what he had to say, the reason he felt they had to talk, could not easily be explained over text. Nina checked the time, realizing if she didn’t start the drive home now, she’d arrive later than promised.
She navigated heavy afternoon traffic in the dark of late October, already missing the daylight hours and the leaves on the trees. Her focus vacillated between the road and what on earth Hugh Dolan could possibly tell her. Why was it so important that they speak right away? Obviously, it was about Simon; something negative, she supposed. But what?
When her phone rang, Nina jumped in her seat, startled, even though she’d been expecting his call. There was no name on the display, only numbers, so it could have been a telemarketer—goodness knows she was getting more robocalls by the minute—but somehow she knew it was Hugh making good on his promise.
“Hello?” Nina answered tentatively.
“Is this Nina?” The man’s raspy voice, coarse as bark, suggested a pack-a-day habit.
“Yes. Is this Hugh?”
The air inside Nina’s car grew supercharged. Her knuckles whitened on the wheel.
“Yeah … it’s uh, Hugh.” He sounded out of it, not entirely sure of his answer.
“Thanks for taking the time to call,” she said, talking quickly, nervously. There was no easy entry into this conversation. “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
Hugh exhaled loudly, leading Nina to believe he had blown smoke out of his lungs. “Where do you live? Can we meet in person?”
Nina tensed. That was the last thing she wanted. She knew his history—or at least the part that had put him behind bars. Hugh could be completely unstable, desperate for money. He might think she was easy prey.
“No, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Nina said, choosing not to elaborate.
“Suit yourself,” said Hugh. He made it clear he thought she was making a big mistake. “Let me ask you this: How long have you and Simon been together?”
“Two years,” Nina said, stretching the time a bit, but not by much.
“How did you two meet?” he asked.
Nina weaved through traffic as she maneuvered to her exit, calculating she had about five minutes to devote to Hugh before she had to give her full attention to Maggie, still reeling from her missing lab report.
“We, um … we met through a friend,” Nina said, fumbling for the words, lying to protect her location.
Hugh scoffed. “Lucky you.” He sounded a sarcastic note.
“Hugh, what did you have to tell me?”
Irritation rose up inside her. Nina’s urge to have this call over and done came on strong. Her grand vision of gaining some useful insights into Simon’s past now seemed not only foolish, but quite possibly dangerous as well.
“Yeah, about that,” Hugh answered, sounding as though he were about to drift off to sleep. “Maybe we could … ummmm … work something out.”
“Work something out? I’m sorry, I’m not following—”
Alarms began going off in Nina’s head.
Hang up. Forget this. It was a stupid idea.
“Look, I’m a little short,” Hugh said, his way of an explanation.
It took Nina a moment to realize he wasn’t talking about his stature.
“Are you asking me for money?”
“I’m asking you for a fair exchange,” said Hugh. “Money for me; information on Simon for you.”
Nina stammered, searching for footing here. She had professional training on implementing treatments for alcohol and other drug problems, the role of domestic violence in drug addiction, and a host of other competencies, but none of them covered how to handle a drug addict extorting her for cash.
“I’m not paying you, Hugh,” Nina said, her confidence buoyed from taking a stand.
“Suit yourself.” Hugh was curt, but Nina didn’t get the sense he was going to give up that easy.
“Can’t you just tell me why you thought we should talk?”
Nina hit the exit ramp going ten miles over the speed limit, forcing her to pump the brakes to keep in control. She would be home in a few minutes. Time was running out, and every part of her wanted to know what, if anything, Hugh had to say. Again, she regretted giving him her phone number. Why had she been so cavalier about it? Now he could call her anytime, day or night. He could even threaten to tell Simon she’d contacted him behind his back. She felt foolish and angry with herself, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
“I’ll tell you this much,” Hugh said. “You’re not safe.”
Nina’s body seized as though she were moments away from a car crash, bracing