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im have them whenever he wanted to look at them. He told me they were beautiful pictures and he was proud of them."

I shook my head so vigorously, the tears flew off my cheeks.

"Okay, okay, don't go crazy on me," Star pleaded. "Where are they? Did he find them?" she asked, gazing at the room.

"I don't know," I said. "They're in the bathroom in the cabinet under the sink. Geraldine cleaned this room after I went to school, but I knew one place she would never go, one thing she would never touch," I said, walking to the bathroom.

The cabinet doors were opened.

"Did he find them?" Star asked when she stepped up behind me.

Resting my crutches against the cabinet, I bent down and reached in, bringing out a box of sanitary napkins. Star smiled.

"Geraldine never would look in there, huh?"

I shook my head and pulled out the napkins. Between the third and fourth were the pictures. I held them up and smiled

"Serves him right for not thinking like a woman," she said. Her smile faded quickly. "Now get rid of them. Tear them up and flush them down the toilet where they belong."

"Yes," I said, and did exactly what she said. "I guess even after Geraldine threw him out and everything, I was still afraid and just pretended these didn't exist," I said as I tore them to shreds.

"He's got to be one sick man to come in here and tear this place apart just for those." She thought a moment. "Maybe he was afraid they might be used as some kind of evidence against him. That's probably what Jade will tell us," she concluded.

"Do we have to tell the others about them?"

"Not if you don't want to," Star said, "but, Cat, I'm beginning to really believe we should trust each other. Completely," she added.

"Yes, you're right," I said. "It's good to stop lying, at least to each other."

I rose and gazed around my room.

"I better start fixing this up. We have to sleep here tonight," I said.

Star laughed.

"I'll go call the girls and then we'll do what we can with the rear door."

She started out.

"Star?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think he'll be back?" I asked. "I mean, he's got to be wondering why Geraldine's room is painted black, why all her furniture is out in the hall." She thought a moment and nodded.

"Yeah. He'll be back," she said. "We'll have to talk about it and decide what to do, but for now," she said, looking up at me, "he's not about to talk to anyone. After all, he wasn't supposed to be here, and he broke in and stole the safe. I'm sure he's really confused and doesn't know what to do himself. For the time being, that's good for us."

"Yes, but I'm worrying about after the time being," I said. "I mean, we can't call the police or anything now, right?"

She nodded, but offered no words of encouragement. Then she left and I turned back to my room.

What sort of rage, what sort of madness drove him to do this? I wondered.

And when would he be back?

12 Wedding Belles

Star let Jade and Misty in and they rushed through the house to look at the back door. Then they came pounding up the stairs to my room. I had most of it put back together and I was working on the bed.