A Killing in the Valley (39 page)

The next time they were together, she would have sex with him. There was no doubt in her mind. She had been waiting for this for a long time, and now the time had come.

Tina’s eyes looked like soup dishes in her face, they were so wide and unblinking. She stared at Jeremy, who was hovering at Sophia’s side in the center of a knot of kids. They were outside, near the stage door. The performance was over. It had been excellent; not as fabulous as last night’s, but still very good.

“We’ll do better tomorrow afternoon,” Sophia was saying to the boy who played the Scarecrow. “Tonight was like the lull before the storm.”

“I wish I had seen last night’s,” Jeremy whined. He could sense that Sophia’s energy wasn’t focused on him.

“Tonight’s was just fine,” she assured him. She was so in control now. She could do anything she wanted with him. Which, on one level, was a cool feeling, this power over a boy, but on another, a more meaningful one, it felt tacky. She didn’t want to have control over Jeremy, especially now. Soon enough, she knew, they were going to have their moment of reckoning. It was going to be an ugly scene.

She had made her decision, earlier in the day. She was going to have to let him know what she knew about him, and more importantly, who her mother was. Maybe she would pretend it had been a coincidence, the two of them getting together, that if he hadn’t brought Maria Estrada up, she never would have made the connection. But he wasn’t stupid. He would see through that. And he’d be hurt.

He should have gone to the police. This conflict wouldn’t exist if he and his roommate had done the right thing. That was her mantra, which her mother had drilled into her. If you do the right thing, you’ll never have any regrets.

She caught Tina’s eyes on them. “Over there,” she mouthed, pointing toward the auditorium.

Jeremy, hearing Sophia greet a friend, looked in Tina’s direction. For a moment, Tina froze; then she turned away, but she knew that for a few seconds he had caught a glimpse of her. Oh, God, she prayed, don’t let him recognize me.

Something clicked in Jeremy’s brain. That girl was vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember from where. Maybe he’d seen her somewhere else. Or, more likely, she looked like someone else. He turned back to Sophia, dismissing Tina.

Tina, sneaking a glance back at Jeremy, almost collapsed in relief—he hadn’t recognized her, or he would be showing some emotion about it. Instead, he was standing there, patiently being Sophia’s escort, trying to fit in. So she was safe. She hoped.

What was he doing here, especially with Sophia? That was the burning question.

“Not tonight,” Sophia said, in answer to a question from one of the cast members if she was going to go to tonight’s party. “I’m beat.” She took Jeremy’s arm. “I’m going to sit this one out. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

He was driving. Kate had dropped her off, because she knew she would go out with Jeremy afterward, and she didn’t want to have to deal with her car. As they were walking across the parking lot, she stopped for a moment and rummaged through her purse.

“I forgot something backstage,” she told him. “I’ll meet you at the car. I’ll just be a second.”

“I’m parked over there,” he said, pointing. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“You don’t have to. Wait for me there. I’ll just be a second.”

She ran across the parking lot and around the side of the dark building. Tina was waiting, huddling against the wall. Sophia charged up to her. “Are you okay?” she asked in concern. “He didn’t recognize you, I’m positive.”

Tina was shaking. “What are you doing with him?” she demanded.

“He’s my date for tonight.”

“Your
date
?” Tina was in shock. “Are you crazy?” She looked like she was about to come completely unglued. “When did you start dating him?”

“The night of the party. After I dropped you off, I went back looking for Rory, the boy I’d been with. He had already left, but Jeremy was still there.”

“Jeremy?” Tina asked.

“That’s his real name. The boy you were with.”

“Jeremy.” Tina tried the name out on her tongue. She nodded. “He feels like a Jeremy, more than a Billy. But why…”

“Did I hook up with him? To try to find out if he knew anything about Maria Estrada’s killing, what do you think?”

Tina collapsed against the wall. “You’re going to get me into trouble, Sophia,” she moaned. “After you promised you wouldn’t. You’re not a good friend, Sophia. I trusted you, and you backstabbed me.”

“No, no, no,” Sophia protested furiously. “I didn’t! It’s the opposite, don’t you get it? If I learned about it from him, you wouldn’t have to be involved. That’s why I did it, so my mother wouldn’t have to out you. I did it to protect you, Tina, I swear it!”

Tina shook her head. “I should never have told you anything,” she lamented. “I should have kept my stupid mouth shut.”

“No,” Sophia said. She put her arm around Tina. She could feel Tina trembling. “You did the right thing. Which is what I’m trying to do.” She took a step back, so Tina could have some space. “You can’t hide from this, Tina. You can’t be here in this country but not be here, do you know what I mean? You can’t hide in the shadows for the rest of your life. You won’t have a life if you do that.”

Tina’s head bobbed up and down slowly. “I know that,” she said. “But what can I do?” she asked disconsolately. “I have to protect my family.”

“Your family won’t get hurt. My mom will make sure of that. I promise.”

Tina looked at her with wan eyes. “I want to believe you, Sophia. But I can’t now. Not when you’ve already broken a promise to me.”

Sophia’s heart sank. Tina was the one person in the world she didn’t want to hurt, because she was the most vulnerable, and because she had put her trust in Sophia. Who had violated it. She had done it for good cause, because she didn’t have a choice; so she had thought. But of course, she did have a choice. She could have stayed out of everything. Her mother and Luke Garrison were the ones who should be doing this, not her. She was just a kid in high school.

But if she hadn’t gotten involved, Steven McCoy, an innocent man, might go to jail for the rest of his life for a crime he hadn’t committed. Which maybe Jeremy’s friend Peter had.

This is why life sucks sometimes, she thought. Because no matter what decision you make, somebody gets fucked over.

“I’ll protect you,” she promised Tina. “You won’t get hurt. I swear it.”

They stared at each other, two new friends, so wanting to trust the other, but not able to now. Sophia started to reach out to Tina, who turned and ran away from her, into the shadows.

They went to the cast party after all. Sophia didn’t want to be alone with Jeremy, who had been all over her as soon as they got into his car. She had rebuffed him as nicely as she could, claiming post-play fatigue.

It was after one in the morning by the time he brought her home. They parked on the street in front of her house. A light was on in the kitchen, but the rest of the house was dark.

Jeremy looked at it. “This is where you live?” he asked.

She nodded. “Home sweet home.”

“It’s nice. I like those old Craftsman cottages.”

What a charmer, she thought. He’d say anything to try to please her. She yawned, more noticeably than she needed to.

“It’s late,” she sighed. “I’ve had a really long day.” She smiled at him. “Thanks for coming. I’m really glad you did.”

“Me, too.”

The moment was awkward. Sophia gathered herself. “I’d better go in,” she said. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

She wouldn’t, but he’d call her, leave a message, call again, and again and again and again, like the pathetic loser Jon Favreau played in
Swingers.
She didn’t know what was harder, being in love or having somebody be in love with you who you didn’t want to be in love with. Love hurts: the song clanged in her head.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

Before she could come up with an excuse—“I don’t want to wake my mom up” sounded so sixth grade—he said, “I really need to use the bathroom.”

“Okay,” she acquiesced. “Just be quiet, okay?”

They entered on tiptoe. Sophia shut the door behind them as quietly as she could. She led him into the kitchen. “There,” she said, pointing to a door off the mudroom that led to the backyard.

Jeremy went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Sophia took a carton of orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. As she was about to put it back she caught herself, and poured one for him.

The pipes in the old house groaned as he flushed the toilet. Damn it, she thought, that could wake up the dead. She heard the sink running. Then he came out.

She handed him a glass of juice. “Thanks,” he said. He swallowed half of it down in one gulp. He looked around the room. “This is real homey. How long have you lived here?”

“Not too long.” She didn’t want him to know any of the particulars of her life.

He came close to her. “Where can we go?” he asked.

“Nowhere,” she said quietly. “The house is too small. You can hear everything.”

“We can be quiet.”

He took her in his arms and began to kiss her. Her instinct was to resist, but she managed to hold back on her feelings. A few days ago they had been all over each other. To suddenly become an ice maiden would seem suspicious.

They moved like slow dancers across the room, him pushing her, her giving ground, so that he couldn’t get as close as he wanted. As they reached the edge of the wall near the stove he reached up and turned off the light. The room was suddenly dark. Low shafts of moonlight came through the windows over the sink.

“Jeremy…” She was trying to keep in control, without making any noise that would wake up her mother.

His hands were on her ass, pulling her to him, the fingers reaching between her legs for the crack of her behind. She squirmed away, pushing up against the cabinet that held the dishes and glasses.

“Jeremy,” she whimpered again.

His mouth went to her neck, nibbling the nape below her ear. She squirmed against him, trying to push him away, but he was bigger and stronger. His free hand snaked under her top, reaching for her breast.

What have I gotten myself into, she thought? This is what happens when you cocktease a boy. He takes you seriously.

A light went on in the front hallway. Padded footsteps made their way toward them. Sophia twisted out of Jeremy’s grip. She flicked on the light switch. Her mother, in a robe over her nightgown, was standing in the doorway.

“Oh.” Kate put her hand to her mouth.

All three of them froze in place for a moment. Jeremy began backing away, tucking his shirttail into his pants.

“Mom, this is…”

“I’m sorry,” Kate stammered. “I didn’t know you were home. I heard a noise and thought…” She smiled apologetically. “Good thing I didn’t bring my gun with me,” she said, trying to make it sound like a joke.

That would have ripped it, Sophia thought. Poor Jeremy would have gone headfirst out the window.

“Mom, this is Jeremy,” she said. “I’ve told you about him.” She was sure her lipstick was smeared all over her face. Her mother was going to get the completely wrong impression about their relationship. “Jeremy, this is my mom, Kate Blanchard.”

“Hello, Mrs. Blanchard,” Jeremy mumbled. He hoped she wasn’t noticing his erection. He dropped his arms in front of his pants to try to hide it.

“I didn’t mean to butt in on you like this,” Kate said.

Sophia was glad her mother had shown up when she did. She didn’t know how far Jeremy would have pushed it.

Jeremy looked from daughter to mother. “Do you really keep a gun in your house?” he asked, his voice almost rising an octave. He was starting to freak from the thought that he could have been mistaken for a burglar. Or worse;—that this woman would have caught him forcing himself on her daughter, and applied some immediate frontier justice.

“It’s locked up,” Kate assured him. “I don’t believe in guns lying around the house. People can get accidentally killed that way. Or deliberately.”

She glanced at Sophia, who knew they were thinking the same thing: Maria Estrada. She had been killed by a gun that had been negligently lying around.

If Jeremy made the connection, he didn’t show it. Now that he wasn’t in mortal danger, he was starting to calm down. There was something cool about a woman who keeps a gun in her house, he thought. This woman could take care of herself, that was obvious. And so could her daughter. He had known that about Sophia from the first time they had been together. One of the reasons he was so attracted to her. That, and her pretty face and killer body.

“How many guns do you have?” he asked Kate.

“Just one,” she answered matter-of-factly. “It’s a Sig Sauer P239, 9 mm. I’m a woman, so my hands aren’t that big.” She held a hand up to show him. “I want a compact weapon, but one that could stop an elephant.” She smiled. “Although I’m opposed to hunting, on principle.

Jeremy was agape. “Are you a cop?” he asked, his eyes darting to Sophia. Jesus, what a monumental blunder this would be, the way be had spilled his guts to her about being with that girl who was murdered. What kind of trouble was he in here?

Kate shook her head. “Not anymore. I’m a private investigator now.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “That must be interesting,” he managed to say.

“It can be,” Kate answered dryly. She sized up the situation. “Why don’t you two go into the living room? I’ll make some hot chocolate.”

Jeremy looked at Sophia. “I should be going,” he stammered. “It’s pretty late.”

Too late for you now, Sophia thought. I tried to keep you away, but your penis was more powerful than your brain.

“No, stay,” she said, grabbing his hand. “You need a hot drink to calm you down, after my mother busted us like that.” She turned to Kate. “How would you like it if I walked in on you and some guy?” she asked.

I wouldn’t bring him into the house with you here, that’s for sure, Kate thought. Her daughter still had a lot to learn, but she was a quick study, that was obvious.

“I wouldn’t,” she said. “I apologize.” She smiled at Jeremy. “I won’t mistake you for a burglar again,” she told him. “Now that I know you.”