June 23

A WOMAN CALLS FROM Seaview to say her linen closet is missing. Last September, her house had six bedrooms, two linen closets. She’s sure of it. Now she’s only got one. She comes to open her beach house for the summer. She drives out from the city with the kids and the nanny and the dog, and here they are with all their luggage, and all their towels are gone. Disappeared. Poof.
Bermuda triangulated.

Her voice on the answering machine, the way her voice screeches up, high, until it’s an air-raid siren by the end of every sentence, you can tell she’s shaking mad, but mostly she’s scared. She says, “Is this some kind of joke? Please tell me somebody paid you to do this.”
Her voice on the machine, she says, “Please, I won’t call the police. Just put it back the way it was, okay?”
Behind her voice, faint in the background, you can hear a boy’s voice saying, “Mom?”
The woman, away from the phone, she says, “Everything’s going to be fine.” She says, “Now let’s not panic.”
The weather today is an increasing trend toward denial.
Her voice on the answering machine, she says, “Just call me back, okay?” She leaves her phone number. She says, “Please . . .”