Page 22 of Wish I Were Here
I wave my hands at my—admittedly wrinkled—blouse and skirt. “Do I look like someone who walks around with a fake ID?”
Bill’s gaze skates down to my feet and back up. “Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, ma’am.”
Criminals?And then things go from bad to worse when he reaches for my arm. “I think we need to go down to the precinct to sort this out.”
I stumble backward in my heels to get away from him. I’d kept them on in the hopes that I’d make it back to the university this afternoon. This is an absolute nightmare. How am I going to explain to Dr. Gupta that I missed the faculty luncheon because I was in lockup? My back hits Luca’s chest, and he reaches in front of me, wrapping a protective arm across my shoulders as if he’s going to wrestle me away from Bill if he has to. I relax against him, just for a second, because Idofeel protected. And like I’m not entirely on my own.
“Is there a problem here?” comes a deep voice from behind us. “This rascal giving you trouble, Bill?”
Luca and I spin around to face another police officer. Did he really just call me a rascal? I’m honestly not sure if that’s better or worse than being called a criminal. But no, I think he must mean Luca, because Luca releases me with a “Hey, man!” directed at the officer, and now they’re hugging. I don’t even know what to say about that.
Bill nods in my direction. “You know these people, Marco?”
“I know this guy,” Marco says, giving Luca’s shoulder a shake so hard, I imagine his teeth rattling. “This is my nephew Elbow.”
I guess there really are Morellis all over town. But then I register what Uncle Marco said. My gaze flies to Luca, and I mouth, “Elbow?”
Luca shakes his head, mouthing, “Long story,” in return. His face flushes crimson, and for all the times he’s turned on the charm, it is a hundred times more appealing to see him flustered like this. I look away because the last thing I need is to find Luca appealing.
At that moment, Ellie pops into view, and we’re gathering quite a crowd now. “Did we get things sorted out?” Her gaze drifts to the police officers. “Is there a problem?”
Bill holds up my ID. “This woman is walking around with a fake ID.”
Uncle Marco’s weathered face turns to me, smile gone, eyes narrowed like a movie mob boss who is about to order my disappearance. “Is this true?” he demands.
I am going to jail for sure. And then I remember Ellie joking… or not joking… that Luca’s family is the Mafia.
Or maybe I’ll end up in the river.
“No.It’s not true.”
“Luca?” he asks.
Luca slides next to me. “This is my friend Catherine. It seems that there’s some sort of a glitch in the system, but her IDisn’tfake. If she were a criminal, she wouldn’t be here trying to sort it out. I can personally vouch for her.”
A warmth spreads across me at the conviction in Luca’s voice. He’s certainly under no obligation to stand up for me, but it means a lot that he is. I just hope he doesn’t end up a mile downstream in cement boots along with me.
Uncle Marco takes the ID and holds it up to the light. “Well, Bill, it looks real to me. And if my nephew says this girl is on the up-and-up, then she is.”
I relax, and my shoulder bumps Luca’s. He grabs my hand again, and I hold on.
Bill begins grumbling, and from across the counter, Tonya—my nemesis only moments ago—swoops in. Maybe Luca’s charm really did work on her earlier. Or maybe it’s the way she’s eyeing Uncle Marco like he’s a tasty sandwich. “Oh, come on, Bill,” she says. “Let the girl go. She doesn’t strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed, but she’s not a threat to society.”
I gasp, opening my mouth to object.Not the sharpest tool in the shed?I have a PhD in mathematics, for the love of Pythagoras. But Luca tightens his grip on mine, and my extraordinary computational brain gets the hint that it might be better to keep all that to myself.
“Fine,” Bill says, and I get the feeling he doesn’t like everyone ganging up on him. Or maybe he’s jealous of the way Tonya is fluttering her eyelashes at Uncle Marco. He leans over, gathering the rest of my paperwork off the counter, and shoves it at me. “You can go, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Catherine Lipton. Now get out of here before I change my mind.”
“But—I still don’t exist. I need to sort this out.”
Bill takes a menacing step toward me. “It’s not too late for me to take you into the precinct.”
Luca backs up a step, dragging me with him. “Come on, Catherine,” he murmurs in my ear, and I can feel his chest vibrate against my shoulder. “You’re not going tolast ten minutes in jail. Let’s go. We’ll figure something out.”
We will?I’m not quite sure how Luca, of all people, ended up as my partner in crime. Or why I’m so relieved about it.
Outside in the parking lot, I slump against the Town Car. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Luca leans next to me. “You reallyhavedisappeared from the system.”
