A spiderweb of cracks formed over the threesome.
Allie’s face was obliterated by the broken glass.
Something within her broke.
Still trembling, she carefully used the lipstick to moisten her lips, then picked up a shard of glass from the table and ever so slowly sliced across her wrist. As a drop of blood appeared she squeezed her hand into a fist and it fell. First one. Then another. And another. Dripping over the photograph until the people in the shot were covered in her blood and unrecognizable.
She felt a lump in her throat as she whispered, “It’s all an act.”
It was well after dark when Cassie drove to the motel. Once in her room, she bought a ticket to LA on the Internet. Then the next morning, she headed to the airport where she said good-bye to the Nissan at the rental car return.
Once she was through security, she found a relatively quiet spot in Concourse B and stopped to dial her mother.
“Hello?” Jenna answered anxiously before the phone could ring a second time. Cassie’s gut twisted as she realized her mother was sitting by the phone, half freaking out while waiting for news of her girls.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Cassie!” Jenna’s voice actually cracked. “For the love of God, I’ve been so worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Mom.” A lie. She felt like a heel for not returning her mother’s calls earlier.
“Doctor Sherling said you left the hospital.”
“True.” Here we go.
“She couldn’t talk to me too much about it because of all the legalities involved, but it sounded as if she wasn’t sure you should be released.”
“I know. But I’m fine.” The image of the nurse in the white uniform floated through her mind. Real? Or imagined? Real, damn it. Rinko gave you the earring!
“I hope so.”
“Has there been any word on Allie?” she asked, and mentally crossed her fingers.
“No.” Jenna couldn’t hide the sadness in her voice.
“What about the police? Do they have any leads?”
“None that they’re sharing.”
“Can’t Shane get info?” she asked as other travelers rolled bags past her on the way to their gates. “I mean, he was the sheriff.”
“Not on the force any longer. Just Joe Citizen.”
“But, doesn’t he know someone who will talk to him?”
There was a slight hesitation and then, “You know Shane, everything by the book.”
In her mind’s eye, Cassie saw the man who was her stepfather. Tall and kind of rugged-looking with a thick dark mustache and eyes that didn’t miss anything. “This might be a time when he ignores the rules.”
“There’s just nothing to tell.”
“That sucks,” she said, moving into the pedestrian traffic.
A voice behind her asked, “Excuse me, is this the A Concourse?”
Cassie glanced over her shoulder to spy a woman who appeared to be in her late seventies or early eighties. A tiny, birdlike thing dressed in layers that included a down vest, she was peering at Cassie intently through magnified glasses that made her eyes appear owlish. She was holding a boarding pass in one hand and the handle of a tapestry-print roller bag with the other.
“This is C.”