Page 77 of Perfect Order
“No, you’re closing me out. Why?” And the hurt that causes surprises me.
Instead of answering me, she reaches off camera for something. Much to my surprise, it’s a guitar. Strumming, Leanne morphs into Erzulie in the span of seconds. It’s disconcerting, to say the least, when her mouth opens and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” comes pouring out.
In Erzulie’s iconic voice, Dylan’s infamous lyrics of black days, evil, and foreboding fill the air. Even down to the head shake her sister gives, the far-off stare during a particularly emotional stanza, Leanne has Kylie’s mannerisms down pat. There’s no one who sees her on television who would ever suspect the woman singing isn’t her twin sister.
But as she wraps up, my stomach begins to churn when I get a good look at the desperation in her eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong,” I push.
That’s when fear truly sets in. “I left something with Carys. Promise me you’ll go get it.”
“Lee…” I begin.
“She doesn’t know to give it to you, specifically. She’ll only release it with a…”
“Damnit, Leanne.”
Her lips curve crookedly. “I can’t give you the information you need if you don’t let me speak.”
“Crash, I swear to God, if you don’t tell me what the hell’s going on right now, I’m reading everyone in. To hell with oaths.”
“I met with Carys to redo my estate earlier. It left me feeling gutted, all right?” She drops her head.
I release a sigh of relief before confiding, “The hardest feeling was taking Gene off of every life insurance policy, every property I own, every benefit.”
Her navy eyes fly up to mine. “It was?”
“He was my brother in every way but blood, and he betrayed everything we stood for. And by ‘we’ I mean team, company, and country. I had to swallow the fact he was a traitor as well as the fact his blood was on my hands. I may never recover from that betrayal.”
“And what would you do if you found out tomorrow it was all a waste? That Gene’s death was for nothing?” she whispers.
I stiffen. “What do you mean?”
“Whoever it is wasn’t after Kylie, but me. Which means when they catch up to me, I’ll become expendable. Obviously.”
My mind can’t process what she’s saying. “How could you be expendable?”
She throws up her hands. “I don’tknow! But they must have killed Lee thinking she was me. Obviously, someone thinks I am. And once I go onstage in front of all those people…”
Sudden fear grips me by the throat. “No. You can’t go.”
“I have to. We both know it. I can’t stay here and hide.”
“Don’t.” The plea is torn from my throat.
Her eyes shimmer like deep sapphires. Her smile is tragic when she modifies the song’s lyrics to sing to me, “Where have you been for these last two years?”
Then she hangs up.
And since she’s the fucking hacker who instigates all these calls, I can’t contact her back. “God damnit,” I shout. For half a second, I’m tempted to haul Sam Akin’s ass out of bed before I use my training.
Once I start writing out the pertinent parts of what Leanne said, I underline Carys Burke’s name.
I know who I will be visiting tomorrow.
“This is most unusual, Mr. McCullough.” Carys Burke leans back in her chair. “The instructions I received from Erzulie…”
“Lee,” I correct her, just to gauge her reaction. I’m unsurprised when her eyes widen.
“Very well, Lee. The instructions I received from Lee involved a word. I’ve yet to hear it.”
