Bewildered, Anna stared down at the envelope in her hands. Just then a voice whispered in her ear, “What’s in the envelope?”
She turned towards Tae, her eyes as round as saucers. “Everything I need, apparently.” She looked around suspiciously. “Should we go somewhere else before I open it?”’ Anna was seeing bad guys behind every corner now. She half-expected the man in the trench coat to jump out from behind a bush, brandishing a gun.
Tae followed her line of sight, and his eyes swept the park. “So much for bringing you somewhere romantic for your birthday. The park seems to carry a sinister air now. Let’s get out of here.”
Once again, he took her hand and pulled her along until he hailed a cab along the street. He had the driver take them around the city before finally stopping the cab two blocks from his apartment. It had taken all his self-control not to discuss her conversation with her “father” in front of the cabbie. Or to open the mysterious envelope.
They climbed from the taxi, Tae paid the driver, then he reached for Anna’s hand once more before leading her towards his apartment. He kept a look out for anyone following them, but they appeared to be alone.
“Where are we going?” Anna huffed as she practically ran to keep up with the pace Tae’s extremely long legs were setting.
“My apartment.”
“Your apartment? You live here?” Her brain was working frantically. Why did it seem that nothing made sense today? “Why were you in the hotel this morning?”
And why was she suddenly suspicious of everyone, including Tae? Who could she trust? She’d been assuming she could trust him, but honestly, he was as much a stranger to her as the man her phone claimed as her father.
Tae heard the suspicion in her voice. His hand tightened around hers. He was practically dragging her down the block now. “I have a second job. I’m a wedding photographer. I’m doing a job at the hotel next weekend. I was checking out the lighting in the various rooms that I’ll be photographing people in.”
Hmm. That was plausible. “And it explains the camera.”
“Doesn’t it, though?” He quirked his lips in a half-smile as he observed her sardonically. “Not everyone is a criminal. Or a secret agent man.”
He looked around one more time to check for signs that they were being observed. Honestly, he didn’t know what to look for beyond the obvious. He didn’t quite feel up to the task of protecting her. Not now that it had become apparent that she was involved in some sort of cloak-and-dagger melodrama. But it appeared that they were alone for the moment. Or at least just surrounded by normal Chicagoans.
Holding her hand, he drew her through the double doors into the apartment complex. They waited for the elevator, her clutching the mystery envelope and her pencils to her chest with her left hand as she clung to Tae’s hand with her right. His hand was beginning to feel like an extension of her person. She felt oddly comforted by the touch of his fingers sliding along her own. The elevator opened, and a short, bald man stepped out to brush quickly past them, murmuring an apology as he sidestepped to avoid running into Anna.
Tae pulled Anna into the elevator before pressing the button for the third floor. The doors shut, closing them into the confined space. Anna suddenly recalled her first elevator ride with Tae earlier this morning. That seemed like a million years ago now. How had she come to trust a total stranger in such a short period of time? But he didn’t feel like a stranger, not after the hours she’d spent watching him on YouTube and staring at his picture on her wall. In silence they rode the elevator to the third floor. As it stopped and the doors opened, they stepped from the box, and Tae led her to his apartment. He unlocked the door and swung it open, allowing her to enter before him with a murmured, “Ladies first.”
Anna stepped into his bachelor’s pad. She walked straight over to his kitchen table and set down the pencils before ripping the envelope open.
As soon as his door was firmly shut, he began to question her. “What did he say?”
“That I have no father. No brother. That I’m not Pakistani. I’m from New York City. I was recruited into some “company” as a teenager. I was assigned the job of drawing the sketches of the three landmarks. Apparently, I drew them from pictures. I haven’t actually ever visited any of them. My job here is done, and I’m to return home with the documents in this envelope.”
“What?”
She dumped the contents of the envelope out onto the table and gasped at the two huge stacks of hundred-dollar bills that tumbled out. She didn’t even want to touch them. What on earth had she done? It must have been illegal to garner this wage paid in this fashion. A driver’s license with the name April Bukhari was lying on the table. So was a plane ticket under the same name. Who was April Bukhari? The name rang no bells. Apparently, it was her alias.
As Anna stared at the strange pile on the table, a wave of sadness overcame her. She was utterly alone in this universe. And she felt quite defenseless. Even with Tae standing next to her.
“I don’t even want to touch any of it,” she whispered, repulsed by the entire situation. “How did my nice, normal, safe life suddenly become one of intrigue and danger?” Tears filled her eyes. “What am I to do now?”
Tae stared down at the stacks of cash and the documents littering his kitchen table. He had no desire to touch them either. He wanted to solve the mystery. From his pocket he pulled the piece of paper torn from her sketch pad. He drew a chair away from his kitchen table and offered it to her. “Have a seat, Anna. Let’s see if we can figure this all out.”
Then he sat in another chair next to her and opened his phone. He began to input the numbers which he believed were coordinates that would lead them to three very different locations. He checked and then he re-checked his calculations.
Then he shook his head as he muttered, “No. This can’t be right.”