Chasing Tomorrow
Page 78
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Then come to New York and help me. Help Jeff. Prove me wrong.”
“Are you deaf? I’m not coming to New York. That wasn’t part of our deal.”
“Tracy, you get on a plane!” Jean was yelling now. “Do you hear me? You get on a plane or I will tell your son the truth.”
Tracy hung up. She unplugged the phone from the wall. On the counter, her cell phone was flashing red.
Jean’s photos.
Jeff and Elizabeth.
Together.
Tracy picked it up and turned it off. Her hands trembled as if she were disarming a bomb.
“Mom?” Nicholas’s voice drifted through from the living room. “Are you done? Come and help me.”
Tears stung the back of Tracy’s eyes. “I’m coming, honey.”
IT WAS MIDNIGHT, BUT Jean Rizzo was too wired to sleep. He was wide-awake when his phone rang.
“Do you really believe Jeff’s involved in these killings?”
Tracy sounded as tired as he was.
“I don’t know. Do you really believe he isn’t?”
Tracy didn’t answer. The truth was she didn’t know what to believe anymore. She just wanted this nightmare to be over.
“There’s a flight leaving Denver tomorrow at noon. You can pick up your ticket at the American Airlines desk.”
“And you can kiss my ass. I already told you. I’m happy to help and advise you if I can. But I have a life here. I am not coming to New York.”
“Mmm-hmm,” said Jean.
“It’s Christmas!”
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
“I mean it, Rizzo. I’m calling your bluff. I am not coming to New York.”
CHAPTER 17
WELCOME TO NEW YORK!”
Jean Rizzo met Tracy at JFK with a beaming smile.
“I’m so glad you decided to come.”
“I didn’t ‘decide to come.’ You blackmailed me.”
“Oh, now, now. Let’s not squabble.” Jean nudged her in the ribs jokingly. “It’ll do you good to get out of Steamboat. Small-town life can get so boring, don’t you think?”
“I guess you’d know all about boring. Being Canadian and all.” Tracy smiled sarcastically.
They ordered coffee at an airport café.