I don’t have an answer for him, not really, but I’m saved when headlights flicker on the street, visible through the kitchen window. “Looks like she’s here,” he says, standing up as he lets the question crumble away. He takes a slight step forward, like he’s coming to hug me, but stops himself. “Have fun. Don’t be out too late.”
I smile at him sadly, apologetically, before darting out of the room and then the front door. I fly down the lawn, leaving my problems at home, focusing on what I’m running toward instead of what I’m leaving behind.
Talia unlocks the passenger door for me, greeting me with a gracious but anxious smile as she pulls away from my house. The sun is nearly set, blazing light making each strand of her curly hair glow with warmth.
“So, ?qué está pasando?” I ask as I buckle myself in. She turns down the radio with shaking hands.
“Promise me you won’t freak out,” she says.
“Okay, I promise.”
“We need to break into Dani’s house.”
“Funny, it sounded like you just said we have to break into Dani’s house.”
“Ophelia,” she groans, making a sharp turn.
“Why don’t you start by telling me what’s going on?” I say. I blindly signed up for an adventure—a dangerous one—but not a crime.
“She stole something of mine, and I want it back,” she replies, her grip on the wheel tightening until her knuckles look as white as Agatha’s teeth. “I need it back.”
“What did she take?”
“My abuela’s brooch, the one I told you about.”
“Wait, I thought you said you had no idea where that was.”
“I didn’t, but I asked my dad yesterday where he’d put it when he cleaned out the garage. He swore it was with my abuela’s old stuff in his closet, but I practically tore his room apart and nothing. Dani and her mom came by to help him sort through old photos a few weeks ago, and now it’s gone? It can’t be a coincidence.”
“Can’t you tell your dad about it? Or her mom? They’d understand, wouldn’t they?”
Talia shoots me a deadly look, softening when she notices my alarm. “Even if my dad believed me, he’d never stand up to his older sister about it. My tía thinks Dani is an angel; they’d never side with me.”
“But are you even sure she took it? Why would Dani want your brooch? Doesn’t she have the exact same one, just different colors?”
“Why does Dani do anything anymore?” Talia asks, clearly more to herself than me. “My abuela loved me. She never tried to change me, ever. I know that if she had been alive when everything with Tori happened … I just—” Her voice breaks, and she takes a deep breath before speaking again. “I can’t let Dani take this from me too.”
“You have me now,” I say, resting a hand atop her bare shoulder. My skin is set alight. “I’ll help you.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I say, pulling my hand away despite every ounce of want in my body begging me to keep it there. “Let’s do this.”
* * *
From the outside, Dani’s house looks like any ordinary home, not the historical landmark for my first crime. “Okay, so I’ll go in there with you and distract them while you ransack the joint?”
“‘Ransack the joint?’” Talia asks, her lips curving into a smile for the first time since she picked me up.
“I’ve never committed a crime before, okay? I don’t know the lingo.”
“Good thing you’re with a criminal expert,” she deadpans.
“Point taken. What’s the plan, then?”
Talia leans past me, taking a good look at the house. From what I can see, it doesn’t look like anyone’s home.
“Hold on,” she says, pulling her phone from her pocket. I watch the way she chews on her bottom lip as it rings.
“Hi, Dani,” Talia says in a forcefully pleasant voice. What are you doing? I mouth to her, but she just lifts a finger to silence me. “Are you home right now?” Her lip twitches like she’s desperate to bite it again. I silently beg her not to, needing to keep my mind clear for this.
“When are you going to be back? Ah, uh…” Dani must be asking why Talia is so curious about her itinerary. I quickly pull at my cardigan, pointing until understanding flickers across Talia’s face. “Your mom left her chaqueta at my house last week. My dad wanted me to bring it by.” She lies beautifully, the words smoother than they would’ve sounded coming from my mouth.
“Yeah, yeah, okay. I’ll drop it off tomorrow. Bye.” Talia hangs up. She turns to me slowly, a smile creeping up her face. “Vamos.”
I follow her out of the car, hunching as we shuffle across the dry, patchy grass leading up to the front door. Talia pauses, takes a deep breath with her fingers crossed, then lifts the welcome mat with her other hand. She straightens, a shiny golden key in her hand. “Some things never change,” she sighs, her smile falling. She clears her throat, turning to unlock the door, and I hesitantly follow after her, shooting glances behind us.
The house is dark, the minimal streetlight from the open windows casting shadows across the furniture. Blankets drape over almost every surface, and open magazines are scattered around the tables.
“Let’s check Dani’s room first,” Talia says, nodding toward the hallway.
I feel like we’re in Talia’s room all over again. I expected Dani’s bedroom to be elegant, if not brash. But her walls are painted a dingy yellow, one wall looking slightly darker, although I can’t tell for sure with the lights still off. My fingers itch to flip the light switch, but Talia leaves it off, so I do too.
Talia is hunched over Dani’s desk, sifting through drawers and stacks of paperwork. I turn to Dani’s dresser, but find myself looking at the photos on her walls instead. A few of them look like family photos, likely recent ones considering Dani looks the same as she did when we saw her at Ollas Amarillas, but I can’t spot Talia in any of them.
Oh.
“Over here,” Talia croaks. I race to her side, where she’s crouched on the floor beside Dani’s desk. Her eyes are squeezed shut and face contorted in pain.
“Are you okay? Did you hit yourself?”
“No,” she whimpers, finger tapping on something above us, still on the desk.
I stand up and see her hand wrapped around a small velvet box that could be black or dark blue, too difficult to tell in this lighting. A gaudy, glittery D sticker is stuck to the lid. Gently, I pull back Talia’s fingers. She lets me, hugging them to her body once the box is free from her grip.
I cautiously pop the box open. My vision wavers as I press a finger to the gorgeous brooch within; a rose intricately crafted from curved and twisted silver, set with a vibrant blue stone in the center.
Then my finger moves to the one beside it, identical except for the gold stem and ruby stone.
“I’m so sorry, Talia.”
She blows out a long breath, discreetly wiping at her eyes before standing up. She still towers over me, but I want to hold her, protect her from this.
“I didn’t know for sure until now,” she admits. I rest my hand on her shoulder, squeezing it for comfort. She leans into my touch, her cheek grazing my knuckles. I hear nothing but my heartbeat.