space was.”
Then he pulled back his arm and hurled the gun toward the baseball diamond. A second later he took off running into the dark.
34
“Hey,” Phoebe said as Glenda stepped from the car. She was dressed in jeans and wearing almost zero makeup. Phoebe reached out and hugged Glenda with her good arm. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Did I catch you coming or going?” Glenda asked.
“Going. I was headed down to Tony’s for dinner. Want to come?”
“I just never saw you as a Tony’s girl. But, no, thanks. I need to get home and start organizing. I just dropped by to say hi.”
“How was your trip? Phoebe asked. A week and a half ago, Glenda had resigned from the college and driven up to Boston with Brandon to visit former colleagues and figure out a strategy for herself.
“Okay,” Glenda said. “I thought of jumping off the Prudential building a couple of times, but I guess I’m just not that morose of a chick. At least I got some decent advice while I was there.”
“Are there people other than me who think you shouldn’t have resigned?”
“I appreciate you having my back, Fee, but at some point resigning became a foregone conclusion. Do you remember how I took off that day, saying I was going to see a donor? I didn’t want to lay too much on you at the time, but I actually drove to New York to talk to a lawyer about my situation. Even then he said that because of everything that had happened, I’d be lucky to keep my job, and when the truth about Mark came out, it was like I’d hit the third rail. Better to resign and avoid the extra trauma of being canned.”
“So what’s your plan from here?” Phoebe asked.
“I’m not sure. The good news, according to everybody I’ve spoken to, is that this may not be a career ender as far as academia goes. But I’ll definitely have to look for a job lower down the ladder. Of course, it may be time to think of a career change. Or maybe
“Have you learned any more about what happened with Mark?”
“Not much. It looks like he became involved with Blair last semester. I’m sure he thinks she made a play for him because he’s just so gorgeous and charming, but I bet he was the person in power she targeted for that fifth circle you talked about. It also seems they cooked up the drug thing together. The Sixes were able to build their secret fund, and he was able to pay off his gambling debts. Apparently he’s been at that again for a while.”
“I never thought to ask you. How did you happen to come upon Mark and me that night?”
“As I was coming home from New York, I saw him jumping into his car. He must have just heard your voicemail message. He looked like a man on a serious mission, and I decided to follow him.”
“How are you feeling about him right now?”
“He used young women at my college to deal drugs. He put me and Brandon at risk. He threatened you with a gun. Those aren’t things I’ll ever forgive. But I don’t want to cut Brandon off from him.”
“Does that mean you want to stay around here?”
“Not in the immediate vicinity. Kids are taunting Brandon at school, and I can’t bear being near the college. I’m going to stay with my brother in New Jersey for a few weeks, just to get my bearings, and then I might look for a job in New York. There’s a lot of opportunity there and it’s close enough that Brandon can see Mark while he’s still out on bail.”
“Here’s an idea, then,” Phoebe said. “With the advance for my new book, I won’t need to sublet my apartment after the first of the year, so why don’t you and Brandon stay there for a while? And that way I can come and visit.”
Glenda smiled and said it might be an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“You need any help packing?” Phoebe asked.
“No, the school has graciously let me hire packers. Probably because they want to make sure I’m out in four days. It’s going to be
“Trust me, Glenda. Your life isn’t going to go according to your original plan, but it will be good again—sooner than you can imagine.”
“Enough about me. How are
“Almost mended. Any more updates on the Sixes? I’ve heard they’ve rounded more than a few of them up.”
“Yeah. When Blair and Gwen were arrested the first time, the other members kept quiet. But now they’re all worried about being swept up in the drug scandal, so they’re coming forward and throwing each other under the bus.”
“Wow, maybe I can finally toss out my night-light.”
Glenda laughed. “That’s not to say we’ll root out all the bullying and meanness on campus. I’m afraid that’s a sign of the times.”
“But there’ll always be the kids who rise above it, too. I was thinking the other day how this has all been so much about power. The Sixes wanted to exert their power over everyone else, just like Fortuna did. And the only way you fight them is to find some power in yourself. I was upset at first when I found out how entrenched Lily was in the group, but she was compensating for a loss in her own life. And though she knew Blair would probably come after her, she did ultimately decide to break free.”
“You were always afraid you didn’t help her that day. But maybe something you said really did. Helped her find that power.”
Phoebe shrugged. “I hope,” she said. “But of course I’ll never know.”
After Glenda left, Phoebe drove down to Tony’s. There was a parking spot directly in front of the building on Bridge Street; as she stepped onto the sparkly sidewalk, Phoebe could smell the river in the crisp evening air. It had been just over a month since she’d stood there the night Lily had been reported missing, and yet in some ways it seemed like a year ago.
Taking a deep breath, she entered the restaurant. There were two guys at the bar tonight—a big, beefy dude at the very end, watching a ball game with his trucker hat tipped back on his head, and close to the door, Duncan Shaw. She knew he’d be there. She’d overheard Jan mention to someone that she and Miles were trying to lure Duncan out tonight, but he was having dinner alone at Tony’s.
“Hello, Phoebe,” he said when he turned and saw her. He looked startled. She’d set eyes on him only once since she’d been out of the hospital, from across the quad late one afternoon, but she was pretty sure he hadn’t noticed her.
“Would—would you mind if I sat down for a minute?” she asked. There was a half-empty espresso cup in front of him, as well as the bill for dinner—with his credit card and the receipt lying on top. She had just managed to catch him.
“Sure, go ahead,” he said neutrally. He scooted his stool over just a hair to make it easier for her to climb onto the one next to him. “Tony’s off tonight, by the way. Family wedding this weekend.”
“Actually, it wasn’t him I was hoping to see,” she said. “A spy told me you were going to be here.”
“Ahh.” He seemed to work the comment over in his mind. “How are you doing, anyway? I hope Glenda told you I called a couple of times to see how you were.”
“Yes, she did, thanks,” Phoebe said.
“It must have been awful,” Duncan said, studying her. “I’m sure there were moments when you felt like you
