Page 18 of Dark Masquerade
Tandy grinned. “Nope. You look good, Els, I have to say.”
Elli smiled. “Well, I’m excited you’re here, Tandy. Where are you staying?”
Tandy looked a little guilty, and Elli laughed, having expected her to ask her to stay with her—it was an old habit. “You can stay as long as you want, Tee. You know that.”
“The boyfriend won’t mind?”
She hadn’t really thought of Aldo that way before. Elli turned the label around in her mind for a moment, feeling oddly uncomfortable with it, before dismissing the feeling as yet another residue from the damn concussion. “Theboyfriendis in New York for the next few days, so you’re all set, as long as you don’t mind sharing a bed with me.”
“Have I ever?” Tandy rolled her eyes. “We’re going to have so much fun. Listen, I have to go meet another friend, so can I come by your place around nine tonight?”
“Of course. I’ll even go grocery shopping.”
“Don’t buy anything healthy.”
Elli chuckled. “Oh, I won’t.”
Elli lugged the grocery bags up the stairs to her apartment. Dumping her bags on the table and taking off her coat, she walked over to the small table beside the door to set her keys down—if she didn’t, they’d be lost immediately. As she leaned down, she spotted a plain brown manila envelope just poking out from beneath the door. Frowning, Elli picked it up and turned it over. There was no name on it, nor was it addressed to anybody. Walking back into the kitchen, she set coffee brewing, then opened the envelope and shook out the contents.
A photograph slid out, face down, and when she flipped it over, she felt a cold fist in the stomach. It was a picture of her from about twenty minutes ago. She was emerging from a bakery several blocks away, looking sideways down the street, so she’d missed whoever it was who had the lens pointed her way.
What the fuck? She studied the envelope and photo minutely, but could not see any trace of a clue to who might have sent it. It was such an invasion of privacy—and so creepy. She remembered how she’d felt at the art gallery on New Year’s Eve and that same prickling feeling chilled her skin. If this is you, Indio Navaro, stop it. I’ve moved on.
Maybe he had seen the picture of her and Aldo kissing.Don’t kid yourself, girl. Why would he care?
Elli shook herself and stuffed the photograph and the envelope in the trash can. She unpacked the groceries and was wondering if she should cook something for a late supper with Tandy when her cell phone rang. Not looking at the Caller ID—she automatically assumed who it was, based on Aldo’s earlier promise—she answered with a playful, “It’s not quite bedtime yet. Missing me so soon?”
The caller whispered down the phone.
“You look beautiful tonight, Elli.”
Her flesh crawled again and anger flashed through her. “Who is this? What the fuck do you want?”
A low chuckle, and she tried to pick out anything she could recognize in the voice.
“You, of course, Elli. Always you. It’s always been you.”
Elli gritted her teeth. “Well, asshole, you don’t get to have me, do you? Who are you?”
“You know me,Elli Bella.”
The shock was icy cold. “Indio?” her voice, a whisper, broke as she said his name.
He chuckled. “Who knows? All that is certain is one thing, beautiful Elli.”
“What’s that?”
“That soon you’ll bebleeding out,whore.”
And the line went dead. Elli dropped her phone and sank to the floor, trembling violently, unable to stop the panic attack, and that’s where Tandy found her an hour later.
Tandy insisted on Elli reporting the call and the photograph to the police, but the terse officer taking her statement evidently thought she was a hysterical female, and soon Elli stomped out, followed by a furious Tandy.
“Motherfucker,”she raved as she wrapped her arm around Elli’s shoulders. Tandy had the height from her American father, almost six feet of her to Elli’s five-five, and Elli was weirdly glad of it as they walked home through the dark streets. It was bitingly cold. Elli looked at Tandy a little sheepishly. “This isn’t the homecoming I wanted you to have, Tandy. Maybe I’m making too much of this.”
“A death threat? No way, Elli. This is scary stuff.” Tandy sighed, shaking her head. “You know what’s weird, though?”
“What?”
