Page 59 of Crossing Paths
Norah laughed, grateful to her sisters for reducing the tension. She relaxed a little, less worried about the upcoming conversation but still dreading it. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine.”
Her sisters slipped back into the house, closing the door behind them. Although she’d just told them to leave, Norah envied them. If she’d had a chance to escape the oncoming nightmare, she would’ve grabbed it with both hands too.
“Norah! Why aren’t you answering my texts?” Laken slapped her on the shoulder. Although it was done teasingly, Norah’s sore muscles still protested the hit.
She hid her wince behind a forced smile. “I couldn’t. My phone burned up.”
“Burned up?” Laken’s expression blanked with honest shock.
Norah registered the reaction with interest. It wasn’t as if she’d honestly suspected Laken was the one throwing rocks andbottle bombs, but there had to be a motive behind the woman’s interest. No one tried this hard to catch up with someone from high school—especially when they hadn’t even been friends.
“Yes.” Ignoring the hint to give more details, Norah got straight to the point. “What were your texts about?”
“You still owe me a night out at Dutch’s!” Laken’s broad smile of exaggerated friendliness fell back into place.
There was something about showing that many teeth that made her seem threatening instead of disarming. Norah had to make an effort not to take a step back. This wasn’t the time to show weakness to a predator.
“How about tomorrow? It’s Ladies’ Night—not that we ever have to pay for a drink.” Laken winked, and Norah thought how strange it was that Chloe could make the same expression look fun and cute but it just seemed contrived when Laken did it. Also, she wasn’t sure why Laken didn’t think Norah paid for her drinks. It was just a weird thing to say.
She realized she’d hesitated too long when Laken’s eyes lit up with anticipation. Then again, maybe this outing was needed to expose what her junior high nemesis was really after. Norah could shoot down her hopes at finding the necklace, and then she’d hopefully be free of any future unwanted social obligations—at least those involving Laken. Going to Dutch’s without backup wasn’t an option though. The thought of seeing Dash again made a fireworks show launch in her belly, but she quashed the excitement, telling herself to save it for later, when she was alone.
“Fine,” she said, knowing she’d regret it later. It had to bedone though, like a dentist appointment. “I’m bringing a date.”
A strange expression flashed over Laken’s face before she reverted to her usual game-show host smile. “That delicious, muscle-bound man from the diner?”
Norah gave a short nod, not liking to hear someone else describeherDash in that way.
“Ooooh, can’t wait.” As if wanting to leave before Norah could change her mind, Laken clattered down the porch steps impressively fast for someone in heels. “See you tomorrow! Let’s say nine!” she called over her shoulder, not waiting for confirmation on the time before hurrying around to the driver’s side of her car.
Norah watched her drive off. If she’d known that agreeing to go to Dutch’s would mean such a quick departure, she might’ve said yes sooner…although this also meant she had to spend an evening at Dutch’s with Laken.
Groaning, Norah reflexively reached for her cell phone, making a face when it wasn’t in her pocket as usual. No, it was likely a blackened lump on what was left of Dash’s apartment floor. Even if it hadn’t been burned, the firefighters had surely doused it with a hefty amount of water. Heaving a mournful sigh, she headed inside. This meant a trip to the phone store in Denver, and she hated the phone store with a passion.
She dragged herself into the kitchen. Cara wasn’t anywhere in sight—probably upstairs—but Molly was digging through the fridge as she talked on her phone to John. No matter what they were discussing—even if they were arguing—Molly always had that underlying lovey-dovey edge to her voice whenevershe was talking to her boyfriend. Norah settled at the table and took a sip of the coffee she’d started before the detective had interrupted them. Wincing, she swallowed the lukewarm brew. She wasn’t sure why she’d expected it to still be hot after Mill’s interrogation and Laken’s visit.
By the time she’d dumped the remainder in the sink and rinsed her cup, Molly wasn’t showing any signs of wrapping up her conversation with John. Too antsy to wait any longer, Norah grabbed one of the disposable phones they kept on hand for informants. She scribbled the number down along with “going to Denver to get a new phone” and stuck it on the fridge. Molly walked over to read the note and interrupted what she’d been saying to John.
“Take Dash with you.”
Norah felt her stomach squeeze with both excitement and nerves. “He’s working.”
“Then wait until he can go, or I’ll go with you tomorrow.” Molly listened to whatever John was saying. “Norah needs to get a new phone. Hers burned up.” There was another pause before she spoke again. “Get in line. I get first crack at whoever did this.” Yet another pause. “That’s not fair. She’s my sister. I should get dibs on torturing—”
Knowing from experience that the argument would take a while, Norah just scribbled out the first sentence she’d written and changed it to “going to talk to Dash.” This new plan got an approving nod from Molly, who tossed her the keys to the weed-mobile. Norah fumbled the catch, as always, but managed to grab them before they hit the floor. With a wave of thanks, she headed out before Molly could reconsider letting her littlesister leave her sight.
The drive to the gym felt too short as Norah tried to plan out what she’d say to Dash once she saw him. When they were together, it wasn’t usually stilted or awkward, but that didn’t stop her from fretting about what she should say to him after their harrowing experience the night before.
Parking on the street, she was halfway down the alley before she saw the police tape blocking the gym door.
“Of course it’s closed,” she muttered, stopping and turning back in the direction she’d come from. “The building was on fire, dummy.”
As she hurried back to the car, her stomach churned. She hadn’t thought about Dash losing his home and—at least temporarily—his livelihood at the same time. Since it was likely Norah had dragged him into the situation that led to the previous night’s events, it was her fault he had nowhere to live and his business was shut down.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, she locked the doors but didn’t turn on the car. Digging out her burner phone, she stared blankly at it as she thought. The unfamiliar ring made her jump and fumble the phone, dropping it into her lap.
Once she’d recovered it, she recognized Molly’s number on the display. Relieved and feeling a bit silly for being startled by her own phone, she answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Norah. Dash called.”
