Free Lizzy Gardner #2_Dead Weight by T.R. Ragan Page B

great,” Lizzy told her, “but is there any particular reason why you didn’t join?”
    Lena shrugged. “Not my thing. I design jewelry in my spare time. I also do a lot of hiking to stay in shape. Besides, I wouldn’t want anyone knowing my weight and telling me what to eat.”
    “I hear you.” Lizzy smiled and held up the card Lena had given her.
    “Thanks for the help.”
    “Not a problem. If you think of more questions or you need any custom-made jewelry, my number’s on the card.”

Chapter 13
    Burning Man
    For too many hours, Hayley and Jessica had been searching the Internet. Hayley sat at Lizzy’s desk across the room from Jessica.
    Hayley typed a few keywords on the computer keypad and watched the computer screen turn black. “This is ass-wipe stupid.”
    Jessica didn’t look away from her computer screen. “Why? What’s the problem?”
    “Knowing Spiderman is dead has caused Lizzy to lose her edge.”
    Jessica cocked her head in the same way a dog might angle its head if someone mentioned the word “walk” or “treat.” Hayley wasn’t sure how she felt about Jessica. She was a nice enough girl, it seemed, but she could be a little dense at times. Like now.
    “The old Lizzy,” Hayley explained, “wouldn’t have bothered with the fucking Internet to ind the info she needed. She would have hit the pavement instead.”
    “Do you really have to curse so much? And are you serious when you use terms like ‘hit the pavement?’ This isn’t a movie or one of those weekly cop shows. Policemen and women, and investigators like Lizzy, don’t need to ‘hit the pavement’ now that so much information is at their ingertips. It’s not stupid. It’s life in the modern world.
    Pretty soon they won’t need to chase after criminals in high-speed chases either. The police will tag a car with a laser-guided GPS
    tracking system. Once the transmitter is attached to the fleeing car, the police can track the suspect over a wireless network, then hang back and let the crook believe he’s outrun them.”
    Hayley tried not to roll her eyes. She wanted to remind Jessica of the last time Jessica was in a high speed chase. Where was the cool little transmitter then? “So how do they catch the guy using the transmitter?”
    “Thinking he’s lost the police, the crook eventually pulls over and gets out of his car. The of icers know exactly where he is and they nab him.”
    “Technology de initely serves a purpose,” Hayley said. “But at some point, somebody needs to get their ass out on the street and use physical force to get the bad guys. That’s all I’m sayin’. Let’s go.”
    Once again, Jessica looked at her as if she’d lost all sense.
    Hayley was already at the door. “If you don’t want to come with me, can you at least lend me your car?”
    “You’re not thinking about paying Johnson a visit are you?”
    “Oh, good,” Hayley said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. “For a minute there I thought we might be on different pages.”
    Jessica’s shoulders drooped. “So you are planning on visiting Johnson,” she stated more than asked. “Didn’t you hear a word Lizzy said? She asked you very nicely to stay put. If you make trouble, sooner or later, somebody is going to sue Lizzy. She could lose everything.”
    Hayley looked around at the dingy carpet and two pitiful excuses for desks.
    “You know what I mean. Lizzy is trying her darndest to move on.
    She’s been through a lot this past year. If she didn’t have her work. .and this place. .she’d be lost.”
    “Okay, fine. I get it. I’ll walk.”
    “You’re still going to visit Theodore Johnson?”
    “Of course I am. Nobody is going to sue Lizzy if I talk to Johnson.
    Don’t you get it? Ruth Fullerton is dying. This isn’t pretend dying.
    She’ll be lucky if she lasts three weeks, let alone three months. For more than two decades Ruth Fullerton has been wondering what happened to her daughter. Johnson might have seen Carol