“I’m better, now that I know you’re safe. Don’t you ever check the messages on that answering machine of yours?”
“We haven’t been home the past couple of days. What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you might be coming this way anytime soon. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
I didn’t admit that we’d passed the Hickory exits off I-40 just the day before, and though I’d thought of him briefly as we’d driven past, there had been no time to stop.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing, really. It can wait until we see each other again.”
I knew my uncle wouldn’t have kept calling unless it was important. He avoided every bit of modern technology he could, and for him to call me on my cell phone number, I realized that it was likely more important than he was letting on. “Come on, don’t try to kid a kidder. What’s happening?”
“I went to the doctor the other day,” he said, and a wave of dread raced through me. I couldn’t bear losing my uncle. He was the last real tie I had to my family, at least as far as I knew. My mother’s only other brother, Jeffrey, had left North Carolina the day he’d turned eighteen, and no one had heard from him since. There had been rumors that he’d gotten rich, but just as many that he was in prison serving a life sentence. As far as I was concerned, Uncle Thomas was all I had left.
“It’s nothing, but I realized that I’m starting to get older, and there are a few things that need to be settled now.”
“Is it serious?”
“I just told you, it’s nothing. But every now and then, a man has to take stock of his life, and there are a few things I need to get off my chest.” He sighed deeply, and then added, “I’m probably just being a silly old fool. Forget I said anything.”
“Honestly, I was thinking about driving over to see you sometime soon. We’re in Charlotte right now.”
“You didn’t move back there, did you? I love your place in Parson’s Valley. It suits you, Savannah.”
“Don’t worry, we’re just visiting. Actually, Zach’s working on a case.”
“He’s still freelancing, is he? They just can’t seem to let him go.”
“What can I say, my husband’s good at what he does.” I glanced at the clock. It was just after seven, and though the shower had helped some, I was still tired from my mental exercises all day, but I couldn’t let that stop me. “Let me get dressed, and I can be there in an hour and a half.”
“Hang on, I didn’t mean you had to come tonight.”
“I don’t mind. Honestly. You’re not going to bed anytime soon, are you?”
He chuckled. “I don’t sleep much more than six or seven hours a night. I put it off as long as I can, usually.”
“Then I’m coming right now,” I said.
“Take it easy. There’s no hurry.”
“It will be fun,” I said when there was a knock on the door. I’d forgotten all about my dinner. “Hang on one second.”
I opened the door without quizzing the hotel employee as Zach had done, and I was certain he would have disapproved, but I found it awkward to do. The same man who’d delivered food to us the night before smiled briefly as I let him in, and after he was gone, I returned to the phone. “Sorry about that.”
“Is Zach there? Do you need to go?”
“No, it was just room service,” I admitted.
“Then eat your dinner, and get some rest. It would be foolish to drive up here at night.”
“It’s summer; the sun won’t go down until after I get there.”
“But then you’d have to drive back in the dark, wouldn’t you?”
I laughed. “Okay, you got me. But I’m coming up first thing in the morning. I’ll leave early enough so we can have breakfast together.”
Uncle Thomas laughed. “Then you’d better head out by four thirty, because I always eat at six.”
That was too early for my tastes, by at least an hour. “Why don’t we make it lunch, then?”
“I eat at eleven,” he said. “But I can push it back an hour for you.”
“Don’t be silly, eleven sounds fine. I’ll try to get there earlier so we can hang out a little. And Uncle Thomas?”
“Yes, Savannah?”
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Not a thing that can’t be fixed. I’ll see you tomorrow, child.”
“Bye.”
As I ate my dinner—a chicken taco salad this time—I wondered what had brought on the need for Uncle Thomas to see me. He was normally a loner, quite content to be left alone, even by those of us who loved him. For him to make a concerted effort to see me had me more than a little worried. I knew there was no use fretting over it tonight, so I tried to get my mind off it. I briefly considered getting back to the puzzle of the number and letter
