Broken Souls (Broken Realms, #2)

CHAPTER 13-1

CHAPTER 13Mara snapped out of the static-induced trance brought on by the voice from the radio and reached for the telephone on the counter. She stared down at the face of the rotary dial and paused for a second. Placing a call on this thing drove her crazy. She glanced around the counter for her cell phone and didn’t see it. It was probably across the room in her jacket pocket. Too flustered and frustrated to get it, she stuck a finger into the dial and tried to remember Ping’s number. She pulled her finger in a semicircle and released the dial. Clickity-clickity-click. The dial spun back up so the finger holes lined up with the numbers on its face. Mara groaned. One number down, only nine more to dial. How did people live like this? She poked another number and dragged the dial down. Clickity-clickity-click.

Behind her the static from the radio continued. The little voice called out in a whisper, “Mar-ree, Mar-ree!” With a trembling hand, Mara fingered another number and pulled the dial downward. Before she had fully rotated the dial to the finger guard at the bottom, her finger slipped, thus entering the wrong number. She slammed down the receiver with a loud clang. At least hanging up these old phones is more satisfying. She ran for her jacket and grabbed her smartphone from the pocket. Holding it up, she tapped the surface and held it to her ear.

“Ping! Thank God! Listen to this,” she said, tapped the Speakerphone icon and held the phone out toward the Philco 90 radio on the shelf behind the counter.

There was silence.

“Mara? What am I listening to? I don’t hear anything,” Ping said, his voice broadcasting from the phone in Mara’s trembling hand.

Mara shouted toward her hand, “There was a voice! It was coming out of the Philco radio you gave me!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the voice. Can you still hear it? Maybe the phone isn’t picking up the sound.”

“No, it’s gone. There was static and a voice, but it’s gone now.”

“I wish I could discuss it right now, but I’ve got a line of people in front of the counter here, and I can’t stop to talk, at least not until Sam gets back from tutoring later this afternoon. I’ll give you a call when he gets here.”

“No, that’s okay. Just come over this evening like we agreed. I’ll try to not go psycho until then.” She hung up and headed over to the counter.

Abby and Bruce walked into the front part of the store. Bruce was pulling on a jacket.

“Who are you yelling at?” Abby asked.

Mara took a deep breath and hoped her face wasn’t too flushed. “Oh, I was talking to Mr. Ping next door on the speakerphone. Checking to make sure I hadn’t caused a power surge that blew his breakers.”

Bruce smiled. “I haven’t heard him complain about that for at least a couple months. You know, he hasn’t complained about anything recently. Must be mellowing out.”

“Yes, he’s definitely gotten mellow,” Mara said.

“You up for lunch?” Abby asked, leaning toward Bruce.

“No, I’ve got too much going on around here. Also I don’t like for both of us to be gone at the same time if I can help it. We’d have to close up the shop, and we do that too often as it is.”

“All right, we’ll see you later.” Abby grasped Bruce by the elbow and led him to the door.

He turned back to Mara and said, “You want me to bring you something back?”

“No, just return in one piece.” She smiled and added, “Abby, don’t be a brute.”

Abby hustled Bruce out the door and turned before she closed the door, to wink and smile at Mara.

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