Silence on the other end of the line.
“Did you hear us?” I asked. “About the cufflink?”
Nothing. Maybe her battery had gone dead. If it had… Was someone listening in? Had someone…?
My heart hammered into itself, my chest heaving. “Marjorie? Sweetheart?”
“Sis,” Joe said, his tone panicked. “What’s going on?”
“Marj! Marj!” Franticness strangled me like a noose of fire.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
“Did she say where she was?” Joe asked.
“No. I just assumed she was home. But now I’m no
t sure.”
“Fuck,” Joe said, pulling out his phone. “Keep that line open. I’m calling the cops.”
“Marj!” I shouted again into the phone. “Marjorie! Talk to me! Damn it!”
“The cops are on the way,” Joe said. “Keep that line open, whatever you do.”
He didn’t have to make the demand. No way was I severing my only line to the woman I loved.
No fucking way.
“We’re coming, baby,” I said into the phone, hoping she could still hear me. “We’re coming for you. I love you, Marjorie. Be strong. I love you.”
Epilogue
Now I have what I need.