Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(52)

CHAPTER 36

It was still early when Lizzy wandered into the kitchen.

Once again Kitally was cooking at the stove.

“Hey, there,” Kitally said, sounding much too chipper.

Lizzy’s greeting came out sounding a lot like a grunt. She found a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Have you ever considered opening a bed-and-breakfast?”

Kitally snorted. “In Carmichael?”

“I was thinking Napa or La Jolla.”

“Nope, never crossed my mind.”

“You’re one of those people who’ve never met a stranger. You like to cook, and you’re a morning person. It makes perfect sense.”

“I’m really not sure what I want to do when I grow up. Right now I’m just happy to be doing what I’m doing. Catching that dognapper was very satisfying. And the Sac Bee called me. They want to interview me.”

“You’re going to be Sacramento’s sweetheart,” Lizzy said.

“What would you like in your omelet?”

“I’ll take whatever you’ve got,” Lizzy said as she took a seat at the table. “Hayley’s door was open, and she’s not in her room. Any idea where she might have gone?”

Before Kitally could answer, the front door opened and closed. Hayley gave a slight nod of her chin as she walked by.

Lizzy got up and followed her halfway down the hallway. “Is that blood on your arm?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“Where have you been?”

Hayley turned around.

They were face-to-face, only inches apart.

The girl smelled like cigarettes and bad news.

“We’ve talked about this before, Lizzy. No mothering me. You do your thing and I’ll do mine.”

Lizzy didn’t know what to say to that. Kitally kept telling Lizzy that the three of them were in this together, they were all a team, but were they really? They were each living in their own little worlds within the same house. Insanity was what it was.

Hayley’s hair was mussed. She looked exhausted, her eyelids at half-mast.

“I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be down in a little bit.” With that, Hayley walked off.

Lizzy trudged back to her chair at the kitchen table. “That girl is not taking care of herself.”

“Two peas in a pod,” Kitally said as she slid a plate in front of Lizzy, complete with a sprig of parsley.

“What do you mean by that?” Lizzy asked.

“Just what I said. You two are a lot alike. Neither of you take care of yourselves. You don’t get enough sleep, don’t eat the right things, both on automatic pilot.”

“That’s not true.”

Kitally blew out some air. “When was the last time you laughed?”

“Just the other day, when someone told me a joke.”

“Tell me the joke.”

“A magician was driving down the road.” Lizzy paused for effect. “Then he turned into a driveway.”

Kitally pulled the pan from the heat. “That’s not even funny. I know you didn’t laugh at that one.”

Lizzy shrugged. “Trust me—I can tell a joke. And I don’t come home at five in the morning with blood on my arm.”

“Are you sure it was blood?”

“Almost positive. She’s up to her old tricks.”

“What did I miss?” Kitally asked. “What does that mean?”

“Before you came along, Hayley used to stay out at all hours. It was in the paper, and there was even a blurry video on YouTube showing a young woman taking out a couple of punks in the middle of the night.”

“You think she’s doing that again?” Kitally asked.

“Doing it still, not again.”

“What’s she think she’s doing?”

“Taking care of business. Doing the same thing the woman who keeps calling me is doing.”

“The woman who delivered poisonous cookies?”

Lizzy nodded.

“So you think Hayley might have her own personal kill list?”

“No, I don’t think Hayley would go that far, but I do know that not too long after I saw the video, Hayley was taken into custody for cutting off a man’s penis.”

They were quiet for a second after that. Then Kitally said, “Well, I agree. I don’t think Hayley would kill anyone—”

“Of course she wouldn’t.”

Kitally sighed. “I wasn’t finished. I don’t think Hayley would kill anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

Lizzy closed her eyes. Just breathe, she reminded herself.

“Don’t worry, Lizzy,” Kitally said. “I would never take a life unless it was in self-defense.”

Lizzy had no response to that.

“But I guess I wouldn’t mind finding other ways to make some of these people pay for their actions.”

“Let’s change the subject,” Lizzy said. “It’s much too early in the morning to have this conversation.”

Kitally carried another plate to the table and took a seat across from Lizzy. “All right. On a cheerier note, I was able to reach three of the four people on the kill list: Chelsea Webster, Mindy Graft, and Aubrey Singleton. All three of them sounded concerned and yet doubtful at the same time.”