Shocking Pink

“Look.” She took the article from her back pocket, unfolded it and handed it to her friends, hands shaking. “Our imaginations weren’t running away with us. We were right to be afraid. This guy’s bad news.”

Julie stared at the photocopy, her eyes huge behind her glasses. “Do you think he … he’s … going to kill her?”

Andie swallowed hard. “I think he might.”

“Oh, God.” Julie wrapped her arms around her drawn-up knees and looked pleadingly at Raven. The other girl sent her a warning glance, and Julie moaned and pressed her face to her knees.

Andie watched them, frowning. “What’s going on, you guys?”

“Nothing,” Raven said smoothly. She handed the article back. “This doesn’t prove anything.”

“Of course it does. It proves he could hurt her. It proves we can’t just sit back and do nothing. We have to go to our—”

“Parents?” Raven supplied. “I don’t think so.” When Andie opened her mouth to argue her point, Raven cut her off. “She likes what they’re doing, and if she’s not afraid for herself, why should we risk our butts for her?”

“But the article said—”

“That sometimes the dominator can’t stop and kills his partner. I know.” Raven tossed aside the pages. “But it doesn’t say how often, Andie. It could be one time in a million.”

“And what if this is that time?”

Julie lifted her head, her expression stricken. “Raven … we have to.”

Raven ignored her. “This is Thistledown, Andie. Not New York. Not even St. Louis. Stuff like that doesn’t happen here. Besides, can you imagine what Julie’s dad would do if he found out? Can you imagine what mine would do?”

Julie began to whimper, and Andie cut her a worried glance. “I’ll keep you guys out of it. I’ll tell my mom it was only me.”

“Do you really think she’ll believe that? The three of us spend almost every minute together, we have, almost all summer. Do you really think she won’t know the truth.”

Andie pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. She and her friends had never disagreed this way before. It made her feel funny, almost as if she were on trial and they were judging her. Why couldn’t they see this the way she did?

Andie scrambled around for another solution. “How about this? Instead of our parents, we go to the police. We make them promise not to tell our folks. We tell them—”

“It’ll never work,” Raven inserted, flushing. “We’re minors, Andie. Get it? Minors. The first thing they’d do is call our folks. It’s like a rule. And then we’re dead. Grounded. Separated from each other, probably. Shipped off to some private school. And for what? Your imagination? To help a woman we don’t know, a woman involved in a kinky love affair? I don’t think so.”

“You can’t tell! Please, Andie.” Julie began to cry. She bent and pressed her face to her folded knees and rocked, her sobs high and scary-sounding.

Sending Andie a furious glance, Raven went to Julie and put her arms around her. “You’ve got to drop this, Andie. You’re flipping out, or something. I know it’s been a tough summer for you with your parents splitting up and all, but don’t screw up our lives … our friendship because of it.”

Tears flooded Andie eyes. “But what about … what if something happens to her?”

“Instead of worrying so damn much about this Mrs. X, why don’t you try worrying about us? We’re the ones you’re supposed to care about.”

Julie lifted her head then, her face blotchy from crying. “Rave, what if she’s right? What if he’s killed her?”

“Shut up,” Raven hissed. “You promised.”

“We have to tell her. We have to.”

Andie’s blood ran cold. “Tell me what?”

“I’m sorry, Rave,” Julie whispered. “But she could be dead.” Her voice rose. “What are we going to do if she’s dead?”

“She’s not, but if you have to, fine. Tell her. I’m not stopping you, am I?” Raven stood and walked to the doorway, now just a big, rectangular hole in the wall. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at them.

Julie looked at Andie, then slid her gaze guiltily away, her chin trembling. “Raven and I went back to the house and spied on Mr. and Mrs. X.”

“What?” Andie moved her gaze between her two friends, not believing what she was hearing, but knowing it was true. “You went back … after we’d agreed that we wouldn’t?”

“Raven explained it to me,” Julie said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “We had to figure out what they were up to, and we didn’t want to upset you.”

“I see.” Her best friends had lied to her. She looked at Raven. The other girl met her gaze almost defiantly. That hurt, maybe most of all. “How many times, Julie?”

“A bunch,” she whispered, hanging her head. “I’m sorry, Andie. I didn’t mean to.”

How did one not “mean” to lie? Tears burned Andie’s eyes, she blinked furiously against them. “So, why are you telling me now? Why not keep lying?”

Her sarcasm was lost on Julie. She brought her hands to her throat. “Because I’m afraid he’s … killed her.”

Julie went back, describing in detail the acts she and Raven had witnessed, she told Andie about the rope, about Mr. X’s alternating tenderness and brutality. She finished by telling Andie how he had left Mrs. X alone, bound and blindfolded two nights ago.

When she finished, she curved her arms around her middle. “It was so awful. I’ve hardly been able to sleep since. I keep thinking that Mrs. X … that she might be … that he might have killed her. And now … that article …”

Her words trailed off. They, their meaning, landed heavily between them anyway. Andie paled. “Have you been back since? To, you know, make sure he … didn’t?”

“No.” Julie flushed. “I just couldn’t. Not alone.”

“Rave?” Andie turned to the other girl. “How about you?”

She shook her head. “Get a grip, guys. He hasn’t hurt her. She likes what he does to her. It’s a big, sick game.”

“But what if—” Julie struggled to find her voice. “What if she’s … her body would be … I’ve never seen a … a dead body before.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “I swear, you guys are losin’ it.”

“How do you know?” Andie demanded, facing the other girl, suddenly, incredibly angry. “How come you’re always right? How come we always have to do what you want to do?” She lowered her voice, hurt. “I thought we were best friends. I thought we were family. And I thought that meant something.”

“We are. It does. I—” Raven’s throat seemed to close over the words and her eyes flooded with tears.

“Best friends don’t lie to each other. They don’t hurt each other that way.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, bowing her head. As she did, sun caught on the gold barrette that held the hair away from her face. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t know … how I could have done that to you. You were right, I’ve been obsessed with them. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course I can. I love you, Rave. Just don’t ever do that to me again. It really hurt.”

Raven promised she wouldn’t, and so did Julie. The three hugged. When they broke apart, they exchanged apprehensive glances, knowing the time for a decision had come. Andie spoke first. “We have to check the house out. We have to make sure Mrs. X is okay. Period.”

“When?”