school.”
“Nope, graduated last week.” She pulled her own chair up next to Deni’s. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been dying with nobody to talk to except my parents and my little brother. I wish I’d known you were home. I’m dying of boredom.”
Deni didn’t much like the idea of hanging out with high school friends. After four years at an eastern college she was beyond that. She’d changed, and didn’t want her old friends thinking she hadn’t.
She lifted her chin. “I hope I won’t be here long. I’m starting a job at an NBC affiliate in Washington as soon as I can get out of here.”
Chris looked suitably impressed. “A TV job! Wow. That’s perfect for you. I always thought you’d be a star.”
Deni laughed in spite of herself. “Well, let’s hope that I can get there before they give up on me. My fiancé is there, and he’s got to be worried sick about me.”
There. She’d gotten in the engagement and the television job in one fell swoop. She lifted her left hand to scratch her face, hoping Chris would notice the ring. But she didn’t.
“Isn’t all this crazy?” Chris’s voice lowered to a whisper. “And did you hear about the murders?”
“I’m the one who found them.” Deni’s gut knotted with the words, but a sense of pride welled up in her, as if that elevated her somehow.
“You did? Oh, my gosh, Deni. Was it as bad as they said?”
“Worse.”
“Do they know who did it?”
Deni shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s so creepy,” Chris whispered, looking around. “I don’t think many of us are going to sleep tonight.”
Deni glanced across the lawn and saw her friend Mark sitting on the pier. He stared down into the water, still clearly shocked at what he’d seen earlier.
“Man, I’d kill for a bath.” Chris lifted her hair off of her neck. “I plan to make friends with someone who has a pool tonight. You guys haven’t had one put in in the last few years, have you?”
Deni shook her thoughts from the murders. “No. My mom hates cleaning them. All these years I’ve told her we need a pool. Now she wishes we had one.”
“Well, I’ll let you know if someone invites me to swim.”
The sun was laser sharp and glaring as it made its final blast of heat before setting. “I saw Katie Morris the other day,” Chris said. “She’s working at Target.”
“Did she graduate?”
“No, she said she’s got another whole year. She was a partier, you know, and only came out with about nine hours every semester. Her parents stopped paying for it, so now she’s having to work to put herself through.”
Deni had known many students like that in college, and had even been like that herself for a while. Then it had occurred to her that she had ambitions and goals, and she couldn’t meet them if she was up all night drinking and partying. Finally, she’d decided to focus her energies on getting a good job when she got out. That meant getting good grades. It was those grades that had impressed the station that hired her. Her future looked so bright she’d need sunglasses to navigate her way through it.
Someone yelled for their attention, and the milling people began to take their seats.
“If we could go ahead and get started . . .”
Her own father called the meeting to attention. That amused her. “What is he doing?”
“Looks like he’s taking charge,” Chris said. “Why is that funny?”
“Because he’s never been to a homeowner’s meeting in his life. He was always afraid he’d get elected to something.”
As the group settled down, he continued to stand at the front, as if planning to address the crowd. Brad, their next-door neighbor, father to Jeremy and Drew, stood with him. It looked like they were in this together.
Her dad cleared his throat. “Stella Huckabee just told me that her husband, Hank, who’s this year’s Homeowner’s Association president, is in Washington. Needless to say, he hasn’t been able
“Nope, graduated last week.” She pulled her own chair up next to Deni’s. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been dying with nobody to talk to except my parents and my little brother. I wish I’d known you were home. I’m dying of boredom.”
Deni didn’t much like the idea of hanging out with high school friends. After four years at an eastern college she was beyond that. She’d changed, and didn’t want her old friends thinking she hadn’t.
She lifted her chin. “I hope I won’t be here long. I’m starting a job at an NBC affiliate in Washington as soon as I can get out of here.”
Chris looked suitably impressed. “A TV job! Wow. That’s perfect for you. I always thought you’d be a star.”
Deni laughed in spite of herself. “Well, let’s hope that I can get there before they give up on me. My fiancé is there, and he’s got to be worried sick about me.”
There. She’d gotten in the engagement and the television job in one fell swoop. She lifted her left hand to scratch her face, hoping Chris would notice the ring. But she didn’t.
“Isn’t all this crazy?” Chris’s voice lowered to a whisper. “And did you hear about the murders?”
“I’m the one who found them.” Deni’s gut knotted with the words, but a sense of pride welled up in her, as if that elevated her somehow.
“You did? Oh, my gosh, Deni. Was it as bad as they said?”
“Worse.”
“Do they know who did it?”
Deni shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s so creepy,” Chris whispered, looking around. “I don’t think many of us are going to sleep tonight.”
Deni glanced across the lawn and saw her friend Mark sitting on the pier. He stared down into the water, still clearly shocked at what he’d seen earlier.
“Man, I’d kill for a bath.” Chris lifted her hair off of her neck. “I plan to make friends with someone who has a pool tonight. You guys haven’t had one put in in the last few years, have you?”
Deni shook her thoughts from the murders. “No. My mom hates cleaning them. All these years I’ve told her we need a pool. Now she wishes we had one.”
“Well, I’ll let you know if someone invites me to swim.”
The sun was laser sharp and glaring as it made its final blast of heat before setting. “I saw Katie Morris the other day,” Chris said. “She’s working at Target.”
“Did she graduate?”
“No, she said she’s got another whole year. She was a partier, you know, and only came out with about nine hours every semester. Her parents stopped paying for it, so now she’s having to work to put herself through.”
Deni had known many students like that in college, and had even been like that herself for a while. Then it had occurred to her that she had ambitions and goals, and she couldn’t meet them if she was up all night drinking and partying. Finally, she’d decided to focus her energies on getting a good job when she got out. That meant getting good grades. It was those grades that had impressed the station that hired her. Her future looked so bright she’d need sunglasses to navigate her way through it.
Someone yelled for their attention, and the milling people began to take their seats.
“If we could go ahead and get started . . .”
Her own father called the meeting to attention. That amused her. “What is he doing?”
“Looks like he’s taking charge,” Chris said. “Why is that funny?”
“Because he’s never been to a homeowner’s meeting in his life. He was always afraid he’d get elected to something.”
As the group settled down, he continued to stand at the front, as if planning to address the crowd. Brad, their next-door neighbor, father to Jeremy and Drew, stood with him. It looked like they were in this together.
Her dad cleared his throat. “Stella Huckabee just told me that her husband, Hank, who’s this year’s Homeowner’s Association president, is in Washington. Needless to say, he hasn’t been able
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