“Okay, Ajax, listen. I can explain,” she spoke quickly, but her phone then vibrated as soon as she began.
Three short rings and one long. It was her emergency ringtone. Larissa had told me once that she and her assistant used that pattern for urgent night calls. I had trusted her for four years without ever checking.
Today, I looked at it. But she was faster. She didn’t answer the call, however. Instead, she hung up.
“Ajax, I have to handle some business. I’ll explain when I get back.”
She was trying to calm me, to find words. I said ‘OK’ even though I did not mean to be calm.
Blood from my nails stained the sheets, but Larissa didn’t even look. She used to change the sheets herself. Instead, she told the servants to clean and hurried to put on her shoes.
Her phone rang again. This time, I wasn’t beside her. She answered at once. The soft voice she used sounded real.
“I didn’t mean to hang up on you … Be good, don’t cause trouble.”
“What do you want to eat? Okay, I’ll be there. I’ll stand in line and buy it for you.”
“I’ll only be with you tonight. Don’t cry.”
I knew she would not come back tonight. And I knew what I had said was true in one way. I would find Richard. I wanted him dead.