Page 35 of The Thinnest Air
“What the hell is this?” Andrew asks, examining each item. My heart stops when he studies Ronan’s card.
“He must have seen me go to the police station that day,” I say. “He must have figured out I talked to Detective McCormack.”
Good save.
“The Peaceful Bean?” He flips the postcard over and back. “Never heard of it.”
“I had coffee there last month. With a friend,” I say. A half-truth isn’t the same as a full lie, but it still feels wrong.
“So the lunatic’s still following you.” Andrew’s mouth presses flat, the way it did when I told him about the note on my car a while back. It seemed to hardly bother him at first, but eventually he took precautions, calling me more and checking on me. But when nothing happened after that, things returned to normal, and Andrew was convinced the only bone-chilling thing about Glacier Park was the north winds in January. He assured me it was probably some teenagers pulling some prank, and when I asked how they knew my name, he said they were probably friends of Calder’s.
It made sense at the time.
Or maybe I just wanted to believe his explanation.
It was the least terrifying of them all.
“Should I call the police?” I ask, recalling Ronan’s instructions to notify the department right away. Though I have no idea how long this has been sitting in my mailbox. The only things that get delivered anymore are bills and junk catalogs I never read since I do most of my shopping online or in Glacier Park Commons. I’m lucky if I check the box more than once a week.
“It’s late.” He frowns, glancing at the time on his phone. “I doubt the detective’s working right now, and if they dispatch an officer, all we have is this letter that’s been sitting in the mailbox for God knows how long. Just go in the morning.”
Andrew yawns, coming around the island toward me. Cupping my face in his hands, he presses his lips into my forehead, like I’m a sullen child whose irrational fears can be comforted with a kiss.
“Bed?” he asks, his hands lowering to my waist. I breathe him in, a feeble attempt to soothe myself, but I feel nothing.
No safety.
No security.
“None of this worries you?” I ask, biting the inside of my bottom lip until I taste blood.
“No,” he says, his tone uncompromising. “This place is Fort Knox. You’re safe here. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I promise. Not with me here.”
Half the time, I wake up at night and find the security system unarmed. He forgets, and when I bring it up, he laughs because Glacier Park was voted the “safest city in America” nine years in a row inPeoplemagazine.
“Contrary to what you might assume, I don’t sit around all day eating Dove chocolates and watchingThe Price Is Right.” I roll my eyes. “I’m probably gone more than I’m home. What if something happens when I’m outside of your impenetrable fortress?”
“Keep your phone on you,” he says. “Be aware of your surroundings. Stay away from places you’ve never been before.”
“So that’s all I have to do, and nothing will ever happen to me?” I’m being facetious, but he doesn’t pick up on it, or if he does, he’s not playing along.
Sliding his hand into mine, he tows me behind him, heading to our master suite.
“Let’s stop with the worrying, Mer,” he says. “It’s really getting old. This is some lunatic who probably escaped from the mental hospital in Glen Falls who just wants to mess with you because he gets off on it. No one’s going to hurt you.”
“You don’t know that.” The fact that he hasn’t suggested Calder’s friends this time around concerns me. He has to know this is more than some silly prank.
“You’re right. I don’t. But I do know I’m never going to let anything happen to you.” His expression relaxes and our hands loosen as we climb the stairs. I stay a few steps behind him. “If someone really wanted to hurt you, don’t you think they’d do a little more than send you creepy letters that make no sense?”
“The lettersdomake sense. He’s trying to let me know he’s following me.”
“He’s just trying to freak you out. Don’t let him get to you. Pretty soon he’ll get bored with this little game.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“I’m just saying, if you ignore him, he’ll probably go away,” Andrew says. “He wants your attention. He wants to get to you. And so far, it’s working.”
“And what if he doesn’t go away?”
