Page 24 of Threat of Danger
“Jess?”
She winced. Then, when she realized the voice was familiar, she spun around as excitement leaped in her blood. “Pam?”
The woman rising from one of the tables had her back to Jess a second ago. Now she was grinning like crazy as she launched into motion, an unexpected blast from the past.
“Pam!” Then Jess was knocked back by a hug that had a running start. And because neither of them was willing to let go just yet, she ordered her coffee over Pam’s shoulder.
“Sorry. Still overexcitable.” Pam Novak released her, as exuberant as ever, black pixie hair standing nearly on end. She wore yoga pants with a fitted hoodie, neon-pink sneakers on her feet.
Jess couldn’t stop smiling. “You look great.”
Pam’s eyes danced, and so did the rest of her body. She hadn’t been president of the high school pep squad for nothing. “When did you get back? Oh, your mom broke her hip, that’s why. She must be so happy that you came. How is she? I need to go see her.”
“She’s doing well so far. I got here yesterday.”
“I’m so glad you came!” Pam jumped. Her feet actually left the ground. “Oh my God! Derek is back too. Did you know?”
Thiswas what she needed, Jess thought, a true friend who gave her the vital information first. She should have met up with Pam as soon as she arrived in town. Then Derek’s sudden appearance wouldn’t have caught her off guard.
“He came over,” she said.
Pam went completely still, her eyes snapping wide. The air trembled around her with excitement. She was like a Chihuahua scenting a bacon strip. “And?”
Jess emitted a strangled sound, which Pam understood, because she was that kind of a friend. Even after ten years. As if no time had passed.
“OK, we’ll talk about Derek later.”
Once Jess had her coffee, Pam moved them to her table in the back. “What’s going on with you? I haven’t seen you in forever. Oh my God, you’re totally kick-ass!” She groaned. “And here I am, still looking like a cannonball. Are those some fancy Hollywood designer jeans?”
“Plain jeans. And you’re petite and lusciously curvaceous. Men eat that up. They always have.”
Pam grinned. “True.” Then she grinned wider, hopping in her chair as she squealed, “Oh my God, you’re here!”
Jess grinned back. Nobody could resist Pam. And Jess didn’t want to. She needed the shot of positive energy.
Pam gripped the edge of the table as if afraid she’d float away with excitement. “You have no idea how many times I tried to track you down online.”
“I’m not online. The weirdos kept finding me.”
Some people were obsessed with the macabre, with true crime, and they all knew Jess’s name and story. Her kidnapping and escape had been all over the news back in the day.
“Oh.” Pam’s face fell. She took Jess’s hand on the table and squeezed. “How are you? I’m sorry about all the idiots. Are you back for good?”
“A couple of weeks. What’s new with you?”
“Since the last time we talked? Like ten freaking years ago?” Pam raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I will lay this guilt trip.”
She sipped from her cup. “Finished college. Came back home. Got a job at Armstrong Financial. Which is why I’m over here for coffee fifty times a day. Tax season.”
She grimaced. “Every year, I want to throw myself off a cliff and swear to switch careers. But it’s like childbirth. You forget after a few months and start thinking it’s not so bad, start thinking you can do it again.”
“You have any children?”
“Not yet. But Chrissy has three.”
Chrissy was Pam’s older sister.
Pam gave a dramatic sigh. “I’d need a boyfriend to have a child.” She finished her coffee and set the cup down. “I don’t have time to date. You?”
