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It was bugging Tess, too – but not for the same reasons. “Flip, I think we should both go check on Selene. You know how high-strung she is. You don’t want her flaking out because she feels vulnerable. Let’s go over there and assure her that everything is being done to find Joh
“God, the budget-” Lottie began, then caught Tess’s gaze. In that moment, Tess could tell, Lottie decided she could trust her, that Tess was not another local trying to shake her down at every opportunity. She also seemed to get that Tess had an insight into this that no one else had. “No, you’re right, of course. I’ll stay here, wait for updates. You go take care of Selene.”
Flip didn’t speak a word on the short drive to Selene’s condo, just sat in the front seat of Tess’s car, twisting the brim of his Natty Boh hat. He broke his silence only after Tess parked.
“Maybe this project is cursed,” he said. “Maybe I’ve been stupid not to heed the warnings. A murder, and now a kidnapping. What next?”
“Flip, you’ve got problems we haven’t even discussed yet, but I think Joh
In her living room, Selene was stretched out on the sofa, watching television and toying with her iPhone, a kid enjoying an unexpected snow day. Whitney was in Selene’s closet, a walk-in the size of the guest bedroom at Tess’s house, going through Selene’s clothes.
“Hey, I got your voice mail about what’s going on. I’m sorting,” she said, pointing to the various piles around her. “Dirty and clean – Miss Waites seems a little confused about how laundry works. Then, we further subdivide into ‘whore’ and ‘not whore.’ Yes, in case you’re wondering – I’m bored out of my mind. I’d be cataloging her books – if she owned more than two.”
“Well, if we’re lucky, Miss Talbot’s Boarding School for Spoiled Actresses may be able to close down today.”
“I don’t see how-” Flip began.
“Trust us,” Tess said, leading him back to the living room, Whitney trailing. Selene was smiling at something on her phone’s screen, although the smile disappeared when Whitney snatched the phone away from her. In fact, this time Selene actually dared to grab for the phone, but Whitney swatted her away. Selene then tried to climb Whitney, reaching for the phone the whole time, but Whitney simply tossed the iPhone to Tess.
“‘Whassup?’” Tess read. “Would it have been so hard to write it as two words? Who’s this from? Oh, it’s from Pete. Should I answer him?”
Selene was a scrapper. She leaped off Whitney and tried to charge Tess, but Whitney caught her by the arm and held her fast. U R BUSTED, Tess typed back, once she figured out how to make the iPhone’s keyboard appear. Then, to Selene: “So where is Joh
“Shut up!” Selene yelled, putting her hands over her ears. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
“Selene, you know I went through your phone the other night. That’s how I found out about you and Ben. And that’s why Whitney has been checking your phone at every opportunity, to see who else calls you on a regular basis. And, thanks to the wonders of the iPhone, she’s also had easy access to your e-mail.”
“Ben?” Flip squeaked. “What about Selene and Ben?”
Tess didn’t have time for that side trip. “Whitney noticed that a large volume of your e-mail came from someone named Pete. I didn’t think about it twice, until I remembered that Whitney called Joh
Selene burst into tears. Damn, she’s good, Tess thought.
“Oh, stop it, Selene. It’s clear that you and Joh
Selene, realizing her tears were having no effect, not even on Flip – who still seemed stuck on the reference to Ben – slouched her way over to one of the overstuffed chairs. “Derek wanted Joh
A part of Tess’s mind registered the correct use of linchpin. The Selene she knew – or thought she knew – would have said clothespin. Oh, what a fine actress she was. Actor.
“What about Greer’s murder? Do you know anything about that?”
“No,” Selene said. “It was just that Joh
“What was in it for you?”
“Derek’s company has the rights to a biopic of Sigrid Undset, the Nobel Prize wi
Well, that cleared up one mystery – the presence of Kristin Lavransdatter beneath Selene’s bed. And, having heard Selene’s version of “Call Me,” Tess could understand Deborah Harry’s reluctance.
“So the little fires, the disgruntled steelworkers, the angry community activist – that was all you?”
“Only the first two,” Selene said. “The production managed to piss off the neighborhood lady on its own. That was pure lagniappe.”
This from a girl who had pretended not to know the difference between crawfish and mussels.
“But how did you-” Flip began.
“After you fired Alicia, Joh
Alicia. Everyone had been focused on the suicide as the seminal incident, but Alicia had been fired subsequent to Wilbur Grace’s suicide. Tess had a sudden memory of the decking material stacked in Alicia’s backyard, the shelter magazines in the bathroom. When I have time, I don’t have money; when I have money, I don’t have time. Tess had assumed Alicia had run out of funds. But, no, she was just too busy with her two full-time jobs, video store clerk and set gremlin, to work on her house.
“Did she arrange the abduction of Joh
“We set that up with some friends of Derek. After the smoke bomb Friday – not one that we pla
“Selene,” Tess said, still using the slow, patient voice that she had always used with the girl, although she realized now it was far from necessary. “The things you’ve done – they’re not practical jokes. You’re in felony territory. Arson, making a false report.”
“I didn’t report anything,” she pointed out. “Joh
Tess sighed, even as part of her mind registered Selene’s correct usage of inferred. “Look, you’re a smart girl, smarter than any of us knew. Maybe I can make this go away, but only if everything ends now. Where’s Joh