Page 106 of Callan

“That’s my cleaning lady,” I say, so fucking uninspired.

She tilts her gaze to me while the phone keeps ringing, and I’m praying Beverly won’t answer.

Just when she is about to hang up, the woman answers.

“Yes?” a female voice drips from the speaker.

Looking at me, Carmen says nothing.

“Can I help you?” Beverly says, her voice an empty vessel.

“Talk to her,” Carmen mouths to me, and the blood drains from my body.

She brings the phone to my mouth.

“Hi. It’s me, Mackenzie. Is there any way you can come on Monday? I know we talked about you stopping by every other week, but I want to have my place tidied up for New Year’s Eve.”

My voice is translucent, lacking emotion and warmth before the entire room goes quiet, and we all wait for the response from the other end of the line.

My heart beats in my ears when her voice rings in the room.

“It’s a bit tight, but I can make it on Monday. How about four in the afternoon? Would that work for you?”

Heat floods my cheeks.

“Four is great. I’ll see you then. Merry Christmas.”

With a mean look on her face, Carmen cuts my conversation short and tosses my phone on the couch.

“I don’t believe an iota of this story, but what do I know? You might be as stupid as you look,” she grumps, signaling the man to join her as she heads to the exit. “You just said youwere looking for a job, but somehow you have the money to pay someone to clean your place when you’re here all day doing nothing.”

I look at her like a cat with a mouse in her mouth, my eyebrows lifting slowly.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one spying on my neighbors in this building.

She’s done some spying herself.

I watch her walk to the door. The man opens it and holds it for her before she spins around and pins me with her glare.

“You tell him this. We know who he is.”

“Charlie?” I say, struggling to keep a chuckle back, almost hinting at my amusement, but luckily for me, it goes unnoticed.

“It doesn’t matter what name he goes by. He stole something from us. He or his men. It’s the same. And we’ll get to him. And get what’s ours back.”

She doesn’t spend another second before spinning around and clacking her heels down the corridor.

The man gives me a warning, frightening look from the doorway before following her in perfect step with her.

The door is still open, and I stare at the corridor, a thought spinning in my head.

I just moved here, and these are my new neighbors?

17

CALLAN

“Isthis about a new woman in your life?”

---