Page 117 of Don't Say a Word

“I just wanted to talk to Benny for a minute.”

I hit the steering wheel. “Your friend was killed because ofsomething going on at his work, and you wander in there and ask questions?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Who was working there with Benny?” I demanded.

“Um, Tony.”

“What was so important that you’re willing to risk your life?”

Angie was angry and trying not to cry.

“You didn’t tell me what happened yesterday!”

“Because I haven’t kept you clued into my investigation, you think it’s okay to start asking questions, putting yourself on their radar. I don’t fucking believe it.”

I was angry as well as worried. I was being followed, Eric was still scared of the people Coach Bradford had worked for, and people were dead in what I believed, but couldn’t prove, were two connected murders. And Elijah’s murder was becausehehad been investigating Megan Osterman’s drug overdose.

“We talked about this,” I said, forcing myself to calm down. “I told you to go to school and lay low. I have been making progress. It might not be fast enough for you, but I don’t really care.”

“The police are doing nothing to find out what happened to Mrs. Clark. No one has been arrested, no one knowsanything. I talked to Mr. Parsons today and he’s depressed—he asked for your name, he couldn’t remember it.”

“Oh?” I asked, shifting gears. “What did he want to talk to me about?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. He said he knew that you’d talked to Mrs. Clark right before she died. The police talked to him twice, thoughthewas a suspect, but I guess not anymore. He hasn’t been at school until this afternoon. He looks miserable. He said he didn’t walk her to her office Monday because he forgot papers to grade in his classroom. It’s like he blames himself.”

“Survivor’s guilt,” I said. “I’ll talk to him, he’ll be okay. Now, what were you doing at the Cactus Stop?”

She sulked, but then said, “This morning I talked to Benny and asked him if he saw anything weird at work.”

I wanted to throttle her. Instead, I prompted, “And?”

“He said Tony is a pothead, stoned all the time. Benny’s rarely allowed to work the register, and he doesn’t like the job at all. He’s looking for something else. All day I was thinking, I don’t want him there. He’s Chris’s little brother, and if anything happened to him—well, after losing Elijah, I can’t bear to think of anything happening to Benny too. So I went just to see how he was doing. And I told him to call you if he sees anything really weird going on.”

I let out a long breath. I had to remember Angie was a teenager, and teenagers weren’t generally patient. I know—I’d been one.

“I know you’re frustrated,” I said. “I’m not lying when I’m telling you I’m getting closer to learning the truth. Being a PI is not what you see on television. It’s a lot of legwork. Interviews. Research. I’ve talked to at least a dozen people who all have a small piece of the puzzle. I’m making progress, but it’s slow.”

“Maybe I can help?”

I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous and I’m not going to be responsible for your safety.” But I needed to give her something. “I’ll tell you this. Whatever got Elijah killed connects to Coach Bradford’s drug distribution network. I think he had a partner—someone affiliated with the school.”

“Because Mrs. Clark was killed.”

Angie was a smart kid.

“That’s part of it. I don’t know if they recreated the network, or if they’re running it out of the Cactus Stop or the school or both, but Elijah must have seen or heard something that made him suspicious. And I’m worried about Benny too. I don’t want him asking questions that might put him in danger. I don’t want anything to happen toyouif someone thinks you’re being nosy.”

“You’re right. I’m really sorry.”

“Are you safe at your house?”

“It’s fine,” she said.

“If you need me, call. If you learn something, whether or not you think it’s important, call. I promise to follow up. I wantanswers as much as you do. But don’t ask questions, don’t put yourself out there where they might see you as a threat. Drugs are a huge moneymaker that people are willing to kill for.”

Angie nodded. “Okay.”