“Where did you go last night?” said Whitney. “Did you retrace your steps to look for it?” She swallowed. How could it have been less than twenty-four hours since the boys had found the body?
“I didn’t go anywhere,” said Roma. “I was in my room.”
“Really?” said Whitney. “I saw your car leave, around nine.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Roma. “I went to the Barton Hills Food Mart to get Takis.”
“What’s a Taki?”
Roma laughed derisively. “It’s a chip, Mom. Like Doritos. You’re so white!” She waited, willing her mother to erupt.
Whitney did not respond.
“And I couldn’t find my phone,” Roma continued, “so I went without it. I was so annoyed. I missedeverythinglast night.”
Whitney’s head throbbed. “Did anyone see you at the food mart?” she said.
“The food mart guy,” said Roma, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
“Did you use a credit card?” said Whitney. “For the chips?”
Roma stared at her. Her look was a bit menacing, and Whitney’s stomach began to ache. “No,” said Roma. “I used spare change. They’re only, like, eighty-nine cents.”
“There’s probably a video,” said Whitney, thinking aloud.
“What’s going on, Mommy?” said Roma.
“Well, someone died last night, Roma,” said Whitney.
“Yeah, Iheard,” said Roma, gathering her shopping bags. “Mom,” she said. “Are you thinking I did something?”
“Of course not!” said Whitney.
“You always suspect me when things go wrong,” said Roma, looking genuinely pained.
Whitney’s mind spun. “Have you…heard anything else?” she said. Roma didn’t answer, kicked off her sandals, and made her way toward the living room. Whitney touched her bronze shoulder and Roma flinched as if her mother had hit her. She whirled around.
“I had nothing to do with this!” she cried, her direct gaze chilling.Don’t think about New Zealand,Whitney ordered herself.No, don’t think about the boy in New Zealand…
“Maybe you should talk to your BFFAnnette,” said Roma, her glossy lips curling. “Maybe you should ask Annette where Bobcat goes at night.”
“Bobcat?” said Whitney, bewildered.
“Yeah,” said Roma. “Because one of ushasbeen sneaking out late at night, and it isn’t me.”
“Bobcat’s been sneaking out?” said Whitney.
“He’s dating some older woman,” said Roma, using her fingers to put quotation marks around the word “dating.” “Bobcat’sdatingher in the middle of the night, if you know what I mean.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
“Oh, you’ll understand soon enough,” said Roma, leaving the room, a burst of laughter echoing behind her.
-22-
Annette
ANNETTE STOPPED AT THE7-Eleven on the way to her “dog walk,” buying a pack of Camel Lights and stashing it in her jog bra. Whitney brought tequila in her Austin City Limits water bottle. Liza packed caramel corn and squeezed fresh limes.
