20. She looked out the back window and saw Jackson with his baseball glove and a ball and buzzed him in. The gate shut behind Jackson, just as Hector had planned.
Ellie noticed a police car pull up in front of Colleen’s house. She hoped there wasn’t anything wrong. She pulled out the binoculars and watched a policeman climb the front steps, carrying a package under his arm. Colleen had a smile on her face as she let him in. Ellie was relieved. Now if they could just get that creepy husband to stop parking his car on their block.
Ellie turned to look out the back window again. Buddy and Jackson were running all over the yard. She was glad Hector had cleaned up after Buddy that morning. She’d hate for Jackson to go home with doggie doo-doo on his shoes.
Feeling a bit neglected, Percy jumped up on one of Ellie’s desks and started knocking things over. For a feline, he was quite a character. Most cats are agile and can walk around almost anything without disturbing it. Not Percy. It was his mission to disrupt whatever you were doing. And if you weren’t paying enough attention to him, he’d find something to bang or slam. As annoying as it might seem, it always made Ellie laugh.
“You are such a goofball!” She picked up his fifteen pounds of fur and rubbed her face in his neck. Even though he had to sit on her lap at every opportunity or lie on top of the very newspaper she was reading, he didn’t like to have his four feet dangling in her arms, and he started to squirm. She set him down on the floor, and he immediately jumped back on one of her consoles and tossed a computer mouse onto the floor. “And you know that’s called a mouse, don’t ya?” He gave her a loud meow in return.
“Now scoot. I have work to do.” Percy gave her a look that said, “No way, lady.” And he perched himself on one of her drafting stools.
“OK. You sit there, but behave.” Ellie talked to her animals as if they were people. She preferred them over most people. And for the past two years, they were all the company she had had.
She leaned back in her chair. Human connection was something she was beginning to miss. At first, she hadn’t wanted any contact with people. It was much better that way. But after two years, she was feeling the burden of being a hermit.
She thought about what it used to be like to have a female friend to hang out with. Have tea. Shop. Share a bottle of wine. She had to admit she missed it. Maybe she would invite Colleen over for tea. Just not yet. She’d wait to see how the Jackson-Buddy situation developed. And Colleen was going through a major transition. She probably could use a friend right now, but Ellie was apprehensive about getting too close to someone. Maybe she would limit the contact to phone calls. They could discuss work, school. Nothing too personal.
Her computer chimed. Another confused and frustrated customer. She turned back to the consoles and began to type.
Ellie: Hello. I’m Sheri. How can I help you today?
She never used her real name. Nor the fake one she had been using for the past two years, either.
Chapter Seven
At 3:15, Colleen sent Jackson over to Ellie’s. She was so happy to see him in such a good mood. But her mood changed when she went into her bedroom and opened Mitchel’s closet. It was the first time she had bothered to peer into it since he had been allowed to take some of his personal items. Of course, he had left a pile of dirty clothes, filthy sneakers, and several greasy baseball caps. She changed into clothes appropriate for cleaning out the rancid items, went into the kitchen, and pulled out several large trash bags and rubber gloves. She had tossed almost everything into the bags when the doorbell rang. She checked her watch. Four-thirty already! Officer Pedone—rather, Bob—was here. She took a quick look in the mirror. She was a sight. And not a good one. Her hair was a mess,
