The Snowball Effect (20 page)

“Okay, Christine, whatever happened, I can guarantee you it wasn't me.”

“Oh yeah, right.”

My call waiting beeped. It was Kara. Good. Maybe she could let me know what was going on.

“Kara's calling, gotta go,” I said to Christine, and then clicked over to Kara.

“Please tell me what Christine has up her ass,” I said.

“She just called and asked me to pick sides.”

“Sides for what?”

“Apparently whatever you did to this Gina girl has created some huge rift in Christine's world. Gina is Jamie's boyfriend's cousin or something, and now the boyfriend is upset that his cousin is upset, and Jamie's upset that her boyfriend is upset, and they know you had something to do with it, and they know Christine and I are good friends with you, so they think we might have something to do with it. It's all very complicated and ridiculous.”

“I didn't have anything to do with this,” I said. “It was all Vallery. She threatened to get back at Gina for me, but I told her not to do anything. God, she's nuts. What happened to Gina?”

“She lost her job. And broke out in some kind of rash.
There may be more to it than that, but that's all I could get out of Christine.”

“You know I didn't have anything to do with this. You're on my side, right?”

Kara laughed. “I'm not getting in the middle of this.”

“Oh my God. Okay. I have to talk to Vallery. I'll call you back.”

 

I started to dial Vallery's work number, but then I hung up. Ruining my life probably didn't count as an emergency to Vallery, so I waited patiently until she got home.

“What did you do to Gina?” I asked as she walked in the door. “Christine called me today, flipping out about whatever you did to her.”

I expected her to deny it, but she just smiled and put her purse on the counter. “Sit down and I'll tell you all about it.”

I sat down on the couch. Vallery came in and sat across from me in Carl's recliner.

“Well, first I had to get Gina's work schedule. I went back to José Yummy's that night. I waited for Gina to leave, then I called the restaurant pretending to be her and I asked for her schedule.”

“Oh my God, you are such a stalker.”

“Anyway. I started to go in during Gina's shift. I'd order something weird every time, you know, make it real complicated and yell if she got it wrong, and make her redo everything two or three times.”

“I cannot believe you.”

Vallery smiled. “I complained and told her the bathrooms were dirty. I told her the fountain Coke tasted funny. I let Collin run around and make a mess. It was pretty damn hilarious, but of course it drove her nuts. Finally I got her to blow up at me. You would not believe the things that came out of this girl's mouth. Before I even had to chance to say I wanted to talk to her manager, she threw her apron down and walked out.”

She winked at me—winked at me!—and then went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

I walked up behind her. “Why would you do that?” I asked. “Now that she's unemployed, she just has more time to spend with Riley.”

Vallery took a pickle out of the jar and sat down at the table. “No. Trust me. This doesn't reflect well on her. Would you want to date a girl who couldn't handle working at a taco restaurant?”

“God, Vallery, what if Riley realized it was you? He's going to think we're completely crazy.”

“He has no idea.”

“She probably called him every night and told him about the bitchy blond girl and the crazy Puerto Rican boy who terrorized her. Vallery! God!”

“Later you're going to think about this and appreciate everything I did for you.”

“What's up with the rash? How'd you give her a rash?”

Vallery laughed. “Christine said I gave her a
rash
? How would I even do that? Voodoo?”

“I don't know. You tell me.”

“I didn't give her a rash.”

“I don't believe you.”

“You and your friends are paranoid.”

“You're ruining my life, do you realize that?”

She shook her head. “You'll think about it later and you'll thank me.”

V
allery had started making little to-do lists for me every morning. The fact that she was quickly ruining my life had no impact whatsoever on whether or not I still had to spend part of my day running her errands. The next morning she left this list for me:

1. Go to grocery store and get: bread (whole wheat, not that white crap), dozen eggs (large, check them), snacks for Collin's lunch, 2-liter Diet Coke, 1 lb ground beef, whatever else you think we need.
   
2. Put ground beef in fridge. Sloppy joes tonight?
   
3. Wash dishes. Rewash big pan—it looks cruddy.
   
4. Buy stamps and put bills in mail.
   

I rinsed off the pan and put it in the dish rack, then crossed it off the list. I wasn't washing that stupid pan again. I'd done a perfectly good job the first time. If she didn't like it, she could wash it herself. I grabbed the list and the bills and headed for the door.

When I opened the door, I saw a man with slicked-back hair walking up to the house. He wore jeans and a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His arms, at least from what I could see, were covered in tattoos. He had a goatee, and a hoop earring in each ear. I looked past him and saw a motorcycle parked in front of our house. Judging by the tattoos and the bike, he could have been one of Carl's old friends. But considering the denim outfit and stupid earrings, he was probably one of Mom's ex-boyfriends. A little younger, but sometimes she went for the younger ones.

“Are you looking for Carl or Lisa?” I asked. “'Cause they're both dead.”

He stopped at the bottom of the porch steps and gave me a funny look. “Uh, I'm actually looking for Vallery Lancaster.”

“Oh. Who are you?”

He smiled and shook his head. “Pardon me, I forgot my manners.” He held out his hand. I took a few steps toward him and he took a few steps up to the porch. “I'm Lenard Fry Jr.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“So is Vallery around?”

Since I was about five, I'd been trained on how to handle men who come to the door: Get rid of them for Mommy. If Vallery was anything like Mom, she wouldn't want me to tell Mr. Lenard Fry Jr. where she was. And who
was
this guy? As far as I knew, the only people Vallery had met in Baltimore I didn't already know were from work. If she knew this guy from work, he'd know she wouldn't be home in the middle of the day. I shouldn't do her any favors, but this guy seemed shady.

I shook my head. “She doesn't live here. Haven't heard from her lately either. Are you a bill collector? Is she giving people this address again?”

He shook his head. “I knew her back in Dallas. She came home from work one day and told me her mom was dead. Then she just disappeared. I can't get ahold of her. I just wanted to know if things were all right. Are you her sister?”

I nodded.

“She told me about you. I pictured you younger.”

“How did you know where we live?”

He gave me a half smile. “It's kind of embarrassing.”

I shrugged.

“Well, I looked up all the obituaries in Baltimore and found her mother. Your mother, I mean. Then I looked your mother up in the phone book and found the address.”

Stalker. Vallery and this guy had probably been perfect for each other. “What do you want Vallery for?” I asked.

“Well…I just wanted to see what happened to her. I got worried, you know.”

“You couldn't call?”

“I tried.”

“Well, she was here for the funeral. But she left, I don't know, maybe two months ago.”

“No kidding?”

I nodded.

He shook his head and looked away from me.

“I'm real sorry,” I said.

He ran his hands through his hair. “I just really needed to see her. Listen, I don't know where I'm staying yet, but maybe I can stop by tomorrow and give you the number? In case you hear from her?”

I nodded. “Okay. I don't expect to hear from her soon, though.”

I watched Lenard Fry Jr. walk back to his motorcycle and ride off. Then I ran through the house, made sure all the doors and windows were locked, and went out to run Vallery's errands.

 

Collin's teacher called my cell phone just as I left the post office.

“Hello, Miss Pike. This is Mrs. Young. How are you?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced some cheerfulness
into my voice. “I'm fine, Mrs. Young. What can I do for you?”

“I'd like to have a meeting with you this afternoon when you come to pick up Collin. I just spoke to Ms. Lancaster, and she said you'd be available.”

“Absolutely!” I said. “See you then!”

 

It was weird being in an elementary school again after so long. I felt ten years old again, like I shouldn't be walking around without a hall pass.

When I walked into the office and sat down beside Collin, I felt nauseous, like I was the one in trouble.

“What did you do?” I whispered to Collin.

He didn't answer. He stared straight ahead and kicked his chair.

After the rest of the kids had gotten on the bus or been picked up by their parents, Mrs. Young walked in and had us follow her back to her classroom. She sat at her desk. She took off her glasses and let them hang from a chain around her neck.

“Collin had a bad day,” she said.

I nodded. “That happens.” I held my hand out to Collin in case he wanted to hold it, but he didn't move.

“I'm afraid he got out of hand during art time today and hit our friend Zachary Milligan.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Our friend?”

Mrs. Young tried to smile, but her lips didn't quite make it. “That's how we refer to everyone here at camp.”

I looked down at Collin. “Isn't Zachary the same boy who made you shove a crayon in your ear?”

He nodded but wouldn't look at me.

Mrs. Young shook her head. “That's not what happened, Miss Pike.”

“Did you see it happen?”

Mrs. Young shook her head. “Several students told me what happened.”

“Well, I don't believe everyone else. I believe my brother, and this Zachary kid sounds like he's a bully. If Collin hit him, he probably deserved it.”

“We do not condone violence in the classroom under any circumstances. Mrs. Milligan is understandably quite upset about the incident, and we'd like to have a meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss it.”

“That's fine. My sister Vallery will be attending that meeting.”

“Okay. I'll call your sister and we'll discuss it further.”

“All right.”

I took Collin's hand and we walked out to the Grand Am.

He didn't say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. He had that deer-in-the-headlights, I'm-going-to-get-it-now expression on his face. Like when I caught him eating a whole box of Twinkies, or when I found him crouched on my dresser after he broke my snow globe.

“I'm not mad,” I said to him. He only had one more
week of camp left anyway, so who cares if he couldn't get along with Zach Milligan. “I know you probably didn't even do anything wrong. But listen, we're going to visit Vallery at work now, so I need you to be very good for me. Okay?”

He nodded.

 

I knew Collin's being injured hadn't been that urgent to her, and I wasn't sure if Lenard Fry Jr.'s sudden appearance constituted an emergency either, but I thought it was better to be safe. I had no idea what kind of trouble she might have gotten herself into back in Dallas before she left.

Vallery's office was about a ten-minute drive up the beltway. It wasn't anything fancy—just a plain brown building. The elevator didn't come fast enough, so we took the stairs. The second door down the hallway had a little sign on it that said
PARKER ASSOCIATES
. I rang the buzzer. When we walked in, Vallery was on the phone. She pointed to a couple of chairs by the door and we sat down. I gave Collin a fishing magazine to look at. He flipped through the pages and swung his legs.

Vallery hung up the phone and walked over. “I already heard. That was Mrs. Young.”

“Does the name Lenard Fry Jr. mean anything to you?”

Vallery stared at me without blinking. “Where did you hear that name?” she whispered. “Did he call?”

I wondered if Lenard Fry Jr. was a bounty hunter. They'd done a story line like that on
Heartstrings
a few years ago. One of the new characters in town had murdered a guy in another state, and the bounty hunter caught up with him.

“I met him today, actually.”

“You're
kidding
me!” Vallery whispered. “He came to the
house
?”

“You know him?”

“Jesus. Yes, I know him.”

“Is he a bounty hunter?”

“What?”

“Please tell me he's not your boyfriend.”

“Lainey, I don't need this.”

“Oh God, he is!”

“He
was
my boyfriend. Back in Dallas.”

“I can't believe you just left and didn't tell him you weren't coming back!”

“I can't believe
him
. How did he
get
here?”

“He was on a motorcycle. I can't believe you didn't tell me about him.”

“He was an idiot. He must have stolen the bike from his brother. He only tracked me down because of the car. He doesn't care that I left—he just wants the goddamned Mustang.”

“You stole his car?”

Vallery glared at me. “Of course not. It's my car. It's in my name. I pay for it. But he might have had the
impression that I bought it for him.”

“Oh God.”

“Lainey, shut up.”

“You're Mom!”

“Shut up!”

“Lenard Fry Jr. is your Carl Snodgrass.”

“I know you think that saying I'm like Mom is the meanest thing you can say to me, so I'm choosing to ignore it. Anyway, what did you tell Len?”

“I told him you came for the funeral and then left, and that I didn't know when I'd hear from you.”

Vallery cracked a smile. “You seriously told him that?”

“Yeah. I've been trained to lie to men who knock on the door.”

“That was sweet.”

“Yeah, well, he's not leaving. He said he's going to find somewhere to stay and then he's coming back tomorrow to give me the number.”

“He's probably doing surveillance on the house right now. I'll ask Bunny if I can stay with her tonight.”

“You know a girl named Bunny?”

“Don't make fun. You were named after a whore on a soap opera.”

“I was not. What am I supposed to do?”

“Well, you and Collin need to go home or he'll get suspicious.”

It wasn't my night to keep Collin but I decided to let
it slide. “Wait, what if he tries to break in?”

“Oh for God's sake, Lainey, he just wants the stupid car. He knows you're not hiding it in the house. I know he looks simple, but he's not that dumb. And he's not violent. Don't worry.”

“Fine,” I said. I didn't believe her, but I couldn't stand in her office all afternoon arguing with her.

“Okay,” Vallery said. “Just go home, be cool, and I'll call you tomorrow.”

 

The Grand Am died half a block from the supermarket after we got off the beltway. I managed to guide it onto the shoulder before it sputtered to a stop. I sighed and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed Eric.

“Have a few minutes to come pick up a cute girl and her delinquent brother?”

“You broke down?” he asked.

“Of course.”

He sighed. “It was only a matter of time.”

I told him where we were, and he talked to me as he drove. He told me how many magazines he and Frank had sold. I told him about the errands Vallery had me run. I considered telling him about Lenard Fry Jr., but then I realized I'd have to explain entirely too much for the story to make sense, so I didn't bother.

When he got there, Eric piled the groceries in the trunk while I strapped Collin and his booster seat into Eric's car.

“Long day,” I said to Eric, and shook my head.

When we got to my house, I didn't see Lenard Fry Jr. hiding in the bushes. Collin ran to his room.

“Want to stay with me tonight?” I asked Eric. “Collin has to sleep with us, though.”

Eric shrugged. “All right.”

He went into the living room and turned on the television. I pulled out my cell phone and called Vallery at work.

“It's your night to keep Collin,” I said.

“Lainey!”

“Do me a favor and I'll let it slide.”

“Fine, what do you need?”

“The Grand Am is broken down on Franklin Boulevard.”

“Okay, I'll call a tow truck or something. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Val.”

 

Eric and I hadn't spent the night together before. With a six-year-old boy between us, it got even more awkward. Eric rolled over about fifteen times before I jabbed him in the side and said, “Just go sleep on the couch.” He kissed me on the cheek and then climbed over me and Collin and left the room. I would have just sent him home, but I wanted him there in case I needed him. I'd found a baseball bat in the garage and left it by my door, thinking that Collin and I could hide under my bed and I would call the
police while Eric fought off Vallery's boyfriend.

“Time to play?” Collin asked.

“No,” I whispered. I wrapped my arm around him. “Bedtime. Sleep.”

I wanted to feel safe knowing that Eric was in the living room and could take Vallery's wimpy Texas boyfriend if it came down to it. Well, he probably could. Eric had skinny arms and he seemed like kind of a pacifist, but he'd do what he had to do.

I wouldn't have worried at all if Riley had been there. He wasn't a violent guy, but I knew he could throw a punch.