Chapter 26
“This cannot be. Your source is mistaken”, Ronny replies to whatever is being told to him over the phone
Silence.
“You have a picture”, he says, and I can’t tell if it’s a question or a statement
After a moment he says, “Will do. I am switching on the PC now”, and walks somewhere close to my room
I hear him typing on the keyboard.
“What’s going on?”, I want to know
Antonio flips his palms in a gest of impotence to tell me he doesn’t know
I stir in the bed, but Antonio gently pushes me down and brings a finger to his mouth
“No…”, I protest, and yet I let myself drop on the pillow, eyes shut
“God…”, I hear from the other room
“What is happening?”, I ask again, without opening my eyes
Antonio gets up, I hear his steps and when I open my eyes he is no longer in the room. He and Ronny are right next door, and everything is silent for a moment.
“This is impossible…Laura had only two girls, Iris and Veronica…but this face…”, Antonio mumbles
My body is a dead weight now. Eyes closed, my body immobile, I picture myself walking out of bed.
Then I focus, I gather my strength.
The touch of the floor on my naked feet sends a shiver through my spine. I stand uncertainly, teeth clutched, my skin cringing into pointy goosebumps. I make my way into the next room, my hands pressed onto the wall to guide my teetering steps.
When I enter the room Ronny and Antonio are mesmerized by the computer screen, they ignore my presence, they ignore the voice resounding from the other end of the line.
“Do you believe me now?”, I hear it speak from a distance
A face looks at me from the screen. Same eyes as mine, same nose, perhaps a slightly different twist of the mouth, a smirk that is foreign to me.
It’s not me, and it’s not Veronica, but it’s as close to us as it can be.
“The picture was taken in New Orleans…”, the voice echoes from the phone
A sudden thunder shatters the sky and the rain breaks, slashing the windows. The light illuminates the face, and twists it into an evil grin.
You’re not alone, I hear it promise me.