Page 60 of Lost Petal

I nod in agreement. “Yes, it does.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to believe it?” she wonders out loud. “Christopher always had a thing for her... it might be hard to accept for him to think that she may be... dead.”

Malia lowers her black gaze, unable to hide the sadness that descends upon her with that choice of words. Her best friend may still be alive, but she and I both know that she’ll never be the same. She’s come as close to death as a person can without actually taking her last breath on Earth. It’s a pain that Malia promised to bear—for Petal’s sake.

“Maybe,” I say. “Or he didn’t want to share those details with you. It’s a police investigation, after all.”

She shrugs. “Could be.”

“Will they call you in as a witness?” I want to know.

“Yes, of course,” she responds. “He didn’t say when, but of course they’ll want to talk to me. I was her best friend, after all.”

“You are her best friend, still.”

Malia’s eyes widen, painting shock across her face as she appears to realize what she just said. That little disturbance is quickly replaced by disbelief and concern when she looks up at me. “Yeah, sure.”

She crosses her arms in front of her chest, pressing her lips into a thin line before she adds, “You know what else Christopher said?”

I mirror her pose, jutting my chin forward in demand.

“He wants to talk to you, too,” Malia says. “He said he’ll contact you. Soon. Why would he do that at this point?”

“That’s a good question,” I say. “But I’m not worried about it. I’ll be ready for him.”

She sighs, raising an eyebrow at me before she turns to walk back inside the house while I remain outside on the terrace.

Christopher wants to talk to me. Just days after Petal’s disappearance. Malia is right to show a little concern.

Why would he want that? What could I possibly tell him?

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