"Just
some old beads." I shrugged and turned the key in the ignition.
"Would
you mind?" She stopped just short of pressing her hand against the glass.
"Sorry,
we're really running late. You can see it tomorrow when we come back."
"That
would be great. You … you wouldn't happen to have any more of those beads,
would you?" She chuckled, but the sound had lost its warmth and sounded
brittle, and somehow chilly. "I collect beads. Especially unique old ones
like those."
"I
don't think so." I put the Jeep in reverse, and she finally got the hint
and backed away. "See you tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow."
Kerri bared her teeth in a thin smile and backed up to the sidewalk of the
building. She stood there, watching us, holding onto that smile that made me
think of sharks ready to go into a frenzy, until I had backed up and turned and
drove out of the parking lot.
Pete
watched her in the rearview mirror and didn't move, and maybe didn't even
breathe, until we had put the Neighborlee Schools property between us and her.
"We
are not going back, are we?" he muttered.
"Our folks didn't raise no dummies."
I took the last possible street to turn left and head for Divine's. Something in me didn't want friendly little Miss Kerri to get the slightest hint of where I was going. If I could have, I would have taken the long way around, but gut instinct was insisting I had to get to Divine's and show that contract to Angela ASAP.
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