She joined Dan and John in the cab and thought perhaps she didn’t need the driver to sing “Don’t Fence Me In.”

“The Hotel Monumental. Eighteenth Street,” said Dan.

Coincidentally, the driver sang “Don’t Fence Me In” anyway.

269

The next caller. Line six.

“Emma?”

Penny Lock gave frantic “I know this person” signs to her producer.

Tamy ignored her.

268

Tamy didn’t see Penny’s sign as she was writing out a note for Jean from Maine.

“Should this message ever reach the ears of my beloved lost daughter, Jean, let her be sure that I have loved her and thought of her every single day of my life.” Tamy squeezed a tear onto the page, just for authenticity.

267

“What’s up, Emma?” asked Ali Bronski.

“. . . Penny, I needed to send out [hiss] a message.”

“Is this caller a friend of yours?” asked Ali.

“Where are you, Emma?” asked Penny.

“. . . don’t . . . exactly . . .”

Tamy finished the note and tried to get a clearer line.

“Why are you calling?” asked Penny.

Crackling. Breaking up.

“Emma, I thought you’d gone home.”

“[more hiss] at the airport.”

“It’s a very bad line, Emma.”

“This is for Graham . . . I’m there . . . if you’re listening, Graham, I need . . .”

More breakup.

Penny gave her producer the cutoff sign. Emma was cut off. “We seem to have lost our caller, don’t know what happened there, we’ll try to get her back for you. In the meantime . . .”

266

Beth opened the taxi window to get a better view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Gephyrophobia, fear of crossing bridges. She didn’t feel it. She crossed gephyrophobia off her list.

265

“Turn that up!” shouted John. He rapped loudly on the taxi’s glass.

“Hey, don’t do that, okay? I’m trying to drive here.”

“Turn up the radio!”

“What’s the matter, John?” said Dan.

“That’s Emma on the radio.” He banged again. “Turn up the bloody radio!”

“John, calm down.”

“Don’t hit the goddamn glass, man. Jesus.”

“Stop the car.”

“Get a grip on yourself, for crying out loud.”

“Take me to where the radio station is. Hey, you in there.”

“Stop banging the goddamn glass!”

“Jesus, what is this stuff? Bullet-proofed? Why’s it bullet-proofed? What kind of country is this?”

“Okay, that’s it.” The taxi pulled over. “Get the fuck outta my cab.”

“No, wait, you don’t understand.”

“I understand that you’re insane. Now get out.”

“Take it easy, will you,” said Dan. “He’s lost his wife, he’s very upset. Come on, just take us to the Monumental, he’ll calm down.”

“Where’s the radio station?” asked John.

“John, we’ll go to the station, okay? Just don’t bang on the glass, it’s unnerving the driver.”

The KKRC “Your Station” jingle played.

John heard it and screamed at the driver. The driver got out of the cab, pulled John, Dan and Beth out and threw their luggage by the side of the road. John tried to listen to the radio but was hit powerfully in the face by the cabdriver.