(Lena)
Cole had been gone less than an hour when my phone rang.
I was still at the island, second cup of tea in hand, going through the contacts on my phone looking for the realtor's number when Cora's name came up on the screen.
I stared at it for a second.
Then I picked up.
"Good morning," I said.
"Good morning," Cora said. Her voice had that particular careful quality it got when she wasn't sure what she was walking into. "I just wanted to check in. See how you were doing."
"Is that right," I said.
A pause.
"Yes," she said.
"Cora."
Another pause, longer this time.
"He told you," she said.
"He told me," I said.
She exhaled slowly on the other end of the line.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I know I should have said something but he asked me not to and I thought it was a good idea
