Page 13 of Night So Silent
“Mm-hmm,” he returns the look, “I’m just saying, find out her handle, her snap, whatever.”
“What’s a snap?”
“It doesn’t matter. She flies out today around five, I’ll send you her number.”
“Are you using me?”
“Look,” he huffs, “I know it’s asacrificeand all, befriending a beautiful woman long-distance for a while as part of my evil plan.” Then he cracks a smile. “But I’m familiar with your death stares, and the one you were giving Barrett was different. Don’t bother lying about it.”
Lutz is perceptive. But I don’t have girlfriends.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Fair enough,” he nods before heading back to the offices.
It’s not five minutes before I get a text from Lutz with a phone number attached.
Barrett Halsey.
Another gust beats against the siding and the wind howls over the roof. I glance at my watch.3:51.
My phone vibrates again with a weather alert warning of the impending snowstorm. The radar is chaotic, foreshadowing of what’s to come this evening. I imagine Brett’s already droppedBarrett off at the airport, which is fortunate because it should put her safely back on the mountain before it hits.
I glance out the glass doors at the trees bowing and the thick smoky clouds turning the sky dark. More will rear their ugly heads over the mountains, and when that happens, it’ll only get worse. The snow will come and it’ll turn into an icy hurricane.
I slide my phone back in my pocket and begin a loop through the building, dipping into each office as I go.
“Everyone out in fifteen minutes. We’re closing up early.”
I round the corner, smiling to myself.
There’s no way in hell Barrett’s plane is taking off tonight.
CHAPTER FOUR
Five Days Until Christmas
Barrett
Back in the frenzied buzz of the airport, I’m all but blind to everything around me as I stare at the email on my phone.
FROM: CRAMER, DEREK
TO: HALSEY, BARRETT
SUBJECT: URGENT – Absenteeism
Barrett.
Due to Rachel’s sudden departure, I thought we were all in agreement that her workload would be evenly distributed among the remaining staff. As such, you were assigned a full schedule at the end of last week, which had to be cancelled on short notice in your absence. I don’t appreciate this lack of professionalism, as it makes it very difficult to serve our clients.
Please make an appointment with me when you return so we can discuss.
Derek
What the hell is he on about?Appointment?Isn’t that the whole point—that we have too many appointments?And now I have to make one withhimso that we can discuss my time off that was approved months ago just because he can’t delegate?
No, I didn’t respond to your panicked calls and email,Derek, because I almost died on the way here, called my mother to lether know I arrived at my best friend’s house, and then promptly turned off my phone when I went to bed and left it off for the remainder of my visit because Ialsocouldn’t stomach looking at even more texts from a disgruntled romantic interest.
