Like a Sister(65)

The last of the commuters boarded just as the train beeped. The signal the doors were about to close.

Stay and warn Aunt E or get there as soon as I could.

I decided to do both. Calling Aunt E while jumping on the car. I wasn’t the only straggler. Just as the doors half closed, an East Asian dude reached his hand out, causing the automatic doors to fly back open.

For once I was happy for the interruption. It gave me a few precious seconds to let the phone ring. And that it did. Over and over and over, until finally the mechanical voice from the old-school answering machine picked up. I was just about to leave a message when my phone cut off. Too many calls and not enough charging meant my battery had drained down to nothing. I’d never yell “Keep your phone charged, jackass” at a movie screen again. Now there was nothing I could do but pray we made good time and play out every possible scenario in my head, from Aunt E safe at Zumba to Erin, now knowing I knew, holding her hostage.

The train wasn’t crowded, but I was too wired to sit. I stood by the doors, leaning back against the sign asking me not to.

“Yeah, I got caught up, but I’m on the E train uptown now. Be there in a bit.”

The latecomer stood next to me, ending his leisurely conversation. He must’ve had Verizon. I was switching as soon as I confirmed Aunt E was okay.

He saw me looking and smiled. I gave him one too, all Perky Black Girl. “Hey,” I said. “Can I use your phone real quick?”

He smiled wider, raising the large mole on his right cheek. “Why?”

Of course, he’d think I was flirting.

“I need to make sure my grandmother’s okay and I don’t have service.”

“How do I know you aren’t gonna run away with it?” But his voice was teasing.

“I think you’d be able to catch me…If you don’t trust me, how about you call her?”

He thought it over. “What’s the number?”

I recited it and he punched it in, smiling as he held it up to his ear. Like this was some big joke and the person on the line would tell him he’d won a million dollars. I could barely remember to breathe.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “Want me to leave a message?”

Shitnuts. “I’m good, thanks.”

I was tempted to ask him to place another call, this one to Detective Green. Or even 911. But I didn’t. Partly because the last thing I needed was the cops busting down Aunt E’s door. Those stories never ended well. Not for us. And partly because I had no concrete proof Erin knew I’d found out her secret. Her texts had been frequent, but they’d also been friendly. I had to believe Aunt E was safe for the time being.

I finally took a seat, zoning out until it was time to transfer to the shuttle and then the 6. By the time I got to my stop, I’d done a halfway decent job convincing myself Erin wasn’t even there, that she was checking into some fancy hotel with an expired credit card. But as soon as the subway doors opened at 167th Street, I ran the entire way home.

“Aunt E!”

I stormed into her apartment. Erin was across the room, standing right next to Aunt E. I stopped abruptly. They were baking. Erin smiled over at me as she poured the mashed orange mixture into a pie shell. “My first sweet potato pie.”

I said nothing, just took in short, heaving breaths.

“You okay, Lena?” Aunt E watched me with those intense eyes of hers. Thank God Erin seemed oblivious. “I tried to call you back, but I know you don’t check your messages.”

I looked back and forth between them. Once. Twice. Three times. Finally, I spoke. “Just surprised to see Erin still here, that’s all.”

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day,” Erin said.

Me too. Aunt E kept staring, but I avoided her.

“How was Pennsylvania?” Erin said. “You see Karma Dodson?”

Yeah, right in front of me. She must’ve not known that I knew. She’d obviously sent her mother away so I couldn’t talk to her. “It was a dead end.” I smiled. Let Erin believe her plan had worked. “Let me run to the bathroom.”

I picked up the cordless in Aunt E’s bedroom and called 911 as soon as I closed the bathroom door. “Yes, we have someone in my house I think might be dangerous.”

After I gave the operator my address, she promised to send a police car right away. “How soon can you get here?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

I hung up and checked the time: 4:31. Every minute felt like ten. Perky Black Girl was long gone. Super Black Woman was at the ready. I could do this—keep Erin occupied until they got here. Then leave it to the police to figure out if she was a murderer or just a fraud.

I splashed water on my face, wiping my hands on towels that had been there since the dawn of time before heading back to the kitchen. The pies were now in the oven, and Erin was doing dishes. Aunt E sat at her kitchen table. She said nothing when I came in. Just watched me.

“I didn’t hear the car pull up,” Erin said.

I came over to help her dry. Last thing I wanted was for her to have easy access to steak knives. “Left it at your house. Remember?”

I watched to see how she’d react. She barely blinked. “You didn’t text me.”

“Figured you’d be home. I knocked on your door and everything.” I stopped myself. It’d be silly to tip her off before the police got here. “Obviously you weren’t. How was your meeting?”