“No, I was not just saying that to impress him.” Was I? Then I remembered the X. “I’ve got connections in town.”
“So you’re a regular G now?” She smiled knowingly.
“You know what I mean. I’m just saying I can get some for you.”
“Cool, because I’m thinking of having another party soon and inviting Dakota.”
My heart somersaulted in my chest. “Do your parents care that we party at your house?”
“Hell no!” She laughed, as if I said something silly. “As long as no one drives or acts stupid, they’re totally cool with it.”
“Okay.”
“So can you?”
“Can I what?”
“Get some X or whatever?”
“Of course I can get some,” I said, wondering if I actually could. “I can’t promise I’ll get everything you want, but make a list and I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re the best, Katie. I knew I could count on you.”
But could I count on myself? I realized there was no turning back now; I was going to be a drug dealer. I had to figure out how to approach Bugger without getting my father involved. Bugger would help me only because I was Swisher’s daughter. I couldn’t afford to lose my friendship with Willow. She was all I had now that I’d taken sides. I had sworn to my mother that I’d never take drugs, but I hadn’t said anything about buying them. I would help Willow this one time. Then, I told myself, I’d never do it again.
ISLA
THE PHONE RANG WHILE SHE HAD SONIA NESS IN THE CHAIR. SHE answered and heard Chip Hicks’s voice on the other end of the line. The police had found human remains in a dilapidated boat shed on the north shore. The body had been discovered beneath an overturned wooden boat.
The discovery stung, and she prayed it wasn’t Willow’s body, but she knew the odds were fifty-fifty that it was. What would she tell Katie if it turned out to be the case? At least if the body turned out to be Dakota James’s, she had the relief of knowing that Katie hadn’t known the boy.
She returned her attention to Sonia and spun her around in the chair so that she could see the television. On any other day, Isla would have closed the shop and gone down to the sight of the discovery. But she had a full slate of appointments today, thanks to Samantha McCallister’s big fund-raiser tonight. Considering the tragic circumstances, would Samantha still hold the event? And if she did, Isla wondered how she would get through the party without breaking down into tears.
“Everything okay?” Sonia asked.
“Not really. It seems the police found a body.”
“Oh, dear. Do they know who it is?”
“They haven’t said yet, but I’m sure it’ll be on the news tonight.”
“No one deserves to be treated like that, no matter how much of a handful Willow was.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t know? That girl was trouble with a capital T. Jennifer was over there last summer and saw her canoodling with Dakota and some other boys. I attended a party in late August and spied her kissing Julian while they lounged on the beach. Looked like they were smoking pot, too.”
“How could you see them if you were at the Briggses’?”
“The downstairs bathroom was being used, so I went upstairs. It was nighttime, and from that vantage, I had a good view of the McCallisters’ property. It looked to me like they were trying to keep it a secret.”
“But that doesn’t make her a bad person, right?”
“She was a big tease. Rumor has it she got in a lot of trouble at her LA prep school.”
“For what?”
Sonia shrugged. “Could be anything, knowing that girl. Did you know that Julian got kicked out of the Dalton School in Manhattan?”
“I’ve heard some rumors floating around about that.” Isla felt like a fool for not knowing about the kids her daughter hung out with. “What was his offense?”
“Again, it’s only a rumor, but I heard he was dealing drugs, although no one knows for sure. It’s not like that boy is an angel, either.” She shook her head, as if disgusted by the whole ordeal. “You can’t be too careful in this town. I try to keep my kids grounded at all times, but it’s hard.”
“That’s smart of you.”
“Of course, everything we talk about is between us girls, right? I have to socialize with Samantha this evening, and I would hate for anything to get back to her.”