Chapter 23 Chapter 21

I walked out of the museum on the steps and realized I was freezing, having fled my apartment in just a thin sweater.So I went down to Oxford Street, went into the first clothing store I saw, and bought a jacket for fifty pounds, a bright red one with a padding that made me look like I should be standing on a railway station platform Going for a long ride, but this jacket is very warm.I took the subway north and walked to Ben's residence.Damn he wasn't there.I walked over to a Halfastow Ridge coffee shop and ordered an expensive frothy coffee to give myself some thought. Zou's residence is now forbidden to me.He found me again, but at the moment he lost me again for a while.I tried to think of other possibilities but couldn't think of one.Someone pretended to be my father and asked Carol for my address.I try to think of it as a suspicious cop, I try to imagine an angry client or someone I've hired who couldn't wait to get in touch with me in person, so resorts to impersonation.That's all self-deception, it's the man at all.What action will he take?He's already found out where I live, but he doesn't know that I already know or maybe he doesn't.He probably thought I was out so he had to wait for me there.If so, I can call the police and they can arrest him, and that's the end of it.

This thought made me want to try it.The problem is I know I'm almost done with Jack.Cross has lost all patience with me.If I had called the police just out of suspicion, they probably wouldn't have come at all.Or if they did come, they might only find out that the man wasn't there.So what do I want them to do?Take any man, any man, and charge him with kidnapping? I finished my coffee and walked back to Ben's quarters, the lights still off.I didn't know what to do, so I hid in a dark place outside, stomped my feet and rubbed my hands.Where is Robin in a meeting?What if he suddenly decides to meet someone for a drink or a meal or a movie?I try to think of where to go.I started drawing up a list of friends I could visit.Abigail.Deborah, a homeless ghost ship, goes from house to house looking for food and shelter, hiding behind couches when she rings the doorbell.By the time Ben walked up the steps, I was already feeling sorry for myself.

When I came out of the shadows, his face was full of surprise, I immediately tried to apologize for being here and now, I apologized and started crying, and immediately got angry at myself for being so pathetic, and tried to apologize for myself Apologize for crying.So Ben just stood on the steps outside his residence, with a tearful woman beside him, crying more and more miserable.During this period, Ben held me with one arm while taking out the key to open the door.I started to explain what happened at Zou's place.However, whether it was because I was shaking from the cold or because I didn't realize how frightened I was when I spoke, I was speaking incoherently.Ben just whispered something in my ear and led me upstairs to the bathroom.He turned on the bathtub faucet.He started to unzip and unbutton my clothes.

I love this jacket.He said. I was so cold.I said. No, seriously. He undressed me and rolled my trousers down to my legs.I saw myself in the mirror: my face was red from the cold, my eyes were red from crying, and I looked red and swollen all over, as if my skin had been peeled off along with the clothes.The hot water in the bathtub made me feel a little tingling at first, and then I was so comfortable that I really wanted to soak in the bath for the rest of my life, like a primitive swamp animal.Ben disappeared and returned with two cups of tea.He placed it on the edge of the bathtub and began to undress.This is quite pleasing.He bathes with me, our legs intertwined, and he sits at the end of the tap in a gentlemanly manner.He had a towel over the faucet to keep the leaning back from being too uncomfortable.I spoke again, trying to make him understand how I escaped, if at all.

He looked genuinely taken aback.Fuck, he said, expressing exactly how I feel.You climbed out the back window? I did not open the door to invite him in for tea. Are you sure it's him? I've been racking my brains for other explanations.If you can figure it out, I'd be very grateful. It's a pity you didn't see him. Zou's front door has no peephole.Another problem is that I nearly had a heart attack.I must admit that I almost wanted to lie down and wait for him to come in and grab me and it would be over. Ben covered his face with another towel.I heard him murmuring under the towel.

sorry.I said. He tore off the towel covering his face.What?he asks. For all this.I'm miserable enough, but there's nothing I can do about it.I'm sorry to bother you, maybe the timing of our encounter was not right. You shouldn't have said sorry. I should say, and I'll say it up front. What's the meaning? Because I'm going to ask you a favor. So go ahead. I want you to go to Zou's residence and help me get things.Ben was full of helplessness after hearing the words, so I hurriedly explained.Because obviously I can't go there myself.I can't go there anymore, he might be watching from outside.But you should be fine, he just wants to see me.He might think he's in the wrong place.

Yes, said Ben, looking even more frowning.OK, sure, I'll take care of that. The whole atmosphere changed.We then fell silent for a long time. are you OK?I said, eager to break the silence. This was not my original plan.He said. I know, I know, if you knew someone who wasn't involved in something like this, your life would be much easier. That was not what I meant.I mean here, in this bathtub, right now.I was planning to shower you, I was supposed to wipe your shoulders all the way up to your breasts, and then we'd be in bed.But now I have to dress up and go out, and maybe I'll be murdered myself, or he'll torture me to find out where you are.

You don't have to do it if you don't want to.I said. Finally, Ben calls a friend, Scudder.That's not his real name, Ben said.Scudder works in computer graphics, but also plays amateur football in his spare time.He weighed two hundred and ten pounds, and he acted like crazy.Ben said.He managed to convince Scudder to come over immediately.That's right, now.I heard him say on the phone.Scudder arrived fifteen minutes later, and he lived up to his reputation.He seemed relishing the acquaintance of a strange woman wrapped in Ben's bathrobe, and he was clearly confused by Ben's abbreviated version of what had happened to me.But he shrugged and said it was okay.

I succinctly describe where my stuff is. When you leave, make sure no one is following you.I said. Scudder looked at me, obviously apprehensive.I forgot that my narrated encounters would make an unprepared normal person think I was insane.Ben's face was serious. You just said there's nothing wrong with it. You will have no problem.But he may think you are related to me and follow you, just pay attention. The two men exchanged glances. The class was back in less than an hour, during which time I drank a glass of whiskey and leafed through the class's fine print magazines.He looked as if he had just gone out to do some big Christmas shopping when he came in.He threw the heavy shopping bag on the floor, and I owed Scudder a favor.He said.

Why?Did something happen? I owe Scudder a favor for dragging him away from his wife and children to rummage through the homes of people he never knew.Then maybe drag him into a criminal case. What's the meaning? Zou's front door was open and someone broke in. But the door chain has been added. It must have been kicked open, the whole door frame was disfigured. God. yes.We weren't sure what to do right now.Taking things that don't belong to you at the scene of a crime may run the risk of breaking the law. He broke in.I muttered to myself. I think I've got everything back, Ben said.Mostly clothes.Some odds and ends you specified: your papers, those toiletries on the bathroom shelf.I can't guarantee whether I will even take some of Zou's things.In fact, the more I think about it, the more dangerous it seems to be doing.

Very good.I said, on deaf ears. And a photo of Zou, at your request. He put the photo on the table, and the two of us looked at the photo for a while. I'm going to make a little comment, he said.In fact, more than a little.I guess you don't have a place to live at the moment, so I don't want to make this a big deal or claim anything, but you're more than welcome to live here.The main premise is, as long as you are willing. I couldn't help but give him a hug.are you sure?I said.You don't have to do it just because I'm so isolated.I'm sure I can find a place to live. Do not be silly. I don't want to be one of those miserable, down-and-out women who get stuck with a man who, out of politeness, won't throw her out. He raised one palm.Stop it, he said.Shut up.We should find a place to put these things. We started looking at the odds and ends I had accumulated over the days. Another point I want to make, he said, helping me straighten my underwear.At least I'm going to raise the possibility that this might just be a general break-in. So what about the guy who pretended to be my dad calling the office? I have no idea.Maybe there was some misunderstanding, maybe the doorbell you heard was someone breaking into the empty door.They would ring the doorbell, usually to make sure no one was home.You didn't answer the door in your usual manner, and the gangster thought no one was home so he broke in.There are a lot of cases like this around here.Just a few days ago, some friends of mine who lived on the corner heard a loud bang in the middle of the night, and they went downstairs to check and found the same thing.Someone kicked the door open and looted a bag and a camera.Most likely the same is the case. Was something stolen? I can't judge.A few drawers have been pulled open, but the camera is still there. Um.I snorted suspiciously. Ben seemed thoughtful for a moment in silence.He seemed to be racking his brains with exhausting thought.What are you having for dinner?he asks. I just like it, I really like it.In all the turmoil I've been through, this question sounds like we're a couple living together.It turned out that we also really became cohabitants. Everything is fine, I said.Whatever scraps you have are fine.But, listen, Zou disappeared, someone asked Carol for my address, and someone knocked on the door.I ran for my life through the back window, and he broke in.I can barely take it anymore. Ben stands like a statue, except the statue is holding one of my underwear.I snatched it back from his hand. I'll call the police tomorrow, he said.Zou's parents should be back tonight.We talk to them, and then, unless they have good news, we have to report her missing. I put my hand on his hand.Thanks, Ben. Is that whiskey?He saw my glass and asked.Well, strictly speaking, his cup. Yes, sorry, I said.I was anxious to find something to calm my mind. He raised his glass and took a swig.I saw his hands were shaking. are you OK? He shook his head.You know you once said that you thought the timing of our acquaintance was wrong?I hope this sentence is wrong.I think as long as it feels right, it's right in any situation.But I'm afraid I'm not the hero who can save the United States and take bullets for you.To be honest, I think I was timid. I kissed him and we intertwined. Most people don't want to say it, I said.They will just find an excuse not to let me stay.But I'm more interested in your project at the moment. my plan? It's the project where you wash my shoulders, we can skip the shower part. Oh, that plan.He said.