He closed the door behind us and sat on the opposite side of the desk, clicking on a digital recorder. It felt like an interrogation suddenly. I shifted in my seat, my fingers grabbing at the cuffs of my shorts before Eric caught them in his hand.
“So, what have you got for me, guys?” the detective asked.
All eyes turned to me as if I was somehow the ringleader. I shot a worried glance at Eric who mouthed, “It’s okay.”
I cleared my throat and crossed my legs. “Well, I was noticing some strange behavior at the college...and it got me curious, so I followed a few leads and we...” I pointed to Eric. “Found a cabin that has a lot of evidence...had a lot of evidence.”
The detective’s head tipped to the side, his face wrinkled in utter confusion. “Okay, Miss Davis...”
“Call, me Caity, please.”
“Caity, you’re gonna have to go right back to the beginning.” He clicked on his pen. “Let’s start with the strange behavior, shall we? Who did you see acting strangely?”
I didn’t really want to tell him about my abilities or the fact that I could see things others couldn’t, but if I was going to tell the truth it was bound to come out. Sucking in a breath, I nibbled my lip and then just went for it.
I didn’t mention my sight, but I mentioned every other detail. At certain points the others would jump in. Piper shakily dragged out her photos and the two assignment papers. The detective listened with sympathy. I had his mask off for most of the interview and I knew we could trust him. His emotions ranged from anger to dismay, but throughout it all, he seemed to believe us...at least he wanted to. The idea of working a case that really meant something excited him. The tired, soul-weary look abated more and more as our story unfolded.
“So, you’re telling me the cabin is now up in flames and all the evidence we could get our hands on is probably in ashes?” He slumped back in his chair, clicking his pen on and off once more.
“Yes.” I nodded. “But we know so much. I mean, we know what these guys are doing.”
“I can hear that, but can you prove it? There’s no way I can get any kind of search warrant on speculation alone. I know you two are eyewitnesses to the cabin and you’ve eavesdropped on a few key conversations, but the cabin’s gone now. The word of a freshman student against a well-loved professor is hardly gonna fly.”
My shoulders fell with a sigh. “So, there’s nothing we can do?”
“Of course there is.” The detective’s round cheeks pushed out with his smile. “We just need to do some more digging. I’ll check in with the fire department and head up to the cabin, see if there’s anything we can salvage. We’re bound to find something. I’ll also interview this professor.”
“But then he’ll know.” I jerked in my chair.
“Excuse me?”
“If you start asking questions now, they’ll cover up the whole operation. They’ll go into hiding. You won’t be able to catch them.”
The detective’s eyebrows rose, his eyes glimmering with amusement as he looked at me. “So, what do you think we should do?”
“Well.” I cleared my throat and tried to sit up straight. “We—we should maybe try and catch them, or at least find more evidence. Make sure when they are convicted that there’s irrefutable proof, so they can’t get off on some technicality.” I shook my head. “Professor Hoffman presents himself as this amazing man, but he is driven and selfish and greedy. If we don’t stop him now, he’ll just set up somewhere else. I know he will.”
Detective Sullivan’s tongue pushed against his bottom teeth, making his lip stick out.
“We want to help.” Eric leaned forward in his seat. “We’ve already made some inside connections. We can get you more proof.”
Laughter filled the room as the detective tipped back his head. “You expect me to let a bunch of college kids go in and play cop? Forget it. There’s no way I can authorize that.”
“You don’t have to.” Piper flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Just say we ignored your instructions.”
“Yeah.” Eric grinned. “Tell us what we shouldn’t be doing.”
The detective cleared his throat. “You know I can’t do that. You four are to stay the hell away from this case and let the police do their jobs.”
Leaning forward, he clicked off the digital recorder and shot down our hopes with a fierce glare. Standing tall, he hitched his pants and walked to the door. His hand was on the doorknob when he turned to face us.
I could see a flash of guilt flutter across his features as he glanced at the camera in the corner of the room. I was tempted to follow his line of sight to figure out what he was up to, but then he started talking and it all came clear.
“I want you to leave this office and when you do, Eric, I want you to stay away from that Tiffany chick. Don’t find out any more about how the gambling thing works. Don’t place any bets. Caity, don’t use the connection you already have with the chem guy. Don’t try and find out what kind of substances he’s using or how he’s getting those prescription drugs...and stay the hell away from that delivery kid, Tyson. I don’t want you working out who he’s supplying and how many runs he’s doing a week. As for the team doctor, Scott, don’t go ahead and research him and don’t even think about trying to get your hands on one of the bottles of mineral water so it can be tested. Piper, you should probably stay away from that study group of yours too. There are probably way too many secrets being hidden there and you shouldn’t be trying to figure out what they are. Don’t get close to the other girls. They’ll have secrets of their own that they might not want to share with you.
“We all have to remember that this fire will have hit them pretty hard and they’ll be pissed...and no doubt scrambling to meet their next delivery on time. They’re vulnerable right now, so you need to stay away from them as much as you can. Am I making myself clear?”
He made eye contact with each of us. It was an effort to suppress my smile as we nodded.
“And get yourself new phones. If I think of anything else you shouldn’t be doing, I’ll give you a call.” He flicked the door open. “Oh, and I want to speak to your stepbrother.” He pointed at Eric, raising his eyebrow before turning down the corridor.
We all let out shaky breaths and looked at each other. Laughter skittered between us as we rose from our seats and headed for the exit.
We had some serious work to do, and as scary as that was, it also felt really good.
29
Eric
“Glad you’re feeling better, man.” I grinned as I held the new phone to my ear. Connor sounded back to normal. His recovery was epically fast, which was a relief, but also really disconcerting.
What had the doctor given him to make him so much better?
“So, you playing on Wednesday then?” If our theory on the betting thing was right, then I wasn’t worried about Connor’s next game. It was the other team that would be high for that one.
“Nah, man. I’ve been benched.”
“What? Why?” I stopped walking.
“Ah, it’s just the coach and Doc playing it safe. They want me to sit out the next game so I’m back to full health before I hit the court again.”
I frowned. Cameron was one of their strongest players. There was no way they were benching him because of the recent incident. They wanted the Bruins to lose, and this was the perfect excuse to weaken the team.
“I’m really sorry, man.”
“Yeah, that’s okay.” Connor sounded pretty gutted. “I gotta go.”
“Oh yeah, I just…”
“I’ll see you later, man.” The phone went dead before I was able to ask him about speaking to Detective Sullivan. I still felt kind of nervous about it. I didn’t want Connor pulled into this thing. I liked the idea of him staying blissfully unaware and unscathed while we worked behind the scenes.
We’d spent the weekend doing what we could. Scott was researching the doctor online and Piper was subtly trying to make ground with T
yson. She’d “accidentally” bumped into him on Saturday night. By chance, we’d spotted him storming through campus and followed him to a sports bar nearby. He’d hid himself away in a back corner booth. He was a jittery mess. Caity stood in the wings reading him for us and she actually felt really sorry for him.
“He must have wanted to die when he got up to that cabin and found it burned to a crisp,” she’d whispered as we watched Piper try to chat to him. “Imagine having to drive back and tell the coach and Hoffman. They must be livid right now.”
After about ten minutes, Piper had given up on the conversation. It probably didn’t help that she was trying to find out what he did for a job. She was pretending to look for work herself and when she spotted his Vita-Lite shirt, she thought it was the perfect opening.
Wrong!
The guy was an edgy, closed book. We’d walked away a little disheartened, but far from ready to give up. We’d spent most of Sunday jotting down potential conversation starters and writing lists of all the evidence we could gather. By the time Monday came, we were fired up and ready to go.
Rubbing my thumb over my new phone screen, I pursed my lips and shoved it back into my pocket. I’d try Connor again the next day. That morning I had to hunt down a blonde with a butterfly tattoo.
I started at the college paper office and was told to try a nearby cafe where her co-workers said she always ate breakfast. Thankfully, I lucked out big time and spotted her sitting at an outdoor table, drinking a coffee. Her slender legs were crossed and one of her red shoes bounced up and down as she swung her leg.
She looked tired and jumpy.
“Hey.” I grinned, approaching the table and sliding out the chair across from hers.
“Oh, hey.” Her smile was forced and once again, I wished Caity had agreed to come with me. She’d have seen everything I needed to know, but unfortunately, she was busy with Cameron.
My stomach knotted at the very idea of that slime ball being within a foot of her, but I had no choice over it.
I had to trust her.
“The guys at the paper told me I could find you here.” I leaned my forearms on the table and smiled at Tiffany.
She lifted her shades, pushing the fine, blonde hair off her face. “And why did you want to find me?”
I decided to get straight to the point and ignore the flirty glint in her eye. “I guess I can’t stop thinking about our recent conversation and the temptation’s gotten the better of me.”
Her lips quirked into a smile. “You want to place a bet?”
“Yeah.”
Her pink tongue brushed over her lower lip and she reached into her bag for her iPad Mini. Flipping back the cover, she punched in a code and then fluffed around opening an app.
“Which game?”
“The next one?” I shrugged.
She swallowed, her eyebrows rising. “Sorry, but bets for that one have already been closed.”
“Already? But the game’s not ’til Wednesday.”
She shrugged. “Rules are rules. You have to get your bets in early.” Her eyes remained locked on the screen. “Do you want to put some money down on next week’s game?”
Swiping her hand across the screen, she scanned down the page. “The Bruins are set to play Sacramento State on the twenty-sixth. Odds are in the Bruins’ favor. It’s a home game and their stats are stronger than Sacramento’s so far this season. If you want to put some money down, it’s probably a sure win.”
I eyed her carefully. “How sure?”
“Well, nothing’s guaranteed, of course. I’m just going off team stats here. The bet comes down to you.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “But what about Friday’s game?”
Her nose wrinkled. “That’s going to be a much closer game. I think your safer bet is the Sacramento one.”
I eyed her skeptically and she shrugged. “Hey, I’m just trying to help you out.”
Forcing a grin, I shuffled in my chair. “So, how much should I wager?”
“You really are a gambling virgin, aren’t you?”
I grinned, heat turning my cheeks red. “I’d love for you to teach me more. I think this could be fun.”
She snickered, running her long fingers up her arm. “I’d say put down a hundred to start. Once you get into it, you can bet more.”
“A hundred?” My eyebrows rose.
She leaned toward me, her eyes smoldering as her teeth brushed her lower lip. “Your return could be a heck of a lot more, you know. You have to trust me.”
I swallowed, moving back in my seat. “Okay, so can I place the bet now?”
“Do you have a hundred bucks on ya?”
“Not right this second.”
“Well, as soon as you do, give me call.” She lifted her coffee cup and finished the final mouthful. Flipping the cover of her iPad closed, she slipped it into her bag and stood from the table.
“And how about those gambling lessons?”
Her flirty smile faltered. “Maybe we can start those next week.” She winked and strutted off, her hips swaying as if she was expecting me to watch her. I turned away with a sigh and yanked out my phone, ready to leave my girl a voice message.
Caity picked up after two rings. “Hey, how’d it go?”
“I thought you were with Cameron?”
“I’m headed there now.”
“Okay, we’ll meet up when you’re done and swap notes.”
“Sounds good.”
“What are you gonna say to the mad scientist?”
Caity sighed. “I’m not sure yet. I think I’ll go from the angle of wanting a little boost for my upcoming exam...see where that will get me.”
“Be careful.” I could tell my voice was terse, but I couldn’t help it.
“I will,” she assured me with her sweet voice. “Did you place your bet?”
“Nah, she wouldn’t let me. They’ve closed it off for Wednesday’s game already.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does if they have absolutely no control over the game. They’ve pulled Connor because of the hospital incident, but I think that’s a lie.”
“I guess they can’t do much else without looking suspicious. Man, they must be scrambling right now.”
“She said I could place a bet for next week’s game.”
“Which means they must have a back-up plan already in place.”
“I want to finish this before things get worse. We need to get as much info as we can today and take it back to Sullivan.”
“Piper and I are heading off to another study group tomorrow. Let me get a read on Professor Hoffman first and then we can go to Sullivan after that.”
“Yeah, okay.” I sighed. “See you soon, Caity.”
“Love you.”
She hung up before I could respond. Running a hand through my hair, I scrunched my face and tried not to picture her with Cameron. The very idea of him breathing the same air as her made me want to hurl. The images of Piper lying on a couch being slobbered on by that asshole tortured me. I didn’t know how Scott did it. If Cameron ever touched Caity that way, no one could stop me from breaking his neck.
30
Caitlyn
I couldn’t stop swallowing. It was really annoying. It felt like it totally gave away my nerves and I really wanted it to stop before I reached Cameron. I could see him sitting at the wooden table we’d agreed to meet by. With Piper’s help, I’d fudged my way through a phone conversation, saying I really needed to talk to him.
Piper scribbled on a piece of paper: SOUND NERVOUS!! Like you want to be rescued!!
I shot her an incredulous look just as Cameron answered the phone. Just hearing his voice made me jittery, so the whole nervous thing ended up being a piece of cake.
He agreed to meet with me to discuss my “problems” and so I was heading his way, hoping to fool him into telling me everything I needed to know.
I paused on the grass, trying to rally myself. He turned toward m
e and I forced a smile. “Hi.”
Did that sound flirty enough?
Crap, I was bad at this.
I ripped his mask off and watched that lusty look burn across his face.
Man, that creeped me out.
I swallowed.
“Hey.” He flicked his fingers, telling me to come closer. His lop-sided grin did nothing to ease my nerves. It just added to his mad-scientist creep factor.
I sat down next to him and tried not to flinch when he placed his hand on my knee.
“Nice to see you.”
“You too. Thanks for meeting me.” I gazed down, hoping the vein in my neck wasn’t pulsing like a strobe light. I felt like my heart was going to bounce out of my chest.
“So, what’s the matter?” His cool, long fingers squeezed my knee.
“Well, I know you said this study group could help me, but I feel like I need something more.”
I gazed up at him through my lashes, going for coy.
“What kind of more?” His breath tickled the hairs at the nape of my neck and for a second, I thought he was about to kiss me there.
I sniffed sharply and swiveled so I could face him.
“Well, I have two big assignments due that I’m struggling with, and then my Critical Reading and Writing professor told us yesterday that we have an important test on Thursday. I’m freaking out that I’m not keeping up with the workload. I just...” I looked to my fidgeting fingers, hoping he’d think the action was because of what I was asking, not his proximity to me. “You study organic chemistry.” I caught his gaze. “I don’t suppose you have any organic substances that could help me concentrate? I just need a little boost.”
His bulging eyes studied me. I still had his mask off and I saw a flutter of suspicion race across his features.
I swallowed and gently held my neck, trailing my fingers down the neckline of my shirt. Piper told me it worked like a charm...and she was actually right. His eyes tracked my hand and came to land on my non-existent breasts. This didn’t seem to matter; the lust returned in a flash, over-riding any suspicions he might have.
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