When she arrived back at the tae kwon do school, Harley and Marissa were standing outside. Harley opened the passenger door. “Can we give Marissa a ride?”
“Sure . . .” Jamie was wary of stepping on Laura Haynes’s toes by driving her child without permission.
Marissa said, as if reading her mind, as she climbed in the back seat, “I texted Mom that you would bring me back. She and David are fighting. It has to do with the new house. I don’t think we’re ever going to move there. She said he doesn’t have the money. Something happened and he lost his job.”
This was news to Jamie. “At the law firm?”
“Yep.”
“I thought Mr. DeGuerre was retiring.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “But it’s fine with me,” she added, as Harley settled into the passenger seat and Jamie pulled onto the street. “I don’t want to move. I like my room. I know it’s stupid, but I feel safe there. No guy in a ski mask is going to get me.”
Harley half-turned in her seat to look at her friend. “You’re safe with us.”
“He was crazy,” she said with a shiver. “I could see his eyes.”
I see his eyes.
Jamie felt a distinct shock. She slid a glance toward Harley, who didn’t seem to make the same connection. But then, Harley hadn’t lived with Emma during those first few years after the attack.
The girls began talking about what a shame it was that so many guys were off the team, at least for this next game. The consensus was, the opposing team was one of their toughest opponents and they were going to get creamed.
Jamie realized that Harley, who’d never cared a whit about football before, had become a fan, probably because of Greer.
Jamie dropped off Marissa, making sure she got inside before pulling away. The extra trip was going to make her late for her wine date, but she would be there soon enough. Emma was at the house when they arrived. She’d found the turkey sandwiches and had helped herself to one. Duchess followed her everywhere.
“I’m going out for a little while,” Jamie told her as Harley, too, raided the refrigerator. “You two going to be okay?”
“We three,” Emma said, indicating the dog.
“You three going to be okay?”
They chorused a “yes,” and Jamie climbed back into her Camry and headed to the wine bar. Halfway there, she felt pinned by bright headlights, and when she pulled into the lot, she glanced back to see a black SUV speed past and turn onto a side street. A lot of black SUVs out there, she thought, shivering a little as she pushed her way inside Leander’s.
Vicky, Alicia, and Jill were already seated. When Jamie walked in, Vicky scooted over on the banquette to make room for her, and Alicia was in the middle of talking about Deon, saying, “—can try to come after us, but we’re moving. That’s it. I’m going home to Tacoma and Troy’s coming with me. Troy’s eighteen. I don’t need Deon telling me anything!”
“You can’t leave us,” Vicky said, reaching a hand across the table.
“I have to.”
“But you’re not leaving till after football season,” Vicky insisted.
Jill rolled her eyes. “Give it up, Victoria. The season is lost.”
“I could kill Tyler and that little . . . bitch!” Vicky groaned. “But then I think of Bette and it’s all so trivial, but is it? This is my son’s future. God, I was so hard on Dara, but look what happened with Cathy’s sticky-fingered little slut.”
“Cathy’s devastated, too,” Alicia reminded her carefully.
Vicky looked like she wanted to argue some more, but held herself back. Barely. “At least she ponied up to pay the Pendelans back, too,” she admitted grudgingly. “I just want it all behind us.” She turned to Jamie. “You need a glass of wine.”
“I can only stay a little while,” she said while Vicky signaled to the waiter.
“Tell us about Bette,” Alicia said to Jamie. “We know you’re with Cooper. What’s happening with finding her killer?”
“She wasn’t killed,” Jill reminded her.
“They tried to kill her,” Alicia insisted.
How did they know she was with Cooper? River Glen was a smaller town than she’d ever credited. “I don’t know anything more.”
“Bette’s getting sprung tomorrow,” said Vicky.
The conversation circled right back to football while Jamie ordered her glass of red blend. She sipped it as Vicky and Alicia lamented, and Jill looked on, bored.
Finally, Jamie said, exaggerating the truth, “Emma’s remembering little things.”
They all stared at her. “About that night?” Alicia shivered. “I didn’t even live here then and I know how awful it all was.”
“She mentioned a boyfriend. I never knew she had one,” Jamie said. “She didn’t share with me.”
“All the guys wanted her,” said Vicky. She looked like she was about to break down and cry.
“She means the other one,” said Jill crisply.
“What other one?” both Jamie and Alicia asked.
Vicky shook her head. “We don’t know. Maybe he was a myth.”
“Oh, he was real.” Jill was certain about that. “Don’t you remember? Emma told us she was going to marry him.”
“Oh.” Vicky thought that over. She’d apparently had just enough wine to make this a difficult process.
“Really? You never told the police about him?” Jamie asked.
“Are you kidding? We were scared that he would come after us next,” said Jill. No more looking down her nose. “We didn’t know his name, but he probably knew who we were because we hung around with Emma all the time. We were sitting ducks, so we kept quiet.”
“He didn’t hurt us.” This was again from Vicky.
“But he could’ve,” she insisted. “You didn’t want to tell. You were the one who convinced me.”
“You thought this boyfriend was the one who came after her,” Jamie said, trying to nail down the story quickly as it seemed like they might collectively stop talking at any moment.
“We didn’t
