Gallery of the Dead

Seventy-Two

‘Hey,’ Tracy Adams said, as she answered her phone after the second ring. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine,’ Hunter replied. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m OK. Thank you.’

‘I really wanted to apologize for having to cancel on you at such short notice... again.’

‘But you’ve already apologized, remember?’

Like always, Tracy’s voice was soft, her tone understanding, but Hunter did pick up a hint of disappointment in her pitch.

‘Yes, but through a text message, which I would also like to apologize for.’ Hunter’s voice, on the other hand, sounded tired. ‘It’s been quite crazy over here and I just couldn’t find the time to call, at least not for longer than a minute. I didn’t want to call and then all of a sudden have to put the phone down on you because I had to rush off somewhere. Given the circumstances, a text message was my best option and even that had to be done in snatches.’

‘It’s all right, Robert. I know it’s not your fault.’

Hunter got the feeling that what Tracy really wanted to say was: It’s all right, Robert. I’m used to it. It’s not the first time you’ve cancelled on me, is it?

Maybe it was the fact that they were in different cities, different states. Maybe it was the fact that distance was different from time in the way it affected people, but right then, Hunter missed her.

‘I’ll make it up to you when I get back to LA. I promise. I was thinking that maybe I could take you out for dinner somewhere. What do you think?’

Tracy went into a thoughtful silence, one Hunter could hardly blame her for. When he didn’t cancel on her, he would usually cut their date short by having to rush out somewhere after a phone call.

‘When do you get back, do you know?’ she asked.

‘I think we’ll fly back tomorrow morning, or afternoon at the latest. There’s nothing else we can do over here, really.’

Tracy went quiet again, but this time only for an instant. ‘Wait a second, Robert, where are you again?’

Hunter had never told her where he had flown off to.

‘Arizona.’

‘In Tucson?’

Tracy’s tone changed and Hunter couldn’t tell if she was surprised, concerned, or both.

‘That’s correct,’ he replied. ‘How do you know?’

‘I just caught the end of a news report on CNN — an FBI press conference in Tucson, Arizona, about a serial killer they’ve been chasing for some time now.’

‘A little over two months,’ Hunter said.

‘Four victims?’

‘Yes.’

‘So that’s the joint operation you were telling me about.’

‘Yes.’

‘This killer has been active for over two months?’

‘Yes.’

Despite her curiosity, Tracy saw no point in pushing Hunter for answers she knew he would never give her. Instead, she brought the subject back to their date.

‘How about Monday evening?’ she asked.

The sudden change in topic did catch Hunter unprepared.

‘I’m sorry?’

‘Our dinner date,’ Tracy explained with a half-laugh. ‘I’m away for the weekend. I’m attending a conference in Sacramento until Sunday evening. I think I told you about it; I’m not sure. Anyway, I’ll be back in LA by Monday morning. If it suits you, we can go for dinner on Monday evening.’

‘Yes, that suits me just fine,’ Hunter replied, a smile now also on his lips. ‘Monday evening sounds great.’