Falling Into Place Read Free Page A

the ottoman gently from an antique chair across the room. When he’d maneuvered it three feet away from the sofa, he sat facing her.
    “Why?” he repeated in an almost jovial manner. “I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you to know that’s the question I hear most often. It never ceases to amuse me. The capacity of the human mind to ignore the very reality facing it, all the while attempting to decipher its causality. It’s really quite absurd.” As he spoke, his cold eyes surveyed her body from head to toe, making Linda feel naked and exposed. Finally, he locked his gaze on her again and said, “However, you deserve a response, my dear. In terms you can understand, the answer is...because I can.”
    Joshua walked to the mantle and placed the snifter next to his “Seattle Humanitarian of the Year” award. He picked up a remote control device and made his way back to the couch.
    “I think you’re really going to like this,” Joshua said. “Let’s get comfortable and enjoy the show.”
    He lifted her legs up and sat on the couch before lowering them so that her feet were on his lap. He hit the remote control and a sliding panel in the wall revealed a big-screen television as the lights automatically dimmed. The set’s soft, blue light bathed the room. Joshua took off Linda’s shoes and began rubbing her feet, as if they were a long-time couple settling in to watch a movie on a Friday night. Even though his touch now made her skin crawl, she was incapable of stopping him.
    “Pay attention, darling,” he said. “You know how I hate to rewind when you miss something.”
    As the first image appeared on the screen, Linda’s blood ran cold. It was her high school yearbook picture. Her mind reeled. The next image was her graduation day. Then a shot of her standing by her new car at age 20. How did he get these? A series of pictures from spring break, various parties, holidays and other get-togethers. Joshua said, matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it awful when someone pries into your affairs? Invades your privacy? That kind of thing is the ultimate betrayal, wouldn’t you say?”
    A newspaper article about the car accident that killed her mother flickered onto the screen. Joshua gently rubbed Linda’s calf as if to offer condolences. “She was so young,” he said with false sincerity. “Only 53. A tragedy really.”
    Finally, on the screen appeared a slideshow of pictures featuring her and Myles on their wedding day. Linda felt light-headed, and her heart beat so fast that she feared it would burst from her chest like the creature from Alien . She desperately tried to look at Joshua, but she still didn’t have full control of her body from whatever he’d slipped in her wine.
    “We’re coming up to the good part,” he whispered as he once again began to massage her feet.
    On the television screen, a video feed appeared. It was a clear picture of the entrance to Joshua’s house. Linda could see the marble steps and mahogany door she’d entered barely a half hour ago. Had it only been that long? Suddenly, Myles entered the frame. Was this live? Had Myles come back? Should she yell out to him?
    From the video, she heard the song “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. It was the ring tone Myles had assigned to her in his phone. Myles reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. She saw him smile broadly before answering with “Yeah, who is it?” Linda instantly realized she was reliving their conversation from earlier that evening, but this time from Myles’s point of view. She tried not to think about the implication of such a thing.
    Just after Myles hung up on the video, Joshua paused the playback. He leaned over and, with a hint of menace in his voice, said, “Just FYI, my assistant is allergic to flowers. I’d go with a nice edible arrangement for her birthday.” Joshua leaned back with a small chuckle and restarted the feed.
    Linda watched as Myles made his way into the house after entering the