“It was a pretty good deal if you ask me. She was a hottie. If Howard had lost it to her, he would have been a legend among men, you know?”
I wanted to punch Brayden in the face, but his girlfriend slapped his shoulder instead.
“What?” He grinned at her glare.
The girl behind them kept talking. “Howard was loaded, so he went all out. Bought her this lush dress, designer shoes, diamond earrings. He must have spent at least five grand on her. Not to mention all the other perks she collected off him while they were dating.” She said the last word in inverted commas, rolling her eyes.
“Sounds like Can’t Buy Me Love.” Uncle Alex raised his eyebrows.
“What?” The girl tipped her head.
“You know, the ‘80s movie with Patrick Dempsey.”
They shook their heads.
“The one where the geek pays the girl to make him popular and then…” Alex flicked his hand at their blank gazes. “Forget it.”
I cleared my throat, needing to ask, but hating it. “So, um, what happened prom night?”
“She didn’t show.”
My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to whoop with joy, not for poor Howard, but for the fact that she didn’t go through with it.
She didn’t go through with it.
Reality crashed through my relief, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
“So she played him,” Uncle Alex muttered for me.
“As I said, like a freaking pro.” Brayden shook his head, almost in admiration. “Her and her brother just disappeared. Must have moved out of town or something.” He glanced at the photo again. “But maybe not.”
“Her brother?” I crossed my arms.
“Yeah, he was in college, but really protective. He used to pick her up from school.”
“What’d he look like?”
Brayden’s girlfriend pushed her lips to the side. “Kinda skinny with blond, straggly hair and these grey eyes that were way creepy. He didn’t talk to us, like ever. He just picked her up each day and drove off.”
“Did you ever go to her place?”
“Nah, she was pretty private about her home life. She liked to come out to party.”
“How long was she at the school?”
“No more than eight weeks. It wasn’t long at all.”
I glanced at Alex. Same time frame as Lowell High. He read my mind and turned back to the others. “Well, thanks so much for your time.”
“No worries. If you ever find her, say hi for me.” Brayden’s smile was leering and slap worthy.
“Brayden!” Her girlfriend yanked his sleeve. “You’re such a jerk sometimes.”
I let their voices turn to dust behind me as we walked back to the car. Colette called out a goodbye, but I didn’t turn to acknowledge her, just lifted my hand in a wave. Slamming into the car, I slumped back against the seat and kept my eyes ahead, ignoring my uncle’s probing gaze.
Eventually he sighed. “So where do you want to go next?”
“Luke thinks she might have transferred from George Washington High before attending Lowell. Do you think there’ll be any kids loitering around who we could talk to?”
“Yeah, bound to be.” Uncle Alex brought up a map on his phone. “Let’s head towards the school and see what we can find.”
I pulled away from the curb and followed my uncle’s directions towards Golden Gate Park.
“You okay, little bro?”
I nodded, but was shaking a big no on the inside. I didn’t know if I wanted to find out more. Dani now had three identities and I could guarantee that when we got to George Washington High, we’d find a fourth.
“So, who do you think this brother might be?” Alex pointed to the left and I took the turn.
“I don’t know,” I murmured. “It’s the first I’ve heard of him.”
“Maybe not.”
“Huh?” I glanced away from the road.
He squinted into the sun, scratching his short whiskers. “Do you think he sounded anything like the lunatic from the mall?”
My nod was slow as my brain caught up with what he was saying.
“Con artists don’t tend to work alone.” Clearing his throat, Uncle Alex almost looked guilty for saying it. He knew I didn’t want to admit that Dani was a con artist, but the information was making it hard to deny.
“I’m guessing the lunatic in the mall incident was not the plan. I’m guessing your girl was trying to pull a fast one on that Filmore kid, just like she did to Howard.”
“But something went wrong,” I muttered, “and her brother slash co-worker had to step in and help her.”
“I wonder what scared her?”
“I wonder what happened to the lunatic?”
Chapter 21
LUCY
December 2013