Glossed and Found by India Ink

Author:India Ink
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780425212943
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2007-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Amy’s face was stained with tears and mascara drips, and she looked so fragile that I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her safe, but my shoulder hurt too much for that, so I just gave her a squeeze as we walked into the kitchen.

“Kyle isn’t sure it’s her. He hasn’t seen . . . her, so don’t assume. Just wait until we know for certain.” We sat down at the table where I pushed aside a box half full of tissues, a cup of cold coffee, and a half-eaten doughnut. “Is this all you’ve had to eat this morning?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I can’t eat. Not now. What if it’s her? What if we were wrong, and she did drown?”

Then we were both off base, I thought, but I didn’t say anything. I pushed myself up from the table and cleared away her coffee cup and leftover pastry and put the kettle on for tea. There was a box of orange spice tea on the counter, and I poked around in the cupboards until I found two mugs and dropped tea bags into them, filling them with the steaming water. As the scent of orange peel and cinnamon filled the air, I opened her refrigerator and found a cup of yogurt and sat it in front of her with a spoon.

“This will be easy on your stomach. You need some protein. Try to eat a few spoonfuls, would you?”

She fretted but took the cover off and, glancing at me with a puzzled look, slowly began to eat. “What happened to you, Persia? You’re hurt.”

“Yeah, I got winged by a bullet last night. Apparently my ex-boyfriend decided making my life miserable just wasn’t payback enough for the fact that I dumped him when he got busted and sent to prison for awhile. He showed up at the house with a revolver and a grudge.”

I gingerly pulled the shoulder of my shirt down just enough to show her the bruise and bandage. She gasped.

“He’s in jail, and I’m incapacitated. Auntie’s off to the rental place to rent me a car, because Elliot also smashed up my windshield, as well as one of the shopwindows yesterday. I guess being hauled in by Kyle for vandalism pissed him off because that was when he brainstormed this little charade.”

“I’m so sorry I bothered you,” Amy said, paling even further. “I didn’t know, or I wouldn’t have asked you to come over—”

“Nonsense,” I said, giving her a slow smile. “Your sister is my friend, and I care about what happens to her. And I honestly believe she’s still alive somewhere. But on the off chance we’re wrong about that, I want to be here for support.”

Amy managed a small smile as she stood to answer a knock at the door. It was Kyle, come to take us to the morgue. I followed him as he wrapped his arm around Amy and led her out to the squad car. We both clambered in the back.

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