Chapter Eight
The Monday following the funeral, I decided there was no time like the present to get busy, so to speak, with my detective work. I had no idea in hell how I was supposed to find her. So, I decided to start with the most likely of suspects or one of the girls who knew Jake the best.
On and off again Girlfriend #1 Avery.
I met her at her locker after first period. “Hey, Avery.”
“Hi Noah,” she said, in her usual voice devoid of emotion.
“Listen, I was wondering if I could come over this afternoon.”
She raised her eyebrows and peered questioningly at me. Geez, I guess she thought now that Jake was dead, I was gonna start hitting on her or something.
“To talk. Just to talk.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. How about right after school?”
“That’s good.”
“Okay, see you then,” she replied and slammed her locker. She walked off down the hallway holding her head regally like a queen. I sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy.
The rest of the day went by in a slow haze. Maybe daze was a better word. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. We were in the home stretch towards graduation, and most of us were feeling the burn out. That coupled with Jake’s death meant we didn’t give a shit about anything anymore. I knew my college acceptance was good to go, and there wasn’t much I could do to screw it up.
When the bell rang at the end of the day, I bolted out of my seat and practically sprinted to the parking lot. I made the familiar drive through the tree-lined suburbs of Governor’s Ridge, one of the richest areas of town. Avery lived a house you might see on an episode of Cribs. Her parents even had one of those crazy televisions in the bathroom mirror. It’s insane. She’s an only child, and her dad is some multi-millionaire. I’d been to her house for parties before. But the house was most memorable to me because I’d had a pretty hot hookup there with Avery’s cousin from out of town during our February break.
As I pulled into the driveway, the opening dum, dum music from Law and Order played in my head. I could see it flashing across the screen now: Tuesday. 3:45 PM. The home of Avery Moore.
God, I seriously needed a life.
After she let me in, Avery led me upstairs to her room—in the East Wing of the mansion. I couldn’t help but remember the comments Jake had made about Avery’s pageant crowns and trophies. He always teased her by calling her Honey Boo-Boo, even though Avery was the farthest thing from a redneck diva. He’d always snort back a laugh and say, “Man, the second you step in Honey Boo-Boo’s room, you’re blinded by the light radiating off the rhinestone tiaras.” Then he’d grin his wicked grin and say, “Sometimes it’s kinda sexy because you can almost catch your reflection in the trophies while you’re doing it!”
He hadn’t been lying. Well, at least about the tiaras. From the looks of it, Avery had participated and won every single pageant imaginable since she was a toddler. One entire wall of her room was dedicated to her winnings. It was intense.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Avery asked.
“Jake.”
“I thought so.” She sat down on the leather love-seat and motioned for me to join her. “Noah, I’m really sorry about what happened at the funeral home—you know with the urn and all.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me.”
I snorted. “I do. It was jealousy.”
She pulled her shoulders back and then shot me a death glare. “Yes, I realize it might initially appear like jealousy, but you have to understand that I was also under a lot of stress at the time. Do you know what it’s like to love someone like Jake?”
With a smirk, I replied, “Well, no, actually I don’t.”
She dismissed my smartass comment with a wave of her hand. “I did love Jake. And I know he loved me…in his own way. It’s just when he died, everyone…” She glanced at me. “Every girl was fighting for a piece of him. I just wanted to protect mine.”
“I’m not here about that night, Avery.”
“Yeah, well I just wanted you to know that.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. Time was ticking, so I cleared my throat. “So did you guys have a special song or something?”
She gave me an odd look. “Why do you ask?”
“I just wondered. You know, I’m just trying to gather as many memories as I can of him,” I replied lamely. Damn, I sounded like a complete tool. Peeking up through my shroud of hair, I tried to gage whether Avery believed me. Her skeptical expression spoke volumes.
“I’ve heard a rumor, Noah.”
“You have?”
“Yeah, about something that was found in Jake’s possessions.”
Oh shit. “And?” I prompted.
She narrowed her eyes determinedly at me. “I want it.”
I eased away from her since she appeared like she was ready to pounce. “Well, Avery I’m not sure it’s yours—”
Avery stared at me in shock. “What do you mean it’s not mine? They’re pictures of me!”
The world around me tipped and then spun at her revelation. Finally, I replied, “Wait, what?”
Avery glanced down at her hands folded in her lap. “We were fooling around the weekend after New Year’s. I let him take some pictures—you know of me.”
When I got what she meant, I gasped. “Um, okay.”
“He may have deleted them, but I just want to make sure.”
“Oh,” I replied, my chest deflating.
“So you think you can get them for me?”
“Yeah, um, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
She sighed with relief. “Good. The last thing I need is for them to fall into the wrong hands and end up on the internet or something.”
“That would suck,” I said. She still hadn’t answered the song lyrics question. “So it’s a real bummer you guys didn’t have a special song—you know that meant something to the two of you.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “I guess that’s because Jake only listened to ridiculous rap music without any deeper meaning than ‘I want to screw you nine different ways’.”
At her totally exasperated expression, I ducked my head to avoid laughing in her face. Geez, she had such a stick up her ass that I wondered how Jake had ever managed to spend more than ten minutes with her—especially considering for the latter part of their relationship he wasn’t getting any from her. He’d respected her wishes when she’d told him she couldn’t handle a physical relationship anymore. Now that I looked back, it was probably one of the most decent things he had ever done with a girl.
I stood up from the couch. “Yeah, I guess I better get going. I’ll get those pictures for you as soon as I can.”
Her eyes widened as she shook her head wildly back and forth. “I don’t want to keep them. I want you to delete them!” she shrieked.
Holding my hands up in defeat, I replied. “Okay, okay, I’ll delete them.”
Avery exhaled noisily. “Good. I’m glad to hear we’re on the same page.” She then followed me down the winding staircase into the marble floored foyer. She smiled at me. “Thanks Noah. You know, for being a good friend to me and Jake.”
“Sure. And thanks for letting me come over.”
“Yeah, anytime,” Avery said, listlessly before closing the door behind me.
I walked to my Jeep, content in the knowledge I could cross one girl off the list.
***