Page 121 of Lawton

The thought filled me with disgust. Some of it was at myself. I loved that dog. I wasn't mad about the basket. I was – well, I didn't know what I was.

I turned to Chloe. "You want a drink or something?"

She shook her head. "No. But if you want one…" She shrugged, as if unsure what to say or how to say it.

Yeah, that made two of us.

Together, we made for one of our favorite places in the house. It was the room that I'd carried Chloe into on the night of my birthday party. Trying to act nicer than I felt, I grabbed a blanket from a nearby chest and wrapped it loosely around her shoulders.

Together, we sank onto our favorite sofa. She leaned up against me, snuggling close like she always did. And so, like I always did, I wrapped my arms around her and tried not to care that it all might be a lie.

I didn't want to talk. So I didn't. As far as Chloe, she could talk, not talk, whatever. When she went to work, I'd be getting some answers. Wrong or not, I was going inside that house. And then, depending on what I found, well, I didn't know.

After a few minutes of silence, Chloe pulled away. I didn't move, and I didn't look.

In a voice almost too soft to hear, she said my name. "Lawton?"

Slowly, I turned to face her. I waited, but said nothing.

Her voice was hesitant. "I want to tell you something."

Well, this should be good. "Yeah?"

She took a deep breath. "Ididsort of know that guy."

Yeah, tell me something I don't know.

I'd seen them together at the club. Even at the time, my gut had told me that they knew each other. Turns out, I should've listened. "Yeah?"

"But not in the way you think," she said. "He's a friend of Brittney's. They came in where I work. He and some friend. I'm guessing it was the same guy that came with him tonight. Anyway, they caused all kinds of trouble." She paused. "With Brittney and Amber too."

In a small, quiet voice, she finished by saying, "They got me fired."

That didn't make any sense. "What?" I shook my head. "When was this?"

"I dunno. Maybe a couple weeks ago."

I recalled the scene from my bedroom, with Brittney and Amber and that stupid bow. They'd mentioned something about that. But in the end, it didn't add up.

I'd called the restaurant. I'd even asked Chloe about it. I remembered what she'd said. She'd confirmed that yeah, they'd been giving her a hard time. But she'd mentioned nothing about getting firedorabout the two guys.

"I don't get it," I said. "You still work there."

"Well, yeah. It's complicated." She looked down to study her lap. "Anyway, I'm guessing that tonight, Brittney put those guys up to it."

It was a good story. Maybe too good. "Then why didn't you say something earlier?"

"It was just so ugly," she said. "And Brittney is, I dunno, a friend of yours, and I didn't want to come across as some kind of crazy, jealous chick, throwing around accusations I couldn't prove."

I studied her face. The way it looked, she was telling the truth.

Or, maybe, she was just a good liar.

"So the other night at the club?" I said, thinking of the guy she'd been talking to. "What wasthatabout?"

"Nothing," she said. "He just happened to be there, that's all."

A coincidence? I wasn't buying it. I gave her a hard look. "And you really don't know him?"