A Killing in the Valley Read Online Free PDF Page B

School’s only started a week.”
    “Yeah, it’s tough coming to a new school, especially your senior year,” Maria said sympathetically. “Maybe we could do stuff together,” she casually offered.
    The new girl almost blushed, either from embarrassment at not having any friends or chagrin at being an outsider, Maria didn’t know. Or care. She was available, that was what counted.
    “That would be…nice,” Tina said in a soft voice.
    Maria moved in for the kill. “So what’re you doing now? Do you have any plans for this afternoon?”
    Tina shook her head. “No.”
    Maria smiled at her, as if an idea had just come to her. “Hey, listen. Me and a couple friends are going to hang out for a while.” She turned and looked at the two guys who were sitting at her table. “We can get them to score some beer or tequila. They have marijuana, too,” she added in a conspiratorial whisper.
    Tina didn’t do drugs, and she rarely drank beer, or any alcohol. But she didn’t want to blow the opportunity to become friends with Maria Estrada before she even had a chance. Maria was one of the most popular girls in the school. She always had a posse hovering around her. Being a friend of Maria Estrada’s would certainly help her social position, which was basically nonexistent.
    She didn’t have to smoke any dope, and one beer wouldn’t be the worst thing to do in the world. She looked over at the boys. They were older, and Anglo. She had never been out with an Anglo boy; she hardly dated at all, her parents watched her like a hawk.
    She was a senior in high school, almost eighteen. This was the way American kids lived. The way she wanted to be. “Okay,” she said to Maria. “I’ll go with you.”
    The girls met the boys around the corner, so they wouldn’t be spotted by anyone they knew. They picked up a twelve-pack of Dos Equis at an AM/PM minimart and drove up Mission Ridge to Franceschi Park, at the top of the Riviera. “It’s an awesome place,” Maria promised, as she instructed them how to go. “And hardly anybody knows about it.”
    Tom drove; she sat next to him. By the time they were halfway there her hand had found a resting place halfway up his thigh. Tina was in back with the other boy. They sat further apart from each other, neither one comfortable in making the first move.
    The park was empty except for the four of them. Maria and Tom led the way down a narrow trail, the other two lagging behind.
    “You were right. This is a fantastic view,” Tom remarked, as he looked down at the entire city laid out below them. He opened a can of beer and handed it to her, then cracked one for himself.
    “It’s really pretty at night,” Maria told him. “All the city lights shining, and the harbor.”
    “I’ll bet,” he answered. It was pretty, but he hadn’t come up here for the scenery. “You wanna smoke?”
    “Well, yeah,” she answered, like he even had to ask. Wasn’t that why she was here with him, among other reasons?
    He took a pipe that was already packed from his shirt pocket. He lit it, took a hit, passed it to her. She inhaled deeply, sucking a lungful of smoke down her throat. She held it in for a few seconds, exhaled in a raspy cough, swallowed a mouthful of beer. “That’s good,” she croaked. She took the pipe from him and hit it again. She could feel the high coming on, like she was floating.
    He pulled her to him in a hard kiss. She pressed her body up against his. Through his pants, she could feel his erection. She broke the kiss off and led him around the corner of the trail. As soon as they were out of sight of the other two, she turned to him and they started grinding against each other.
    Behind them, Tina and the other boy stood together awkwardly. “Do you want a beer?” he asked her.
    His name was Billy. The way he’d said it when he first introduced himself made her think it probably wasn’t his real name, just like she didn’t think the other boy’s name was Tom. It