Model Menace 2 by Carolyn Keene

“Oh, come on!” she cried. “Don’t be such a Debbie Downer. This has been a tough morning, sure, but…” She trailed off, seeming to have trouble coming up with anything positive to say.
    “But what?” Akinyi asked from the seat behind me. “Every cloud has a silver lining? April showers bring May flowers? I got it, Deb—and thanks, but I’m just going to go ahead and be sad for the time being.”
    Deb cringed, clearly hurt by Akinyi’s harsh tone. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “Are you upset about Josh?”
    Akinyi snorted, looking out the window. “You think ?” she asked sarcastically.
    “Akinyi,” I broke in, trying to use soothing tones to relieve the tension in the car, “do you want to talk about what happened with Josh? I mean, of course you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but…maybe it would help you feel better?” And maybe it would help me solve this case, I added silently.
    Akinyi frowned, shaking her head and looking down into her lap. As we stopped at a light and she raised her head again, I could see tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “It’s so silly,” she said, sniffling. “Basically, he was jealous.”
    “Of what?” I asked, at the same time Pandora asked, “Of who?”
    “Of Jamal ,” Akinyi replied, as though the mere thought were ridiculous. “Can you even?”
    I frowned, not sure where she was going with this. “Why would Josh be jealous of Jamal?” I asked. “Had he flirted with you?”
    Akinyi smirked ruefully. “No. Worse than that,” she replied, then sighed. “Jamal and I were together for a couple weeks last October, while Josh and I were broken up.”
    My mouth dropped open, and I forgot to go when the light turned green. After a couple steady honks from behind me, I shook my head and got on my way.
    They were together? I didn’t even know they knew each other!
    “How did you meet Jamal?” I asked.
    “Syd and Vic introduced us,” Akinyi replied. “Jamal was on personal leave, and he came by our apartment for a dinner party Syd and Vic decided to throw. Josh and I had just broken up over some stupid e-mail, and I thought Jamal was really cute and intelligent, so…” She threw up her hands in a motion that seemed to say, That was that.
    “Wow!” cried Deb. She sounded so excited, I thought she might end up in Akinyi’s lap. “You and Jamal! Who would have guessed, right?”
    Pandora was turned around in her seat, still stroking her crystal as she gazed at Akinyi with a curious expression. “How did you leave it?” she asked. “You know, when Jamal went back to Iraq?”
    Akinyi shrugged. “We enjoyed each other’s company, and now it’s over,” she replied. “A week later Josh and I were back together. I never should have told him about Jamal. Ever since then, he’s had this complex about my still being into him.”
    “Did you keep in touch?” I asked.
    Akinyi shook her head. “No. He wrote me a couple e-mails, but I was back with Josh, so I didn’t answer. But then at the party…” She sighed and broke off.
    Deb was watching her with wide eyes. “What?!” she demanded. “What! Tell us, Akinyi, what happened?”
    Akinyi looked thoughtful, and a tiny smile appeared on her face. “Jamal pulled me aside,” she replied. “I went upstairs to use the ladies’ room, and he saw me and took me outside. He told me he thought about me all the time, and he thought there might still be something between us.”
    “Oh my gosh!” Deb cried, bouncing up and down in her chair. “And then? You said?”
    Akinyi’s expression turned sad again. “I told him no,” she replied, “because I really loved Josh. And I did! I mean, I do.” She closed her eyes and let out a little sob. Deb leaned over and wrapped her arms around Akinyi, and Akinyi looked horrified and grateful at the same time.
    Beside me, Pandora was watching all of this with a pensive expression. “It can be hard sometimes,” she said finally,