Turning Angel

the-fact in Kate’s murder.“

Mia looks at me in shock. ”Well, Wade told Jenny he’d been praying all week that Drew would be acquitted. When he heard it had gone the other way, he lost it.“

”What did Jenny do?“

”Freaked out. She knew she couldn’t keep quiet about the Marko thing. She’d already been going crazy herself because of the affair. She’s been late for her period a couple of times, and she was worried that Wade was sleeping with somebody else. It’s a mess.“

”God, this town has gone crazy.“

”No rules anymore,“ Mia says, pulling up the hood of her sweatshirt against the rain. ”It’s definitely Wade’s fault, but you can bet Jenny pushed hard to make that affair happen. She’s been with seven other guys that I know about, and she’s only sixteen. She’s got a messed-up home life.“

I’m not thinking about Jenny Jenkins, but Wade Anders.

”What are you going to do, Penn?“

”Call our esteemed athletic director.“

”Is that the best thing?“

”I need to know if he’s willing to admit the affair.“

Mia nods, but she looks unsure. ”Why should he, though? I mean, if he thinks Marko murdered Kate, and if he knows how crazy Marko is-which he does-he’d be crazy to tell on Marko. Forget keeping his job-he’ll be worried about his life. He only told Jenny what happened because he thought she’d keep quiet.“

”Will Jenny repeat her story to the police?“

”I have no idea. My gut says no.“

”I have to know, Mia. Call Information and get me Wade’s home number.“

”I already have it, from being head cheerleader.“ She calls the number and hands me her cell phone. ”Wade drives the bus to all the games. I had to deal with him a lot this year.“

The phone rings twice. ”And he never came on to you?“

Mia shakes her head. ”I guess he had Jenny taking care of him.“

”Mia?“ Wade Anders says in my ear.

He’s looking at his caller ID. ”No, Wade, this is Penn Cage.“

”Oh. What can I do for you, Penn?“

”I know about you and Jenny Jenkins.“

The silence on the phone makes the silence of the cemetery seem a roar.

”Wade? Are you there?“

”Yeah, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.“

”I don’t have time for lies, buddy. I don’t even care about your affair. I’m trying to solve a murder here. There are lives at stake.“

”What lies are you talking about, Penn?“

I look at Mia and shake my head. ”You’ve been having sex with Jenny Jenkins. That’s bad enough, okay? But you lied about where Marko Bakic was on the day Kate Townsend died, and that’s unacceptable.“

”I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s bullshit.“

”Wade,“I say in a locker-room voice, ”this is me, man. It’s gone too far already. You can’t get out of it now. Don’t even try. Drew’s already been convicted of murder because of you, and he could get the death penalty.“

”Listen, goddamn it!“ Anders says, anger hardening his voice. ”I know you were helping defend Drew, and I know you guys lost today. But don’t try to blame your failure on me. That’s bullshit, what you said. Jenny Jenkins has problems at home, real problems. I’ve tried to help her out. She may have made some advances toward me, but I never touched her. Not inappropriately, anyway. And I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about with this Marko stuff. And…and that’s all I have to say about it. You want to talk to me again, call my lawyer.“

”Do you have a lawyer, Wade?“

”I guess I better get one, if you’re talking this kind of shit.“

I start to press him further, but there’s no point. I hang up and give Mia back her phone.

”He denied it?“ she asks.

”All the way, the chickenshit.“

”What are you going to do?“

”I don’t know.“ I reach into my pants pocket and take out the bottle of Oxycontin. Mia watches as I open it and dry-swallow one of the tablets.

”What’s that?“

”It helps with the withdrawal.“

”Withdrawal?“

I forgot that she has no idea what I went through during the kidnapping. ”Cyrus shot me up with heroin. It really wiped me out.“

”Once? Or the whole time?“

”The whole time.“

”Wow.“ She walks over and sits on the low wall bordering the Jewish graves. ”That’s the Turning Angel down there, huh?“

”Yes.“

”I never really saw it turn, you know? It always looked the same to me, no matter which way I came from. I figure it’s like those paintings where if some people stare long enough, they see another painting hidden inside the first one. I never saw those things either. I’m too much of a realist, I guess.“

”That’s not necessarily a bad thing.“

She shrugs and looks up at me. ”So do you want to hear my great idea?“

”What idea?“

”I think I can get Marko to tell me what happened on the day Kate died.“

”How? No one even knows where he is.“

Mia smiles wickedly. ”His girlfriend does.“

”Alicia Reynolds? The cops have been following her for days, and they haven’t seen anything suspicious.“

”Twenty-four hours a day?“

”I assume so. I don’t know.“

Mia’s eyes gleam with certainty. ”Alicia knows where he is, I’m telling you. If she didn’t, she’d be a basket case. But she’s happy as a clam.“

”You think Marko’s close by?“

She nods.

”At the rave, he told me he was leaving town.“

”I think he waited around to be sure Dr. Elliot got convicted. If he is leaving, he’s told Alicia he’s taking her with him.“

”Would she go with him?“

Mia snorts. ”What else is she going to do? Work at the Piggly Wiggly? She hasn’t even applied to college.“

”Okay, let’s say Marko is hiding in town somewhere. Why would Alicia tell you that? You’ve already bugged her for a week without results.“

”Because this time I’m going to scare her. And when she talks to Marko, he’ll be scared. And he’ll ask to see me.“

”What could possibly scare Marko at this point?“

”The truth.“

”Meaning?“

”Coach Anders recanted Marko’s alibi. That should knock Marko’s legs right out from under him, even as cocky as he is.“

”You might be right. But even if Marko’s scared, why should he risk seeing you in person? He’ll already know what the threat is.“

”No, he won’t. I’ll only tell Alicia that it has to do with Coach Anders. Marko’s paranoia will do the rest.“