Page 72 of Heresy

Panic runs down my spine, every muscle in my body tight with worry.

At first, I’m unsure what to do. It’s not like I have a lot of family, or anyone who stays in touch with both Dad and me.

But then it hits me.

One person who may know.

Quickly scrolling through my contacts again, I dial another number.

The phone rings a handful of times before a woman answers, her voice professional and practiced.

“Governor Callahan’s office. This is Genna speaking. How may I help you?”

Breathing out a sigh of relief that someone is in the office on a Saturday, I clutch my hand tighter around the phone.

“Hi, Genna. This is Brinley Thornton. My father is friends with Governor Callahan—”

“I know who you are,” she interrupts, “but Governor Callahan is home for the weekend, and he’s not taking any calls.”

More panic douses me. I thought I had his home phone number from when he’d given it to me with the flash drive, but I neglected to add it to my phone.

“I understand that, Genna, but he’ll want to take this call. It’s not about work. Is it possible you can give me his home phone number? He’s given it to me before, but I didn’t save it.”

A deep voice is quiet in the background, Genna answering a question I didn’t hear. “It’s Brinley Thornton.”

The deep voice sounds again, but I’m unable to make out what is said.

Fortunately, I don’t have to wait long to find out.

“Please hold, Miss Thornton. Governor Callahan will be on the line shortly.

At home, my ass.

I’m sure it’s a lie she tells a lot of people.

Then again, in their line of business, it’s possible the phone never stops ringing, and if they answered all the time, they’d never get any work done.

“Brinley, is there news about the flash drive?”

His voice is urgent, expectant. And unfortunately, on that issue, I have no news to give him. The subject hasn’t come up in the two months since we gave a copy of the drive to Ames’s brother, and I think to myself that I need to ask her about that the next time I see her.

“Um, no. This isn’t about the flash drive.”

Quiet for a moment, he speaks carefully when asking, “Then what is this call about?”

Tears threaten the rims of my eyes. Maybe it’s the stress of the car problems, or maybe it’s because I’ve already lost my mom, and my mind is going to the worst-case scenario with my dad, but I can barely stifle the flow. One escapes before I have a chance to answer.

“I’m calling about my dad. I tried his number, but it’s out of service. I’m hoping you know how to reach him. I just want to know if he’s okay.”

Again, Governor Callahan is quiet, the seconds passing by like ticking bombs. Bracing myself for bad news, I clench my eyes shut against the sunlight.

“I don’t know your dad’s new number,” he finally admits, his voice still careful. “But if you’re worried about him, I can assure you he’s fine.”

I breathe out a heavy sigh of relief. Sniffling, I slap at a tear and open my eyes again.

“Is everything okay, Brinley? You sound worried.”

Of course, I’m fucking worried. It’s not like my dad to disappear off the face of the damn planet.

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