Dangerous? Alex was the type of guy who let spiders outside instead of squashing them. He had been the one who’d held off on having sex, saying he wanted to wait until it was absolutely and positively special and right. “Why is he being arrested?” Ava cried. Then she looked at Alex. “Alex, what’s going on?”
Alex just stared through her. The cops pushed him across the lawn, holding him by the arms. And as they shoved him into the squad car, a strange thought began to take hold in Ava’s mind. This guy could be dangerous. She thought of Alex’s blank look as they led him away. Whatever had happened, Alex couldn’t explain it to her.
The cop closed the car door on Alex, then made his way around to the front. The lights were already blaring, and as he opened his door, the reporters descended on him. “Officer!” they cried. “What’s the nature of that boy’s arrest? Can you tell us?”
Ava leaned forward, heart pounding.
The cop touched the walkie-talkie on his belt, then looked into the camera. “All I can tell you is what I know,” he said gruffly, his hand on the top of the door. “Which is that as of now, Alex Cohen is under arrest for the murder of Lucas Granger.”
CHAPTER SIX
JULIE PULLED INTO THE JUDY’S DINER parking lot on Tuesday night. It was pouring down rain, but the lights of the diner were warm, and the people inside looked happy and relaxed. Suddenly, a flash of auburn hair inside the diner caught her eye, and her heart seized in her chest. Was that Ashley? Julie hadn’t seen her enemy since before the email went out, and she was still dreading the inevitable showdown.
But then she looked again. It was just another girl with similar-colored hair. She spooned what looked like rice pudding into her mouth and smiled at the guy she was sitting with. Julie breathed out. She so wasn’t ready to see Ashley yet.
Someone tapped on her window, and she looked up with a start. It was Parker—the reason Julie had come to the diner—and she was soaked. Julie hit UNLOCK, and Parker threw herself into the passenger seat. “Didn’t you see me waving?” she asked, sounding annoyed. “You could have pulled closer to the curb.”
“Sorry,” Julie said. “I thought I saw someone inside.”
“Ashley?”
That was the thing about Parker—she knew Julie far too well. “Maybe,” Julie muttered.
Parker gritted her teeth. “I hate that girl. Like, really, really hate her.”
“I know. I do, too.”
“Yeah, but you’re just rolling over and taking the abuse. Then again . . .” Parker homed in on Julie, staring at her pink blouse, dark-wash skinny jeans, and high ponytail. “You have actual clothes on. You don’t even seem that upset.”
Julie wanted to tell Parker that it was because of Carson—he’d called her that day to check in, and they’d talked for almost two hours. But sometimes it was hard to tell Parker happy things, considering Parker’s own troubled life. So she just shrugged. “I’m trying to cope.”
“I think we should do something to Ashley in retaliation,” Parker growled.
“Like what?” Julie asked as she pulled out of the lot. “Let air out of her tires? Post some mean stuff on Facebook? It’ll just look like we’re stupid high school girls trying to get revenge.”
Parker slumped down in the seat and muttered something Julie couldn’t hear. Julie stared at her friend for a moment. Parker was pale, and she looked exhausted and upset, probably for something more serious than Ashley.
The windshield wipers swished noisily. “So . . . where have you been anyway?” Julie had no idea where Parker had been sleeping. Before she’d received Parker’s call this evening saying she was at the diner and needed a ride, Julie had almost been ready to report her to Missing Persons. Sure, Parker had disappeared before, but never for this long, and never without telling Julie where she was going.
Then again, they hadn’t ever been wanted for murder before.
Parker shrugged. “Around.”
Julie paused at a stop sign. “Just . . . around?” She wondered if that meant Parker didn’t remember. A shot of fear spiked through her chest. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked tentatively.
“Not really.”
Julie shut her eyes. She wished Parker would talk about it—about anything. It seemed like her friend was retreating more and more into herself, especially after Nolan’s death. If only the therapist she’d found for her had worked out. Instead, whenever Julie even thought of Elliot Fielder and what he’d done to Parker, she was seized with such crushing guilt she could barely breathe. She had made a lot of mistakes with Parker, horrible mistakes she couldn’t undo. She would have to be very, very careful to take care of her from now on, she promised herself.
“So where are we going again?” Parker asked languidly, staring out the window at the passing redwood trees.
“Ava’s,” Julie answered. “She called a little while ago. Her boyfriend was arrested for Granger’s murder.”
Parker raised an eyebrow. “Wait. Ava’s boyfriend, the guy who turned us in?”