The driver gave her the once over then jerked his head. “Okay this time, but next time get a pass.”
Mortified, Julie slipped into the first empty seat and tried to make herself as small as possible. Why hadn’t she thought about a pass? What an idiot I am. Praying she wasn’t in someone’s assigned seat, she didn’t take a breath until the bus doors closed and it started to move. Okay, she thought, rough start but I’m on my way.
Twenty minutes later when the bus was nearly empty the driver stopped and looked back at her again. “Well, you going to get off or what?”
Julie looked around. She had no idea where she was. The driver was frowning now so she quickly grabbed her backpack and purse and made her way to the entrance. “Thanks for letting me ride today,” she said, trying to sound confident.“I’ll be sure to get a pass next time.”
“You do that,” he said as she went down the steps. The door wheezed closed, the bus belched and started down the street.
Julie waited until the bus was out of sight then dug the directions and her sunglasses out of her purse. Why did it have to be so frigging hot today? She felt the sweat already making a line down her back. Taking a deep breath she read the directions. Walk two blocks down, and then turn left. Look for the third house on the right. She looked left and right and realized with a sinking feeling she had no idea which way to go. Why hadn’t she looked Nicole’s address up? Because you spent the night dreaming about Marques, she thought. You’re an idiot, Finch, a pure idiot. She pulled out her phone and heard her name called.
“Hey, Finch, that you?”
Startled, Julie looked up to see Zeke Olson from her computer lab. Wearing his traditional baggy jeans and tee that had too many colors to count, he somehow looked different out of school.
“It’s the glasses,” he said simply as he reached her side. “I wear contacts when I’m not in class.”
“You should wear them all the time,” stunned that a pair of contacts could make the geek from the computer lab turn into such a hunk. She spoke without thinking then turned red from embarrassment.
Zeke just grinned. “No problem, but if you’re really going to Nicole’s you’re heading in the wrong direction.”
“What? I um…”
“I heard you tell the bus driver,” he said easily and taking her arm turned her around.“I’m walking that way so I’ll show you.”
“Ah, thanks,” she stammered.
“How’d you do on the history test?”
“What?
“I was really glad when the lab crashed yesterday. I needed another hour to cram before the test. What about you?”
“Yeah, I did the same. Fairbanks likes to throw in those trick questions but I think I did okay. You?”
Zeke only smiled. “I’m doing okay, too. And we’re here.”
Julie looked up at the two-story Spanish style mansion. “Wow, I guess Nicole’s parents are really well off.”
Zeke led her up the drive and knocked on the ornate wrought iron door before she could protest.
Not sure how to explain Zeke, Julie did a double take when the door opened.
“Wilma? The girl looked like Wilma, but the glasses were gone and her hair now waved stylishly about her shoulders. Her sleeveless white tennis dress showed off tan arms and long, long legs.
“It’s Willow, and come in.” She made no protest when Zeke entered too. The foyer boasted a high ceiling and the walls on each side held an ornate opening that revealed the massive rooms beyond. Julie had to keep herself from gawking at the glittering crystal that seemed to sparkle from everywhere. She followed Willow into the living room and looked out to the lanai where the pool shimmered invitingly. Nicole Atwood, in a pair of tiny white shorts and white tube top, showed off her golden tan as she lounged on the black sofa.
Julie looked from Nicole to Willow and back again. “I don’t understand. Yesterday you said….”
“I told you it was a test,” Nicole interrupted. “If you’re in the Quills you have to be willing not to tell anyone. You did good yesterday. Even when Willow told you she was hoping to get in you never let it slip that you were there for the same reason.”
“Are you both in the Quills?” Julie tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. Neither girl answered.
“But you also have to be deemed worthy,” Zeke continued easily. “There’s one more test before we pass you on to the group.”
“Test? Pass me on….”
“Consider it your application process,” Willow said finally. “If we like what we see, then your name gets passed to the Quills. They decide who finally gets in.”
Julie looked from one to the other. “So you’re not really in the group?”
“Consider us the interview committee,” Nicole said coldly. “We weed out those who are, to use Zeke’s term, unworthy.”
Julie clutched her purse tighter against her chest. “What kind of test.”
Zeke looked at Willow and grinned. Only Nicole didn’t smile.
Later that night Julie paced in her room. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that nerdy Zeke Olman had crashed the computer lab simply because he wanted to grab some study time.
“It was really simple,” he said. “Thanks to the fact that Mr. Beckman is an idiot and keeps his passwords written down in a little book in his desk, I was able to break into his computer. Since he is the administrator, I was able to program all the computer fonts to go black. No harm no foul. If you know what’s been done it’s an easy switch back.”
She flopped down on her bed and stared at the picture of BIG TIME RUSH that hung on her bulletin board. Who would believe that behind those glasses Zeke was such a hottie with such a devious mind? She rolled over onto her stomach. But now what was she going to do? If she proved herself worthy she’d get into the most exclusive club in school and that would make her senior year the most stellar yet. But if she didn’t -- she shuddered at the thought -- and Nicole Atwood became an enemy, her social life would be nonexistent. It was hard enough being new in the school. She didn’t need Nicole turning her into a social pariah.
Julie stood and began to pace again. She had the code that Zeke had given her, now she just had to think of some really wicked way to use it. It was nearly midnight when she finally sat at her computer. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. This was good, she thought, maybe not as good as crashing the lab, but it was definitely going to get attention. Lots and lots of attention.
Chapter Four
Torn between fear and frustration, Jo dragged her hands through her hair. She had used every free moment to check faces in the mug books or search their on-line database. Now she sat with a pounding headache. The facial features had so mixed together in her mind she was no longer sure who she was looking for.
“Hey white girl, you need a break?”
Startled, Jo jerked and found her doorway filled with a man the size of a redwood tree swinging an umbrella. Isaac Martin stood an easy 6’5” with skin as dark as midnight. A former inmate, Isaac had an icy stare that spoke louder than words and the scar that zigzagged across his cheek was a souvenir from his gang days in New York.
“Hey, Isaac, what are you doing here? Think we’re finally going to get some rain?”
He twirled the umbrella. “This is to keep the heat off of my beautiful bald head. Heard you caught a hard one last night.” Ignoring her visitor chair he perched on the corner of her desk and made the room shrink. “Wanted to see for myself you’d be doing okay.”
Jo shook her head. “Jeez – what is this, a teen hot-line? How did you find out?”
“Got a call from Hollywood. Said you’d be needing a ride to pick up your car. Knew I’d be around today.”
Jo swallowed a laugh. “You call Kate Hollywood to her face again and she’s going to hurt you.”
Isaac shrugged. “Now that would be interesting. She don’t want to be called that, she shouldn’t dress like a model on the job. That girl even makes khaki
look good.”
“Hey, you hittin’ on her?”
“Me? No way. I look at another woman my Nola’s going to scratch my eyes out after she carves off another part of my anatomy -- which shall go unnamed.”
“Isaac, your wife is the sweetest person I know and she’s barely five foot.”
Isaac just shook his head. “Five feet of pure mean if she gets riled. That woman is fierce.”
Jo grinned at the thought of tough-as-nails Isaac being brought down by his tiny elf-like wife. “You are too much,” she said finally. “You here to see clients today?”
“Nah, picked up two new ones yesterday and I’m at my limit.”
Jo knew Isaac might say that, but if she or any of the other probation officers needed him, he’d somehow fit just one more on his roster. His background gave him an insight few had and he willingly accepted their roughest clients for counseling.
“Are you sure you don’t mind dropping me off to get the car?”
“At your service,” he rose from her desk.
Jo grabbed her backpack and started for the door but Isaac blocked the way.
“What?” she asked when it was clear he wasn’t moving.
He glanced over her shoulder where her phone still sat in its docking station.
“Damn.” Jo reached back and snatched it up.
“If you’d remembered that yesterday, you wouldn’t have needed to go jogging through the park.”
Jo shoved the phone in her bag. “Yeah, but then some other hapless jogger would have found the body.”
“I don’t know what it is about you Caz,” Isaac shook his head. “You’re like a trouble magnet.”
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault the car broke down.”
“Did you get the tune-up Brian suggested a few weeks ago?”
“No, but ….”
“I rest my case. Oh, and Hollywood said not to cook. She was taking care of dinner.”
“She’s coming over for dinner tonight?” Jo tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. Kate was her dearest friend but the tension headache was back and all she wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed.
“Not just dinner,” Isaac said easily. “I think she’s moving in.”
* * *
When they pulled into Sunshine's Auto, Brian wiped his hands on a rag and walked out to great them. “Glad you got the message,” he said extending his hand to Isaac. “Hey, big guy, you keeping this one in line?”
Isaac shook his head, “Naw, today I’m just the delivery service. If the car’s ready I’m going to take off.”
“The car’s ready,” Brian said easily. “But I think you should hang for a minute. Jo, you’ve got a problem.”
“It’s more than just a bad alternator like you said when you called?” She felt the fist in her head squeeze tighter.
“Well last night when it was brought in it was just the alternator, that and the battery gauge was stuck.”
“Whoa, you burning the midnight oil now?” Isaac asked.
“Customer had a vacation starting today and was leaving to go out of town. Going north to try and escape this heat. Anyway,” he turned back to Jo, “so when I finish that job, I take a peek and yep, it’s a bad alternator alright.”
“So what….”
Brian held up a hand, “Let me finish. But today when I go to replace it, what do I find?”
Jo could only shrug in question.
“I find that the brake line has come loose from its fitting.”
“Damn,” Isaac swore softly. “That’s not good.”
Jo tried to make sense of what Brian was saying. “So, can’t you fix it?”
For a moment, Brian looked offended. “Of course I can fix it. But you’re missing the bigger picture here, Jo. That brake line wasn’t loose last night or I would have noticed. There was enough time from when it came in until I popped the hood and threw her up on the lift that some of the brake fluid would have leaked out. Last night no puddle this morning; we got puddles.”
“And something like this doesn’t happen just from general wear and tear?”
“About one in a million, in my professional opinion. This happened because fingers helped it along.” Brian rubbed his thumb and forefinger together imitating loosening a screw. Both men watched the last of the color drain from her face.
“Well this sucks,” Jo took a breath. “Were you able to fix it?”
Brian nodded. “Fixed that and then went over everything again with a fine tooth comb. She’s in perfect running order now.”
“Okay,” she said slowly pulling out her credit card. “Thanks, you’re a pal.”
“Jo, I want you to know I called this in. Someone tampers with cars on my lot I gotta report it.”
“Of course,” she said after a moment of silence. “I’m still just trying to wrap my mind around this. Was my car the only one hit?”
Brian nodded. “Kenny and I went over each car on the lot and it doesn’t look like any others were tampered with. Just yours.”
She tried to smile. “Well, at least your vandal had good taste and picked the best car out here.”
Isaac snorted and Brian just shook his head. “Now the question is, was it just a random hit? Or were you a target?”
Jo signed the credit slip and tucked her card back in her wallet. “I guess time will tell.” She turned to Isaac, “Give Nola my best okay? And thanks for the ride. You’re a good friend.”
“Hey, what about me?”
“And you are a most awesome mechanic.” She turned and climbed into her car. “But I gotta get home.” Before this headache kills me, she thought, struggling to keep a smile on her face. And waving, she pulled out of the lot.
“I don’t like this,” Isaac said. “I don’t like this one little bit. So what do you really think? Random vandals?”
“Doesn’t feel random. And what vandal is going to just loosen a brake line fitting? If a vandal’s going to cause damage to mess with me they go for the splashy – break a few windows, scrape some paint. This was sneaky and only on Jo’s car. I’d bet money she was the target.”
* * *
Jo opened her front door and found two dogs and seven suitcases. “What the ... hey guys.” She bent down to pet the dogs and immediately regretted the motion as her headache went into overdrive.
Kate walked into the living room. “You look like shit.”
“And hello to you, too. I hear you’re moving in.” She looked pointedly at the suitcases stacked neatly against the wall. “Planning on staying forever?”
“Sarcasm will not make me leave. You’ve got a headache that I can see from here. Go take a shower and some aspirin then you can join me for dinner.”
“Gee, thanks Mom.”
“I’ve got pizza from Tony’s and a great burgundy.”
“Pepperoni?”
“Of course”
“Then maybe I’ll let you stay.” Dogs in tow, Jo moved to her room. “Don’t start without me.”
“Then move your ass ‘cause I’m starving.”
Later, when Jo considered reaching for a third slice, she realized her headache was finally easing off. “Look, sorry I was so bitchy when I got in.”
“You’ve had a lot happen in the last 24.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“No big. And I am staying. We dusted the note but there weren’t any prints.”
“Did you really think you’d find some?”
Kate shook her head. “No, but you have to check everything just in case. Mitch and Robbie did a canvas of the neighborhood. Talked to most of the neighbors but nobody saw or heard anything.”
Deciding against a third piece, Jo reached for her wine. “In this neighborhood everyone is asleep at three in the morning. Except these two.” Bella looked up from her place on the floor.
“You’re lucky they were here. You might have had a more aggressive visitor if they weren’t.”
“Well that’s a lovely t
hought,” Jo set down her wine with a jerk.
“Look, you might want to brush this off as some kid’s prank. But face it, Jo, you saw someone get killed. Now the killer knows where you live. This isn’t a game.”
“I know that. But I didn’t actually see the killing. I just found the body.”
“But you can recognize the killer.”
“Well, technically, no.”
Kate sat back in her chair. “I thought you said….”
“What I said,” Jo interrupted, “was that I saw these two guys having a heated discussion. When I went back to look, the Hispanic guy was dead and the white guy was nowhere to be seen. Then Mitch and I drive back and the body is gone. Technically that would be all I could testify to.”
Kate nodded thoughtfully. “A lawyer might jump on that, but your killer thinks you saw more and right now he’s the one that counts. Do you still have your gun?”
Jo nodded. “It’s in the closet.”
“Then I want you to get it out and keep it with you.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little overkill?”
“Har har, and no, I don’t. This isn’t a joke and I wish you’d take it more seriously.”
Jo stopped smiling. “Look, I know it’s serious and I appreciate all you’re doing. Maybe there’s a way to flush him out. Use me as a target or something.”
“Oh yeah, like that’s going to happen. Just don’t do anything foolish and let us do our job. Oh, and since I cooked, you can do the dishes.”
Now Jo’s smile came easy. “Yes, Mom.” She split the last piece of pizza between the two dogs, gathered up their paper plates and the pizza box and put the entire mess in the trash.“There, since my chores are done can I go out and play now?Or do I have to do my homework first?”
Kate laughed in spite of herself.“Nah, live dangerously and blow off the homework. I vote for the porch.”
“I’m with you there, bring the wine.”
The evening still carried the heat from the day but the ceiling fan stirred enough of a breeze to make the back porch restful and inviting. Jo, in her favorite tank top and shorts, rocked slowly back and forth while Kate propped her feet on the porch railing. The sun painted the night sky in vivid magenta and shades of violet before bidding the day good-bye and sinking into the horizon.
Blitz stirred to chase a gecko that was foolish enough to race down the porch steps, but Bella stayed by Jo’s chair content to have her head scratched. “How long before the mosquitoes find us?” Kate rose to get more wine.