“Lacey good to talk to her dad about what he knew about this guy to make her call it off with him back in the day?”

“That’s what we’re texting about now. She’s not feeling a lot of love for pointing a finger at Tony if he has nothing to do with this. They ended but it wasn’t ugly. And Terrence has been talking with Perry and Nova, that’s how Lacey heard about Bianca. Cops have talked with both Bianca’s folks. If Lace brings Tony into it, shit might get said that shouldn’t.”

“Maybe smart. We’ll see what Deck finds,” Deke muttered.

He pulled out his phone, called Deck and relayed the information.

“Right, got a name, can get a lot further with that lead but I won’t share with the cops. Not yet. Thanks, brother. Your girl thinks of anything else, I’m a phone call away.”

“Right, later, Deck.”

He disconnected and saw Jussy done with her sandwich but she was looking at him with an unsettled expression on her face.

“I know you’re not okay, baby,” he started. “This happening with your friend. But through that call, something make you less okay?”

“Dad took us on the road.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you told me that.”

“A lot of the time, we had tutors. He was home for a spell, we were in school, but that never lasted long. Except once, when he was on a huge tour, lasted a year, went over to Europe, Asia, Australia, he left us home and put me in school for what I think was the longest stretch I did. Bianca was in that school. Lacey at a private Catholic school. We were without a musketeer, I was the new girl with a famous last name and some girls fucked with me.”

“Right,” he prompted, seeing her focus on his shoulder, her mind was somewhere else.

Her gaze came to him.

“Bianca got suspended because she jumped them.”

Deke knew nothing about girl world and how they dealt with their issues so he asked, “You were tight. Would you do the same?”

“Actually jump them?” She shook her head. “Maybe, though I can’t say I would. I’m not about that kind of physicality. Doesn’t matter, they got the better of her. There were three of them, one of her. And she was the one who started it so she was the one who got in the most trouble. I wasn’t there but I told her between classes what happened and at the next break, she went for it.”

“Jussy, why’s this got you tweaked?”

“In the next month, those three girls had veritable shit storms consume their lives.”

Deke was silent.

“I thought it was karma,” she whispered. “But anything that could happen to them did. Boyfriends breaking up with them. One got her hair done at a salon and the bleach went wonky, most of her hair fell out during the rinse. Another got caught in the parking lot at a mall, mugged and roughed up. It doesn’t end there, Deke.”

“How old were you?”

“Fifteen, maybe sixteen.”

He shook his head, uncertain she was going in the right direction.

“At that age, you think Bianca masterminded all that?” he asked.

“I think a guy in a biker bar touched me in a way I didn’t like, she didn’t like, and she lost her mind on him, Deke. She got the drop on him, got him on the floor on his back and did some major damage to his face with her fingernails before she was pulled off. Her dad had to buy her out of that one and that wasn’t the first or the last. Some boy told stories about Lacey, I don’t know, we were maybe only thirteen, and Anca herself went, staked out his parents’ house, waited until they were all out and broke into his bedroom. She wrecked it completely and bragged about it to me and Lacey, proud she was looking out for her girl. No one ever found out it was her, because of course we’d never tell, but that boy freaked the fuck out. Nothing touched in the house but his shit, clothes, furniture, everything torn apart. The message was sent and it was clear. He didn’t say shit about anybody again, as far as I knew.”

“So she’s got a highly-tuned revenge streak.”

“Yes, I think so, but that kind of thing hasn’t happened in a long time. And lately, the last few years…it’s been that, honey, it’s been years she’s been folding in on herself…Lacey and me, we had shit going on. We didn’t notice it at first. And then…”

She didn’t finish that thought but Deke knew what she was saying.

It was too late.

He reached out a hand and touched his finger lightly to her knee.

That was all it took with Jussy.

She pulled in a breath and pulled it together.

“Don’t tell that to Decker,” she asked softly. “I don’t…” She shook her head again. “Let me talk to Lacey. She’s with her folks right now, went to them for her break instead of coming out here. They’re upset about Bianca now, and were already upset about what happened to me. That’s why she’s texting. She doesn’t want to talk in front of them. Especially about Tony. I’ll text her and talk to her when she’s alone and can do that talking freely.”

“Text, gypsy,” he urged. “Set that up so you can talk that out. Then, you already picked all your paint colors. Got the paint for downstairs, not the upstairs rooms. We’ll go get it so I’m good to go when I’m back at it tomorrow. Sound like a plan?”

She nodded, picking up her phone.

He grabbed their garbage while she texted.