Page 53 of Bears Behaving Badly
“Sorry, I’ll clarify. We did not get a chance to implement it. We only told my boss we had Caro, but not where. We never even mentioned my house. And frankly, I would be surprised to learn that my boss retained any part of that conversation.”
“So…what?”
“So only one person knew Caro was here.” She turned to David. “Knows.”
“Yep.”
“I’m lost,” Dev confessed.
“It’s awful, but I guess you were right about Judge Gomph,” she added, stricken. “I’m sorry I didn’t give your theory any merit.”
“What’s a Gomph?” Pat asked.
“A guy the size of a piano with a superdeep voice who eats salad out of buckets,” Dev said. “Bigbuckets. You’ve gotta see it to believe it.”
“Judge for the juvie courts,” David replied. “Looks like he might have something to do with the abuse Caro had to live through. He gave Annette permission to beparens familiafor three days, but now it’s looking like he was just isolating Caro so he could get rid of her.”
Pat’s eyes went big. “A fuckingjudgesent those guys?”
Before Annette could answer, the phone on the wall rang.
“Jeez, there’s a cord sticking out of it and everything,” Dev marveled. “That’s not old school. That’s prehistoric school.”
“Landlines have their uses,” Annette said.
“And fewer than half-a-dozen people have the number for that particular landline,” Pat added. “And since my dad only calls on Labor Day, or when he needs bail or rehab, odds are it’s for one or both of you two.”
David could see Annette hesitate before picking up the red receiver, could almost hear her wonderingWhat fresh hell is this?while she answered.
“Hello? Oh! Nadia, you won’t believe what…Ow.” She held the phone a couple of inches away. “Nadia? Nadia? Nadia? Caaaaaaalm down… I can’t understand a word you’re… Can you even hear me? Nadia… I think you’re going supersonic, Nadia, or would it be subsonic?”
“Who is it?” Dev asked with faux innocence.
“Nadia, I’m just going to hold the phone further away from my beleaguered ear canal… Nadia? And wait for you to finish or pass out from lack of oxygen, and we’ll go from there.”
Which was what happened. David was genuinely amazed: who knew Nadia could squawk and shriek an unbroken litany of complaints, reprimands, and profanity for well over three minutes?Does Guinness keep track of stuff like this? Because they should.
Finally: “I understand. We’re on our way… I…Yes.And just for the record, I’m s—annnd she hung up.” She turned to David. “There’s trouble at the—”
“Old mill? Lead the way, girl!”
“Kindly rot in hell, Pat. There’s trouble at United. And Gomph’s looking for us.”
“Looking for us hard, or just ranting?”
“Both? That’s when Nadia began to get especially incoherent. She said something about Oz, too. Look!” Annette held up a trembling hand. “I’m still shaking.”
“Then we’d better get our rogue butts in gear.” David paused and took a last look around the snug chamber. “Is this what dig inandrun meant?”
“Of course.”
“The best part is, even if it’s underground, it’s a lot warmer than the main house.”
“Pat. We’ve been over this,” Annette said in the tone of the long-suffering. “The main house isn’t chilly.”
“The thermostat up there is permanently set to sixty-three. You’ve basically turned your house into a satellite of the polar circles.”
“I have not!”
