“God, this is the life. Sitting outside in the nice warm sun, tanning.”

“Except for the part where you can’t tan.”

“Or feel anything at all but that’s what I get for not looking both ways when I crossed the damn street.” Claire snorted as she tilted her head back, as if to experience the warm heat of the sun’s rays. It wasn't really the tanning time of year but it was still quite warm enough to sit out.

“We are so lucky my mom’s backyard is so set back from anybody else’s because if I got caught talking to thin air I’d get locked up so fast.” Renee shifted lazily in her sun lounge, adjusting a very expensive pair of Gucci sunglasses. She’d had a pair just like them in her own life, only they’d been cheap knock offs.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to get you by yourself?” Claire grouched. “Honestly, you were never that close with Lou before.”

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed,” Renee replied grimly, twisting a lock of hair around her finger and grimacing at how dry it felt. Between colouring, chlorine water and the sun, she needed to go buy some seriously intensive conditioning treatments. “Neither of them will leave me alone. And after yesterday Mom is threatening to call Quentin and make him stay here, but if she calls the bodyguard he’ll call the damn personal assistant.”

“Marcia?” The brunette shuddered. “I don’t know about personal assistant. I think she sees her job more as Fuhrer.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Don’t need to, you’re the poor sucker living through it.”

“So come on, enough with the chit chat, what did you show up here for?”

“Checking on you.” The ghostly apparition shrugged, a gesture that Renee had seen a million times before but still found exceptionally strange.

Having said that – well, thought it – Claire was starting to freak her out less and less. She actually kind of liked it this way; she had her best friend back. It would never be quite the same but it was the best she could do and a lot more than most people got when somebody close to them died.

“You had any more ideas on whether you want to stay or go?”

“Every time I think up a reason to stay I find a counter argument why I should go.” She groaned, whining. “I feel bad for Mom and Lou so I don’t want to leave them here but then I think of my parents back home and I don’t wanna leave them either. And then I think that I like the performing and stuff but then I think how the whole publicity thing just sucks.”

“Yeah, I saw that mob you got into this morning.” Claire winced. “I’m amazed you didn’t lose more than your hat.”

Renee had made the cardinal error of assuming that because she and Louise had managed the mall by themselves that she could step out to the grocery store with her mom. That had been a mistake of epic proportions; her mom had then needed to go pick up her dry cleaning and they had hit the boulevard only to find there were tons of people around. A few girls had started screaming that it was Renee and from then on the crowd of people surging towards them had only got bigger – the police had eventually had to stop traffic to get them out of there. Then the officer in charge had made some terrible excuse about needing their witness statements so he could take her down to the station to sign five million autographs for his colleagues and their various kids.

“I hate it. So much. And I hate how this Renee is… I mean I know I never met her but from everything I find out about her she’s like this completely career obsessed hooker outfit wearing…” She trailed off, running out of words to describe the contempt she felt for her alter ego, however unfair that might be.

“You don’t want to leave her back home but you don’t want to leave her here where she has power and money,” Claire sympathised. “God help Justin. I feel sort of sorry for the dude; I mean stupid blindness aside, he seems to care about her. You. Her… help me out here.”

“I think I remind him of how she used to be,” Renee said quietly, staring into the pool.

“Huh? That was deep and meaningful, what the hell do you mean?”

“It’s like… I think the fame and stuff screwed with her head, but before she was the same way I am… and she was that way when they met and I think I remind him.”

“You know…” her companion mused thoughtfully, “that could explain why he was so willing to shut his eyes to the weird way you’ve been acting.”

“Gee, thanks, Clara.”

“You know what I mean Ren… he’s clutching at straws.”

“Yeah,” she conceded. “I just… I don’t get how he hadn’t realised she was getting ready to break up with him. I don’t even get why she was. I mean, he’s a bit of an ass but he’s sweet.”

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Is someone warming up to Mr Timberlake? L-O-V-E love in the air?”

“No.” Renee glared at her. “I don’t love him. I like him but I’m not in love with him. I just don’t want to leave him to get dumped as soon as she gets back, you know? He’s been nice to me.”

“Man it must suck to be you right now.” The brunette shook her head sadly, staring at the best friend who in the space of just over a week seemed to have aged about ten years.

“God, I just… how did she end up like that?” Renee spat out, throwing her hands up in the air. “I mean am I really just the kind of stupid bitch who’d get all caught up in being famous and shit? I mean it’s like you said, she’s basically me at the core… I mean God, would that seriously happen? Would I eventually wind up like that if I stayed here? I mean, if this is what I end up like then I’m glad I gave up the stupid piano and crap.” She blathered on in her little rant, oblivious to the light dawning on Claire’s face. “I mean so many times I thought about picking it back up or getting back into music but I’m glad I didn’t now. What the hell do you look so happy about?”

“I got it.”

“Got what?”

“What this is all about.” Claire reached a hand behind Renee’s head and gave her a triumphant kiss on the forehead, to which Renee gave a violent shudder.

“God will you quit doing that? You’re a ghost, remember, it’s freaky!” She ran her fingers over the spot, rubbing vigorously to try and get rid of the cold feeling.

“Don’t you get it?” She grinned broadly. “This is why you’re here. And there was me thinking you’d just screwed with the cosmos but all along it was meant to be…”

“You are making the kind of sense that doesn’t.” Renee replied crossly, confused.

“You were wondering why she got famous and you didn’t, why you quit and she didn’t, why she’s become what she is and if you’d do the same. That’s the question you’re here to answer sweetie. That’s why they sent the necklace your way and not hers. I think. I’ll have to ask the boss but I think that’s why they set this up… don’t you get it?”

“Thought you said it was just destiny?” If she’d been a little unsure before, she was totally lost and bewildered now.

“It is. And you’re here to find yours,” Claire whispered. “I think I’m done here. Just go find that necklace and keep thinking on it.”

Unlike her usual fading into thin air, she disappeared with a flourish and a plume of bright smoke. It was the fastest of all the disappearances Renee had seen her do. It was also the most confounding, bizarre and infuriating.

***

With a deep frown, Justin clicked off the phone.

He felt strangely hollow.

In some ways he thought he should be crying, screaming, throwing things across the room or just getting violent at something. In some ways he thought he should be sitting somewhere in quiet dignity, with a trembling mouth but his chin held high. It wasn't so often you got a phone call like that: The kind that could rock your world to its very foundations within the space of about ten minutes.

And he knew it couldn’t have been made lightly. Trace had obviously had reason to believe the astonishing catalogue of Chinese Whispers he’d recited back to his best friend as he sat in the plush setting of his Chicago hotel, unable to believe what he was hearing.

It sounded like a bad tabloid story – was apparently due to become a bad tabloid story if what Trace had heard was true. The grapevine had been talking and a solitary grape had figured he could make a few bucks turning the tables and making some cold, hard cash while he was at it; the world thought Justin Timberlake had cheated on Renee Anderson when in fact it was the opposite way around. If cheating while on a break counted - he really wasn't too sure of the rules.

Then again, was that why Renee had been so willing to let his little indiscretion slide… because she’d made a far bigger one?

The story went that after they’d had their little spat – one due to months of being away from each other too often and fighting every time they did manage to spend time together – Renee had taken the taste of freedom she’d so craved when she’d yelled at him that she was sick of him holding her back. She’d gone out, had some fun with various guys and then gone ahead and started an actual thing with some dancer guy she’d worked with. A guy she’d dumped the second Justin had called her to say he wanted to work it out.

That wasn't the part he hated so much. He didn’t like it very much but if she had dumped the dancer and come running immediately back to him that wasn't so bad, right? The bad part was the rumour that had started saying that Renee was regretting her decision and had got back into contact with the guy, merely biding her time until ditching her boyfriend for good.

He really hated that part.

More than anything it confused the hell out of him – in the month they’d been apart she might perhaps have been a little distant, but that was to be expected when they were just working it back out after a bad fight. She’d been extremely strange when they’d met back up for the VMAs but then she had been so sweet, like a changed person almost. They’d done more talking than they had in almost a year; it was like they were getting to start over. And now he heard this?

The distinct tones of N.E.R.D began from his cell phone and as far as he could recall the particular song meant it was either Pharrell or his momma. A glance at the caller ID told him it was the latter.

“Hey Mom.”

“Hey baby, how you doing?”

“I’m okay.” He shrugged, not that she could see him.

“No you’re not, what’s up?” Lynn knew, as she always did. Why was it always the few days she took to go back to Tennessee instead of travelling with him that he chose to have some problem that would worry her to death?

“Just a couple press issues, nothing to worry about,” he told her. “So are you still coming out day after tomorrow?”

“Actually that was why I was calling… how much do you love your mother?”

“Fishing for compliments, I see how it is… fine. I love my momma more than anybody else in the whole world. That good for you?”

“Could have done with some enthusiasm but alright.” Her southern tones rang in his ear. “I arranged for your next round of promotion to be in Florida. Thought you could do with sleeping in your own house, and I hear a whisper that Renee’s hiding out at her mother’s so maybe you could go see her and she’ll cheer you up.”

Well that was certainly interesting. “Thanks, Momma, you’re the best.”

“I know. I’ll fly out there and meet you there, how does that sound?”

“Great.” It was just great. He was going to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Renee Anderson. He was going to figure out what was up with her - he swore it. And the opportunity had just fallen right into his lap.