Page 93 of The Family Guest

“I want you dead.”

Click.

My whole body shook. Before the phone rang again, I speed-dialed the one person I could confide in. The one person who could give me advice.

My attorney. Jason Nussbaum.

Thank God he picked up on the first ring.

“Jason, it’s me, Natalie. Sorry to disturb you on Christmas Day.” Like everyone else in the world, his office was closed and he was off from work.

“No problemo, sweetheart. I’m Jewish. Christmas isn’t my thing. And you should know, I work twenty-four-seven. Holidays included.”

At $750 an hour, at least I was getting what I paid for, though this call was going to cost me an arm and a leg. Jason’s Chanukah present.

“Hey, did Matt enjoy your Christmas present? His sister has already shot me a scathing email. But don’t worry, she’s chopped liver as far as I’m concerned.”

“Jason, it’s not about Matt. The Whisperer is calling me again. With obscenities and threats.” I relayed the last two phone calls.

“Just so you know, I spoke to Dino.”

Dino was the name of the private eye he’d hired to follow Matt. “What did he say? Was he able to trace the calls?”

“No. They’re coming from burner phones.”

“Burner phones?”

“Yes, cheap disposable phones. The user unknown. Untraceable.”

“Who do you think it is?”

“I still think it’s your husband. Or maybe his sister or one of her trolls. My hunch is they’re trying to wear you down. Prove you’re mentally unstable. If they prove mental incompetency, it’s possible your husband could win full custody of your children.”

I shuddered at that thought. I couldn’t live without Paige and Will. Losing Anabel was painful enough. Another frightening thought jumped into my head. “Do you think my life is in jeopardy? Or that of my kids?”

A beat of silence, then, “Nah. Your husband may be a dick, but he’s no murderer. I had Dino do a background check on him. He’s squeaky clean. Mr. Good-In-Bed is a total Goody Two-Shoes. He doesn’t even have a parking violation to his name.”

“What should I do?” I asked, slightly relieved.

“You should get a new phone number.”

“If I do get one, should I not give the number to Matt? Maybe block him?”

“As your attorney, I’d advise against that. There’s no evidence he’s a physical threat. Furthermore, you have children. He needs to be able to contact you.”

Unfortunately, he was right. Like what if Matt went skiing with the kids without me and something terrible happened to one of them? I’d die first, not knowing.

Another voice on the other end cut into my thoughts.

“Zolotse, I’m waiting for you.” Lola. Jason’s zaftig secretary. I was right. He was banging her.

“Hey, Nat, I’ve got company. Gotta go. Merry Christmas. Hang in there and we’ll talk soon.”

Arrowhead couldn’t come soon enough. The first thing I was going to do was go to the spa. Soak in the Jacuzzi and then treat myself to a deep-tissue massage. Knead out the stress from every cell in my body.

On my husband’s dime. Let him pay for his mistakes.

FIFTY