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Julie burst out laughing. “Probably because you just asked me that question. But also, I don’t have much worth stealing—unless you’re into little antique figurines?”
Lisa grimaced, then quickly straightened her expression. “Sorry.”
“They’re
not my thing, either,” Julie replied. A tinge of sadness came over her. “But my parents left them to me.”
“Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“Nope. Just me.”
“You’re almost as alone as I am.” Lisa felt a wave of kinship. “It sucks, doesn’t it?”
“Big-time.” Julie cleared her throat. “Anyway, I think we have an understanding.” She reached across the table to shake Lisa’s hand. “Do you have a cell phone?”
Lisa’s brows rose as she met Julie’s handshake. “I’m a street kid, not a dinosaur,” she replied. “Of course I have a cell phone. I know what to save my lousy salaries for. And a state-of-the-art smartphone was number one on the list.”
Julie’s lips twitched. “What’s your number?”
Lisa gave it to her.
“Good. I’ll give you a call tomorrow, after I talk to Kristen.”
Lisa finished her stroll around the house and plopped down on the sofa.
She and Julie had made a fair amount of progress this week, getting the place in order. She didn’t mind doing it, because Julie was really being great to her. Even the job at the gym wasn’t too bad, if you ignored the vapid conversations about wallpaper and vacations. Just as she’d promised Julie, she’d read the rule book, dressed right, and played the part. The reward was acceptance by the clientele and an occasional whopper of a tip.
And finally—a friggin’ paycheck.
The only thing that worried her a little was Julie’s change in attitude these past couple of days. She’d seemed like such a sunny, bouncy person. Now, she spent longer hours at her other gym. When she came home, she was quieter, more pensive, and clearly deeply bothered by something. Lisa only hoped it wasn’t her. She’d really been trying. Sometimes her mind went to the scariest possibility—that by some horrible fluke, Julie had found out the full story of her past. But when that thought popped up, Lisa nipped it in the bud by reminding herself that someone as straightforward as Julie would have confronted her and tossed her out. No, she would not let herself go there.
Thinking about Julie’s state of mind, Lisa decided it was time to extend herself a little bit more. She stood up, walked into the kitchen, and checked out the freezer. There was a Styrofoam package of chop meat in there—just enough to make some of her A-plus meatballs. And she knew there were boxes of pasta and cans of tomato sauce in the house, because she’d arranged the pantry last night.
Maybe a good, homemade dinner would make Julie’s mood brighten.
Pulling out the chop meat to defrost, Lisa glanced at her watch. Julie had left over an hour ago, saying she had to do some errands and pick up a few things at the corner convenience store. It must have been a lot more than a few things for her to be gone so long.
Lisa opened the front door and peeked down the street. The sun was starting to dip down toward the horizon, and there was still no sign of her benefactor.
The May evening was still warm enough to sit outside, and Lisa needed the air anyway. After a full day of waiting on rich women and a few hours of deep house cleaning, she was ready to relax.
She poured herself a glass of iced tea and went out to the front porch, sitting on the top step to enjoy the evening and wait for Julie to arrive.
About a half hour later, she spotted Julie coming down the street. She was striding angrily, gripping a bag in her hands. Even from a distance, Lisa could see that something was very wrong. As she approached, Lisa could see that she was shaking.
This wasn’t a bad mood. This was bad.
Lisa’s stomach clenched. She rose and put her iced tea on the small outdoor table.
She was just about to hurry down to see what was wrong when a car sped down the street, stopping right next to Julie. The passenger door flew open, and a barrel-chested man with tattoos on his arms stepped out. He was holding a gun.
Julie turned, startled, and dropped the bag she was carrying to the sidewalk.
She didn’t even have time to scream.
It happened in two seconds. Pop. Pop. Two muffled gunshots, straight into her head. The killer grabbed the bag off the sidewalk and jumped back into the car, which then screeched off.
Julie had crumpled to the street, blood gushing from her skull, the contents of her purse spilling out around her. Cosmetics, wallet, cell phone—everything rolled onto the street.
