Abroad, p.25
Abroad, page 25
There was still no answer even after a full minute, so I buzzed again. Nothing. Finally, on the fifth ring, a cautious “Sì?”
“Is Anna here?”
I was answered with only a blank crackle over the intercom. I buzzed again, then knocked. When ten more minutes passed, I pounded relentlessly, slapping the door. By the time someone finally came—an Italian flatmate I recognized but whose name I didn’t know—my hands were bloodless and smarting.
“Anna is not here,” the girl said. “The old man took her.”
“The old man? Who?”
“The man. The English man.”
“What are you talking about?” I felt like shaking her. A roar rose in my ears.
“I told you, the English—”
In my pocket, my phone began vibrating. I picked it up and saw it was a London number.
“He said she wouldn’t be back,” the girl said. “That they are going to England. Do you think we can have her clothes?”
“No! Just a moment…” I turned away. “Hello?”
“Tabitha Deacon?”
“Yes?”
“This is Arthur Korloff.”
“Oh!” The flatmate shut the door and locked it again. “I’m so glad you called. Anna’s—”
“With me.”
“Ah.” The panic receded. “I see.”
“I need to meet with you.”
“In London?”
“Of course not. I flew in to Grifonia last night.”
“What? Why?”
“I received a call that Anna was in trouble. So I came.”
“A call? What sort of call?”
“Meet me at the main university building, in that concert hall. It’s usually open at this hour for kids who want to practice, but no one ever goes.”
“When?”
“Right away. We’ll be taking a train as soon as possible. As soon as she’s fit to travel.”
The pounding was back. “All right.”
“Come now, Tabitha. As in, right now.”
He hung up. I left Anna’s house, walking quickly down the street, past the building I’d followed Colin into that day, then down to the school. The college was crawling with students headed to their midday classes; I thought sheepishly of the ones I’d been skipping. The main concert hall was open. I sat in front of the mural, looking at the stony faces of those noble laborers carrying those huge blocks of stone. After a few minutes, the door slammed behind me. Professor Korloff walked to the very front of the concert hall with his satchel, took a seat on the stage, feet dangling off the side, and lit up.
“Hello again,” I said.
“Tabitha.” Professor Korloff was dressed up today in a blue suit, though he still wore trainers. “Well. I knew you girls were bad for Anna, but this is a whole new level.”
“I’m sorry?”
He looked at me over his glasses and blew out the smoke. “Jenny called me yesterday. Not that I’m her biggest fan, after what she pulled at Samuel’s house.”
“And?”
“She said…” The professor took a breath. “She said that Anna was selling drugs. And using them. And on the verge of getting herself either arrested or killed.”
I sat down heavily in one of the wooden seats. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t know how that could be true.”
“No?”
“I’ve never seen Anna take anything. Ever.”
“Well. She was out of her mind this morning on something. How do you explain that?”
“I—”
“And all the bags of coke? And heroin? And those wafers? Don’t think I don’t know acid when I see it. Found them all under her bed. Explain that.”
“Look, why would you think I have something to do with all of this?”
“Because,” he said, “you’re the Persephone.”
“What?”
“You have those eyes. As if you were meant for … I don’t know. Subterfuge. You seem sweet, but it’s impossible to know what’s going on in there. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“No,” I lied. Lots of people had told me that.
“Jenny called me yesterday, saying she was worried. Anna had been acting erratically, she said. Getting high, disappearing to other countries for weekends.”
“Look, I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen Anna high. And she never goes anywhere. Our other friend Luka does, but—”
“Well, Jenny went through Anna’s things because she wanted to know what the hell was going on. And boom, a huge stash.”
“Professor Korloff…” I paused, shaken by the enormity of Jenny’s lies. “Maybe it’s not hers.”
“That, frankly, is very hard for me to believe.” Seized all of a sudden by a wracking cough, he sat back for a moment, recovering, then threw his cigarette onto the floor.
“All right. This meeting has been amazingly useless. Tomorrow, as soon as she’s sober, or as sober as she can be, I’m taking her by train to Rome and then to London. I’ll check her into a quiet, low-profile rehab facility and she can forget about all of this.”
“But she’s not a drug addict.”
“Really? Because she told me she’s ready to go. Get me the hell out of here were her exact words. And when I found the … products, she admitted the whole thing. She’s been selling.”
“With who?”
“She didn’t say. But I have a guess.”
“I swear it’s not me.”
“Well, of course. If you swear.”
I sighed. “Where is she? I need to talk to her.”
“I don’t think that’s particularly wise.”
“Professor Korloff, Anna really is my friend. I would like to at least say goodbye.”
The professor looked at me. “I put her in a room at the Nysa. It’s expensive but I needed discretion. Also, coming down from whatever she’s on will be uncomfortable, so I thought the nice room would help.”
I picked up my bag and started for the door.
“One moment,” Professor Korloff said.
“Yes?”
“I need you to deal with these drugs.”
“Deal with them?”
“Get rid of them.”
“I’m sorry. I—I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to do that.”
Professor Korloff looked at me for a moment, then got up and rushed toward me. He leaned over and shook me roughly by the shoulders.
“Stop lying to me!” he growled. “Grow up, Tabitha! All right? Fix your fucking mess!”
“I’m not lying. This whole time, I’ve never lied.”
The professor released me. He paused, straightened his clothes, then walked to the satchel he’d brought in and held it up. “It’s all in here. Take it somewhere.”
I took the bag. It was heavy, significant. As if there were a head inside. Reluctantly, I pulled the strap over my shoulder.
“You know, this all used to mean something,” he said, gesturing with disgust at the sack. “Girls who went abroad, they were breaking out. It was a sexual revolution. They were … tearing at ropes tied by their brothers and fathers. When a girl fucked you, she was fucking the system.” He ran his hand over his thin, delicate hair. “The Italian girls had to cover themselves all the time, you know, for religious reasons. So you know what they did? They wore these long white dresses, and then put on these black bras and panties, so we could see them through their clothes. Jesus, it killed us.” He shook his head. “And the drugs! They were a symbol. By getting high, you were getting away from the establishment. You girls, you have no idea why you’re in Italy or what you’re doing. You could be in your own living room. You just like that the colors on the walls are different.”
“That’s not true.”
“Is it? Why are you here? Why did you even come here at all?”
I hesitated. “To be someone … different from who I was.”
“Different.” He looked at me. “You girls have everything. Education. Money. Study and work, and you’ll get any job you want. We smashed those glass ceilings for you, baby. And you want to be something different?”
I looked at the professor. His used-up face, his withered hands.
“I think it’s the wanting,” I said, finally. “It doesn’t matter when it is or who we are. The wanting never stops.”
Professor Korloff had no reply to this.
“All right,” he said, after a moment. “So now, voilà, you got what you wanted. You’re different. Just get this crap away from my goddaughter.”
“Okay.” I felt myself physically drain, as if someone had pulled out a stopper in a tub. “But I’m going to the hotel to say goodbye. You don’t believe me, but I didn’t have anything to do with her trouble.”
“Then who did?”
I hesitated. The answer was obvious, but the fact was that I was still in love with the idea of Jenny and Luka. “I don’t know.”
Professor Korloff waved his arm at me, as if shooing me away. “You know what? I don’t give a shit. I just need to get Anna out of here.”
“Where is she?”
“Room 406.” He looked so tired then. And sad. “Just knock. She’s completely fried. Jesus, she’ll probably let you right in.”
* * *
Given the staggeringly high prices of its rooms, the security at Hotel Nysa isn’t exactly top-notch. I breezed past the front desk, took the elevator to the fourth floor, and knocked. When there was no answer, I went back downstairs and told them, in Italian, that I was Anna Grafton’s sister. Without comment, they handed me a key.
I opened the door slowly. Anna was on the bed, eyes wide, watching television. She didn’t even look over at me.
“Anna?”
She nodded, her eyes still on the screen. Encouraged, I stepped into the room.
“Are you all right?”
Another nod.
“How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Anna swiveled her head at me, her eyes loose.
“Oh, Mum,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m feeling under the weather, and Ginger’s foot is off. Can’t we ride another day?”
“Anna. It’s Taz.”
“Oh!” She got up and beamed, as if I had just come in. “Where have you been?”
“At home. Well, around. Listen, how high are you?”
She laughed. “Kiss me, you fool.”
“Zanopane?”
“What? Never. Jenny would never let us.”
“You sure?”
“Nasty stuff. And the thing with Eleanor was so frightful.”
I looked at her closely. Maybe she was sober after all?
“Would you like to—”
“I told you, I don’t want to go riding. Stop making me do these things I don’t want to do.” She threw herself on the bed again.
“Okay, Anna. Who gave you the—”
“I’m sorry about Julian, Mummy. It just started happening, you see. For a long time. And then one night I climbed into his bed, you see, and…”
“Stop,” I said. “Don’t tell me.”
She nodded, frowning as if perplexed. “Luka was right. We should have done this ages ago.”
“Luka? Did Luka take it, too?”
“Of course. Coffee and wafers. She came over this morning. She’s over there.” Anna gestured at the empty corner. “Oh. I suppose not.”
“Anna.” I sat on the bed. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Of course it is. Arthur’s rescuing me. King Arthur! He went out for the banquet meat. Hunting the boar.”
“He says he’s taking you away.”
“Yes, getting me out of this mess. Messy messy, messy mess.” She laughed, then looked at me and paled.
“Eleanor?”
“No, Anna. No. See? I’m Taz.”
Anna shot up off the bed, looking down at me with terror. “Eleanor, I’m so sorry. We didn’t know how … how bad off you were.”
“Anna—”
“I would have called the doctor. I thought you were sleeping. Eleanor—”
I rushed over and grabbed her arms. “Anna, calm down.”
She screamed now and jerked wildly. “Oh, God. The shades. Shit. Shit. I’m so sorry, Eleanor.”
I backed away, unable to speak. She looked up at me and grabbed my hands.
“El, you must tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Tantalus. Is he there?”
“I can’t—”
“Is he?”
“I…” There was no reasoning with her.
“Is he desperate?”
“Wouldn’t you be?” I asked.
Anna put her head in her hands. “I don’t know. What’s going to happen?”
“Anna, I’ve got to go.” I didn’t really have to leave, but she was scaring me. “I’ll call you tonight. I promise.”
“You do? You swear it?”
“I swear.”
I led her to the bed and tucked her in tightly. Then I took the bag, tiptoed out, and shut the door.
Eleanor, 21st century AD
The others weren’t tempted to try it. They knew what it was, where it came from. But Eleanor always prided herself on her democratic sensibility. Before she got involved, it only seemed right, sampling the product.
She didn’t know that she’d been born with only three heart chambers. She’d always breathed a little heavily, but it was … nice, really. It gave her voice a throaty quality that boys adored. Killed any interest in athletics. Anyway, she was slight, so she attributed it to that. “Eleanor!” the other girls trilled admiringly. The waif with a hollow leg. She loved her drink, and had no trouble keeping up with the others in that sport. Jenny Cole said she was the best weekend companion she knew.
When assembling her group, Jenny forbade them all to take it, ever. But Eleanor wasn’t going to take orders like the others did. Anna was all over the place. She needed managing. And though Eleanor was enjoying the fling she was having with Luka, the girl was a drunk. No, Eleanor had a mind of her own, which is why before going out one night, she took a wafer alone in her room.
Anna and Luka came into the room a little while after. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. The high was maddening. Eleanor knew something was wrong. Her heart was crawling out of her chest. Still she could hear them. She knew they were there. She heard Luka shout.
Darling, did you—
Of course she did. Bloody idiot.
Anna, she’s blue! Call an ambulance!
We’ve got to get it all out of here first. They’ll look everywhere.
But—
She hardly wants to go to prison, Luka. Whatever her state.
Their voices faded. The organ, which she could feel swelling against her skin, strained and burst. She heard the sick popping sound, felt it go limp, felt the air whistle out of her body. Eleanor was drowning. She reached for the others, but they weren’t there, weren’t there.
The girls came back in, panting.
Oh my God, oh God, is she—
No no no no no—
Eleanor Peterfield, twenty-one years old, 21st century AD
25
When I walked outside, the afternoon was already waning. Even though the satchel weighed at least a stone, I ran the entire way to the farm. A couple of cars passed me, but no one looked twice, as I must have looked like a schoolgirl returning home for her mother’s evening meal. The windows in the houses were all shut; I could see slices of light glowing inside the latched shutters.
The farmer’s house was dark, and his truck was gone. My hands were trembling, but I didn’t slow down until I was at the tomb behind the old stable. Taking baby steps, I inched down the ramp until I was in the main chamber. The darkness was, if possible, even more all-encompassing than before. Strangely, though, I wasn’t frightened.
Perhaps that zanopane is still in my system after all, I thought.
I thought I heard something scuffle in one of the corners. Certainly just a drip of moisture from the weather outside, but it was enough to remind me that I was sitting alone in a tomb that almost no one knew about. The fear that was missing before now flooded in, filling my belly with panic. I dropped the bag onto the ground and pushed it under the stone bench in one of the old side chambers, then turned and ran out of that desecrated place, back into the comparatively blinding light of the late afternoon.
It was four-thirty when I arrived home, and, to my relief, no one was there. I was filthy, so I took a quick shower and changed into jeans, an athletic jacket, and trainers, then picked up the phone and called Luka, who, of course, didn’t answer. I tried Jenny as well but she, too, failed to pick up. I had class to attend at five-thirty, but knew I was too worked up to sit in front of my art history professor’s slide projector. Instead, I wrapped my scarf around my neck and rushed outside, then threw myself into a search of Jenny’s usual haunts.
Most of the bars were empty, save for students drinking the late afternoon hours away. Had they skipped town, I wondered? Fleeing to Rome, Paris, or home? Finally, as a last effort, I went to the Club and leaned on the bell. To my surprise, Luka greeted me politely over the crackling speakerphone and an instant later, buzzed me in.
I slipped into the room, ruddy and damp. Jenny was sipping a glass of white wine; Luka had draped herself over the couch, an empty tumbler perched on her knee. Neither looked surprised or pleased to see me.
“Hello, dearest,” Jenny said wearily. “We’ve got a pizza in the oven. Looks fairly disgusting, but we’re trying to budget.”
“Drink?” Luka said.
I sat on the windowsill, catching my breath. For one moment, I wondered if it all might be a mistake.
“I saw Anna earlier,” I said. “Have you spoken to her?”
“Of course not,” Jenny said.
“What do you mean?”
“After going through all this trouble to get her home,” Jenny said, “why would I call her now?”
I gripped the sill, leaning against the cold window.
“So you did call Arthur. And told him … what did you tell him?”
In a swift, graceful manner only a certain type of woman can pull off, Jenny sat up, finished her full glass of wine, and placed the vessel delicately beside her.
“Luka,” she said, patting her chest delicately. “Do you mind going out for some more of that Montefalco?”
