The Friend (3 page)

Piper closed her eyes and began to focus on her
breathing, in hopes that she would be able to clear her mind. It was always a
struggle for her, but Piper had gotten better at it than she once was. Still,
before Piper was able to let go and enter a meditative state, she found herself
thinking about the new student at the other side of the room.

Splendor. Such a pretty name. She had never met
anyone with that name before. Now, Piper had come across it twice in the same
week. She wondered if the new girl in class could be the same one who had
friended her on Facebook. As Piper continued to inhale and exhale in even,
cleansing breaths, contemplations of Splendor evaporated from her mind.

W
earily rising from the rubber yoga mat, Splendor glanced over in time
to catch a glimpse of Piper as she slipped out of the studio. Splendor picked up
her towel and followed, making sure to keep a discreet distance. It wasn’t
difficult. Already feeling sore, she walked slowly.

She watched Piper put on her coat and stride out
the front door. Splendor stood at the window and watched as Piper got into a
nondescript sedan and drove away. Splendor was a little disappointed. She
thought Piper would have had a cooler car. Splendor memorized the license
plate.

B
efore
she showered and dressed to go for her hair appointment, Piper checked Facebook.
She was satisfied to note that the picture she had posted of the low-fat muffins
on the Icing on the Cupcake page had gotten several comments.

SOMETHING DELICIOUS AND NONFATTENING. NOW, I HAVE NO EXCUSE.

FINALLY. I WON’T HAVE TO FEEL GUILTY.

YUMMY.

MY THIGHS THANK YOU.

Piper recognized many of the names and photos
identifying the comments. They were customers who came in regularly, people
Piper had known in Hillwood all her life.

She stopped when she saw the pink teddy bear.
Splendor Wilkins had written
CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THESE.

Clicking onto Splendor’s page, Piper observed that
the post was the only comment that Splendor had expressed since she had
requested Piper’s friendship. But as Piper looked further, she saw that Splendor
now had a list of
LIKES
. The Icing on the Cupcake bakery, Sunrise Salutation
Yoga Studio, Pompilio’s restaurant, Shaw’s Books, Hillwood Dog Park and the Best
Little Hair House. A surge of uneasiness shot through Piper as she realized that
the
LIKES
were all the same as her own, and that she was Splendor’s
only
friend.

O
n her
way home from yoga class, Splendor stopped at Shaw’s Books. A pleasant-looking
man with black-rimmed glasses greeted Splendor as she entered the store.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for a book,” said Splendor. “But I’m
so bad at remembering titles.”

“Do you know the subject matter or the author?”
asked Tom.

“Not really,” said Splendor. “But my friend really
liked it and told me she got it here.”

“Well, if you tell me who your friend is, maybe
I’ll recognize the name and be able to remember what she purchased.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Splendor, smiling.
“Piper Donovan?”

Tom nodded. “Oh sure, Piper. She’s in here all the
time. I know she loves books about show business. Last time, I think she bought
Diane Keaton’s memoir. And she also purchased
Porch
Lights
by Dorothea Benton Frank and
What
Happened to My Sister
by Elizabeth Flock.”

“Oh,” said Splendor. “I can’t really afford to buy
all of those right now. But I’ll take that one about the sister.”

As Tom carried the book to the register, Splendor
wondered if Piper had a sister. She hadn’t noticed any reference to one on
Piper’s Facebook page. Splendor had always wished she had one of her own,
somebody to be a friend and ally in dealing with her mother. At least Piper had
a pet. Splendor didn’t even have that.

Splendor approached the desk. “While we’re at it,”
she said, “do you have any books about dog training?”

P
iper
settled into the styling chair. She enjoyed her conversations with Kym almost as
much as she liked the way she cut her hair.

“Your friend was in here the other day,” said Kym
as she pumped to lower the chair.

“Friend?” asked Piper.

“I forget her name. Heavyset girl, kinda bad skin,
dark hair. Well, her hair
was
dark. Now it’s blond.
Like yours.”

Piper frowned and shook her head. “I can’t think of
anybody like that,” she said.

“Well, she is certainly thinking of you,” said Kym,
as she fastened a cape around Piper’s neck. “She asked me to cut her hair just
like yours.”

Piper swallowed. “Did you?”

“I tried,” said Kym, shaking her head. “But it
didn’t come out like yours. Her texture is much coarser and harder to control.
It looked good enough when she left here, but I think it’s going to be difficult
for her to maintain. Wait a minute, I’ll go up to the appointment book at the
desk and check.”

When the stylist returned, she spoke the name.
“Splendor Wilkins.”

The color drained from Piper’s face.

“Oh, Piper, I’m so sorry,” said Kym. “She said she
was a friend of yours. I hope I didn’t do the wrong thing.”

S
plendor read the breed description of Piper’s dog
.
Sturdy, tough and tenacious. Full of intelligence and life. Jack Russell
terriers are energetic, smart and need a high level of exercise and
stimulation.

She skimmed through the table of contents:
Choosing a Breed, House Training, Stopping Chewing and
Barking
. Splendor turned to the section with general rules for dog
obedience training. Praise, reward and consistency seemed to be the keys. The
book was adamant that appropriate motivation was a crucial tool in getting the
dog to do what was desired.

When Splendor got to work, she picked up a box of
Fido Fudgies.

T
hey
said imitation was the sincerest form of flattery, but it felt invasive and
creepy to have a stranger copying her. Why would Splendor Wilkins be doing that?
Piper’s first impulse was to call Jack, but he was spending the week at
Quantico, the FBI training facility. While her boyfriend was brushing up on
firearms techniques and new developments in criminal and terrorism
investigation, Piper felt ridiculous bothering him with something like this. She
also considered telling her father about Splendor, but Piper didn’t want him
overreacting. As a former New York City cop, Vin Donovan would go straight to
the Hillwood Police Department.

What had Splendor actually done, anyway? Only asked
to be Piper’s friend on Facebook, added herself to the fan base of the local
businesses and places that Piper frequented, and asked to have her hair styled
like Piper’s. None of those things were crimes.

F
or
the next few days, Splendor cruised by the Hillwood Dog Park on her way to and
from work. She searched the parking area, looking for the sedan with the license
tag she knew by heart. There were usually only a few cars in the lot. Splendor
supposed the cold, gray weather was keeping people at home.