Driving home from Devonshire Station after their trip to police headquarters, Chloe and her mom finally had the opportunity to talk alone.
“Honey, how did your interview with the detectives go?”
She’d shrugged. “Okay, I guess. What did they ask you?”
Her mother had smiled. “Not much. Who your friends were, how long you’ve owned the Toyota, if you let anyone else drive it.”
“That’s it?”
“They wanted to know if you’d changed your habits or had any new companions.”
“Oh.”
“I didn’t think it was necessary to tell them about your new older friend.”
Chloe looked at her mom, exhaled, and nodded. “Yes, there was no need. I won’t be seeing him again.”
“I’m glad,” she said, smiling. “You’re learning at an early age that you must pick your friends and associates carefully.”
When they got home, her mom had poured herself a tall vodka tonic and sat in front of the TV.
Her father was still knocked out from pain meds.
Chloe went up to her bedroom and locked the door. She was exhausted, but her mind wouldn’t shut down. She accessed her secret stash of joints hidden in her equestrian riding boots.
Luckily, her suite included an outdoor balcony where she could smoke in peace. She needed to think.
Outside, she lit her weed and looked at Officer Price’s business card in her hand. She’d almost told the cop the whole story. Her fear was that Eloy would somehow turn everything around on her.
Headlights wound their way up the road. A car with a lighted sign on the roof turned into the driveway.
It was a pizza delivery…which was strange. Her mother wouldn’t order a carb bomb.
The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of the house. When the driver got out, fear swept over her from head to foot.
It was Eloy.