“Fine. I dropped her off at work this morning.” Jamie was trying to figure out how to broach the subject of Tyler. She wished some of Vicky’s other friends would get there and break into their usual gossip and take the pressure off her. “I guess Troy Stillwell and Greer Douglas admitted to being at the Ryersons’ last Saturday.”
“Seems like a century ago, doesn’t it?” Vicky sighed again.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m worried about Bette. I just . . . want to talk to her. I don’t think it could possibly be the same guy who went after Marissa. I don’t understand it.”
“Both of those boys deny going into the house to scare her.”
“I never thought it was them. And now the Bette intruder? What does Cooper think?”
“I heard there was another boy out there the night Marissa was pranked.” Jamie held her breath after her provocative comment.
Vicky avoided Jamie’s eyes as she pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Where did you hear that?”
“I worked at the school last week.”
Now she met Jamie’s gaze. Some of her fire returned as she said, “There are a lot of terrible, unsubstantiated rumors flying around. I wouldn’t give them too much credit.”
Jamie heard the warning. She also heard how worried Vicky was that those “unsubstantiated” rumors might be true. Was that why Tyler wasn’t at the game?
At that moment, Jill cruised in, looking around the Coffee Club in her usual disdainful way. Seeing Vicky and Jamie, she sauntered over. “Do you really think we’ll see Bette?” she asked as she sat down.
“No.” Vicky was blunt. “We’re probably wasting our time. I just want to make sure she’s all right.”
“Well, of course.” Jill’s brows raised at Vicky’s manner. A far cry from her normally breezy demeanor. “Is Alicia coming?”
“No.” Vicky was abrupt. As if realizing she’d silenced both Jill and Jamie with her unusually harsh tone, she explained, “She apparently was with Deon at the game last night. I never talk to her when she’s with him, but she did manage to say that she was busy today. I didn’t text her.”
“She was with Deon?” Jill repeated. “I didn’t think they talked.”
“They have Troy. And he’s a handful. Just a problem all the time. Lying, cheating . . .”
Stealing? Jamie thought.
As if reading her mind, Vicky didn’t finish her thought.
Jill turned to Jamie. “Your friend Gwen is certainly an interesting person. Her house was pointed out to me. Definitely different.”
“You should have seen it when her parents were here. Fake Spanish moss,” Jamie said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
They both turned to Vicky, who was clearly lost in thought.
“Maybe we should go to the hospital,” Jill said uncomfortably.
“Yes,” Vicky agreed, rising to her feet as if she’d just been waiting to be released.
A woman came into the coffee shop just as Jamie, Jill, and Vicky were leaving. She looked at them, her gaze zeroing in on Vicky. Her lips parted and she looked stunned.
“Vicky . . .” the woman breathed. She had short, dark hair and wore a power suit in dark green with a white satin blouse. Behind slim, tortoiseshell glasses, her eyes were huge, but her mouth was thin and tight.
Who? Jamie thought, and glanced at Vicky.
“Cathy,” Vicky snapped out.
“We need to talk. I was going to call you this morning. I know it’s—”
“I’m heading to the hospital right now,” Vicky cut her off.
“Oh.” That stopped her for a moment. “I’ll call you this afternoon, then.”
“Fine.”
The woman nodded, then looked about to say something more, but Vicky intervened. “I wouldn’t believe everything you hear. And for God’s sake, Cathy, it’s Victoria.”
* * *
Cooper was allowed into Bette’s room as Phil and their two kids were just leaving. The nurse hovered nearby. “She has trouble talking. Don’t force her,” she warned him before she left the room.
Bette’s throat was bandaged, as was the right side of her face. The knife had slashed into her temple and down the side of her head into her neck, nicking the carotid artery, as Crake had guessed. She was lucky she’d called Vicky and help had come so quickly.
“I can talk,” Bette said softly as soon as the nurse was gone.
“Okay. I don’t want to strain you. Let me know if it gets to be too much.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Cooper, you gotta get him.”
“I’m going to do my best, Bette.”
“He came in through the slider,” she began. “I think I left the door open . . .”
* * *
Jamie drove to the hospital behind Vicky’s black Explorer. It reminded her of the vehicle that Gwen had looked at so sharply as it had cruised by Jamie’s house on Wednesday. Cooper had a black SUV as well, and so did the whole of the River Glen Police Department for that matter. Thinking of vehicles reminded her of her mother’s car, sitting in the garage. She hadn’t even been in there but once. She wondered if she would ever really feel settled in.
Inside the reception area, they learned they would not be allowed to see Bette. Vicky looked like she wanted to argue, but they were told the no visitors request had come from the family.
“I think that was Phil just leaving,” Jill said. “I think he passed me as I drove into the parking lot.”
Vicky said, “Is Bette awake? I don’t know if I trust Phil in charge.”
Jamie was feeling like an interloper. She’d agreed to come to the hospital as a means to talk to Vicky and that had kind of fizzled. “Maybe we should try tomorrow. I’d better get home.”
“Okay.” Vicky was distracted. Had been since her encounter with Cathy.
“What’s going on with Cathy Timbolt?” Jill asked.
Vicky shook her head, then looked at Jamie. “Why don’t you ask Jamie?” she suggested. “Her sophomore daughter’s a friend of Katie’s and she was pumping me for information earlier because she thinks Katie and Tyler hooked up.”
Jamie’s breath caught. She’d never
