hang with your friends, eat ice cream, or kiss a boy ever again. But if you stick around, you can watch me do those things .
No, thank you. And Linzy seems the type to not take bad news well.
"She's upset she lost you."
Her body tenses. "Or that her cash cow won't be supplying her with fancy lunches and parties with celebs anymore."
Is she saying her mother used her?
She glances up from her manicure. "You look surprised. She was my manager."
That might explain some of it but not the sad tone in Linzy's voice.
"I'm sorry."
She frowns and lies on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "For what? You don't know me."
Exactly. So why is she here?
"You said this is the first time I've seen you. How long have you been here?"
She shrugs. "Feels like forever."
"You went missing three days ago."
She scrunches up her nose. "Is that all?"
"How did you die?"
She shrugs again.
"You don't know? How can you not know? I'd think that would be something you'd never forget."
Another flippin' shrug. "It was unpleasant. Why relive it?" She laughs at her words.
I jump off my bed, annoyed that she's so blasé about the whole thing. "You know, you could be a bit more invested, or at least care about what I've been through."
She frowns. "How is this about you?"
"I'm the last one who saw you alive, talking to that person in the car. Who was that? Your ex-boyfriend?"
"How'd you see me? You followed me? What are you, some kind of perv?"
I roll my eyes. "That only applies if I peer into your windows. I was curious why you snuck out and where you were going."
She raises her brows. "Sounds nosy and still a bit pervy."
I ignore the comment. "So, was that your ex or some actor from your show?"
If she says it was Shia or Leonardo, I'll know I'm asleep and this is a nightmare.
She shakes her head. "Nope."
"Then who?"
"Why should I tell you anything? Especially since you spied on me."
"Good thing I did, otherwise no one would have had a clue you might be in trouble."
"That's stupid. Mom probably called in the Armed Forces as soon as she realized I wasn't in my room."
"Not so much. They waited until the following night to even call the cops." It's after I say it that I realize I should've let her think her folks had hired a necromancer to bring J. Edgar Hoover back from the dead so he could direct an FBI investigation.
Linzy's expression drops. "Whatever."
She stares at my window. The blinds are drawn, so she's not looking at anything outside. She's hard to read, but if it were me, I'd be beyond upset.
"When I went missing, what was it like?" Her tone is melancholic.
It's finally sinking in. Good. Now we can figure out why she's still here and how to get her to move on. "Awful, I guess. I told the chief what I saw. I helped the best I could."
She gets onto her knees, and a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "Chief Williams is handling my death, not one of her minions?" She giggles.
"Is that funny?"
"No. It's awesome. Was everyone upset and frantic when I disappeared?" Her eyes widen. "Were there fliers with my face put up all over town? A search party with dogs? What did Mom give them with my scent?"
And Dad thinks I'm morbid. "I don't know. I was mostly home."
She sits back down. "Well that's disappointing. Fill me in on everything you do know. Don't skip over a detail."
I start with the night I followed her.
"Yeah, yeah, I know all of that. I was there. Get to the good stuff, to what I don't know."
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I tell about finding her in the river, talking to the chief, and finding her on my bed. I don't know the juicy tidbits she wantsâthe behind-the-scene law enforcement stuff. Did Chief Williams lose sleep combing every inch of the town? Were there false leads that made the police angry and sad because the first twenty-four hours in a disappearance is most important? At least according to Law & Order: SVU reruns. Stabler and Benson were always frantic when a kid went
No, thank you. And Linzy seems the type to not take bad news well.
"She's upset she lost you."
Her body tenses. "Or that her cash cow won't be supplying her with fancy lunches and parties with celebs anymore."
Is she saying her mother used her?
She glances up from her manicure. "You look surprised. She was my manager."
That might explain some of it but not the sad tone in Linzy's voice.
"I'm sorry."
She frowns and lies on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "For what? You don't know me."
Exactly. So why is she here?
"You said this is the first time I've seen you. How long have you been here?"
She shrugs. "Feels like forever."
"You went missing three days ago."
She scrunches up her nose. "Is that all?"
"How did you die?"
She shrugs again.
"You don't know? How can you not know? I'd think that would be something you'd never forget."
Another flippin' shrug. "It was unpleasant. Why relive it?" She laughs at her words.
I jump off my bed, annoyed that she's so blasé about the whole thing. "You know, you could be a bit more invested, or at least care about what I've been through."
She frowns. "How is this about you?"
"I'm the last one who saw you alive, talking to that person in the car. Who was that? Your ex-boyfriend?"
"How'd you see me? You followed me? What are you, some kind of perv?"
I roll my eyes. "That only applies if I peer into your windows. I was curious why you snuck out and where you were going."
She raises her brows. "Sounds nosy and still a bit pervy."
I ignore the comment. "So, was that your ex or some actor from your show?"
If she says it was Shia or Leonardo, I'll know I'm asleep and this is a nightmare.
She shakes her head. "Nope."
"Then who?"
"Why should I tell you anything? Especially since you spied on me."
"Good thing I did, otherwise no one would have had a clue you might be in trouble."
"That's stupid. Mom probably called in the Armed Forces as soon as she realized I wasn't in my room."
"Not so much. They waited until the following night to even call the cops." It's after I say it that I realize I should've let her think her folks had hired a necromancer to bring J. Edgar Hoover back from the dead so he could direct an FBI investigation.
Linzy's expression drops. "Whatever."
She stares at my window. The blinds are drawn, so she's not looking at anything outside. She's hard to read, but if it were me, I'd be beyond upset.
"When I went missing, what was it like?" Her tone is melancholic.
It's finally sinking in. Good. Now we can figure out why she's still here and how to get her to move on. "Awful, I guess. I told the chief what I saw. I helped the best I could."
She gets onto her knees, and a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "Chief Williams is handling my death, not one of her minions?" She giggles.
"Is that funny?"
"No. It's awesome. Was everyone upset and frantic when I disappeared?" Her eyes widen. "Were there fliers with my face put up all over town? A search party with dogs? What did Mom give them with my scent?"
And Dad thinks I'm morbid. "I don't know. I was mostly home."
She sits back down. "Well that's disappointing. Fill me in on everything you do know. Don't skip over a detail."
I start with the night I followed her.
"Yeah, yeah, I know all of that. I was there. Get to the good stuff, to what I don't know."
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I tell about finding her in the river, talking to the chief, and finding her on my bed. I don't know the juicy tidbits she wantsâthe behind-the-scene law enforcement stuff. Did Chief Williams lose sleep combing every inch of the town? Were there false leads that made the police angry and sad because the first twenty-four hours in a disappearance is most important? At least according to Law & Order: SVU reruns. Stabler and Benson were always frantic when a kid went
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