“She’s pretty tough.” Jo hugged her daughter proudly, then gave Claude a once-over. “You look like you’re raring to go this morning. We don’t usually open for another hour or so. The bees still bothering you out on the Pointe?”
“They haven’t been quite as bad since Jackson’s been in the hospital,” Claude said.
Jo grimaced. “Oh God. He’s still in there?”
“Leonard told me he’s being released soon. I know this will sound horrible, but it’s been much more pleasant on the Pointe without him. This has been my first harassment-free summer in ages.”
“Morning!” Heather, Jo’s assistant manager, joined them, and Jo stepped aside so she could open the doors. “Well, hello there, Miss Lucy. I could use some help getting things ready. If we get our work done fast enough, I can buy you a smoothie before we open.”
“Yes!” Lucy raced inside to get started.
“You are a saint for offering, but you do not have to babysit,” Jo told Heather.
“Babysit?” Heather scoffed. “Lucy’s one of the best workers around—and she’s definitely the cheapest.”
“Okay then,” Jo said. “But the second you need some kid-free time, you just let me know.” She held the door as Heather passed through and waited for Claude to come inside as well.
“Actually, I’m not here to work out,” Claude admitted. Her tone had changed, and some of her confidence seemed to have slipped away. “I was wondering if you might have a few minutes. I have a question I’d like to ask you.”
“Okay,” Jo said. “What is it?”
“Come across the street for a quick cup of coffee?” Claude asked.
“Sure,” Jo said. “I can spare a few minutes.” She opened the gym door and peeked her head inside. Heather and Lucy were unwrapping the previous day’s laundry. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
“No worries,” Heather said. “Lucy and I got this. Take your time.”
The café had only opened a few minutes earlier, and they were the first and only customers. Claude bought a coffee while Jo grabbed a juice. Then they chose a table near the front window.
The morning light was unforgiving. Claude appeared pale and on the verge of tears. “First of all, I just want to tell you how sorry I am.”
“For what?” Jo asked.
“For what happened to your beautiful daughter—” Claude paused to wipe her eyes and gain control of herself. “And to all those other girls. I knew Spencer was rotten. I knew he had something to do with Rosamund’s death. But I had no idea he was capable of such atrocities. And to think it was happening right under my nose! I haven’t been able to sleep in weeks.”
“I think there have been a lot of people going without sleep lately,” Jo told her, hoping they could move on to a different subject.
“Well, I want to do something,” Claude said. “I want to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
The words struck a familiar chord. Jo had told Lucy the very same thing. “Do you have something in mind?”
“No, but I bet we could come up with something together. Something big.”
“Something big?” Jo smiled, wondering where this was all going. “Okay.”
“Leonard says he’ll fund it. He feels terrible, too.”
Jo’s smile faded. Claude was serious.
“Between you and me, I’ve never touched a dime of his cash,” Claude said. “But this is important to me. No one teaches girls how to take care of themselves. We train them to be pretty and kind and polite right before we set them loose in a world filled with wolves. Then we act surprised and horrified when some of them get eaten. After my father died, I came very close to being one of those girls. The only thing that saved me back then was luck.”