Free Heartstopper by Joy Fielding Page A

sure of no such thing. What was her mother doing anyway? Why hadn’t she called? “She hasn’t phoned?”
    “If she’d phoned, would I be so worried?”
    “I guess not.” Delilah let out a deep breath and tried not to let her annoyance show. She tried to tell herself her grandmother was snapping at her because she was worried about her daughter, but in truth, snapping was her grandmother’s normal way of communicating. No wonder Kerri took every opportunity to be elsewhere. No wonder she was in no hurry to get home. No wonder she spent so much time at her computer when she
was
home, preferring the quiet of Internet chat rooms to the noise of real people. If someone snapped at you online, you could simply snap them off.
    “I thought it was her when I heard a car pull up.”
    “That was Sheriff Weber’s car. He gave me a lift home from Chester’s.”
    “Too bad,” Rose said. “You could use the exercise.”
    Delilah forced her lips into a smile as she headed for the kitchen. “Can I get you anything, Grandma? Some Coke or some juice?”
    Rose shook her head. “No. And you shouldn’t have any either. Do you have any idea how much sugar is contained in one glass of Coke? And they say orange juice is just as bad. Did you know that?”
    “I think you’ve told me that, yes.” At least five hundred times, Delilah added silently, stepping into the small kitchen and opening the fridge, stretching for a can of Coke near the back.
    “Stick with water,” her grandmother advised, as if she were standing right behind her. “They say you should drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Did you know that?”
    “That’s an awful lot of water,” Delilah said, releasing the can’s metal tab. A rush of fizzy gas burst into the air, tickling the bottom of Delilah’s nose. She raised the can to her lips, took a long, satisfying gulp.
    “Foolish girl,” Rose muttered, loud enough to be heard.
    “You sure you don’t want anything? I think there’s some ice cream left.”
    “Lord, no. They say you shouldn’t eat anything after seven o’clock.”
    “Who’s they?” Delilah returned to the living room, clutching her can of Coke with grim determination, and plopped herself down on the brown leather chair. It made a great whooshing sound, as if groaning under her weight.
    “Everybody says it,” Rose said, as if this were answer enough. “It’s common knowledge. And be careful with that Coke. If you spill it—”
    “I won’t spill it.”
    “—you clean it up,” her grandmother continued, as if she hadn’t spoken.
    The two women sat in silence for several seconds.
    “So, how is Sheriff Weber?”
    “Fine.”
    “What was he doing at Chester’s?”
    “Having a beer.”
    “I take it his wife wasn’t with him?”
    Delilah shook her head. “He was there on business.”
    “Business?” Her grandmother raised one thin eyebrow.
    “Liana Martin’s missing.”
    “What?”
    “Liana Martin. A girl in my class. She’s missing.”
    “Judy Martin’s daughter?”
    “I guess.”
    “Beautiful woman. She was runner-up for Miss America once, you know.”
    “I don’t think it was Miss America—”
    “What do you mean, her daughter’s missing?” her grandmother interrupted.
    “Apparently she didn’t come home last night, and nobody’s seen her since yesterday afternoon.”
    It took several seconds for the full impact of that statement to sink in. “What does the sheriff think happened to her?”
    “He doesn’t know.”
    “She probably just ran off,” Rose said dismissively, although she sounded less than convinced. “Why did you tell me that?” she demanded seconds later. “Can’t you see I’m worried enough as it is?”
    “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m sure Liana will turn up.”
    “I’m not worried about
her
, for God’s sake. I’m worried about your mother. If there’s some maniac out there—”
    “Whoa, Grandma Rose. Who said anything about a maniac?”
    “I have a bad feeling