Page 52 of The Summer that Changed Everything
“It’s the truth!”
He said nothing, but he didn’t drive away, either. He continued to roll slowly, keeping pace with her.
“Is there something else?” she asked at length.
“That was an unusual situation, a difficult time for everyone, Lucy.”
She gaped at him. “You’re tellingme?”
“Fine, if you want to see the Zampino house, I’ll take youthere.” He pressed the button to unlock the car doors, and Lucy heard the correspondingthunk. “Get in.”
She shook her head. “That’s okay.”
“Seriously,” he said. “Don’t be like that.”
“It’s not far. I’ll find it on my own.”
“You asked me which house it was, and I’m willing to take you there. Just get in!”
He was so insistent she reached for the handle and had just climbed in when her phone went off.
He looked over as she got it out of her purse and must’ve seen the name on Caller ID because he said, “Ford’scalling you?”
“Apparently,” she replied and answered.
“Where are you?” Ford asked.
“Where areyou?” she responded.
“At your place. I thought you might want to go with me to talk to Darren.”
“I’d be happy to do that, but I’m with Chet right now.”
“Chet!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing with him?”
“I wanted to see the house where Aurora attended the party the night she was killed, but everything has changed so much on this side of town that I couldn’t remember exactly which house it was. He happened to drive past, and now he’s helping me find it.”
“Really! That surprises me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I’ll explain when I see you,” he replied. “And I think I’ll head over to Darren’s without you. We can talk later.”
“Okay.”
“Call me when you get back.”
“I will,” she said. Although she didn’t want to interact with Ford on a daily basis, she couldn’t see how they’d get anywhere without frequent communication.
Chet’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “So... Ford just calls you whenever he likes? You two are friends again?”
“Not really,” she mumbled.
“Then what was that about?”
She put her phone in her purse. “Nothing important.”
He slowed the car to a crawl as he studied her.
