Silent Whisper (18 page)

“Did Belle know that you were coming?” she asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head vehemently. “I don’t want to put her at risk which is why I didn’t call her to ask if she’d call you. Should we warn her in case someone comes looking for me?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied, biting her lower lip. “Karlie, you’re sure that you can’t be traced to me in any way?”

“I’m positive, Lana. Not through phone bills, or address books. I’ve never even discussed you with Dominic. I’m not even sure anyone other than Dominic could trace me to Belle. I know that he would never hurt Belle—or anyone, I mean, anyone that was close to me.”

She patted my hand. “I’m sure that Walter will have no issue with you staying with us, especially seeing that you’re pregnant and all. You can stay here just as long as you need to, okay?”

I nodded, tears welling up. “As long as it’s okay with Walter, too.”

“It will be,” she said. “I promise.”

Later that afternoon when Walter returned, Lana and I explained the situation to him while she was making dinner; leaving out the part we’d agreed to leave out of course.

He was a quiet man, with snowy white hair and eyebrows, but I could see the love that he had for Lana in the sparkle of his eye. “Of course you have a safe haven here with us, Karlie, for as long as you need to stay. We’ve got plenty of room and Lana gets lonely when I have to fill in for vacationing judges. She’ll love the company.”

“Thank you, Walter,” I said. “And I’ll be helping around here, too. You have a big place. I’m glad that it’s remote like this.”

“Tell me, Karlie, do you think Castellano will be looking for you?”

“He won’t know to look here; I’m sure of that.”

“Well, to be on the safe side, I want you to park your car in the garage and leave it. Who holds title to your car?” he asked.

“I do,” I replied, “It’s paid for and the title is with my stuff.”

“Good,” he replied, “That means no one can report it stolen, but to be on the safe side, any traveling you do should be in Lana’s car for the next few weeks. During that time, I want both of you to stay close to home. I’ll keep my ear to the tracks and pick up some out-of-town papers to keep on top of anything that might come up.”

“I’ll go move it now,” I said, “And get my bag out of the car. I didn’t bring much, but I do have money.”

“I predict a shopping trip in our future,” Lana teased.

“Not for a few weeks now, Lana.” Walter scolded.

“I know, Big Daddy,” she teased, giving him a kiss on the lips.

I blushed for some reason and went outside to move my car into one of the garage bays. I grabbed my bag from the backseat, and opened the pouch that contained my car title and cash. I counted the money out because I had no clue how much I had in there. It turned out to be over twenty thousand dollars. That could tide me over for a bit.

I went back inside and Lana showed me to the guest room, which had a bathroom attached. It was decorated in country, with a lovely quilt on the bed and matching curtains.

“This is lovely, Lana,” I said. “I can see your touch all throughout the house.”

“Thank you,” she beamed, coming over to hug me again. “Everything will be okay, Karlie. I promise.”

“I know it will, Lana. I feel like I’m home and I’ve never been here before today.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” she said. “Hey, who says you can’t go home, huh?”

After dinner, I helped Lana clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher. We played a couple of games of cards and then I begged off for the night, wanting nothing more than to take a shower and climb into bed. It had been a long drive and a long day.

“Sleep as late as you want,” she called after me as I headed up the stairs, “And if you need more clean towels, there’s a linen closet in the hall.”

“Night Lana, Night Walter. Thanks,” I called back.

Freshly showered and dressed in silk pajamas, I crawled beneath the clean sheets and fell asleep almost immediately. The sun was coming through the blinds the following morning when I heard the sound of the telephone ringing off in the distance. I opened my eyes, needing a moment to adjust to my whereabouts.

I could smell fresh coffee and glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was seven-thirty.

I heard Walter’s voice from downstairs. “Lana Jean,” he hollered up, “You need to take this call. It’s Belle.”

Dominic

By the time I’d landed, picked up my rental car and drove the seventy-five minute drive to the boonies outside of Chester where Belle’s house was located, my stomach had turned itself into knots. My pager had been going off like crazy, but unless it was Marco, I was stopping for nothing.

I’d never even given Karlie my pager number. And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be accessible to her; it was a matter of trying to protect her and in the end, I had failed miserably at that.

I checked my pages while stopped at a light in Chester. Sal, Sal, Vinnie, Sal, my father, Sal.

Fuck all of them.

I drove up the winding drive at Belle’s noticing the volume of customers had decreased since I’d last been here less than a year ago. I suspected it had to do with the expansion of the track in South Chester that Vinnie had overseen this past spring. I was hoping that Belle still didn’t know that I was part of the family. She would likely be more cooperative in letting me speak to Karlie that way.

Karlie’s blue Nissan was nowhere to be seen once I reached the parking lot at the top of the hill, next to the house. Surely she’d have arrived by now even if she had waited until noon to depart which sent my blood cold once again worried that someone had caught up with her on the road. But that was impossible—my family hadn’t even known how I had located her, though I’m sure they could’ve hired someone the same as I had, but still, they couldn’t work
that
fast.

I went inside the familiar house, walking down the hallway towards the large walnut encased check-in desk outside of the parlor. There was a semi-familiar face behind it.

“What can I do for you, sweetheart?” the dark haired girl with lots of blue-eye shadow asked.

“I’m looking for Belle,” I answered. “Is she available?”

“Ah, like ‘em old, huh? Well you’re plenty good-lookin’ honey, but I’m not sure that even Belle would come out of retirement for you. I’m Rhonda. Hey you look kinda familiar?”

“May I speak to Belle, please?” I asked, my tone now getting impatient.

She rolled her eyes, and got up from behind the counter, and went into the bar area, returning a few minutes later with the older red-haired woman I recognized immediately.

“Rhonda,” she said, “Take over for me at the bar.”

Rhonda gave another eye roll and left us alone in the entryway.

“You,” she hissed, her eyes squinting angrily at me. “What are you doing here? Gonna take what miserable few customers I have left to your fancy little whore-casino you got going now?”

Fuck. She knows who I am now.

“So you know who I am?”

Great - now I’m stating the obvious.

She snorted derisively, not one bit intimidated. The old broad had balls. I liked that, but right now, I needed her to chill. “Yes, I know who you are Dominic Castellano! You passing yourself off as ‘Nick’ with some fake last name—what a crock of shit!”

“Listen, Belle, as I recall, this place operated on a first-name basis only and it was ‘Nick’ which
is
what I am called by some—”

“Not by me you ain’t you simple son-of-a-bitch! So why
are
you here, anyway? Did you at least have the decency to bring Karlie along with you so as I’m not tempted to shoot your ass full of buckshot! Can’t figure out why in the hell she fell in love with the likes of you, but she did. Where is she?”

She was looking around, behind me towards the front door. I was stunned into momentary silence, contemplating whether or not Belle was just
that
good of an actress, or if she truly didn’t know where Karlie was. “You mean she’s not here?”

I watched her reaction because in my line of work, it is critical to have the ability to read people; their body language, their unspoken reactions and I could read Belle’s loud and clear: she had no clue as to what the fuck was going on.

“No she’s
not
here, why? Was she
supposed
to be coming up?”

“I just presumed she might,” I said. “We had a bit of a spat.”

Her eyes narrowed as she now assessed me for body language and unspoken reactions. I suppose our line of work required similar skill-sets.

“Do you mean to tell me you don’t know where she is?” She was glaring at me now, her hands on her hips, shooting daggers.

“Obviously, I thought she’d be here. When did you last speak to her?”

“Not that it’s any of
your
business, but if it helps, I haven’t spoken to her since she visited here on a weekend a while back. Seems like she was upset with you then as well, but she never did tell me why.”

I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. “Listen, Belle, this is very important. If you hear from her, tell her to go somewhere safe— a motel or a hotel, and to register under a different name. You don’t even have to know where it is. But tell her to stay there and to call you daily from a pay phone to let you know that she’s all right. Do you understand?”

“What in God’s name is going on?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “I just want to know that she’s safe. Will you do that?”

She nodded slowly. “If she calls, I’ll let her know.”

“Thank you. And I will call you and let you know when it’s safe for her to leave wherever it is that she’s staying, so that you can let her know, understood?”

She nodded again. “But what if she doesn’t call?” she asked meekly.

“She has to,” I said, with determination and emotion. “She just has to.”

I left and drove around the area, making sure that I didn’t spot Karlie’s car in nearby parking lots, gas stations or ditches along the winding curves and narrow two lane roads that skirted the mountains. I continued driving and searching until I could see the morning light approaching and I knew in my heart that Karlie wasn’t anywhere around Belle’s.

Once I was back in Pittsburgh, I phoned Marco from the airport. “Well?” I asked as soon as I heard his sleepy voice on the other end.

“Well what? Did you get to her in time?”

I felt my heart drop to my feet. “She’s not there,” I replied.

“Hey Nick,” he said, his voice hushed. “We should probably wait and talk in person. When will you be back in Camden?”

“Today,” I replied, “The first flight out.”

“See you then.”

I had just washed my face and brushed my teeth when Lana tapped on my door.

“Come in,” I hollered from the bathroom, running a brush through my hair.

“Oh good, I didn’t wake you up,” Lana said, coming into the room and closing the distance between us. “Karlie, Belle called. She’s frantic. I didn’t tell her you were here, but I think we need to let her know that you’re alright.”

“What happened?” I asked, turning away from the mirror so that I could see her.

“She’s fine, don’t worry. Dominic came looking for you and by that I mean he’s not looking to drag you back or anything.” She relayed to me the conversation that had taken place the night before between Dominic and Belle, and the instructions that he’d given her. I was glad now that we hadn’t let Belle in on my whereabouts, not that she would’ve divulged it to him, but Dominic was gifted when it came to seeing through people.

“I don’t want her to worry,” I admitted, “But I don’t want her to tell him that I called her, either. I can’t go back to that life right now, Lana. Maybe not ever. I have the baby to think about.”

“Oh sweetie, I agree,” she said. “How about I’ll call Belle, and let her know? Then she can honestly tell him every day when he calls that she’s not heard from you, how’s that?”

I nodded.

“And eventually, when he doesn’t call her anymore, it’ll be safe for you to phone her, alright?”

I nodded again, a lump forming in my throat. I hadn’t had a bit of morning sickness, but at the moment, I felt as if I could heave.

“Lana,” I said, “I think I’m gonna be sick. Could you please put some tea on?”

“Sure thing, hun. You come down when you’re ready.”

She left and I proceeded to the bathroom, sinking down in front of the commode, feeling the warm, salty tears that I’d been holding in trickle down my cheeks. I threw up until there was nothing left, not in my stomach and not in my tear ducts.

I flushed the toilet and went to the sink, splashing cold water on my face, hoping it would hide the tearstains. I brushed my teeth again and then looked at myself in the mirror.

It was over. This thing with Dominic and me was over, I realized. I could never go back. It would never be safe for this baby that I carried to be exposed to that kind of life.