Got Your Number

followed her, he'd probably give up when he didn't find her at her father's.
    Her father...
    She'd never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her sleazy associations. She pulled into a drive-through and bought a large coffee, then punched in her father's number on her cell phone in the event he had cut his fishing trip short. But as she expected, his answering machine picked up, and she felt compelled to talk to him in person.
    When the teenager handed her coffee through the window, the hot liquid sloshed over the side, and the incident in the diner with Capistrano came to mind. If he hadn't come in that day, and if she hadn't been fired, she would've taken her normal lunch break to run home and drop off groceries or something, and might have been at the apartment when Frank Cape dropped by. She shivered. Not that she owed the detective anything for his interference.
    She sipped the coffee, checked the rearview mirror, and steered Goldie onto the access road leading to the interstate. Angora hadn't moved a muscle, unless you counted her snoring muscles. NPR was the best she could get on the old AM radio, so she settled in for a lively discussion on growing herbs. And after an hour's education on soil, sun, and plant selection, she was tempted to give up Rescue to grow rosemary and sage in her spare time. In fact, the placid announcers made it seem as if world peace could be achieved if everyone just pruned their peppermint periodically.
    At mid-morning her father finally answered his phone. Roxann hadn't realized just how worried she'd been until his telltale rasp rattled out over the line.
    "Hello?" He sounded winded, as if he had just walked in.
    Her heart swelled with a dozen emotions. "Hi, Dad."
    "Roxann—where are you? There's a policeman sitting in my driveway."
    "Did he tell you his name?"
    "Capistrano. Said you were in some kind of trouble."
    She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Dad."
    "Then why is he here?"
    "It's complicated, but he was out of line for following me."
    "Sherwood said you had somebody with you last night."
    "Angora."
    At the mention of her name, her cousin's snoring stopped and she lifted her head. Great.
    "I thought your cousin was getting married this weekend."
    "She was. I mean, she was supposed to." She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. "It's a long story. I'll call you in a few days and explain everything."
    Angora squinted at Roxann.
    "Meanwhile, tell Detective Capistrano that I've gone back to Biloxi."
    "Are you in danger?" her father asked.
    "I'll be fine. Really."
    He sighed heavily. "This is how you use your education? Play cat and mouse with unsavory characters?"
    She swallowed hard, trying not to feel like a little girl who'd misbehaved. "I'll call you, Dad." With much remorse, she pushed the disconnect button and turned a cheerful smile in Angora's direction. "Feeling rested?"
    "Yes." Angora stretched. "What was that all about?"
    "I called my father to let him know we'd stayed at his house last night."
    "Who is Detective Capistrano?"
    "Nobody. Hey, is that a mall?"
    Angora was nothing if not easily distracted. "Yes! Take this exit—we're going to spend some money."
    "I don't have much cash," Roxann warned. Actually, she had fourteen dollars and twenty-two cents in her purse, which wasn't even leather.
    Angora pshawed. "Who needs cash when I have Trenton's gold card?"
    "I didn't hear you say that."

Chapter Eleven

    ANGORA STOOD BEHIND Roxann and stared at her cousin's reflection. Envy threatened to surface, but pride over the wardrobe makeover she'd supervised won out. "You look marvelous."
    Roxann's brown eyes cut to her in the mirror. "I look ridiculous."
    Angora sighed—nothing was more exasperating than a beautiful woman who failed to recognize her physical potential. How many times had she heard Dee say that the family cheekbones had been wasted on Roxann? And one of her most mortifying memories was having the plastic surgeon draw on her God-given piggish nose with a black marker based on a picture of Roxann that Dee had produced.
    "It's my mother's nose," Dee had insisted, "and it should have been yours."
    After her jaw had been broken and reset, and her teeth straightened, she and Roxann could have passed for sisters, except for the hips and the hair. Her own true color was a mousy brown, but Dee had been so determined that everyone think she was a natural blonde, Angora's hair had been lightened since kindergarten.
    "You just need time to adjust