Page 25 of The Debutantes
He sounds relieved, and so am I. Finally, someone’s taking this seriously.
“Well, thank you for calling,” he says. “I appreciate it.”
“Of course,” I say. There’s a small silence. “So what do we do?”
“Well, we’ll look into this ‘Jester’ character, of course. It sounds like this could be the same person who pulled that stunt at the ball.”
“Right,” I say. “But what canwedo?”
He pauses, like he hadn’t expected the question. “Listen,” he says, “I’ll bet this guy was just trying to scare you. And I’ll look into it, I promise, but for now… well, I think the best course of action is to be careful, relax, and let me do my job. That sound all right to you girls?”
I don’t think he means to sound patronizing, but frustration makes me grip my phone tighter.
“Of course,” I say. “Thanks, Detective Rutherford.”
“Marty,” he says kindly. “And anytime. Y’all be safe, now.”
He hangs up, and I let out a sigh. “Well, at least they’re looking into it.” Then I notice April’s scowl. “What?”
“Nothing,” she says.
“You look like someone’s about to force you to do a deb ball again. It’s obviously something.”
“I just—I don’t know. I don’t trust him.”
“Why?” I ask.
April swings an arm at my phone, like it’s obvious. “Y’all heard him just now. He thinks the Jester is just trying to ‘scare us.’ He probably still thinks Lilyjustran away, and Margot was a—” She stops. “I can tell from the way he talked about her. He thinks she was a lost cause.”
Vivian shifts. “Martyisbeing weirdly chill about this whole thing. I don’t know. He kind of gives me a bad vibe, too.”
I tap my nails against the back of my phone case, thinking. Unlike April and Vivian, I don’t have an innate distrust of authority figures withbad vibes,but they do have a point. Someone followed us here, and Marty acted like it was nothing toworry about, like we’re just teenage girls being anxious. It’s the same way he’s been acting about Lily. Earlier, I might have believed him, but if there’s one thing I respect, it’s evidence, and right now, it all points to one conclusion: something is really wrong here. And something has to be done.
“Okay.” I clap, making them jump. “Sorry. Force of habit when I have a plan.”
“Which is?” Vivian asks.
“We do our own investigation. Track down the Jester ourselves.”
April frowns. “How?”
“We start with the Dukes. The Beaumont ones, at least. Milford, Jason, and Aiden. They were all up on the stage when it happened, so they must have seen something.” Another idea slots into place. “Y’all are coming to the party tomorrow, right?”
April looks like she’d rather dive straight into a tub filled with glass shards. “What party?”
“The one at my house,” I say. “My mom sent an invitation to all of the Les Masques Maids. It’s a New Year’s Eve celebration for the debutantes.”
And, as I’m well aware, an excuse for all the kids who show up—and some parents, probably—to get wasted, but that’s beside the point.
“Yeah. Me, Sav, and—” Vivian stops herself. Clearly, she was about to sayLily.“We were planning to. But…”
I roll my eyes. “Obviously, I’m not suggesting we all do shots together. I mean we should use it as a chance to talk to the Dukes. They’ll all be there.”
Vivian crosses her arms. “You’re sure your mom won’t cancel, considering?”
I almost laugh. There’s no way in hell. For one thing, shealready knows that Lily’s missing—I called and filled her in on my way to the LeBlancs’ this morning—and she still hasn’t made any moves to cancel the festivities. When Genevieve Johnson sets her mind to hosting an event, not even the hand of God can stop her. Literally: once, there was a tropical-storm warning the weekend of a Johnson family reunion, and instead of rescheduling, she rush-ordered monogrammed rain ponchos to hand out at the door.
I shrug. “She’s had the caterers booked for months. And anyway, isn’t partying, like, the number-one coping mechanism in New Orleans?”
