Prologue
Inez made three staccato knocks on the door and waited. Dead silence. She stared down the empty hallway, hands idly tugging at the hem of her thin t-shirt. Some contractor had tried to mask the years of wear inside this anonymous high rise with a fresh coat of eggshell paint and the fumes were starting to make her nauseous. Inez puzzled over the generic modern art scattered through the hallway for a few languid minutes, then the front door cracked open and snapped her mind into the present. There was no sound of unlatching locks. James, scruffy and disheveled, leaned out into the hall. True to form he was decked out head to toe in Adidas.
“Athleisure suits you.” She said and flashed a grin.
“Come on in.” said James and returned a bemused smile. “The plants are in here.” He said as he turned around and motioned for her to follow.
“No how-are-you? No pleasantries?” she asked, feigning indignation. The question stopped James. In a heartbeat she caught an all-too-deliberate straightening of his posture. The instant he turned to face her something crystallized beneath Inez’s consciousness. Why did that little joke land like a jab? Was James acting strange? Did she tell anyone where she was going? Why was the apartment already empty? Is 6 months as coworkers enough to know a person? What are the odds? What are the signs? These were all the questions she learned to
ask and answer in a heartbeat.