Read Online The Fire and the Veil (Veronica Barry Book 2) by Sophia Martin - Free Book Online

she did. Then she went and got Harry, who saw his leash and began dancing in circles, making it nearly impossible to put his harness on. Veronica often felt like she was letting him down, not taking him out to run and get his ya-yas out more often. Especially since her car was in the shop, it had been over a week since he’d gotten a decent walk. But he was a sweet dog and he didn’t seem to hold it against her.
    “Well, looks like somebody’s happy to be going to the lake,” Daniel said.
    “Folsom’s like Disneyland to Harry,” Veronica agreed. “Do you have a sheet on the back seat?”
    “I forgot.”
    She went to her linen closet and found an old flat sheet. “His paws will be muddy, I guarantee it,” she said.
    Once they had everything ready and everyone was in Daniel’s car, they set off for Folsom Lake. It was a half-hour drive from Midtown Sacramento. Daniel put the radio on—oldies, of course—and sang along with all of the songs. Veronica relaxed into the seat and let her mind wander as she watched the buildings and trees fly by.
    Why did Khalilah want to see her? She didn’t think it was just an attempt to renew the friendship. They hadn’t ever really been friends, anyway. When Veronica met Khalilah, she liked her. She admired her. Khalilah had emigrated from Tunisia. She spoke English, French, and Arabic. Not only was she credentialed in all three, but she held a doctorate and she was National Board certified, a high distinction for school teachers. Veronica was even a little intimidated by her. And Khalilah had been helpful, at first. She’d shared more information about Grant Slecterson and Angie’s difficulties at school than was strictly allowed. She clearly cared about her students.
    Could this meeting have something to do with Angie? Maybe one of the kids who had been part of Grant Slecterson’s crowd was up to something. Grant had had quite a little following at Saint Pat’s. Maybe someone there missed him enough to want to seek out Angie. Maybe they blamed her for his death?
    Veronica took a deep breath. It was a stretch. Grant was a sociopath, and he knew how to be charming. He was a handsome boy. The girls who hung around him at Saint Pat’s were not immune to his looks and charm, certainly, but that didn’t make them sociopaths, too.
    Could that dream she had on Friday night have something to do with it? Were the kids she didn’t recognize from Saint Pat’s? Were they Khalilah’s students? Was the girl she’s been in the dream one of Khalilah’s students? But how would Khalilah know she’d dreamed of her?
    There just wasn’t any way to know what Khalilah wanted. Over a month had passed since that day by the river. If she’d wanted to apologize, she could have done it weeks ago. So. She probably had never intended to apologize. So why do it now? Because she wanted something from Veronica? But what?
    “Something on your mind?” Daniel asked. They exited the freeway on Douglas. The rest of the way was on surface streets.
    “You’ll never guess who I ran into on Friday,” Veronica said.
    “Friday? I give up.”
    “Khalilah Jadeed.”
    “Really? You didn’t say anything before,” Daniel said.
    “I didn’t think anything of it,” Veronica said. “I saw her at Penny Coffee, for maybe five minutes. She acted sort of strange. She said hello, but she didn’t seem happy to see me, and then she hovered for a minute, and she left.”
    Daniel frowned. “That’s weird.”
    “Yeah. Well, I figured she was still… ambivalent, let’s say, about my ability. And I didn’t think about it. But she called me today, just a little while before you came over.”
    “She did?”
    “Yep. She apologized for the things she said to me.”
    “Like that you were trying to con Melanie? That you were working with Slecterson?”
    “Yep, those very things.”
    “How noble of her.”
    “Yeah, that’s kind of how I feel about it. I mean, she could have called me weeks ago if she really