A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(41)

“Um . . . thanks?”

“Oh, you’re welcome. Remember that summer Miller Thomas almost drowned and Cruz De los Santos jumped in and dragged him out, doing that lifeguard hold while the lifeguard just kind of stood on the pier with his mouth hanging open? That was so crazy. And then he got a medal for bravery and—”

“That was Cruz?” Auri did indeed remember that summer, but she didn’t remember Chastity being there or the fact that Cruz was the one who’d saved that kid. They were only nine.

Cruz was only nine years old and had saved a kid from drowning. She could barely walk and chew gum at the same time when she was nine, and he was saving lives.

She was learning all kinds of new things about Cruz De los Santos, but why now? Perhaps because he’d only recently shown up on her radar? But that wasn’t true. She’d had a bit of a crush for years, she just didn’t know his name. And she was always too shy to actually talk to him. Who did that?

But she remembered the very day she’d first noticed him. It was exactly three summers ago, and he’d sat on a boulder reading while the popular kids tried to get him into the lake. He ignored them. Completely.

Maybe his saving Miller did have an impact on her, she’d just never made the connection. She liked how he just sort of hung back and let others take the spotlight even though he was clearly popular. Everyone seemed to respect him, and the girls definitely showed interest even when he didn’t.

And while all of that was fine and dandy, Cruz was not the one she needed to be gathering intel on.

“So, do you know Sybil?” she asked Chastity as the girl tied her gym shoes.

She sat up. “The missing girl? Sure.”

Finally.

“She’s so nice, and she has this really cute jacket, and she likes to read. A lot. And this one time—”

“You were friends?”

“Well, I tried to be. She didn’t talk much, though. Really shy.”

She was at that, and yet she’d come up to Auri at the New Year’s Eve party. She’d introduced herself. Struck up a conversation. Something even Auri had difficulty doing.

“I get it, though. It’s hard to be the new girl. She just moved here this summer. But it could’ve been me. I’m a bit much sometimes. I tend to scare people away.”

“Really?” Auri asked, pretending to be shocked.

“I know, right?” She laughed, and Auri loved that she could do that. Laugh at herself. Many people couldn’t. Where was the fun in that? “You know, she looks a little like you.”

Auri raised a brow. “You think?”

“I mean, she’s not quite as pretty but, you know, the hair.”

“Oh, right.” They did both have red hair.

“Except yours is richer. I’ve never seen hair quite that color.” She reached out and took a long strand, totally invading Auri’s space bubble. A bubble she was quite fond of. “It’s copper.”

Auri laughed. “It’s okay. You can say it. It’s orange.”

She joined her. “Kind of, but it’s also gorgeous.”

“Thank you,” Auri said, genuinely flattered. “So, do you know who Sybil’s friends were? Who she hung out with?”

“Wait a minute.” Chastity leaned closer, her brown eyes glossing over. “Are you helping your mom with the investigation? Because I could help, too. I’m great at talking to someone so much they give up and tell me everything they know. I’m considering a job in the FBI.”

“You’d be great,” Auri lied. “So, Sybil?”

Chastity bowed her head in thought. “I don’t know. I just don’t remember seeing her hang out with anyone. Isn’t that weird? I mean, everyone hangs out with someone.”

Not necessarily. A sadness tugged at Auri’s heart. Sybil was adorable. And very likable. Why would a girl who’d started at a school four months earlier have no friends?

The teacher called the class to the floor. That was when Auri noticed Lynelle Amaia and her goons dressed in gym clothes. Lynelle turned to her, held her fingers up in the shape of a gun, and pretended to pull the trigger.

Great. She’d have this to look forward to all day every day. Lynelle in both her first period and her last. Lynelle bookends. Just what she’d always wanted.

But Auri was once again struck with the fact that there had to be more to Lynelle’s animosity than just the raid. She would eventually have no choice but to confront her.

And her investigation was failing miserably. She had yet to uncover a single ounce of information that might help her mom find Sybil.

She needed to talk to the one man she could confide in. The one man she’d always gone to when she felt the world turning against her.

Oddly enough, it was a man she’d never met. A man she’d only seen pictures of and dreamed of and whose voice she longed to hear.

It was time she paid a visit to her father.


Before Sun and Quincy could leave to question the Ravinders about Jimmy, a task Sun was not looking forward to, an official-looking man in an official-looking jacket walked in the front door. An older man with graying brown hair, he had strong enough features to command a room with a single glance. Or perhaps it was his confidence. The way he stood. The expression he wore.

“And who do we have here?” Quincy asked as the guy spoke to Anita.