Last night was fairly useless. I droned on for hours to Betsy about my newfound deep interest in all things political. She agreed to put in a word for me with her father about a possible internship.
"Al, what are your plans for today?" Aly groaned from under the pillow she had placed on her head.
"What time is it?" She said not moving her pillow.
"Almost 7:30."
"You're kidding right? My plans were to sleep in. Laze by the pool and recover from a hangover. Why?"
"I'm investigating the life and times of Angelina D'Agostino."
"I think even Angelina D'Agostino is still sleeping. Call me around noon and we'll talk."
"Later."
I stop by Starbucks and then the hospital to see mom. I know nothing has changed. Someone would have called but I still cannot help but hope. Logan is still there. He is asleep on the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room.
"Hey."
"Any news?"
"Anna Karenina is having an affair."
"I see. I borrowed some magazines from a friend. They might lighten the mood a little. I also brought you a Frappachino and a blueberry muffin."
"Thanks. Are you staying for a while?" I nod. "Then after I've eaten my muffin, I am going to run home and shower." After he leaves, I set about my research using my mother's computer and some "borrowed" Internet access. Between some of her bookmarks and cookies, I have a bit of success.
Angelina D'Agostino age 20. Pre-Law student at Loyola Marymount. Summer intern for Sen. Rimes. Last seen at work on July 13th at 7:10 pm. No parking tickets. Interestingly enough though, she does have a blog on Live Journal. Her last entry was dated June 25th. Her writings revealed nothing too earth shattering. She just seems like a normal girl with a slightly unhealthy obsession with Sno balls. I read every entry.
"Hey." Logan is standing next to me. I jump a little because I didn't see him come in. He puts a Skist soda on the table in front of me and picks up some of Aly's magazines I brought. "So, Veronica, are you a sun goddess or a sun worshipper? Let's take the quiz and find out. Hope you don't mind me answering for you." I hear Logan begin reading out loud and go back to my research. I manage to access a site of my mom's that tracks credit card transactions. I type in Angelina's information. Her cards have not been used since the 13th. I have just begun to look through her previous transactions for a pattern, when Uncle Wallace and my cousins come bursting through the door. I bookmark the site I was on and power down the computer. It's 11:00. I play with my cousins in the playroom set up off the waiting room for the next hour. It's a relief. Reuben is 7 and Lizzie is 5. They don't ask me about mom. My phone rings at exactly noon.
"Hello."
"Starsky, this is Hutch. I'm ready to roll."
"Hey Aly, why do you always get to be Hutch."
"I have a much better fashion sense than you and I'm cooler."
"I'll be by to pick you up in 10 minutes. Dress for undercover work at Loyola."
Loyola Marymount"Okay, we are here. Now what?" Aly asked.
"I don't know. I guess we can check out her room. I know the room number and her roommate's name." We get a campus map and set out to find Angelina's dorm room. I knock on room 1411 and sure enough Angelina's roommate opens the door.
"Hello?"
"Hi. Are you Jennifer or Angelina?"
"Jennifer. And you are?"
"Oh. I'm Betty and this is Melinda. We are perspective students. We were given your name by the Dean of Students." Jennifer looks very confused and steps away from the door. Aly and I use this opportunity to step inside. "Wow. So this is what our dorm room would look like next year."
"Umm. I didn't know you were coming. I was just about to leave for a study group meeting."
"Is Angelina around? Maybe she could show us the campus?" Aly suggests. Jennifer is scurrying around the room packing her book bag. While her back is turned I take a piece of tape from her desk and tape the door.
"Uh…no she is away for the weekend." Her bag is packed.
"It's okay. We have found our way around so far. No big."
"Great. Well, I hope you enjoy your visit." Jennifer literally runs down the hall. Once we are sure she is gone. We go back to her room.
"Your first B and E. Your mom would be so proud." We spend the next hour neatly ransacking Angelina's dorm room.
"Well, have you found anything?"
"Nope. Just school books, class notes, and clothes. You?"
"Nope. Grab her class notes and let's go."
"Okay, but why the class notes? Are you really that desperate to learn about Introduction to Torts?"
"Hey, you would learn all about me by reading the margin of my class notes for Sophomore English."
"Really? Let me guess. Your notes say "I wuv Bennett Durgan beary much!" Aly says holding up a teddy bear that was on Angelina's bed.
"Umm. No. Let's go." During our ride home, Aly reads through Angelina's notes.
"Hey. It looks like our girl Angelina has quite a crush on someone with the last name Rimes. She has written about 50 times Angelina Leigh Rimes."
"So, it looks like it is time for me to volunteer for the Re-elect Sen. Rimes Campaign."
"Why? Do you really think Lillian Mars Rimes sounds that much better than Lillian Mars Durgan?"
"God, for the last time Aly, I am not dating Bennett!" Just then, because it's how it works in movies as well as my life, my phone rings. "Hello Bennett."
"Did you know Neptune High spent 3200 dollars on lollipops? By lollipops I don't mean suckers I mean cheerleader underpants. I didn't even know cheerleader underpants were called lollipops. Now that I know, I can see the logic, well, present company excepted of course."
"So, I take it you have the financial records?"
"Yup. I printed them out for you. Wanna take a look?"
"Absolutely." I check my watch. We are still well over an hour from Neptune. "Can I pick them up around 7pm?"
"Dinner."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I'll hand you the print outs over dinner. Where would you like to go?"
"Umm. Anywhere is fine. I'll be at your house at 7."
"7:30! 7:30!" Aly leans towards the phone and continues to yell "7:30!"
"I mean, I'll be there at 7:30. Bye."
"Bye"
"Aly, what's that about?"
"Hey, I need at least an hour to get you date ready. Now drive faster!"
"At the risk of repeating myself, I am not dating Bennett."
"Right. Well, I still need at least an hour to get you ready for a dinner-out-with-a- guy-you-like-to-kiss-but-not-date-thingy."
Triton's GrillBennett refuses to hand over the reports until we have ordered. I try not to think about how date like this whole night feels. I'm wearing Aly approved date clothes, hair, and makeup. Bennett looks gorgeous with strategically tousled hair, a dark blue button down shirt that makes his eyes look even more stunning than usual, and jeans to make it all seem kinda casual. We order and before our drinks even arrive I blurt out, "Are we on a date?" Bennett looks shocked at the question.
"Yes."
"Oh." After a few moments of awkward silence Bennett pulls out the accounting report.
"Here, I figured you would appreciate this more than flowers."
"Thanks." I look over the report. Why did I think this would make sense? The report is just pages and pages of numbers. I put the report aside when our food arrives.
"Well."
"No idea."
"I sent a copy to my mom's accountant to see if he could find something." I automatically tense up. I mean, I don't think what we are doing is entirely legal. "Don't worry, I told him it's for a school project. It's believable. After all, it's school information. The information is probably public record anyway."