Love Can Be Murder

was fifteen, and she told me he would tell her if ever...you know."
    Roxann ground her teeth. "Angora, that's not only immoral, it's illegal. Your physician can't reveal your... status to anyone, not even to Dee. Surely you know that."
    "Mother's laws supersede all others."
    How could she rationalize with a woman whose world had been skewed by a selfish, overbearing mother? "Angora, there's nothing wrong with being a virgin at your age, but it should be because of your own convictions, not your mother's."
    Angora angled her chin. "You're so right. I think it's high time I change gynecologists. And broaden my sexual horizons."
    "You're entitled," Roxann agreed, simply because Angora couldn't carry off the label of "promiscuous" if she wore it on a sash.
    "Maybe I'll sleep with someone scandalous," she murmured. "Maybe...a bad boy. Or an older man." Angora produced a foxy smile. "Maybe I'll sleep with Dr. Seger. Cross another item off my life list."
    Roxann's stomach jumped, but she attributed it to last night's unfortunate choice of drink. "That's an interesting possibility."
    "Are you going to bid on him at the bachelor auction?"
    "I hadn't thought about it." Liar, liar.
    "Let's go and buy ourselves a man."
    "On my budget, the man would have to be made out of rubber."
    But Angora was warming to her plan. "How long will it take for us to get to campus?"
    "Driving straight through, I figure around fifteen hours."
    She bounced up and down in the seat, dislodging her crown. "Let's take our time and cross off a few items on our life lists along the way!"
    Roxann tried to conjure up some enthusiasm, but failed. "Angora, we don't have to abide by some silly list we made when we were little more than children." Besides, it was too disconcerting to see how many of the things that had once been important to her had been left undone.
    "Oh, come on—it'll be fun," Angora coaxed. "Just like old times."
    Except as she recalled, the "old times" weren't that fun for either of them. She squinted. "What did you have in mind?"
    Angora lifted the collar of the faded flannel shirt. "The first order of the day is to go shopping, of course."
    Of course.
    Her cousin waved vaguely toward the map lying on the seat between them. "So find a route that will take us by a mall, preferably one with a Saks."
    She groaned.
    "Hey, you could use a few new duds yourself, kiddo. You look exactly the same as you did in college."
    Roxann craned to critically study her reflection in the rearview mirror. "I don't look exactly the same." Those little creases around her eyes, for instance. And five gray hairs that congregated in her side part.
    "Are you kidding? You're frozen in time." Angora tsk-tsked at Roxann's faded jeans. "And that's not always a good thing."
    Shopping—a grueling experience. Despite her stint in the dress shop in high school, she didn't have Angora's eye for color or style. "We should be in Jackson by noon, maybe we can find a Wal-Mart."
    "This is serious." Angora was gaining momentum. "You could have your eyebrows waxed."
    "I prefer having them singed by a roaring gas flame."
    "And have you ever thought about letting your hair grow out?"
    She rolled her eyes up to stare at the fringe of bangs tickling her brow. "No. In fact, it's time for a trim."
    "Long straight hair is back in. You'd be absolutely exotic." She snapped her fingers. "I've got it—hair extensions!"
    "You always were determined to make me over."
    "And you always were determined to shop at the campus Goodwill."
    It was what she could afford. Plus the vintage, boyish clothes boosted her image of rebellious coed. Indeed, she'd stuck out when most young women were going over the top with big, feminine hair and look-at-me clothing. Carl had admired her individuality, but maybe she was getting too old for jeans and T-shirts. Besides, since almost everyone was going out of the way to dress down these days, she was in danger of falling into a trend— argh .
    Angora yawned and laid her head back. "So, cuz, do you have a boyfriend?"
    Roxann watched the road signs in the dark and headed toward the interstate. "No. I don't date much." Even she and Richard hadn't really dated when she lived in Birmingham. If she was lonely, she'd drop by the bar or coffeehouse where he happened to be playing, and he'd go home with her. If he was lonely, he'd show up on her doorstep with Thai food.
    "What are the men like in Biloxi?"
    Capistrano's face came to her. "Like the weather—thick and