The New Girl Who Found A Dead Body.

By Milda Harris.

Chapter 1: The New Girl.

Chloe sat on her luggage, watching every pa.s.sing car speed by with interest, waiting for the one that was supposed to pick her up. They all seemed to weave in and out of the unending airport traffic with grace. Some even managed to stop and pick up loved ones, but her ride hadn't arrived yet. Chloe hoped that he'd be able to find her in the chaos that seemed to be LAX airport.

Chloe wondered if she'd recognize him. She hadn't seen Jake since the fifth grade, when he and his parents had moved from Illinois to California. Chloe's mother and Jake's mother had been best friends since grade school. Then they grew up and had children, only a few months apart. Thus, Chloe and Jake had been best friends as kids, always thrown into play dates when their mothers wanted to visit with each other. Then after the fifth grade, Jake and his family moved to California. Chloe and Jake had been best friends back then, but the distance and the excitement of growing up quickly made their friendship grow apart and turned it instead, into a fond childhood memory.

Chloe hadn't seen Jake since, but their mothers had still kept in constant contact. Jake's father died a couple of years before and Chloe's mother had gone back to the funeral to console her friend, coming back with stories of California and the now handsome, grown-up Jake. Chloe had been more excited to hear about California. She had already set her mind on going to California to college for film school. She had known that she was destined for California ever since the beginning of her freshman year when a girl in her cla.s.s started bragging about her brother in California who made movies for a living. It sounded like the perfect life and from that moment on, Chloe had made up her mind to go to California for film school. Her parents were supportive, but money became the big issue. An out of state school would cost money and lots of it and there was no way her family could afford to send her to an out of state college. Chloe spent about half of her junior year of high school sulking with frustration at the thought of being unable to follow her dreams until her mother had approached her with an idea. She and Jake's mother had talked about it and with a year's residency in California with Jake and his mother along with following a few guidelines, Chloe would be able to attend a California state school, as a resident. She was going to have to get a job too, after she got settled in at school, and make sure she fit all the requirements to a letter, but Chloe didn't think twice about it. She could do it. She agreed. She knew she would miss her friends in Illinois, but this was a chance to follow her dream and she couldn't pa.s.s it up.

Chloe could barely believe that she was in California about to start her new life. It was all really exciting. If only Jake would show up, so she could start the adventure. Jake was supposed to meet her outside the baggage claim when she arrived, but he hadn't shown up yet. Chloe looked at her cell phone, wondering if she should call him. She felt a little shy about it. She would rather see him face-to-face first. Maybe she should text him. Why was she so scared about seeing him again?

Chloe tried to picture Jake in her mind, but could only see the little boy with unruly brown hair and mischievous blue eyes that she had played with as a child. Before she had left for California, Chloe's mother had shown her a more recent picture, but Jake had been looking at the camera with only half of his face, so Chloe wasn't quite sure what to expect when she actually saw him. Hopefully the picture her mother had sent his mother had been better. Chloe cringed inwardly, hoping that her mother hadn't sent him her last year's school picture. It had not been the best picture of her life. She had woken up late for school and hadn't had any time to make herself look good for the photo.

Looking back, Chloe realized she should have friended Jake on Facebook. It would have been a good way to get to know him again before this meeting. His profile had been set to private, though, and although she had sat at the computer and tried to think of an email to send him or a way to add him as a friend she couldn't do it. She had just been too shy and the situation just felt too awkward. Besides, Jake hadn't sought her out either.

Chloe had tried her best to look good today, although five hours of flying had taken the curl out of her long blonde hair. She had quickly touched up her make-up before picking up her luggage, though, so she felt a little better about that. Still, she was nervous. She really wanted to make a good first impression. This was the start of the rest of her life.

"Chloe?" a male voice questioned from her right.

Chloe turned and stared into the bright blue eyes of Jake Spencer. Her breath caught and she felt her cheeks turn pink.

He was cute! He still had the unruly brown hair and his eyes had become an ocean shade of blue. A dimple creased the right corner of his mouth, making his smile contagious. Chloe smiled back.

"Hi, Jake?" Chloe said, attempting to recover from her sudden reaction to him.

"I'm so sorry! I was late and then I couldn't find you in the baggage claim and I left your cell number at home," Jake paused, catching his breath and then he grinned broadly, "It's so good to see you!"

And, before she knew it Jake was engulfing her in a hug. Chloe hugged him back and noted, with wonder, at how nice it felt to be in his arms. Chloe caught a hint of his aftershave as he pulled away.

"It's good to see you too," Chloe smiled back.

They just grinned at each other for a moment and then Jake looked away, "My girlfriend, Kate, should be here any second. She's circling, while I went to look for you. The airport's crazy."

Chloe nodded absently at his words, her mind suddenly elsewhere. Jake had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. She felt a surge of disappointment. She immediately pushed it away. She hadn't come to California for romance. Well, she hadn't come for just romance, she admitted. Some romance would be nice eventually, but she had come for the adventure and to pursue her dream. Besides, even if it couldn't be romantic, Chloe thought, she would enjoy getting to know Jake again. It had been a long time since they had been friends and she was eager to hear about his life since then.

They stood for a few moments in silence, watching the cars fly by. Chloe felt awkward and gawky, suddenly, standing next to Jake. He was at least a head taller than her, his shoulders broad and muscular. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes as he scanned the crowd for his girlfriend. She wondered if he was still the same boy she had known in grade school. She searched his features, looking for the friend she had lost to distance so long ago.

"There she is!" Jake motioned toward a blue convertible, which screeched to a halt next to them.

Wow, Chloe thought, as the sleek car pulled up. "Is this your car?"

"Yeah," Jake grinned. "I love this car."

Chloe looked at it in admiration. It was the ideal way to arrive in California. How much more perfect than a convertible driving by the ocean could you get? Chloe felt a warm glow of happiness form in her stomach. This was going to be great!

Jake busied himself with loading her luggage into the trunk and Chloe found herself gazing awkwardly at his girlfriend, Kate. She was the epitome of the California girl a tall, blonde, with cool blue eyes, and a killer sense of fashion.

Chloe felt old fashioned in comparison despite the efforts she had made to look nice in the airport bathroom before she had gotten her luggage. Her own blonde hair was a strawberry blonde, the curls she had tried to put in that morning, falling out, and she had on the normal jeans and baby doll T-shirt that were her usual ensemble. Chloe felt almost like she was staring at a girl from a magazine, sitting inside a perfect car. Kate, on the other hand, had sleek, bleach blonde hair, make-up that looked almost professionally done, a glowing tan, a mini-skirt, and a purple lacy tank top that fit her body perfectly. Chloe had a feeling that she was going to have a lot to learn if all the girls in California looked like Kate.

"Hi, I'm Chloe," Chloe smiled, stretching out her hand.

"Kate," Kate replied dismissively, pulling on big sungla.s.ses that hid her eyes completely.

Chloe felt her smile falter at Kate's lack of enthusiasm. She wasn't sure how to react to it.

"Okay, bags are in the trunk. Let's go!" Jake said, coming up behind Chloe.

Chloe was glad of Jake's appearance and crawled into the tiny backseat, as he sat down in the front, next to Kate. As they drove off, Chloe could almost feel Kate's cold eyes boring into her through the rear view mirror.

Chloe pushed the thought away. Perhaps Kate was a little unsettled by the idea of Chloe living with her boyfriend. When she had a chance, Chloe thought, she would rea.s.sure Kate that she had no intention of stealing Jake away from her. Chloe almost laughed at that thought. If you put her and Kate side by side, Chloe imagined, there would be no comparison. Kate would blow her out of the water in a beauty contest. Regardless, Chloe thought, she would never try and steal someone else's boyfriend, no matter how cute he had grown up to be.

As they walked up to Jake's house, Jake carrying the bulk of her luggage, Chloe couldn't help but wonder at the beauty of her new home. It was nestled into a hill above the ocean. Other houses were littered all the way down the hill, perched above blue water. The house itself was modest in size, but the exterior was cozy, almost like a chalet nested into the hill.

"Chloe!" Jeanette Spencer cried happily, seconds after Chloe walked into the house. "It's so good to see you!"

She enveloped Chloe in a hug and then stepped back to get a better look at her, "You look just like your mom at your age! I'm so happy you're here! It'll be like having her here with me!"

Chloe grinned, "Well, you might get the real thing in about a month. She's already itching to come visit me. Thank you so much, Mrs. Spencer, for everything. "

"First of all, no Mrs. Spencer's here. Call me Jeanette. And, secondly, it's such a pleasure to have you here! I would do anything for Stacy. This will be fun," Jeanette looked over at Jake and Kate. "Do we have time for dinner or are you all off to that party?"

"Party?" Chloe looked over at Jake and managed to see a quick look pa.s.s between him and Kate. Obviously, Kate wasn't thrilled with Chloe attending the party with them. She'd have to have that talk with Kate and soon.

"We weren't sure if you wanted to go, but there's a party tonight at this girl's house on the beach, sort of a back to school thing. It's up to you, though, no pressure. I understand if you're tired from the flight and all," Jake managed, without looking at Kate again.

"Um..." Chloe felt indecisive. On the one hand, she was tired from the trip across the country, but on the other, she was absolutely energetic with excitement about her new life and a party sounded like a great way to start it all out. It would be a great way to meet the people she'd be going to school with tomorrow.

"Why are you even thinking? You're young! Go out and have a good time!" Jeanette replied before Chloe could say anything and then she looked at Jake seriously, "Just not too good of a time."

"Mom," Jake replied, laughing uncomfortably.

"What? I worry. Especially, after your father died," Jeanette's smiling face crumpled for a moment, at the memory, but then regained it's composure.

"I know," Jake said, softly.

Chloe felt uncomfortable and glanced over at Kate, who was staring at the ground.

"A party sounds perfect!" Chloe said, breaking the uneasy silence. "Let me just change clothes and I'll be ready."

Although she had forced herself to sound more cheery and energetic than she felt, Chloe really did think the party sounded fun. She picked up her backpack and swung it onto her shoulder, her mind on what she might wear to make a good impression on her new cla.s.smates, when there was a crash. She had just knocked over a vase on the kitchen table with her backpack.

"I'm so sorry!" Chloe said, automatically dropping everything and stooping down to help clean up the broken vase and flowers.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Jeanette said, running into the kitchen for clean up supplies.

The white carnations that had looked so pretty on the kitchen table were now in a pool of water on the floor. Chloe couldn't believe she had just been so clumsy. Two minutes in their house and she had already broken something. Jake stooped down to help her, as Kate stood awkwardly nearby.

"Be careful!" Jeanette said, walking back toward them with towels and a bag for the broken gla.s.s and flowers.

As she said it, Chloe felt a piece of the vase she was collecting slice into her finger. A drop of blood escaped and stained one of the white carnations on the floor. Chloe felt a strange sense of foreboding. She should have taken the warning.

Chapter 2: The Party Girl.

Music from the party blared out into the street, as they made their way slowly to the house. The streets were jammed with cars. Back home in Illinois, people would have been complaining about the noise. Here, n.o.body seemed to mind, but perhaps, Chloe thought, that was because the nearest neighbor was quite a long ways away. They were in the ritzy suburb of Verdes, California where the houses were not only vast, but they also had ocean views and the more expensive ones even had beachfront properties. The party was being held at one of the more extravagant homes, in particular, at the house of Lora Kelly, who Chloe deduced was the most popular and rich girl in school.

They walked up to a ma.s.sive stone entryway and a maid answered the door, ushering them outside to a back pool area, opening out onto the beach. It was a gorgeous setting. Chloe felt as if she had just walked out onto a movie set. There were white chaise chairs flanking the pool and hundreds of tea lights decorated the area, giving off a romantic glow.

The deck was crowded with people, talking and dancing to the blaring music. There was a snack table on one side of the deck and what Chloe thought looked like a bartender mixing drinks, right beside it. It was a real party.

"Jakey!" A girl screamed, running up to Jake from out of the crowd, and throwing her arms around his neck.

Chloe glanced at Kate and saw what seemed like her now usual scowl of unhappiness deepen just a moment before she forced her face into the most animated expression Chloe had seen on it yet.

"Lora!" Kate yelled with apparent glee that n.o.body except Chloe seemed to realize was fake.

Lora and Kate hugged with apparent fondness, exchanging girlish pleasantries that Chloe tuned out. Chloe used the moment to take a look at the hostess of the party, the girl that lived in what Chloe deemed almost a palace, a surreal existence. Lora had dark brown hair that was up in a twist at the nape of her neck, with long tendrils hanging down, seductively. This girl was not an innocent girl, Chloe immediately thought. Her lips were stained with dark red lipstick and her eyes were smeared with a smoky eye shadow. She was wearing a jean skirt with a slit up the side of one of her thighs that ran almost to her hips. Her red shirt was almost backless and satiny with a plunging neckline in the front. A thin bright blue silk scarf completed her ensemble, giving her outfit some added color and although it would seem out of place on most people, it suited Lora perfectly. It made an outfit that would appear completely vampish on most girls, look s.e.xy and cla.s.sy instead. Lora also carried a sense of power with her, in her countenance. She knew where she stood in the world. Chloe was somewhat surprised that she sensed so much from Lora so quickly. Usually people didn't give her much of an impression at all, but Lora seemed to demand an impression.

As they pulled apart, Jake gestured to Chloe, "Lora this is Chloe. She's staying with me and my family for the school year."

"Hi," Lora said sweetly taking Chloe's hand in hers, "It's really nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too. Great party," Chloe replied, unable to keep the awe out of her voice at the luxury of her surroundings.

"Thanks," Lora said, taking a closer look at Chloe, "Hey, are you the girl Jake grew up with? He used to tell me the funniest stories about you."

Chloe looked over at Jake curiously before she replied, "Yeah, that's me."

She caught Lora looking over at Jake too when she looked back and Chloe couldn't help but notice the intense look that Lora had for him. Lora was interested in Jake despite Kate. Chloe glanced over at Kate, who was attempting to appear cheerful. Surely she knew that Lora was definitely interested in her boyfriend and yet, Kate was putting on a charade. Lora must really have some power at the school, Chloe realized, otherwise Kate would be as b.i.t.c.hy to her as she has been to me.

"It's so great to meet you!" Lora exclaimed, suddenly hugging Chloe.

"Thanks," Chloe responded, a little shocked at Lora's sudden zealousness.

"We'll definitely have to get to know each other," Lora crooned. "I want to hear about all of Jake's childhood secrets."

Lora winked s.e.xily at Jake. Chloe noticed Kate stiffen beside him. Jake laughed genuinely, not noticing the uncomfortableness of the situation.

"Ok, I need to go be the hostess. Have a great time at the party," Lora started saying and then turned to Jake, "We should talk later. Find me."

Lora gave Jake an intense glance and he nodded, silently, almost mesmerized by her. Then, as quickly as she appeared, Lora was gone. The raging party guests engulfed her.

Kate was silent for a moment, watching Jake. Chloe felt an uncomfortable silence fall over them, even though the surrounding party was loud and exuberant.

"She seemed interesting," Chloe found herself saying lamely, just to break the silence.

Kate turned to her, "You should watch out for Lora Kelly. She's not all that she seems to be."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, curiosity aroused.

"Don't listen to Kate," Jake said suddenly, "Lora's okay. She's just, well, she just gets caught up in all this. She's sweet at heart. And, it's been a rough year."

Jake and Kate exchanged a glance. Kate seemed on the verge of speaking, but changed her mind.

"Yeah, sure," Kate said, unconvincingly.

"Oh come on, Kate. Don't get upset about Lora again. She's just being nice. We are at her house. She's being a hostess," Jake replied.

Chloe felt extremely uncomfortable, but she couldn't think of a way to leave the conversation. She didn't know anyone at the party. There was n.o.body there that she could feign needing to talk with at that moment. She did not want to watch Kate and Jake fight, but she didn't know how to get out of it.

"Uh-huh," Kate said sarcastically. "That's why she gave you those bedroom eyes, huh?"

"That was not what happened," Jake said, annoyance tingeing his voice.

Chloe glanced at Kate and Kate suddenly seemed to realize she was there. Kate looked back at Jake.

"Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" Kate said to Jake, her eyes ablaze.

Chloe didn't blame Kate for being upset about Lora's seductive actions around Jake. A girl encroaching on her territory like that would have bothered any normal girl. Still, from the way Kate had acted toward her that day, when she had done nothing, Chloe couldn't help but wonder how a nice guy like Jake ended up with a girl like Kate. She seemed jealous of everyone. It was deserved in Lora's case, but not deserved in others. Kate seemed perpetually annoyed at Jake. Chloe thought that would wear on a guy. Perhaps there was more to their relationship than she was seeing, but Chloe suddenly thought that they wouldn't last too long if Kate kept getting upset with him.

Jake turned to Chloe, reluctantly, "We'll be right back. I promise. Just give us a couple minutes, okay?"

"Sure," Chloe said, feeling immensely alone, as she watched Jake and Kate disappear into the crowd.

Chloe looked around at the partygoers wondering what she should do until the quarrelsome couple returned. Everyone seemed to be mingling within their own cliques. Chloe knew she should be bold. She'd have to meet new people sometime, without Jake's help. Chloe walked away from her security spot. She'd find Jake and Kate later. Besides, they'd probably be fighting for a little while and no matter how much she wanted to get to know Jake, she didn't have any high hopes for becoming Kate's best friend. It seemed like a pointless endeavor.