Crying Wolf

26

The aquarium was missing. They were sitting in the twins’ room on the third floor of Lanark, Nat at one of the desks, Izzie on Grace’s bed. Outside, the sky, a morning sky but dark, darkened more, and a few flakes began falling, almost invisible in the weak light.

“Where’s Lorenzo?” Nat said.

“We took him down to the cave. She-Grace wanted company in case it was a long wait.”

They fell silent, waited. After a while Izzie picked up a mirror, made a few adjustments to her hair. “I wish you wouldn’t be like this,” she said.

“Like what?” Nat said.

“Brooding, or whatever it is. What’s the point? It’s done.”

“Maybe not.”

“Maybe not? The only way to undo it is to make us look like idiots.”

Nat said nothing. There was an unfamiliar sharpness in her tone; he put it down to tension.

“You know what your problem is?” she said.

Tension, for sure. He’d never heard her on edge like this, not close. She wasn’t herself. Perhaps the girls had made a mistake: maybe Izzie should have waited in the cave while Grace handled things up here.

“What’s my problem?” Nat said.

“Fear of success,” Izzie told him. “Which I always took for psychobabble. Now I’m thinking it exists after all.”

He felt that one, so close to ambition should be made of sterner stuff. It didn’t matter now. Someone with the money was on the way. Someone gave the money to Izzie. Izzie gave the money to no one. Grace emerged. A little hanky-panky, then back to normal life. It sounded simple, like a beginning case study in economics.

She came over to the chair, stood behind him. “Let’s not fight,” she said, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Mmm,” she said. Her hands were cold.

There was a knock at the door. Nat’s eyes met Izzie’s. Was her heart suddenly beating faster too? Probably not, from the casual way she said, “Come in.”

The door opened: a UPS man in his brown uniform.

“Izzie Zorn?” he said, reading the name from the package in his hand.

“I’ll take it,” said Izzie, and laid the package on the other desk. The UPS man went away.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” Nat said.

Izzie opened the UPS package, unwrapped bubble wrapping, pulled out what was inside: a laptop. She looked puzzled for a moment, then laid it aside.

“New computer?” Nat said.

“The old one disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“Stolen, I guess.”

“When was this?”

“Not too long ago.”

“You never mentioned it.”

She shrugged.

“Did you report it?”

“Report what?”

“The theft.”

“To whom?”

“Campus security.”

“What good would that do?”

“Maybe none,” Nat said. “But there was Wags’s TV, the TV from the lounge, now this.”

“Probably Wags doing it himself,” Izzie said.

That had never occurred to Nat. “Why would he?”

“Why would he build a snowman in your room?”

Nat realized he still had a headache, very faint. “I don’t think Wags-”

Another knock on the door.

“Was I supposed to sign?” Izzie said; and, as casually as before: “Come in.”

The door was opened again, but not by UPS. Two men in suits came in, very nice suits-even Nat knew that. The first man, the smiling one-not Albert, not Anton-was Andy, who’d sat beside him in the limousine to the airport; behind him, not smiling, was Mr. Zorn.

Someone coming with the money: why hadn’t he expected Mr. Zorn? Nat had no idea what to say or do; and felt transparent.

Not Izzie. She leaped up, ran to her father, threw her arms around him, started crying. Actually shaking, wracked with sobs: Nat was amazed, would never have thought her capable of this. It was almost as though she were really afraid for Grace. Mr. Zorn watched him over her shoulder.

The smiling man extended his hand. “Hi, Nat. Andy Ling. Met you over Christmas. More pleasant circumstances.”

They shook hands. “Maybe I’d better go, Mr. Ling.”

“Not necessary,” said Andy. He turned to Mr. Zorn, patting Izzie’s back, his eyes still on Nat. “Is it, Mr. Zorn?”

“We’d appreciate your staying,” said Mr. Zorn.

Nat nodded.

“Good man,” said Andy. He opened a closet, peered inside, beckoned Nat over. Was Nat supposed to notice something? He noticed shoes; had never seen so many outside a shoe store. Andy Ling lowered his voice. “Why don’t we give them a moment or two?” Andy led Nat into Grace and Izzie’s bathroom, shared, because of their corner room, with no one.

Andy closed the door. He glanced in the toilet, drew aside the shower curtain. “Scared, Nat?” he said.

“Yes,” Nat said. It was true.

Andy opened the medicine cabinet, closed it, ran his eyes over the bottles on the shelf above the sink: nail polish remover, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner, Clairol. “Scared of what, exactly?” said Andy.

“This… this situation.”

Andy turned to him, still smiling. He had one of the friendliest faces Nat had ever seen: asymmetrical, lumpy, cheerful. Nat tried to remember his job description. Albert was Mrs. Zorn’s personal assistant, Anton was her personal trainer, and Andy? He didn’t recall anyone ever telling him.

“I don’t blame you,” Andy said. “Being scared.” He dumped the wastebasket on the floor, poked through the mess, poked through it with his gloved hands; not till that moment did Nat notice he’d kept his winter gloves on the whole time.

The mess: tangled strings of dental floss, balled-up tissues, Q-tips, an empty bottle of Clairol, another bottle, also empty, that Nat recognized: Bidoit Paradis, Grande Champagne, 1880. Andy picked it up, sniffed at the opening, set it on the sink. “Don’t blame you one bit. Something happen to your nose?”

“Just a bump.”

Andy opened the bathroom door and reentered the bedroom. Nat checked himself in the mirror-the nose wasn’t bad, but there were other problems, hard to define-and followed.

Izzie, no longer crying, sat on Grace’s bed, hugging her knees. Mr. Zorn stood by her, gazing out the window.

“Imagine spending four years here,” said Mr. Zorn.

“Doesn’t get any better,” said Andy.

“You agree, Nat?” said Mr. Zorn.

Nat couldn’t manage a reply of any kind.

Mr. Zorn looked past him. “Anything?”

“Nope,” said Andy.

“What’s going on?” said Izzie.

“You’re asking the right question,” said Mr. Zorn.

Andy got down on his hands and knees, checked under the beds. Nat had a premonition of what was coming. Stop, he thought. Enough. He almost said it.

“What are you doing?” Izzie said. “And where’s the briefcase?”

“Briefcase?” said Mr. Zorn.

“Or whatever you brought the money in.”

Mr. Zorn sat down beside her. “Why don’t you tell us the whole story?”

“But I already did,” said Izzie.

In fact, Nat realized, it was Grace who had told the story, told them on the phone as though she were Izzie. How well did she herself remember it? Sequential, nondenominational, whatever it was, blah blah. How well had she listened in the first place?

“Please tell it again,” Andy said, soft and gentle.

Izzie shrugged. She told the story, second hearing for Mr. Zorn and Andy, first for Nat. She didn’t try to sell it at all, didn’t even look at anyone as she spoke, just sat there on Grace’s bed, still hugging her knees, spoke as though it was all unfolding again in her head. She told how Grace had risen in the night, complaining of an upset stomach; how Grace had gone down to the Coke machine in the Lanark basement; how she, Izzie, had fallen back asleep and been awakened by the kidnapper’s phone call. A male voice. Perhaps a slight Japanese accent. He’d put Grace on the line for a moment, to prove he had her. “I’m all right,” Grace had said. Grace had been Grace, poised and cool. But Izzie could tell she was just being brave; they’d have to take her word, the word of a twin, for that. Then the man came back on with the demand: one million dollars in nonsequential low-denomination bills. He would get in touch again to arrange the delivery. Click.

“Click,” Izzie said again, now looking up at her father. She’d done beautifully. Nat’s premonition had probably been false; certainly false, he would have thought, except for one thing: there was no briefcase.

Silence in Grace and Izzie’s room.

Andy sighed. He rose, slowly, as though his legs were tired, and went to the phone on Grace’s desk. “The call came on this phone?” he said.

“Yes.”

“About what time, Iz?”

“Exactly?”

“As close as you can’ll be all right.”

“I didn’t check. Around five-thirty this morning.”

“Give or take how much?”

“Ten minutes either way.”

“Could it be more?”

“I guess.”

“How much more?”

“I don’t know. Five minutes, ten, fifteen. It was pretty upsetting.”

“I understand,” Andy said. “So give or take a half hour, either side?”

“I guess.”

“Maybe a little more?”

“Maybe.”

“But not, say, ten hours.”

“Ten hours? What are you talking about?”

Andy turned to Nat. “And where were you at that time, Nat? When the call came.”

“In my room.”

“Which is?”

“In Plessey. Across the quad.”

Andy went to the window. “Mind pointing it out?”

Nat pointed to Plessey Hall.

Andy shook his head. “All so picturesque,” he said. “I can’t get over it. The call didn’t come on your phone, by any chance?”

He was still gazing out the window; Nat wasn’t sure for a second if the question was directed at him.

“Mine?”

“Yours,” said Andy.

“No, sir.”

Andy turned to Mr. Zorn. “That it, Mr. Zorn?”

“Other than asking Izzie if there’s anything she’d like to change, yes, that’s it.”

“Change?” said Izzie. “About what?”

“Your story,” said Mr. Zorn.

“I’m not getting this,” Izzie said.

“No?” said Mr. Zorn. “For one thing, there haven’t been any calls, in or out, on this phone since… when, Andy?”

“Seven thirty-three P.M. yesterday. Incoming from room nine in this same dorm. Something about the arrival of a pizza, according to the student who made the call. The next one, the only other one, was Izzie’s call home this morning.”

“Second,” said Mr. Zorn, “Andy made a phone call of his own on our way up here.”

“Spoke to Nat’s mom, out in Colorado,” Andy said. “A very nice woman. She explained all about her unfortunate new circumstances, and their implications. I felt bad.”

“Third,” said Mr. Zorn, “I know your sister.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Izzie shifted down the bed, away from him.

“I know people, Izzie.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I know all I need to know. I did a billion-dollar deal last year-meaning I made a billion-dollar decision-on less information, less essential information, than this. So if you’ll just tell me where Grace is, we’ll get back to work.”

“Have you all gone crazy?” Izzie said. Nat knew they hadn’t. It was over, just like that, the whole plan blown apart effortlessly, as though they’d posted it on the Web by mistake. Nat tried to catch Izzie’s eye, get her to stop. Izzie didn’t look at him.

“She probably has a suite at the Inverness Inn,” said Mr. Zorn.

“Want me to check?” Andy said.

“It really doesn’t matter. She’ll turn up.”

Izzie rose, stood over her father, getting it at last. “You’re not paying?”

“Why pay ransom when there’s no kidnapping?” said Mr. Zorn. “Make any sense to you, Nat?”

“No, sir.” He hated letting Izzie down, but that was the answer. He also hated the way Mr. Zorn was watching him, without anger, without hostility, without scorn, but still punishing. He’d been a guest in this man’s house.

“I take that as a confirmation,” said Mr. Zorn.

“Yes,” said Nat.

“Thank you,” said Mr. Zorn. He rose too. Now they were all on their feet; the room seemed small. “It’s beautiful here, Andy, as you say. The thing to remember, though, is it’s just a big playpen. Won’t do to get too caught up with people like Leo. It might interest you to know, Nat, that I never hire people from this kind of place. I harvest from the top five percent of the state schools every year.” He checked his watch. “Anything else, Andy?”

“I don’t think so, Mr. Zorn.”

Mr. Zorn faced Izzie. “I’m not blaming you, angel. I know what’s going on.”

Izzie was white. “You’re abandoning her? She’s not worth one little million out of that last billion?”

“Izzie, the game’s over.”

“What if… what if it was… me, instead of Grace?”

“You’re not making sense, Izzie.”

Izzie laughed, a strange laugh of real amusement. “You don’t know anything.”

Mr. Zorn gave her a careful look. “Maybe you should have gone to separate schools,” he said. “To escape her influence.”

“Influence?” said Izzie. “You think I don’t know whose bidding you’re doing?”

“Who would that be?”

“Your present wife, of course.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong. She wanted me to hand the money over, on the assumption it was going to Nat.” Mr. Zorn turned to him. “She liked you. But it doesn’t work that way, Nat-might as well learn now.” He paused, looked Nat in the eye. Nat met his gaze; it took just about all the willpower he had. “I can relieve your mind on two things,” Mr. Zorn said. “First, we didn’t tell your mother what was happening, and have no intention of doing so. Second, there will be no legal consequences-as long as you do what I’m sure you knew was the right thing from the beginning.”

“Which is to go on home,” said Andy. “Plus no hard feelings, right, Mr. Zorn? You said to remind you.”

“Of course not,” said Mr. Zorn. “No hard feelings, no recriminations, no threats. I never threaten people.”

The nature of the threat-his mother and the law-was clear.

“They’re at the age for adolescent pranks,” Andy said.

“Good point,” said Mr. Zorn. “Imagine if they’d been funneling-is that what they call it, Andy?”

“ ’Fraid so.”

“Funneling quarts of vodka or something.” Mr. Zorn shivered.

“Every parent’s nightmare,” said Andy.

“So we dodged one this time. Let’s think of it that way. Have Grace get in touch when she cools down.”

Nat and Izzie stood by the window, watching Mr. Zorn and Andy Ling walk across the quad. Andy said something that made Mr. Zorn laugh; a big breath cloud rose above him.

“We ended up looking like idiots anyway,” Nat said. He felt worse than an idiot, embarrassed and ashamed; but deep inside he agreed: We dodged one this time.

“Speak for yourself,” said Izzie.

He looked at her in surprise.

“Sorry,” she said; came to him, wrapped her arms around him, shivered, just as her father had done. Mr. Zorn and Andy disappeared from view. “There is a positive side,” Izzie said after a moment or two. Was she, too, aware that they had dodged one this time? Izzie surprised him again. “It’s not often,” she said, “you get the chance to find out what someone really thinks about you.”

“He likes you,” Nat said. “He loves you.”

“You don’t understand.”

“It couldn’t have been clearer,” Nat said. “If he’s got problems, they’re with Grace.”

Izzie’s grip on him tightened. Outside snow was falling harder.

“We’d better go tell her,” Nat said.

“What’s the rush?” Izzie said, her mouth close to his ear; the sound sent one of those odd nerve reactions down his neck and spine. He knew what Izzie was thinking: Grace would say they’d blown it.

But they had to tell her, tell her about the failure of their little scheme; and while they were at it, there was more: “We should tell her about you and me.”

“Both at the same time?” Izzie said. “How much can the poor girl take?”

Nat turned her sideways a little so he could see her face. “You’re acting funny,” he said.

“Am I?”

He looked into her eyes, saw the gold flecks, took in Izzie’s whole golden effect. “Maybe there’s no point telling her about us,” he said, “now that I’m going home.”

Did the idea upset Izzie? Nat couldn’t tell. Before, she’d said, You can’t just go. Now she said, “Let’s worry about that later.” She kissed him; then kissed him deeper. At first, he felt nothing. Then he realized this might be the last time-Albany-Chicago-Denver, there was a flight that very afternoon at three-and felt a great deal, much more than he was prepared for.

“Now?” he said.

“Why not?”

Izzie drew him toward the bed; the closest bed, which happened to be Grace’s. He steered her the other way, toward her own bed.

“What’s the difference?” she said.

They lay on Izzie’s bed. The last time, he thought: and maybe because of that knowledge, nothing went quite right. It was clumsy, awkward, quick-clumsier, more awkward, quicker, than any of the other times, even the first, on Aubrey’s Cay. He was surprised once more, then, when Izzie cried out at the end, loudly, passionately, instead of making the low moan she sometimes made, or no sound at all.

Izzie came out of the bathroom. “I’ve been thinking-it might be better if I tell her myself,” she said. “Why don’t you wait here?”

“No,” Nat said. Grace almost certainly would blame them-Izzie especially-and he wanted to shield her. “I’m coming.”

“I’d rather do it myself.”

That was Izzie. He smiled at her. “I’m coming.”

She opened her mouth as though to argue, closed it, came over. “Why not? It can’t get any crazier.” She kissed him, running her tongue over his chipped tooth. “What’s that?”

“My chipped tooth.”

“You can always get it fixed.”

Taking a flashlight, they crossed the quad, went down to the Plessey basement, shifted the panel at the back of the janitor’s closet, entered the tunnel. They walked, deep under the campus, Nat leading, their feet silent on the hard-packed dirt floor. All familiar now: the downward slope, the dampening air, the dripping sound from somewhere nearby. At the junction, they turned into the right-hand passage, no longer hung with spiderwebs because of their coming and going. The dripping sound grew louder. Suddenly Izzie screamed and dug her fingers into his shoulder, hard enough to hurt.

“What’s that?” she said.

In the flashlight’s beam, a bat hung from the valve on the steam pipe. “Just the bat,” Nat said.

“Kill it.”

“Don’t be silly. What’s wrong with you, Izzie?” But he knew: she was afraid of her sister. It made her jumpy. “Why don’t you go back? I’ll tell her myself.”

“Piss on that,” said Izzie.

They walked on, past the bat, hanging motionless. Izzie released her grip on his shoulder.

Nat raised the trapdoor, saw it was dark down in the cave, at least in the bedroom part. Grace was probably asleep. He climbed down the rope ladder, Izzie following, shone the light on the bed. Grace wasn’t in it, but something lay on the pillow. Nat went closer. Because of its color-that of putty-Nat didn’t recognize it until he was within touching distance. He didn’t touch. Lorenzo: Lorenzo lying on the pillow, dead in the open air, all his gaudy beauty faded away.

“Grace?” he called. “Grace?” And hurried, running at the end, into the big room. No candles burning in the big room either. Nat stabbed his light here and there. “Grace? Grace?” The room was a shambles-furniture overturned and broken, paintings knocked off the walls, cabinets smashed, shattered glass everywhere-and Grace was gone.

Peter Abrahams

Crying Wolf