Rock with Wings by Anne Hillerman Page B

our star, man. She’s queen of the zombies. She’s the one who causes the headaches when numbskulls like these two try to sneak in for an autograph or a picture of her.” Samuel made a sound, a humorless laugh. “Nobody should be back there where she’s at. Strictly off limits. I rolled down the window, told them to move away from the trailer. Instead, they took off.”
    â€œWe didn’t—”
    Chee gave Eyebrow a hard stare. The other girl, her brown hair pulled back with a headband, never looked up.
    â€œI had to chase them. That’s when I saw this on the ground.” Samuel reached into his pocket and pulled out a pistol. “It wasn’t there when I cruised by earlier, so I knew one of these two dummies dropped it.” He put the gun on the desk next to Chee and went back to leaning against the wall.
    Eyebrow made a snorting noise.
    Samuel was grinning now. “Hear that? They have what I call attitude. Bad attitude that needs an adjustment. Laugh at me all you want, baby doll. The last laugh will be on your own skinny behind.” A vein pulsed blue through the thin skin at his temple.
    The girl jumped to her feet. “You think you can bully—” She took a step toward the guard, and he toward her.
    Chee moved between them. “Young lady, sit down.” He gave Samuel a look. Chill, man. You’re the grown-up in this situation .
    The guard stepped back to the wall.
    â€œAnything else to add?” Chee said to him.
    â€œStupid little twerps. They’re all yours.” A wave of warm air rushed in as Samuel opened the door and went outside.
    Chee sat in the desk chair and rolled it closer to the girls. “How old are you?”
    â€œEighteen.” Eyebrow spoke first.
    â€œHow about you, miss?”
    Headband mumbled, “Sixteen.”
    â€œDo you live around here?”
    â€œNo. We’re on vacation. Our dad brought us here. It was boring until we found out that Rhonda’s movie was here, too.”
    â€œYour dad drove you out here?”
    Eyebrow said, “Not here, to the hotel, you know, the one across the highway? He’s asleep. I drove to this place.”
    Chee said, “Can I see your license?”
    Eyebrow rustled through a purse as big as a duffel bag, extracting a lime-green wallet. She pulled out a laminated card and handed it to Chee. Her fingernails were green, too, with something glittery on the ends.
    He took the card, one of those graduated driver’s licenses issued to teenagers in Arizona. Courtney Isenberg from Sedona. She’d turn eighteen next month. The license came with restrictions designed to ease the young person into the world of freeways and road rage. Among other limitations, the person who held it could not legally drive between midnight and five a.m. unless a parent or guardian was in the car with the young driver.
    â€œThank you, Courtney.”
    He looked at the other girl. “What about you?”
    â€œI left my wallet back at the hotel.”
    â€œWhat’s your name?”
    â€œAlisha. Alisha Isenberg.”
    â€œAre you sisters?”
    Alisha nodded. She looked up for the first time, and Chee saw that her eyes were swollen and her lips trembled.
    â€œTell me why you’re here.”
    â€œBecause of that jerk,” Courtney said. “We weren’t doing anything.”
    Chee frowned at her. “You know what I mean.”
    â€œWe heard about the movie, and that Rhonda starred in it. We wanted to see her. That’s all.”
    â€œDid you plan to shoot her?”
    Courtney stifled a giggle. “Shoot her? Are you kidding me? She’s amazing. Everyone is crazy for her. I wanted to take a picture of her, or at least her trailer. We weren’t doing anything. She wasn’t even there. That mean guy said she went to Las Vegas.”
    He turned to the younger girl. “How about you?”
    Alisha looked surprised.