Page 53 of Water's Edge

“That’s great. When? I mean what time?”

We agree on seven and the call is over. I hope I will be able to put the case aside by then, knowing full well that I’ll stew all night. And something may come up. If that happens, I have his number to disappoint him again. Unfortunately, Ronnie overhears my part of the conversation.

“Is Dan your boyfriend?” she asks.

“No,” I say. “Just an acquaintance.”

I’m not about to explain to her that when it comes to relationships, especially one that might actually go somewhere besides the bedroom, I’m pretty messed up. Or that I liked him almost immediately and I know he liked me. Or when it comes to love I don’t have the trust that’s needed to water it and help it grow. Instead, I withhold the parts of me that are important and end up lying about almost everything. Nothing grows in salted soil.

Ronnie grins. “Sounds to me like you have a date tonight.”

I give her a shrug and return the smile. Yes. It does. Not much scares me, but I’m scared. I need to make a call. I go outside and make a call to another person I haven’t talked to for a while.

Dr. Albright is always there for me.

Twenty-Seven

Karen Albright doesn’t let me down. She answers almost before the first ring is finished.

“Megan, I’m so glad you called.”

She sounds sincere.Issincere.She’s my last best friend on earth. She’s the only living soul who knows almost all of my past. Enough to label me one of the monsters I’ve hunted. Hunted and killed. But she doesn’t. She listens. I trust her like I never trusted my mother. Or my aunt.

I’ve never allowed myself to call her Karen. Her first name. She is always Dr. Albright to me. She knows it. I know it. It’s what works for us.

“Dr. Albright, I just called to see how you are.” EvenIcan hear the lie in my voice. The nervous edge that comes with each word.

“Talk to me, Megan. I’m here.”

I knew she would always be there too.

“This is going to sound silly,” I say.

“Then why don’t you take a moment and amuse me.”

I can hear the smile. I don’t know why, but I feel a sting of wetness in my eyes. I don’t allow myself to cry. It’s a weakness. Weakness equals disaster, even death, in my world. I force myself to let out a small laugh.

“I’ve got a date tonight.”

Dr. Albright stays silent. That’s one of my tricks. A good one.

I fill in the gap. “I guess I’m afraid.”

“Afraid you’ll have fun?”

I detect the mirth in her voice again. She’s not interrupting the flow. She’s redirecting it to the real reason I called her.

“I like him,” I say. “He likes me. He’s been trying to reach me for a month.”

“He contacted you today?”

“Just now. He wants to meet me for drinks tonight.” I don’t admit that I’m the one who proposed that. It’s a little miscommunication, not really a lie. Dr. Albright is quiet. I know if I don’t tell her what’s on my mind, the whole conversation will be me saying one or two words and her staying silent.

“We got together a short while back and seemed to get along. And then, when he was walking me to my car, he asked me to go with him to some kind of art thing. I said yes. But I didn’t meet him. And I haven’t been returning his calls. And then he just shows up and I have too much to deal with already.”

“What are you dealing with, Megan?”

“I’m on the hunt again. I know you don’t approve of what I do, or how I see my place in the world, but someone is kidnapping, torturing, and killing young women. I can’t… I don’t know how to…”

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