Page 88 of Summers at the Saint
“Howie. The guard. He’s a friend of mine. And one of the girls in the front office heard you shouting at Mrs. E. Mom, how could you? I’m so humiliated, I could die.”
“I don’t care. I’d rather you be embarrassed than murdered.”
“Jesus, Mom! Why can’t you get it into your head? I’m fine. I like my job, and the people I work with and live with, and I’m not quitting. And also, I’m perfectly safe.”
“That’s probably what Parrish Eddings told her mom too,” Shannon said, unfazed.
“You’re unbelievable, you know that? How would you like it if I showed up at the hospital and raised a ruckus the way you did?”
“If you went to my workplace, out of genuine love and concern for my well-being, as I did, then I would not have a problem with that.”
“Well, I have a problem,” Livvy said. “I do have a problem with you asking my boss to fire me, and with you coming into my place of business and insulting my boss. And, Mom—I’m warning you, if you keep this shit up, I’ll…”
“You’ll what?”
“I’ll cut you off. I’ll block your calls and texts, and I definitely won’t see you. I’ll totally ghost you.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me. I’m your mother, and everything I do for you—everything!—is out of love.”
“Try me,” Livvy said.
As soon as Felice walked into the dorm that night, Livvy pounced.
“Come see me,” she whispered. “In my room.”
KJ and Garrett had donned headsets and were playingGrand Theft Autoon their gaming console and slamming back beers in the lounge. They were barely aware of Livvy’s existence, but she wanted privacy.
“Gimme ten,” Felice said.
“Close the door, please,” Livvy said when Felice walked into her room wearing loose-fitting cotton pajamas.
“The guys are gonna think we’re in here having a lesbian hookup, but come to think of it, who cares what they think?” Felice did as she was asked.
“What’s up?” She sat down at the foot of Livvy’s unmade bed in her messy room. “And why all the secrecy?”
“Did you hear about the press conference today?”
“No. All I heard about today was ‘My prime rib is too rare’ and ‘Is this fried chicken gluten-free?’”
“The medical examiner says Parrish died from a drug overdose. They found alcohol, marijuana, and fentanyl in her system.”
“Fentanyl? That’s some scary shit.”
“Right? There was a lot of booze at that party. A lot of joints were being passed around. I took a few hits myself. So did KJ and Garrett. It could have been any of us.”
“But Parrish is the only one who died,” Felice pointed out. “So, what’s your point?”
“My point is this wasn’t an accident. Somebody wanted Parrish dead.”
Felice fixed her with a stare. “Like who? And why?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
“Not me. Let the cops do their jobs. I’m out.” Felice jumped off the bed.
Livvy grabbed her by the hand. “The local cops? They’re a joke. You don’t know ’em like I do. All they care about is busting speeders and jaywalkers. And giving out ‘Just Say No’ pamphlets at the high school. I bet they haven’t ever investigated an honest-to-Gawd homicide.”
“Neither have we,” Felice countered, unclasping Livvy’s fingers from her wrist.
