“The lady in the market must have called him.” Troy hesitated before reaching for the phone. He couldn’t really avoid the man since he’d barged into his home. “I should talk to him.” He stared at the receiver, let out a deep breath and hit the talk button.
Chapter Nineteen
While Troy talked to his uncle in the kitchen, Julie fished her phone out of her bag in the bedroom. She resisted the urge to call the detectives but took the opportunity to check on her mom and Cal. Elena had just returned home from a few days with her sister, Vicki, and would soon be heading out to Arizona as she’d originally planned. Cal, on the other hand, sounded extra surly.
Julie gazed out the French doors to the serenity of the tall pines and still lake. Cal’s diatribe on the unfairness of life was anything but peaceful. “Cal, I just asked if you brought in my mail.” It was the only day Abbey couldn’t get there. “If you don’t want to or don’t have the time, Abbey can just get it tomorrow.” She hobbled out of the room toward the front door.
“That’s not it, Jules. I know I’m closer than Abbey and I can do it. I’m just worried about you. Where the hell are you? Did you get where you were going?”
Julie glanced at Troy, still talking to his uncle, before opening the front door. More thick pine trees and heavy growth surrounded the area and lined the gravel road that led to the cabin. She limped toward the car to get her books and scripts from the backseat. “Yes, we got here a little while ago.” She made sure Troy wasn’t in earshot. “It’s gorgeous. Peaceful.” She took a deep breath of fresh air, pine trees and lake water, and chuckled. “You’d hate it.” Cal was all about glitz and glitter.
“Hey, I happen to like peaceful, but you’re cutting out. I can barely hear you,” Cal added. “Where exactly is this peaceful heaven on earth? I’m still not happy that no one knows where you are.”
Julie tucked the load under her arm, closed the door and checked the bars on the phone. She edged closer to the house and got a stronger signal. “I’m in Massachusetts.”
Cal whistled. “That I heard. He must have driven like a freaking maniac to get you to Massachusetts this fast.”
Julie nodded. “Pretty much nonstop. I guess he wanted me as far from Los Angeles as humanly possible.”
“No kidding.” Cal sighed. “Okay. So where in Massachusetts?”
Julie spotted two ducks cleaning themselves in the lake behind the cabin, splashing water as they dipped their bills. “By a lake,” she said. “I’m actually not sure since I wasn’t paying attention. I was reading most of the time.”
Cal hesitated on the phone. “Find anything you liked?”
“A couple of possibilities. Most of them were pretty cliché.”
“Any seconds I should have my agent look into?” Cal asked. “Your crumbs are better than my offers.”
“Hey,” Julie said. “That’s not true!” She hated when Cal got sulky like this. Sometimes she really tested their friendship with her comparisons.
Cal didn’t bother to argue. “Look, I have to go. I’m meeting a friend for coffee.”
“Oh yeah? Anyone I know?” Julie asked.
“Nope. A new guy. He’s not my usual taste, but I’m doing my best to expand my horizons.”
“Well, good for you. I’m glad.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow. That gives you the rest of the day to get me a concrete address.”
“Seriously, Cal. Troy doesn’t want me to.”
“Who has been your best friend for over thirteen years?” Cal asked. “Who has watched your back and been there for you since we were teenagers? Don’t let this guy tell you who you can and can’t talk to, Julie. I thought you were more independent than that.”
When she put it that way, Julie felt a combination of embarrassment and shame for not confiding in Cal. Giving her best friend the address was probably a good idea. Someone should know where she was in case something happened to her and Troy.
“Fine. I’ll find the address and let you know tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Jesus, it’s like pulling teeth with you sometimes.”
Yeah, it was definitely time to give Cal some space. “I love you too. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Cal’s frustrated exhale came over the phone. “Yes, you will. Bye.”
Julie disconnected the phone and stared at the display as the screen went black. Sometimes Cal got into a very nasty mood at the drop of