Free The Haunting of Anna McAlister by Jerome Harrison Page B

 
    “It’s worth a try. That is if you really want to find out what’s going on.”
    “You don’t know what you’re getting into,” Anna said.  
    “I’m not getting into anything,” Duncan said. “I want to see your boxes, not Pandora’s.” he clicked his tongue. “Don’t get all carried away with yourself.”
    “Duncan, be nice.” Jeffrey said.
    Anna and Duncan looked directly at each other.  
    “Okay,” Anna said with a little smile. “Let’s go.”
    “Yea!” Jeffrey chirped.
    “No, Jeffrey,” Anna said, her smile gone. “You stay here.”
    “No way Anna Mae,” Jeffrey grabbed his jacket. “I’m not missing this for anything. Besides,” he smiled. “Where Duncan goes I go. After all we are sometimes Siamese twins.”
    Anna and Duncan looked at Jeffrey.
    “You know. . .occasionally attached near the hip.”
    * * *
    Tom was not happy to hear the news when Anna got into the car.
    “You gotta be fucking kidding me?”
    “No I don’t ‘gotta be fucking kidding’ you.” Anna had intended to be apologetic about having Jeffrey and Duncan come over, but Tom’s tone of voice changed her mind.  
    Tom banged on the steering wheel with his fist. “You know what I think of them.”
    “Look,” Anna said sternly. “Jeffrey is my friend, period. Duncan is Jeffrey’s partner. Again, period.”
    “Partner? Yeah, right.” Tom sneered.
    “Stop it, Tom.” Anna demanded. “I need you to behave yourself and help me on this.”
    “Tell him to behave himself. The last time he was over he told me to lose 20 pounds so I could go with him and Duncan to one of their bars.”
    “I’m asking you to do me a favor, okay?”
    “I just . . .”
    “Tom,” Anna’s voice softened. “This is very important to me. Duncan said he would write a letter in French requesting more information.”
    “What did the first letter say?” Tom was also softening. He was the type of person who’s anger explodes like a volcano, but when the eruption is over, it just fades away. He would simply forget whatever incident had provoked him.  
    Anna on the other hand rarely lost her temper, but she never forgot even the smallest offense or unkind word.
    “Do you really want to know?” she asked.
    “Yes, of course I want to know.”
    Anna didn’t need to look at her notes. She recited the letter to Tom practically word for translated word. When she told him about the murder and warning, Tom’s only response was a whispered “Hmmm.”
    “So now do you see why I need Duncan to write another letter?” Anna asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “And you’ll behave yourself?”
    Tom smiled. “I might need some help.”
    “How can I help?”
    “Got Scotch?”
    “No, but we can stop at the store.”
    “Good answer.”
    * * *
    Jeffrey and Duncan followed Anna and Tom in their own car. They pulled into the liquor store parking lot right behind them. Jeffrey made a point of whistling loudly when Tom walked toward and back from the building. Tom smiled and waved. Anna kissed him deeply when he got back into the car.  
    “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear. “I’ll pay you back later.”  
    “Don’t worry, I got the Scotch. It’s on me.”
    “That’s not what I meant.”
    Tom smiled and drove slightly faster than necessary to Anna’s house with Jeffrey and Duncan tight on their tail in hot pursuit.
    * * *
    “Oh my God they are beautiful,” Duncan said as he and Jeffrey looked at the sparkling music boxes, all lined neatly in a row on Anna’s dining room table. “What magnificent pieces. How can anyone be afraid of these. They’re art.”
    Anna nervously paced back and forth behind them while Tom stayed in the kitchen drinking scotch from a Kermit the Frog mug. All of Anna’s other glasses were piled into the dishwasher, which she had failed to start on any of her recent quick trips home.
    Anna hadn’t known what she’d find when they all arrived at her house that day. She expected something, and was surprised