Logan peers at me, his lips pale in the dark. ”I’m serious about those booby traps, Penn. The owner’s lawyer informed the department so we’d be aware of them. Fire department, too. He was covering his ass in case of a lawsuit.“
”Fuck him. It wasn’t any prowler that burned this place. It was an electrical fire. He let everything rot, and fire was the result.“
”Yeah,“ says Logan.
As I walk over to a tree trunk to lean against it, a sharp squawk makes me jump. Then the sound of music floats through the dark. Coldplay. Then the music fades and Mia whispers to us through the receiver: ”Alicia just went inside. I’m in the car. She took my cell phone and told me to stay put. She said you can get killed wandering around this place. That’s why Marko chose it.“
”She needs to stop talking,“ Logan says. ”Marko might be watching her right now.“
”That’s not why he chose this place,“ I think aloud, looking through the trees at the dark ruin. ”This is just like Sarajevo.That’s why he chose it.“
”Locals don’t even think about this house anymore,“ Logan muses. ”They pass it every day, but it might as well not be here.“
”Here she comes,“Mia whispers. ”No Marko.“
”He’s there,“ I murmur. ”He’s waiting for you.“
”This is dangerous as hell,“ says Logan. ”It could go really wrong for that girl. Is she even eighteen?“
”Yes.“
”Come on, Mia,“says a childlike voice-Alicia’s voice.”He’s waiting, you know?“
The sound of footsteps crunching in wet gravel crackles from the receiver.
”Are you recording?“ I ask.
”Every word.“
”This is bullshit,“says Alicia. ”I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but this is bullshit.“
Mia doesn’t reply.
”I know you want him for yourself,“Alicia goes on, her voice warbling with fear. ”Well, you can’t have him.“
”I already had him,“Mia says. ”That’s not why I’m here. I’m just trying to keep him from spending the rest of his life in jail.“
”You’re a liar.“
The crunching stops.
”They’re walking around the house,“ says Logan. ”On grass. We’d have heard the porch.“
”Right here,“says Alicia. ”Boost me up.“
”Through the window?“asks Mia.
”You see me, don’t you?“
Wood scrapes against wood. The girls are climbing through the window. Then I hear a clatter of heels on hardwood.
”Mia!“cries a male voice. ”So glad to see you, baby!“
The East European accent is unmistakable.
”Give us some space, Alicia,“Marko says.
”What?“Anger now. Uncertainty with it.
”Disappear for a while.“
”But-“
”Go.“
The silence after this command is chilling, but then the sound of light footsteps comes to us.
”Not that way!“Marko snaps. ”I’ve told you a hundred times. Go sit in the front room and watch the driveway.“
”You’re a bastard, you know that?“
”I know this. That’s why you love me.“
More footsteps, slowly fading.
Marko chuckles softly. ”So, we’re alone finally. What’s the big news about Coach Anders?“
I hear a soft, sliding sound. Mia padding around the room in her running shoes? ”This place is wild,“she says. ”Gas lantern, huh? That sheet on the window keeps people outside from seeing it?“
”Just like back home,“Marko replies. ”What’s the deal, Mia? What about Wade?“
”He’s recanted his story.“
”What’s that mean, recanted?“
”He admitted that he lied for you. He told the police that you weren’t at his house on the afternoon Kate died. The police are looking for you now.“
A long pause. ”Is that so?“
”Yes.“
To ensure that Marko couldn’t learn the real truth of the situation, Logan called Wade Anders and warned him not to take any calls from Marko. Logan told me Anders sounded scared shitless on the phone.
”How do you know this?“Marko asks.
”From the guy I babysit for. Penn Cage.“
”Ah, Mr. Cage. I heard Cyrus fucked him up pretty good.“
”He did. I saw him. But what about the police, Marko?“
”It’s no big deal. I was changing my name anyway.“
”Changing your name? Are you leaving town?“
”That’s right. Leaving tonight.“
”Are you going to come back and graduate?“
Marko laughs wildly. ”Too late for that, baby.“
”No, it’s not. If you took your exams, you could still graduate with the rest of us.“
”Can’t do it.“
”But Cyrus is dead now. And Penn said the Asians are dead or gone back to Biloxi. What do you have to worry about now?“
”Cyrus has homeboys. The Asians are a gang. They believe in payback.“
”Is that really it, Marko?“
”What do you mean?“
”I mean…where were you that afternoon? For real?“
”What afternoon?“
”Don’t give me that. The afternoon Kate died.“
”Busy. I’m a busy man.“
”Okay, be that way. I’ve just been wondering about Kate, that’s all.“
”What about her?“
