Assuming Names: A Con Artist's Masquerade by Tanya Thompson

Author:Tanya Thompson [Thompson, Tanya]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Hoax, True Crime, Con Artists, Nonfiction, Adventure
ISBN: 9781311789785
Publisher: Thompson Books
Published: 2014-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Death Threats

Ron Howard’s assistants were getting suspicious. They had not once spoken to me or even heard my voice in the background. They would press Tricia to put me on the phone, but I would have fled the house. They didn’t know if I was even aware a deal was being negotiated. They called Rick.

But I was backing away from that phone call too. I didn’t want to explain to Rick that I couldn’t see him. There was no way I could explain Sergiu or his threat, and no other excuse would make sense.

It was best to just ignore everything and hope it worked itself out.

The strategy seemed to be working until I returned from the park to hear Tricia say, “Rick will be here in an hour.”

Oh, no, no. I called his apartment but he was already gone.

I dropped my head and covered my eyes to think. I used to always say, “I can handle it. I’ve handled worse,” but I was no longer so certain of the first, and Dallas just kept delivering the worst.

It didn’t have to spin out of control though. Daniel was in the house and that was bad, but Sergiu was on his way to New York. If I got rid of Rick quickly, by the time Sergiu returned, the visit might have been so inconsequential, it wouldn’t be mentioned.

When Rick arrived, I was sitting on the porch reading a book and greeted him with an unfriendly expression, as though I were annoyed to be disturbed.

He explained he hadn’t seen me in well over a month, and because I was no longer at the refugee agency, it was difficult to reach me by phone.

I didn’t lift my face from the page but muttered, “I’m fine.”

He became concerned when the Hollywood assistants called him with suggestions I might not actually be living with Tricia.

Turning the page, “I’m here. I simply have nothing to say.”

He was trying, but I was cold and aloof, and when he stayed, I turned nearly hostile eyes on him, questioning why he remained.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Fine, thank you.” The goodbye was implicit when I dropped my attention back to the book.

I’d been extraordinarily impolite and felt horrible. And just as bad, I couldn’t think of a reason Rick would continue to help me if this was the gratitude he got.

I was never going to get identification under Sergiu’s conditions, which meant I couldn’t work or move on.

But I’d staved off a horrible scene for a while. I didn’t know if Sergiu would really try to kill Rick, but I felt certain there would be a confrontation, or some sort of berserk incident I would be asked to explain.

I wanted desperately to avoid that, so I’d been disgracefully rude.

But I hadn’t gotten in the vehicle with Rick. I hadn’t left. The exchange was brief. I was confident disaster had been averted.

By the time Sergiu returned, I had honestly forgotten about it.

Daniel knew he was coming and invited Tricia to join him for an evening ride.

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