I took that as my cue to interrupt the conversation before Vero began confessing to more than she should. “Now that everything has been figured out here, maybe it’s time you and I go home.”
Zoey’s eyes were wet. “Are we okay?” she asked Vero.
Vero wrapped her Little Sister in a hug. “We’re okay.”
“Think you’d want to come back and hang out sometime?” she asked through a sniffle.
Vero wiped away one of Zoey’s tears. “We’ve got a few hours of community service to do. Might as well keep each other company.” Zoey laughed, and Cam put his arm around her.
“Need a ride back to Norma’s?” he asked us.
“We brought the minivan,” I said. “Why don’t you stay here and say your goodbyes. Vero and I are going to pack up and head home. We’ll see you back in Virginia. Dinner at my house next Saturday?” I suggested.
“You bet, Mrs. D. Hey,” he said, catching Vero on her way out. “We’re okay, too, right?” He sounded uncertain. “You know I didn’t mean for all this to happen. I’m sorry I assumed you stole my car.”
She sucked a tooth as she considered his apology. “How sorry?”
His eyes lit up with the promise of a truce. “Sorry enough tohack the county website and make it look like you did all your community service?”
“Absolutely not,” I said to both of them. She looked entirely too eager to accept that offer. “Nobody’s hacking anything. From here on out, we’re doing everything by the book. No more hacking, no more gambling, and no more criminal activity.”
Cam winked at Vero. “Sure thing, Mrs. D.”
“You break Zoey’s heart and I’ll break your ass,” she whispered to him as I towed her out of the library.
I was pretty sure we were all going to be okay.
CHAPTER 36
It was almost noon by the time Vero and I got home from the meeting with the Willinghams. Norma and Gloria had both showered and changed out of their snooping attire and were buzzing about the kitchen. Javi was sitting at the same place at the table, with his cast propped on a chair, exactly where we’d left him earlier that morning. But instead of French toast on his plate, it was covered in corn tortillas drenched with chili sauce and filled with cheese. The house smelled heavenly.
Javi, Norma, and Gloria all looked up when we walked in the door.
“Where did you two disappear to?” Javi asked. “We were starting to worry.”
“You both went running out of here so fast, you didn’t finish your breakfast. Come have something to eat.” Norma got up to fix us some plates.
“Have you been sitting here this whole time?” Vero bent down to peck Javi’s cheek.
He patted his belly. “If your mom and Gloria keep feeding me like this, I may never leave. You still haven’t told us where you went.”
“We got called to the sorority house for a meeting with Celeste. But first, we went to Sophia’s,” Vero said casually.
Javi choked on a mouthful of enchilada. She handed him his water glass, and he took a long gulp. His voice was hoarse when he’d finally regained the ability to speak. “What the hell were you doing at Sophia’s?”
“Language,” Norma and Gloria reminded him in unison.
Vero gave him an extra-strong pat. “Sophia was the one who hired that guy to put the flaming dog shit on my porch.”
“Language!” they said again, louder this time.
“But wait… there’s more,” Vero said. “She has one of those Ring cameras on her front door, like Javi was talking about over breakfast. I went down to have a few words with her. She denied vandalizing our house or leaving the notes, but I asked her if we could see her recordings over the last month. I thought maybe they would reveal the identity of our vandal.”
“And she justletyou see them?” Javi stared doubtfully at the scratches on her arms.
“What can I say? I can be very persuasive. Don’t get your undies in a bunch,” she said, mollifying him. “I didn’t do anything to her that would get me in trouble.”
“Nothing that was recorded,” I said under my breath.
