Angel Magic

Chapter Three

Cassidy bit into the turkey, salad, and cranberry sauce wrap with much enthusiasm. She’d been in such a hurry to leave that morning that she’d forgotten to eat breakfast. Taking another bite, she groaned and relaxed against the back of the park bench. Rain from that morning had moved away to leave the sky fresh and beautiful blue. The sparkling waters of Moreton Bay stretched beyond the flush of the sun, a gentle salt kissed breeze crossing her face. To her left, about fifty miles out to sea, Moreton Island glowed in a shimmering heat haze, and beyond the island thick thunder heads marred the horizon.

          A mother chased her little girl around the silky white sand of the bay. Cassidy watched, her sandwich temporarily forgotten as memories of her family flooded her mind. She missed her parents, and her fat ginger cat, George, all left behind not by choice, but by necessity. Homesickness filled her but she couldn’t cry, the tears would smear her makeup and shift the contact lenses.

          Standing, she dumped the half-eaten wrap in the trash and sighed as she wiped cranberry sauce from her fingers with a napkin. She wondered about her friends and wished she could join them at the local bar for karaoke, or at the movies, or whatever exciting outing they had planned for the weekend. The last time she’d met the girls, they’d spent the night disco ice-skating where she’d taken photos and had spent more time on her ass than on her blades. The small, wistful smile fell from her lips. Those photos were on the same memory card as…She shook her head, not wanting to think about what she’d witnessed.

          Cassidy’s steps were long and purposeful as she crossed the esplanade, paused at the edge of the road and waited for a break in the traffic. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a phone booth. She wanted to hear her mother’s voice, wanted her parents to know that she was still alive – and missing them. She moved away from the road. The call would only take a second. The loose change from the pocket in her skirt found its way into her hand as she hurried to the phone booth where she paused and glanced around. Satisfied of her safety, she opened the door, stepped inside, picked up the receiver and placed the warm plastic to her ear. The even peeps of the dial tone made her heart thump a little harder. What if Fabian Nico had tapped her parents’ phone? Desperation to hear her mother’s voice outweighed the chances of Nico hearing her conversation. Her hand trembled as she held a coin above the slot. She would only call for a minute.

          Dropping the coin in the slit, she quickly dialed the number and waited, breath held. The fingers of her free hand drew circles on the glass. The phone rang…and rang…She was about to hang up when a sweet, very familiar voice on the other end said, “Hello?” Cassidy covered her lips with her hand, forbidding words to come out. Her mother’s voice echoed down the line again. “Hello?” Cassidy closed her eyes and brought the image of her beautiful mother forward. She drew in a breath and smiled, her chin quivering from the force of her threatening sobs.

          “Cassi, is that you? Oh, darling, don’t say anything. I know it’s you. Are you all right? No, don’t say anything. Darling, I read about that poor woman. It wasn’t your fault.” Rita Hall’s sob powered down the line and struck Cassidy like a hammer. “Your father is sick with worry. Can’t you write or something? We rescued George from your apartment. He’d never been so glad to see anyone in his life. He jumped into my arms and nearly killed me with kindness.” Rita paused. “Nico is still looking for you. Don’t come home,” she whispered and then cleared her throat. “I love you. We both love you. Take care, darling."

          The line went silent. Cassidy held the receiver to her ear for a full minute before she placed it back on the hook. She wanted to go home. Realizing tears cascaded down her cheeks, she cursed and opened the phone booth door. Eyes lowered and head bowed, she made a hasty retreat to the nearest public bathroom. In front of a mirror, she dabbed her cheeks dry with toilet paper before pulling the foundation makeup from her handbag. It had become second nature to put the small compact into her bag every morning. When the running and hiding started, she had suffered from bouts of unstoppable tears and body jerking sobs that had hurt her chest. Now, tears only fell when loneliness consumed her.