051

"Yeah, Coach." Coach? Oh right, volleyball. I'd forgotten they were already close. No wonder she was pissed. Then again, she'd been the sweet giggly neighbor kid to me for years; amazing how fast goodwill dried up in the face of most of a year's salary in ransom demands.

For Candy, though, it was a relief to be recognized. I wanted to assure her that she'd looked just as out of it and she'd come out fine, but I let her go on and learn for herself. "Did either of the Stern girls say anything unusual to you earlier this afternoon?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah."

The ladies waited for her to go on, but she didn't. Isa came around, sparing a brief disgusted look for me. Like I was the one who'd made her blackmail me! Her attitude was beginning to annoy me. "What did they say? Cassie? What happened?"

"Taylor invited me to use her chapstick. I thought it was kind of gross but I was afraid of her so I said yes. It wasted kinda bad, too. I was just glad she didn't start anything. I heard one time