Chapter 15

Seven minutes passed. Seven long, Muzak-filled minutes with the occasional pause that made Larry catch his breath in the hope that someone was about to answer, but no, no one ever did. At seven minutes ten seconds, he moved his thumb over the END button. The next time that break in the music came and no one picked up the other end, he’d hang up and redial, he promised himself. He still had to shower and get ready for work.

The pause came; he tensed. This time, though, the music didn’t begin again. Instead, a different woman’s voice cracked across the line like a whip. “Larry who?”

No pleasantries, no introductions, nothing, but the authority in her voice told him this was someone in a position of power. Someone he didn’t want to piss off. Taking a stab in the dark, he guessed, “Marnie Hall?”

He could imagine her eyes narrowing into little beads of distrust. She spoke slower, as if he might not understand. “Larry who?”