Half In Love With Death by Emily Ross Page B

seat. “You don’t mind if I drop Deb off first, do you? Can’t have Snow White getting fired from the Frosty Queen.” He turned and winked at me.
    â€œThat’s okay.” I gripped the edge of the seat.
    She gazed into her compact mirror, more like the wicked queen than Snow White. Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Definitely not Debbie Frank. She lit a cigarette, turned round, and casually blew smoke in my face. “So?” she asked.
    Her chin was propped on the back of the seat, cigarette dangling from her fingertips. I could see her white lipstick and the little red velvet bow she always wore in her hair, like it lived there.
    â€œI was talking to your lover-boy in school today,” she said.
    I caught my breath. “Billy?”
    â€œHe’s in my math class. He’s only a sophomore, so he must be real smart.”
    â€œOr you’re real dumb,” Tony said.
    She glared at him and turned back to me. “I hardly know him, but he starts asking me about Jess—when I saw her last, if she was mad at Tony. Like he was a cop or something. Strange, huh?”
    I cleared my throat. “That is strange.”
    â€œI thought so, too. I mean, why is he so interested?”
    I tried to appear calm, though my heart was skittering. I couldn’t believe Billy had actually started investigating. “I asked him to help me find Jess.”
    Tony smacked the steering wheel. “Just what I need, another private dick.” He laughed. “Lately I can’t even take a piss in private.” My cheeks reddened. He flashed his blue eyes at me. “Sorry, forgot there was a lady present.”
    Debbie said, “She doesn’t look like a lady to me. She looks like a little girl.”
    I frowned. “So what did you tell Billy?”
    â€œJesus,” Debbie said. “What is this, the third degree?”
    I swallowed hard. “I just want to find my sister.”
    Tony turned to her. “Cool it, Deb. She wants to find Jess as much as I do.”
    Debbie gave him an incredulous look. “No offense, Caroline, but your sister could be a real bitch. I’m surprised you miss her so much. You shoulda heard some of the things she said about you. You’re probably the last thing on her mind while she’s having a great time in California.”
    â€œI don’t care. I just want to find her.” I hated the way Debbie acted, as if she knew Jess better than I did.
    Tony gave her a sidelong glance. “Just answer her, Deb.”
    â€œAll right.” She pouted. “I’ll tell you exactly what I told Billy. The last time I saw Jess was at that party at the wash in the desert. She got mad at Tony for flirting with Edie.” She glanced at Tony. “It’s not like this is news to anyone.”
    â€œWho’s Edie?” I asked.
    â€œJust some girl,” he said.
    She glanced at him again. “She worships the ground Tony walks on.”
    I wondered if Edie could be what had gone wrong between Tony and Jess. This was all happening so fast, I’d forgotten to write it down. I pulled a notebook from my stack of books.
    As I frantically scribbled notes, Debbie looked at me and said, “Are you kidding?”
    â€œCaroline’s a smart girl. Smart people take notes,” Tony said.
    Debbie took another puff of her cigarette. “All right, smarty, write this in your little book. Jess was out of control that night. I mean vicious, like she was on something.” I winced. She continued, “I thought she was going to kill Tony when he tried to calm her down, but then this guy with a red car, who I’ve never seen before, said he’d drive her to California, and poof, she was gone.” She snapped her fingers to illustrate.
    Tony grunted. “She wasn’t going to kill me.”
    â€œIt’s a figure of speech,” Debbie said. “Smart people use figures of