Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
On the way out, Sam paused long enough to scoop up a random cat. He began speaking to her in baby-talk as he shut the door behind him. Once he was gone, I took another deep breath and went to dig some luggage out of my closet.
Maybe ten or fifteen minutes later, I joined everyone in the kitchen. I’d changed into jeans and a hoodie, and I was carrying a backpack and a small suitcase.
To my surprise, Marigold Gonzales had already arrived. She was an attractive Latina in her mid-forties, with a lesbian flag pin on her black leather jacket.
When Sam introduced us, she crushed my hand and said, “I want you to know you have nothing to worry about, Mr. Chen. Your moms are in good hands.” She flashed them a smile, which made both my mom and Julie giggle like schoolgirls. Good lord. Then she handed me a small, black duffle bag and said, “This is from SPAM. It should hold you gentlemen for a while.”
I slid back the zipper and spotted a bunch of cash as Marigold continued, “Agent Alvarez is waiting downstairs to drive you to Mr. Miller’s home. She’ll watch your backs while you’re there, and if you need a vehicle, you can take the SUV. It’s SPAM standard-issue, just like that go-bag.” It struck me as odd that my employer had these kinds of contingencies in place, though at the moment it was definitely a good thing.
“I’d prefer to take my car.” When I asked if he was sure, Sam said, “Besides the advantages we talked about, I’ve seen the SPAM SUVs, and they’re pretty conspicuous. My plan is to take us off the beaten path, and my car will blend in a lot better. Trust me.” I really did have to trust him—not just with that, but with all of this.
Marigold reminded us, “You should get going, gentlemen.” I nodded and picked up my backpack, while Sam grabbed the other two bags.
On the way to the front of the apartment, I petted every cat in my path and told them I’d see them soon. When we reached the door, I hugged Mom and Julie in turn and promised I’d check in daily. “I shut off my phone and left it in my room, so when I call you it’ll be from a different number,” I said. “Moira’s supposed to be on campus this morning. If she comes over later, tell her what’s happening and let her know I’ll call her tonight.”
I hugged my mom one more time and told her, “I love you so much. Please be safe. If you go out, take Ms. Gonzales with you, and keep an eye on your surroundings.”
“Don’t worry about me. You just be sure to keep yourself safe, and come back to me as soon as you can.” She kissed my cheek, and when she said, “I love you, my sunshine,” I had to fight back tears.
After one more round of goodbyes, we finally made it out the door, down the stairs, and into the back seat of a huge, black SUV. Sam started to give the driver his address, but she cut him off with, “We know where you live, Mr. Miller.” She obviously meant they’d gotten his information from his employee file, but that was a creepy way to put it.
He sat back and exhaled slowly. It occurred to me that he was probably as nervous as I was, but he was a lot better at hiding it. I gave his hand a quick squeeze, and in response, he shifted a little, so we were leaning against each other. It felt reassuring.
A couple of minutes later, we arrived at Sam’s place. It turned out to be a cute little yellow house on one of North Beach’s side streets. Agent Alvarez got out first and looked around before nodding to us, and we hurried inside. “I’ll be five minutes,” Sam said. “Do me a favor and dump out the milk in my fridge. I don’t want to come home to a science experiment.”
“Sure, no problem.”
He jogged up the stairs directly in front of us, and I started to head down a hallway to my left. But the first room I came to caught my attention, so I paused and looked inside. It was a nice room with pale blue walls and a big fireplace, but it was almost empty, aside from a beanbag chair. It made me wonder if Sam had only recently moved in.
I continued down the hall, passing a bathroom and a closed door before reaching the kitchen. In addition to the nearly empty gallon of milk, all the fridge contained was a bottle of ketchup and an energy drink.
As requested, I dumped out what was left of the milk and rinsed the carton. Then, while I waited for Sam, I perused the photos that were stuck to the fridge with magnets. Most of them were of him with a redheaded guy and a woman with dark hair. The three of them were teens in some of the pictures. A more recent photo was of his two companions on their wedding day. Sam must have been the best man because he was standing at their side, looking handsome in a tuxedo.