“Sure thing, hon. Do you want to pay now?”
“I guess.”
I give her the Amex card details. Then, hanging up the phone, I sag back on the couch, my hand still resting on the umbrella, though I know it’s useless. I can’t even cling to the pretense of being able to defend myself. Even the taekwondo class probably won’t make a difference, but one thing’s for sure, Piper Day isn’t going down without a fight.
Unless the murderer barges in while I’m sleeping and shoots me in the head. In that case, I guess I won’t really have a choice.
5
Piper
Present Day
I’m still alive about twenty minutes later when I get a call telling me the car service has just pulled up in front. Slipping the Amex, the bills and the hotel key into my coat pocket, I take the elevator downstairs and walk out. I actually smile when I see Just Josh again.
He’s clearly a complete idiot so there’s no reason for me to feel anything but aggravation as I walk toward him, but he’s the first person I’ve spoken to since I came back to Astley who doesn’t look at me with condescending pity or actual contempt.
Probably because he’s from Carlton, and has no idea who I am.
“Hey, Josh,” I say, sliding into the backseat, biting down on the desire to call him the nickname I’ve given him in my head.
“Hey yourself,” he says with some surprise. “Heading to Carlton?”
“Yep.” I settle into the backseat, battling the urge to talk to him more. I’ve always talked too much. I know how annoying my habit is, and Quill Nelson never let once me forget it. But there’s something liberating about talking to a guy who has no idea who I am.
I open and close my mouth a few times, wondering what conversation starter Quill would find least annoying. Not that I care what that fucker thinks.
“My parents are dead,” I blurt out.
I don’t think anyone could findthatconversation starter annoying.
His eyes widen. “Oh, uhm. Sorry about that.”
“Yeah. I’m looking for their murderer.”
Stupid. Nancy Drew would never lay her cards out like that. But then again, this is just Josh. The only thing I risk is wasting my time.
“Uh, okay. Why are you telling me?”
“Actually, I wanted to know more about the owner of this car service. Someone paid for the car that brought me to the hotel, and someone paid for my room there. I don’t know who, but I get the feeling it’s the murderer.”
His eyes are so wide that I wonder if they’ll pop out of their head. “So, you’re solving a mystery. Like the Hardy Boys.”
Exactly. Wait, no. Like Nancy Drew.
“Can I help?” he asks with a thrill in his voice, taking me by surprise. He seemed so… boring.
I sit up straight. “Yes. Maybe you could introduce me to your boss. I guess he knows who paid for the car?”
Just Josh sits up straight, a look of determination on his face. “Yes, I’m going to do that. I’m going to drive you there.”
He looks so serious that this time, I can’t prevent a grin from breaking out on my face. Maybe I’ve been a bit harsh on this guy. He’s kind of cute with his curly brown hair and dimpled cheeks.
Not cute in an ‘I want to go down on you’ kind of way. Then again, I haven’t found anyone cute in that way since Quill Nelson fucked me while strangling my neck and telling me what a worthless whore I was.
No, Josh is like, dorky cute. Like Dad.
I bite my lower lip and look out the window. It feels like it’s suddenly grown cold, or maybe, with everything that’s happened, I just haven’t been aware of the weather. I hug my thin coat around me. It’s better adapted to California winters than to Astley ones. A thin flurry of snowflakes is falling to the ground, and I can tell the mountains on the eastern border oftown will be perfect for skiing tomorrow. All the rich tourists will be glad.
