Page 56 of Callan

“How much longer am I supposed to do that?” I ask while he drapes his coat over his shoulders.

He leaves it open and picks up his gloves.

“Are you traveling for the holidays?” he murmurs.

“No. I’m home. Alone.”

It's not exactly what he asked.

I flash a smile.

“Sorry. Too much information. It must be the wine talking,” I excuse myself, and some of the tension dissipates from his face.

“I’ll let you know if anything changes,” he says and points with his glove to the table. “Thank you for the wine.”

“Uh… Yes. And thank you for the gift. Pink is my color.”

I sound a bit off, but I don’t care.

“And the money helps.”

I try hard not to wince in embarrassment.

That was too much information again.

I gesture him to the door.

“You know your way out,” I say.

Somehow, not accompanying him to the door feels better than doing it and remaining bereft after he leaves.

“I sure do. Take care, Mackenzie.”

With that, he makes a beeline for the door and steps out, my feet pinned to the floor.

Later, I head to the exit, open the door, and look up the stairs. I can’t tell which way he went. So, I pull back, lock the door, and dash to the window.

The street is empty for a few seconds before he exits the building.

I swear he glances up as he slides through the door.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell whether he looked at my windows or my neighbor’s place upstairs. So far, Carmen doesn’t seem to be aware that he’s been in the building.

Hugging myself, I watch him stride up the street.

Huh. So, he’s not going to Beverly, either.

Where is he going?

No car picks him up this time.

And what did he mean by not having a choice when I asked him whether he had followed me or not?

I pull back.

He followed me from the second I walked out of my building, which makes me believe he was watching the area.

Was he watching me? Or was he watching her?

---