Mary was shaking her head. Giulia was such a sweetheart. It couldn’t be true.

“When that detective pulled the ring out, in the Baggie, I knew right then what Giulia musta done. But did I tell them? No.” Trish leaned over, lowering her voice. “I took the rap for Giulia. I took the risk they’d think I did it, so they wouldn’t go after her.”

Mary felt stunned. Trish was right, if she was telling the truth.

“So now who’s the loyal friend?” Trish lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m hookin’ up with Joe, but so what? It didn’t mean anything. I saved her life, and I’m so nice, I didn’t even tell her. I didn’t even want the credit. Would you do that for a friend? Would you be that loyal?”

Suddenly there came a noise from the first floor, and Mrs. Gambone called up the stairs. “Trish? Trish!”

“What, Ma?” Trish called back, annoyed.

“G’s here to see you! Okay if she comes up?”

Mary’s gut clenched. She had to figure out what to do. She had no idea what would happen. She met Trish’s eye.

“Send ’er up, Ma!” Trish yelled, and neither woman said anything, listening to the clack-clack of little boots on the stairs.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

“W hat’sa matter?” Giulia asked, her face falling the moment she entered the bedroom.

For a minute, Mary didn’t know what to say. It was so hard to believe that Giulia had pulled a gun and shot somebody, much less Bobby. The girl looked like a cherub who’d gotten into her mother’s makeup kit, her chubby cheeks flushed from being outside, coloring even under her thick blusher, her lips a vivid red, and glittery blue shadow on her eyelids.

“Nothin’s the matter,” Trish said, evidently playing dumb. “Everything’s fine.”

“You look upset.” Giulia came inside and closed the door behind her. “You still stressin’ about the funeral?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Trish frowned with fake grief, and Mary marveled at what a good liar she was, proof that practice makes perfect.

“So what’sa matter with you, Mare?” Giulia asked, cocking her head.

“Nothing.”

Giulia shrugged her padded leather shoulders. “S’all right, you guys don’t wanna tell me, you don’t have to. I know I gained weight, if that’s what you were talkin’ about.”

“Nah.” Trish waved her off. “It’s the feds called, and that freaks me out.”

“For reals.” Giulia bucked up and clapped her hands together. “Well, good, because I’m here to take you out drinkin’, T. I figured you’d be upset and all, after the funeral and what you been through, and so I thought we’d go out. I mean, you couldn’t do it before, when that animal was alive. Now that he’s gone, I mean, let’s have some fun.”

Did you really say that? Did you shoot that man dead, out of loyalty? Or was Trish lying one more time?

“I don’t know, G,” Trish answered.

Mary couldn’t take it any longer. Trish had said she hadn’t told Giulia that the cops had the ring, so she could be tested easily. “Giulia, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what?” Giulia smiled expectantly.

“Did Trish ever lend you an opal ring?”

“Huh?” Giulia blinked, then froze, her back against the door. For a second Mary thought she might open it and try to run, but her gaze traveled slowly and almost fearfully to Trish. “I’m really…sorry, T. I never shoulda done it. I didn’t have the right.”

No. “So Trish did lend it to you?”

“Yeah, she did. For my wedding. I wanted it to be the borrowed thing. But I never gave it back.” Giulia turned to Trish again, her voice quiet. “I’m sorry, T. Really.”

“That’s okay, G,” Trish said, then looked at Mary, her chin raised. “See?”

I can’t believe this. Giulia did it?

Giulia continued, “I shouldn’t a kep’ it so long, I guess. I forgot I had it. I’ll get it back to you, T, I swear.”

Mary felt a chill. “You won’t able to do that so easily, Giulia.”

“Sure I will. I’ll just ask Yo for it. I lent it to her.” Giulia turned to Trish again. “It wasn’t my ring to lend anybody. I didn’t have the right, I know. I shoulda asked you, T, but I didn’t.”

“What happened?” Trish asked, with a frown, and Mary’s heart leaped up.

Giulia continued, “Yo was over my house, sometime last year, and she saw your ring in my jewelry box, and she knew it was yours, so she asked could she borrow it. I forget why.” She thought a minute. “It was Halloween, that’s right, and she wanted to be a gypsy for that party at Rock Lobster. Remember when we all went to that party?”

Trish nodded. “Sure, and we got so wasted on the appletinis?”

“Yeah, and I said that’s a good gypsy ring because opals are like crystal balls kinda, and I lent it to Yo without askin’ you.”

Mary almost cried with relief. “So Yolanda has it? Not you?”

“Yeah.” Giulia nodded, her dark curls bouncing. “Now can we go out? Or are you too mad at me, T?”

“I’m not mad, honey,” Trish told her with a soft smile.

So Yolanda did it. But why? The same reason? Loyalty to a girlfriend? Then Mary remembered that Yolanda was always the unhappy one, and she had a gun, too.

“We can ask Yo for it, in a minute.” Giulia gestured behind her. “She’s meetin’ us here, with Missy. I came separate because Joe and me went out to dinner.”

In the next minute, there was the sound of singing in the stairway, and the door opened. Yolanda stuck her head inside, her long hair swinging and a crooked grin on her face. “You guys decent?” she asked, guffawing, then burst unsteadily into the room, her leather coat barely covering a supershort black dress with black suede boots.

Giulia rolled her eyes. “You started drinkin’ already?”

“Okay, so I had a lil’ somethin’ somethin’.” Yolanda grinned. “Don’t worry, Missy’s drivin’. She’s outside, she hadda park.”

“Yo.” Giulia touched her arm. “Can you hear me?”

“Gimme a break. I’m not that out of it.”

“Listen, remember that opal ring?”

“What oval ring?”

“The opal ring I lent you, Trish’s ring. You wore it to the party, last Halloween.”

“At Rock Lobster? When I was the gypsy?”

“Yeah.”

“Told you I’m not that drunk.”

“Whatev. Trish wants her ring back.”

Yolanda blinked, confused.

“Do you have it?”

“No.”

“Did you lose it, you idiot?”

“No.”

“What happened to it?”

“I’m trying to remember.” Yolanda squinted hard. “That was the night with the appletinis, and it was so cold out, and we came back here, right?”

Giulia nodded. “Right, Yo. We came back here because we drank too much and we all crashed in T’s room, right here. We didn’t go back to T’s house because we knew Bobby would throw a fit.” She turned to Trish. “Remember, T? You, me, and Missy slep’ on the floor, and we let Yo have the bed because she passed out and we couldn’t move her?”

Trish kept frowning. “Yeah, I guess. But what happened to my ring, Yo?”

“I took it off in here,” Yolanda answered, pointing at the table. “I put it right under the lamp. I figured you’d see it in the morning. Didn’t you?”

Mary felt stricken, thinking of the implications.

Trish seemed to freeze. “You’re wrong. You didn’t do that.”

“Did, too,” Yolanda said.

“You’re too drunk to remember.”

“I’m not that drunk, and I remember.” Yolanda pointed again at the night table. “I put it right there. I was sure you’d see it. Anybody comin’ into the room woulda seen it. Ask your mom. I’m sure she saw it.”

Giulia looked over, nodding. “Yeah, T, your mom probably found it. I’m sure it’s safe.”

Trish looked stricken, and Mary didn’t know what to say. Suddenly Missy stuck her head in the doorway and called out, “Let’s get this party started!”

Trish scrambled off the bed and onto her feet. “Everybody, go. Now. I don’t wanna go out partyin’. I don’t feel good. I need to just chill, by myself.”

No. Mary rose, facing her. She wasn’t about to leave. “It’s not that easy.”