The Witch's Key Read Free Page B

not
from around here.”
    Lilith volunteered, “He’s from Florida.”
    “Oh?”
    I slithered lowered in my cup, knowing well that even
Carlos would not miss a slip-up like that.
    “Yes, he does those Miami home makeover shows on TV.
That is probably where you’ve seen him before. He gets that a lot.
Don’t you, Tony?”
    “Tom,” I said, but I knew the gig was up now.
    “Right. Tom.”
    Carlos said, “I thought you told me you were staying
with Tom while you get your house situation resolved?”
    “I am,” she said. “But he’s my cousin. There’s
nothing inappropriate about that.”
    “Inappropriate, no. Logistically complicated,
maybe.”
    “Come again?”
    “You said he’s from Florida.”
    I could almost see the light bulb in Lilith’s head
turn on. “I did, didn’t I?”
    “So, which is it?”
    She stiffened up in her chair and closed the lid on
her laptop in preparation to leave. “It’s none of your business.
That’s what it is. Now, if you’re through harassing us,
Detective…”
    “No!” he said, slamming his fist down on the table.
“I’ve waited three months to get some answers from you, and by God,
I’m going to get them. Now, I know that Detective Marcella drove my
car to your house the night you both disappeared. I want to know
what happened to him!”
    “I can’t tell you what happened to him.”
    “You can and you will!”
    At that moment, Dominic Spinelli came to the table to
help calm the situation. He grabbed Carlos by the arm and tried
pulling him away. A small struggle ensued and words were exchanged.
Our waitress, who had come up behind them with a pot of hot coffee,
got tangled in the brawl, spilling the coffee on them and the
floor. It occurred to me that Lilith and I could try to slip out
the door in the middle of the commotion and never be heard from
again. But seeing Carlos in a fit of desperation, knowing how he
must have agonized over my disappearance and presumed death, I just
could not let the charade continue.
    Lilith had already taken to her feet and had packed
her laptop in her tote when I reached across the table and motioned
for her to reclaim her seat. As things settled down, I invited
Carlos and Spinelli to join us at our table. Lilith, I knew, was
not happy about what I planned to do, but she understood that I
needed to do it. Adjusting to the new me was only one of the
problems I had with the whole rite of passage, back to prime thing.
Another was that I had to deal with Lilith’s wishes that we not
tell anyone. For me, that was too high a price to pay.
    I stood to properly meet and greet Spinelli, allowing
for the moment the alias, Tom, to go unchallenged. He took my hand
and shook it with the same cold fish grip that Carlos employed. I
resisted the urge to crack it in a manner similar to that which I
described earlier, and for the sake of reconciliation, I
reciprocated with a limp noodle shake of my own. Spinelli took a
seat, and as far as I could tell, saw none of the haunting
similarities in my eyes that intrigued Carlos so keenly. For that
reason, when I sat back down, I purposely cozied up next to Lilith
and directly across from Carlos. I wanted to look him squarely in
the eyes when I told him who I was, mostly out of respect, but
partly for the entertainment value.
    I started by apologizing for the awkward
circumstances surrounding my confession, and yes, confession , was the word I used. I confessed that I had
probably used bad judgment in not bringing forth the testimony that
would have dissolved the shadows of grief hanging over New Castle
and the Second Precinct. I also confessed culpability in a scheme
to deny friends and coworkers the truth of what happened to a
beloved member of their extended family. And I especially confessed
to Carlos, explaining that I had never lied to him before in my
life, and that I was sorry for having done so now.
    “Lied about what?” he asked.
    “About who I am. My name, it’s not Tom,