Highlights to Heaven by Nancy J. Cohen

flowing caftan, and frayed sandals.
    “You look great,” Marla lied, thinking she appeared more like a fortune-teller than a hairdresser. “How’s it going? I’m looking up members of our class. You weren’t updated on the roster, but Tina knew where to find you.”
    “Tina’s a pip. I run into her at Sally’s Beauty Supply all the time.”
    “Can I buy you a cup of coffee? I need some information, and I was hoping you could help.” Darcy had been the class yenta, and Marla didn’t think the woman would pass up a chance to gossip.
    “You don’t mind if we get something to eat, do you? I’m absolutely starved.”
    If a free meal would loosen her tongue, so be it. After they were seated in a deli at Lincoln Park West, Marla stated her case. “Two girls from our class are dead,” she began, forced to pause while Darcy ordered a bowl of beef barley soup, salad, and a roast turkey platter. Don’t forget dessert . Hopefully, she had enough cash to pay for this unexpected repast.
    “I read the news,” Darcy snapped.
    At least Marla didn’t have to give her the details. “I’m wondering if these accidents were related. Have you kept in touch with anyone from school?”
    “Only Harriet and Julie.”
    Marla couldn’t suppress her disappointment. “How about Cutter?”
    Darcy slurped her Miller Lite. “What about him?”
    “Heard anything about who he’s hanging with these days?”
    The woman grimaced. “How should I know? Probably some cute guy.”
    “I figured he’s gay.”
    “No kidding. I could tell when he hit on Wyeth.”
    “Oh my, I’d forgotten about him. He’s not on the roster.” Grabbing her purse, she withdrew the sheet of paper Virginia had provided. How peculiar. She scanned the chart but didn’t see Wyeth listed.
    “What was his last name?” Maybe a typo accounted for the omission.
    “Wyeth Holmes. How can you forget after what your gang did to him?”
    Marla stared at her. “You know about that?”
    “He whined about it for days. I’d be worried if I were you. Maybe he’s out for revenge.”
    “After so many years? Give me a break.”
    Their conversation left her with a sinking feeling. Perhaps there was more to Darcy’s theory than she’d thought. The so-called gang was her group of friends in class. They’d eaten lunch together, endured the lectures, shared the same lab assignment, and performed a prank that had slipped her memory until now. Eliminating the rest of her classmates, that presented two more names to check. Five of them had completed the circle: Marla, Lori Webber, Kenya Dobson, Louise Cunningham, and Eileen Joyce McFee. The latter two were dead. How could that incident have eluded her memory?
    Lori Webber Snow and her husband were out of town on vacation when Marla called later in the week, using the roster from the beauty school. Lori’s mother answered; she was baby-sitting for their kids. Marla left a brief message and promised to call back the following week. She had better luck when she looked up Kenya Dobson. Kenya worked at a salon in Lauderdale Lakes.
    Marla drove over during a break on Friday when a client scheduled for a highlights canceled. She caught Kenya teasing a woman’s hair into a beehive style. Her critical eye scanned rows of domed hair dryers opposite shampoo sinks that belonged in antiquity. The clientele, mostly white-haired, suited the old-fashioned environment. “Can I have a few minutes of your time when you’re through?” she asked after they greeted each other. Kenya still appeared youthful, her rich mahogany skin stretched smooth over a face contoured with high cheekbones and full wine-glossed lips. She moved with the grace of a jungle cat, her royal blue smock covering a pair of tight black jeans.
    “I don’t think anyone knows what happened to Wyeth,” Kenya said after her customer departed. Marla stood by while the stylist cleaned her counter. “Maybe his hair never grew back.”
    Flushing hotly, Marla regarded her.