Page 146 of Evil Bones
“To take off without explanation is out of character for Katy. You know that.”
“Something musta come up.” Clearly distracted.
“Her car is in the garage. Her phone is here.”
“Maybe she—”
“Are you listening to me?”
The crowd murmur swelled to a roar. Leather groaned as Skinny’s ass scooched forward across it.
“Kill that damn TV,” I demanded.
“Christ a’mighty. Don’t get your shorts in a twist.”
I heard plastic scrape wood, then blessed silence. I suspected Slidell had muted but not abandoned the game.
“There. You happy? Now roll that by me again.”
I did.
“You checked her crib? Tried her—”
“I’m standing in her kitchen. Her phone is here but she’s not. That’s wrong. Katy never goes anywhere without it.”
“On my way,” Slidell said, tone unreadable.
Ten minutes of pacing and cuticle gnawing, then my mobile rang.
I snatched it up.Unknown numberagain.
“What do you want?” I said, trying to conceal the terror I was feeling.
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” The voice was high and nasal, the words clipped with noticeable spaces between. Mechanically altered?
“Who is this?” I asked.
“If I told you that, the game would be over.”
“I’m not playing your game.”
“But you are.”
“Is Katy there?”
“Oh, she’s here, all right.”
“May I speak to her?” Heart racing, voice calm.
“I don’t believe she’s up to conversation.”
I felt a hollowness open in the pit of my stomach.
“Tell me about this game,” I said, stalling, hoping to keep the caller engaged until Slidell arrived.
“You know the one.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t.”
