Find Her Alive (Detective Josie Quinn #8) - Lisa Regan Page 0,98
and knocked her down. She was pissed. Crazy pissed. She got up and started yelling at me. Before I could explain, she shoved me. I could hear Melanie and her friends laughing. I just lost it. I started shoving the girl back and the next thing I knew we were rolling around on the ground. I was trying to hit her, and she was pulling my hair. It hurt like hell. Then the girl ended up on top of me, and Melanie was standing behind her yelling about how she saw me knock her down and that she should kick my ass. Which she started to do. I’m ashamed to say it but ‘losing it’ didn’t get me very far. To tell you the truth—and I would only tell you this, no one else—I’m really pathetic. The worst part was when I started to cry.
Then, out of nowhere, you were there. I thought I was hallucinating. Okay, so it wasn’t you. It was that girl I told you about with the bright teal mismatched scarf. I have no idea who she was or what school she was from, but she kicked that crazy girl right off me. She must have known her because she called her Beverly. She said, “Beverly, get off her.” Then she elbowed Melanie right in the face. It was amazing. I only wish she had broken Melanie’s nose. She made her bleed, but apparently it wasn’t broken. Then she dragged Beverly right up by her hair and told her to leave me the hell alone. Beverly told her to stay out of it but she said, “There’s nothing to stay out of cause you’re going to leave her alone or I’m going to make you sorry you got out of bed this morning.” Then she gave Beverly this glare. It was insane. I never saw anything like it. Beverly looked like she was going to piss herself. Meanwhile, dumbass Melanie was fake crying and got the attention of some teachers. They started running over and I knew I was screwed but I didn’t even care. You didn’t even care. You tossed Beverly aside and put your finger right in Melanie’s face. She even jumped back. You told her you’d make her sorry, too. Then you said if she wanted to keep her teeth in her mouth, she’d stop messing with me, too. By that time, the teachers were there. I told you to go so you wouldn’t get in trouble. You didn’t even seem like you cared. You gave Beverly and Melanie this warning look and then you walked off, all slow, like you knew neither of them would tell on you—and they didn’t. We all got in trouble, but no one said anything about you. Best of all, Melanie left me alone the whole bus ride home. I can’t wait to see her face at school tomorrow!
Josie’s heart was a freight train trying to burst out of her chest.
When Lisette stopped reading, Shannon said, “She never told me that. All she ever said was that she got into a fight with a girl from another school and that she accidentally hit Melanie. All three girls got in trouble.”
“That’s when she had to do community service,” Josie whispered.
“Yes.”
Josie felt Lisette’s eyes on her. She knew. Somehow, Lisette knew. Of course she did. Josie had been living with Lisette by the time she was in high school. She said, “Josie.”
“Not now, Gram.”
“What?” Shannon asked, looking from Josie to Lisette and back.
“Nothing,” Josie said. “Just something I need to tell Trinity when we find her.”
Lisette smiled. She turned a page, and began reading again, but was soon interrupted by Noah. “Josie,” he said from the doorway. She looked up to see that his face was flushed. She jumped up. “What is it?”
“The Bone Artist just made contact.”
Fifty-Two
Dawn was breaking in a splash of pink and purple on the horizon. Lisette and Shannon promised to continue working on the diary while Noah and Josie drove to the station house. Gretchen, Mettner, and Drake were already there, looking as though they hadn’t slept in a week which, essentially, they hadn’t. They met in the great room, all gathered around the detectives’ desks. Chief Chitwood was there as well, his arms folded over his thin chest.
“What’s going on?” Josie said.
Gretchen said, “The Bone Artist left you a package at Moss Gardens Trailer Park.”
Josie stared at her for a long moment, not sure she was hearing Gretchen correctly.