JONATHAN KELLERMAN. THERAPY

“Sometimes.” She started crying. “That could’ve been me.”

“Tell me about the blond girl,” I said.

She wiped her eyes, smiled. “Too bleached out, you could see her roots.”

“Where’d you meet her?”

“I never met her, like actually hanging out. Me and Ellie went to a movie and later we went to Kate Mantolini for the vegetable plate. Sometimes Jerry Seinfeld goes there.”

Her eyes drifted out a side window, switched direction, and focused on a parking sign. “I hope I don’t go past the validation time.”

I said, “You and Ellie at Kate Mantolini.”

“Yeah,” she said. “We were like into our veggies and in comes Gavin with this skank. I’m talking Ross-Dress-for-Less blouse and a skirt up to her you-know-what.” Her eyes dropped to her sandals. “She did have cool shoes. Black, open-backed. Very Naomi Campbell.”

“Jimmy Choo,” I said.

“How’d you know?”

“She was wearing them the night she was murdered.”

“They were cool shoes. I figured she boosted them.” She chuckled. “Just kidding!”

“So Gavin walked in with her—”

“And pretended not to see me so I pretended not to see him. Then he had to walk past us to get to his booth and he pretended to all of a sudden spot me and be all like surprised, like, hey-it’s-you, Kayla.”

“What did you do?” I said.

“I waited until he came right up to the table, I mean right up, so like no way could you ignore it.”

“Then what?”

“Then I said, ‘Hey, Gav,’ and he wiggles his finger and the skank comes over and she’s like ‘who are you?’ Like she’s got it all goin’ on. Which she doesn’t. And Gavin’s like this is . . . whatever her name was. And Skanky just stands there in her Jimmy’s like she’s the star of an E! True Hollywood Story or something.”

“You don’t remember her name?”

“Nope.”

“Try.”

“It’s not like I was listening.”

“Try,” I said.

“It’s important?”

“It is.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s dead.”

“Hmm.” She flipped her upper lip with her index finger, let it snap down against her teeth. Repeated it several times, making little ploppy noises. Squished the beret and watched the soft fabric pulsate amoebically as it regained its shape.

“Kayla?” I said.

“I’m thinking,” she said. “I guess I’d like to say Chris. Or Christa. Something Chris-sy.”

“Any last name?”

“No,” she said. “Definitely not. Gavin never mentioned a last name. This wasn’t like some big introduction. Gavin was like ‘I don’t need you, look what I’ve got.’ ”

“He said that?”

“No, but you could just tell. Later, he came up and said how cool she was.”

“Later when?”

“When Skanky went to the bathroom and left him alone. She was in there a long time, I’m thinking dope—she looked like a doper. Real skinny. There was no way anyone could think she looked like me. But Gavin . . .” She crossed her eyes and tapped her forehead.

“She left him alone, and he came to your table.”

“Yeah, and Ellie was like ‘Who’s your new lay-dee, Gav?’ And Gavin’s like, ‘Christa—I think it was Christa, something like that, maybe Crystal. And Ellie’s like, ‘Pretty cute, Gav.’ But not meaning it, dissing him, you know? And I’m not saying a thing, I’m working on my steamed spinach, which is the coolest part of the vegetable plate. Then Gavin gives this sick smile and moves away from Ellie and he bends down and whispers in my ear, ‘She does it all, Kayla. Endlessly.’ And I’m like ‘More like endlessly boring and endlessly preemie’ but I just think it, I don’t say it. Because Gavin wasn’t normal anymore, it would’ve been like dissing a retard. Also, because by that time he’d moved back to his booth. Like he didn’t care what I had to say.”

I said, “What else can you tell me about Christa?”

“Maybe it was Crystal,” she said. “I’m thinking Crystal’s more right.”

“She never said a word to you?”

“No, but Gavin did. Actually, he said more than what I just told you.”

I waited.

“It was mean, I really don’t want to remember.”

“It’s important, Kayla.”

She sighed. “Okay, okay. When he bent down and whispered in my ear, was like how great she was, he also said, ‘She’s a dancer, Kayla. She’s got all the moves.’ Like I don’t. You know what it really means, right?”