Page 10 of Wham Line

Bobby was soaked to the skin, his glossy dark hair flattened across his forehead.He must have been freezing, but he didn’t seem worried about himself—his gaze went to me first, and when I nodded, he glanced at Salk.The deputy was rubbing his chest, and his mouth twisted in something between anger and self-deprecating amusement.Indira had caught her balance.At the mouth of the alley, Millie appeared between the vehicles.She let out a cry and sprinted toward us.

“Indira’s going to be okay,” I whispered to Keme, “but not if you get yourself arrested.”

He gave an angry shake that was more acknowledgment than agreement; I let him go anyway, and he staggered to meet Millie.They embraced, and Keme pressed his head into her shoulder.

As quietly as I could, I said to the sheriff, “He’s eighteen, which means he’s a ball of hormones, and she’s basically his mom, and—”

“Dash,” the sheriff said.

I stopped.

She glanced over at Salk, and he gave her a thumbs-up, although he was still rubbing his chest.

The sheriff looked at me, and I knew that look.I knew when I’d lost.

I nodded.“I’ll take him home.”

Chapter 3

Getting Keme home turned out to be the easy part.Getting him into his room, as a matter of fact, wasn’t even all that hard.

Getting out, on the other hand, was another matter.

“You have to help her,” Keme said as he paced.His long, dark hair hung in tangles in front of his face, and he was still in his wet clothes, dripping on one of Hemlock House’s expensive (and irreplaceable) rugs.He didn’t seem to notice any of it.“You have to prove she didn’t do it.”

Millie hugged herself and watched, misery and helplessness competing in her expression.

“We’re going to do everything we can,” I said.

“You have to help her,” he said again as he ran his hands through his hair.He reached the end of the room and spun back toward me.“She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know—”

“You have to tell the sheriff she didn’t do it.”

“Keme—”

“You can make them see she didn’t.”

“I’m going to try.I promise I’m going to try.”

He nodded, but it was like he hadn’t heard me.“She wouldn’t ever do something like that.”

I nodded.

“She wouldn’t,” he said more sharply, as though I’d argued.

“I know, Keme.I know.I’m on your side.I’m on Indira’s side.We’re going to figure this out.”

He mumbled something.Then he veered toward the door.This was his third attempt to leave, so I was now blocking his exit.When I didn’t get out of his way, he growled and said, “Move.”

“We talked about this.You can’t go down to the station because—”

“I’m not going to the station!”

“—because you attacked Salk.The sheriff could have arrested you, you know that?And you owe Salk an apology.”

“I’m not going to the station!”He delivered the words the second time with the insultingly slow delivery that only a teenager can truly master.