had I asked to get this X? These questions frighten me. No, the answers frighten me more. The only person I know personally who deals drugs is Bugger Walsh, and he repulses me. I know him because he sometimes does small jobs for my father. I also know that my father buys most of his weed off Bugger, and I had heard rumors that Bugger deals in “other” drugs. But harder drugs?
I lay my head down and close my eyes, trying to put everything out of mind. If only I could go back in time and make better decisions. If only I could fall into a deep sleep and make this all go away. Because I now realize I’ve done things I’ll come to regret. Possibly bad things.
I lie here thinking about that boy who’d kissed me. The same boy who’d asked me if I could get him drugs. Why had I gotten myself involved with Dakota James?
ISLA
SHE RACED BACK TO THE SALON. BY THE TIME SHE RETURNED, TWO appointments had come and gone. She felt sorry for Felicia, but she was furious at her at the same time. Not only had Felicia caused her to lose money, and possibly prospective clients, but she’d also neglected to pay for her haircut. A razor cut of a similar style and quality in downtown Portland would probably run Felicia over a hundred dollars. Isla knew she’d never see the money, and to remind Felicia of her debt would only seem in bad taste, considering her tragic circumstance. But damn it, she needed that money way more than Felicia did. And judging by the pricey home Felicia lived in, the Briggses had more than enough money to last a few lifetimes.
She struggled through the afternoon, her mind elsewhere. In hindsight, it seemed a big mistake to let Katie hang around with Willow. She had a bad feeling about Julian McCallister, as well. Something in her gut told her that he had something to do with the disappearance of those two girls.
Her focus waned, and she lost track of her conversations with clients. She cut the bank president’s hair too short and left Clair Barnes’s bangs too long. Cindy Peters embarked on a soliloquy about her personal life, then stopped ten minutes later to ask for Isla’s opinion about something. Only Isla had not heard a word the woman had said, and had to apologize for not paying attention.
This went on all day, and as much as she tried to focus, she simply couldn’t. A million thoughts ran through her mind as she snipped and buzzed and trimmed and razored, many of them about what had happened to Katie. And Willow, Julian, and the missing boy, Dakota. What was the connection? She couldn’t wait to race home and buy that first and only season of Lost ‘n’ You and binge-watch it in its entirety. What could be derived from watching it, aside from remembering that she loved the show, as well as Felicia’s character in it? And she loved the show because she could totally relate to what happened to Felicia’s character as a college student harassed by a predatory professor.
It amazed Isla that Felicia had been living in Shepherd’s Bay all this time, right under her nose. What had happened to her since the show ended? Had she appeared in other shows? Isla made a mental note to check out Felicia’s credits on IMDb. Maybe the birth of Felicia’s daughter had put an end to her acting career. She wondered about Gil. She was almost certain he’d not had an acting part in the show. Had he been a cameraman or the director? Maybe a producer?
Closing time approached, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She felt exhausted from standing on her feet all day. Too many mistakes and lapses had been made. Tomorrow she’d need to get back on her game if she was to survive in this business. She grabbed the broom and began to sweep up the hair, wondering how she was going to get answers to her questions. The police didn’t seem to be doing a bang-up job of finding out what happened to the girls. Of course, with a force of five, that was rather difficult, especially when their main priority at the moment was finding Willow.
The clock ticked. The big hand kissed the top of the hour. She was reaching for the lock on the door when the bell rang and the door suddenly swung open. Nothing