Page 91

"What went on in here?" Jade asked. "Why did he tear the room apart?"

I looked at Star and then explained about the pictures. "They're down the toilet now," I concluded.

"Good, but why would he break in?"

"He could have been watching the house and could have seen me leave with Star," I conjectured. "We shouldn't have left it all dark. When no one answered the doorbell and he saw no lights were on inside, he decided to break in, probably to get his hands on the money."

"Star says he took the safe?"

"It gone," I said. "He probably took it because he couldn't get it open."

"Either that or it walked out," Star added.

"Lucky we took the money and jewels out of it. You still have them, don't you?" Jade asked me quickly.

"Yes. I took them with me when I went to Star's house for dinner and they're still all in my purse."

Misty was the first to realize we had returned from Star's house early.

"I thought you were sleeping over. What brought you back here?" she asked.

"My mother," Star replied, and described her mother's dramatic sudden entrance and return to their lives. "I guess it's more like I'm running away than just coming back here," she told us.

"Wow," Jade said, and plopped on my yet-to-be straightened bed. "All this just when everything was going good."

"What will we do? Her father has seen everything:' Misty moaned.

"Not everything," Jade reminded her.

"How can you be sure?"

"If he knew anything, he would have called the police by now, wouldn't he?"

"But the house, what we've done," Misty said. "He could tell someone."

"He just can't go complaining about what we've done in the house. He wasn't supposed to be here and he broke in and he stole the safe," Jade said. She looked at me. "Right?"

"Yes," I said. "That was a major part of the agreement: he wasn't supposed to come here ever again."

"But he did and he might come back," Star reminded us. "Or call and ask for Geraldine," Misty suggested. "He's got to wonder what's going on:'

"So? We'll just have Cat tell him that redoing the room was Geraldine's idea, if he asks"

"Redoing it black?" Star pointed out with a skeptical grimace.

"Geraldine's weird, isn't she?" Jade said.

"Was weird," Misty corrected.

"Was. He'll believe it. He has no choice," Jade insisted.

"And if he demands to speak to her?" Star wondered.

"To do what? Confess about the break-in? Stealing her safe? No, I think he's going to keep his distance and maybe just give up," Jade said. Her voice had a ring of hope, even prayer in it.

We were all silent. I glanced at Star who sat on my desk chair and stared down at the floor now. I had been so preoccupied with my problems, I had forgotten about hers.

"What are you going to do about your mother returning?" I asked her.