I was mad. Seething mad. And shouting, apparently, because I could see Marco coming out from behind the counter.
“We got a problem out here?” he asked, looking at the grown men and then the other girls and me.
“We was just expressin’ our disappointment with the football season and she started shoutin’.”
“Liar.”
Edson smiled at me. “Takes one to know one.”
“Your pie is ready,” Marco said, his eyes now pinned on Edson. How that inbred piece of crap didn’t run from the building screaming was beyond me. Maybe he was too stupid to know better. That seemed highly likely.
Eventually the two men turned and left. Marco hovered long enough to see them drive away. Brooklyn wasn’t playing around. He was street smart, and I appreciated that fact. He also, apparently, had my back.
“Thanks,” I said. That single word was full of so much meaning in that moment. I followed him to the counter and took the box that he handed me. I went to pull it away, but he held it firm for a second, pinning dark brown eyes on mine.
“What that kid did to you and your friend … it wasn’t right. There’s a code—a line you don’t cross. He crossed it.” He looked out the door after the two that had left. “And so did they.”
There was so much subtext to his comment that I needed more time than I had to sift through it all. But what was loud and clear was that even Marco, who had clearly done bad things in his life, was on my side. At least for now.
“Thanks,” I said again, taking the box from him and turning to leave. On the way out, I walked past the girl who had come to my aid and her friend. They both sat in the booth, glaring at me. Seeing their expressions, I opted not to say goodbye.
They were tough girls with what sounded like even tougher lives, and though I didn’t recognize either of them, they were clearly local enough that guys like Earl and Edson knew exactly who they were. I remembered what they’d said to the one who’d spoken up—what her circumstances were—and I realized that she and her friend were just like the girls Dawson and I were investigating. Throwaway Girls. Then I thought about how many girls at our school were in similar predicaments: junkie parents, foster care gone wrong, no money or means of any sort.
The enormity of the situation slammed down on my shoulders.
If girls like those were indeed the target of the prostitution ringleader, then Jasperville County was ripe for the picking. One of the poorest counties in the state that boasted a record-breaking opioid problem and rampant unemployment. So many in town were struggling. I wondered just how many girls were missing from Dawson’s whiteboard.
I doubted we’d ever really know.
TWENTY-FIVE
At lunch the next day, Tabby and I had an unexpected visitor. I looked up from my soggy noodles to see Dawson storming toward our table like I’d just set his car on fire. I excused myself and got up to cut him off at the pass, not wanting Tabby to overhear us.
We found a quiet corner to tuck ourselves in before Dawson said a word.
“Callahan has some skeletons in his closet.”
“Ha! No surprise there.”
“Looks like he had a messy divorce when he was younger. His wife alleged that he was having sexual relationships with students.”
“Holy shit!” I all but shouted, then slapped my hand over my mouth.
“That’s not the best part.”
“Well don’t keep me in suspense!”
“It seems that everything regarding those allegations just went away overnight. The whole thing was dropped, just like that. Callahan moved down here to start over and the rest is history.”
“The AD is good at making troublesome things go away,” I said, realizing what had likely happened.
“Exactly. I’ve got to go to the bureau today and sit down with my team so we can sift through his financials, his ex-wife’s—see if the reported allegations named names, and, if so, follow up with them. We need to see how much of a cleanup job this was, if it was one at all.”
“This is too much of a coincidence to actually be a coincidence, right?”
He looked at me for a moment, his sharp eyes boring through mine.
“I intend to find out. Until then, I want you to steer as clear of him as you can.”
“With pleasure.”
“You’re on the pimp’s radar—don’t forget that. If it is Callahan, I don’t even want you to be the last one in the room with him after class, got it?”
“Yeah. I got it.”
He nodded, then flashed me a smile as he leaned into my ear. “I mean it, Danners. No more off-book stuff.”
Then he left without another word.
I returned to find Tabby staring. Assessing. “What was that about?”
“Alex wants to talk to me about getting back together,” I said, not knowing how else to satisfy her curiosity.
“Looks to me like you two already are. That’s the rumor going around school.…”
“I’m sure it is.”
“Do you want to? Get back together with him?” she asked, her tone so, so careful.
I hesitated before responding. I’d done everything I could to get out of playing Dawson’s girlfriend, but with my late nights at his house and our intimate hallway convos, I wondered if it wouldn’t be better if I just surrendered to the rumors. It’d be the fastest way to make them go away.
And salvage some shred of my reputation.
“Ky?” she said, concern etching her face. “You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I spaced out there for a sec. But, yes, I do want to get back together with Alex.”
She forced a smile to hide her #TeamAJ disappointment. I forced one in return, wondering what Dawson’s reaction would be when I filled him in on the change of plans. If history was any indication, I’d probably want to hit him.
Or break up.
* * *
After school on Tuesday, Tabby and I raced over to Garrett’s house. I didn’t ask about the monster-sized plastic bag of shiny things she’d pulled from her locker and stuffed in my trunk. I wanted to cling to plausible deniability when his interrogation set in. “No, Garrett, I had no idea that she was going to throw glitter confetti at you when you walked in.…”
We walked up to the house and knocked. Seconds later, Sheriff Higgins opened the door.
“Girls,” he said with a nod. “Garrett said you all might be comin’ by.”
“I have decorations!” Tabby exclaimed, holding up her bag of shenanigans.
“Do you mind if we set up while you go to get him?” I asked, doing my best to act like this was a totally normal encounter. It wasn’t, of course. Me taking the rap for Sheriff Higgins left his cover intact with whoever had his claws in him. It also left a tension between us so thick that I prayed Tabby’s preoccupation with streamers would keep her from noticing.
“That’d be just fine,” he replied, stepping aside to let us in. “I’m headin’ out now. I’m afraid that doesn’t leave you with too much time.”
“Don’t worry, sir. We won’t need it.” Before he could reply, Tabby had dumped the entire contents of her bag on the floor, sorting through it to find what she wanted to start with.
“I’ll see y’all in a little bit then. Kylene, could I have a quick word outside?”
“Sure thing,” I replied. “You gonna be okay without me, Tabs?” She looked up from under a mountain of sparkly crap and smiled.
I took that as a yes and followed the sheriff out the door.
“You need something?” I asked, walking over to meet him by his cruiser.
“I want to check in with you—make sure you aren’t gettin’ yourself into any more trouble with that FBI kid.”
“Agent Dawson?” I said, emphasizing his title. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I know he’s lookin’ into some old runaway cases. I hope he isn’t kickin’ a hornet’s nest with that.”
“What do you know about them? Is this one of those times you look
ed the other way?” Even though I’d figured out that he couldn’t have been involved in all their cases, given the timeline and when Sheriff Higgins had been roped in by the AD, I threw the jab out there anyway.
He scowled in response. “I know you don’t think much of me after all that happened, Kylene, but you need to understand that I want the answers to what’s goin’ on around here, same as you.”
“I’d like to believe that. I really would.”
“But you don’t.”
I shook my head. “I’m just not sure I can trust you. Trust anyone, for that matter.”
“What happened to you at the hospital—it’s got you spooked.” An observation, not a question. “You look tired, Kylene. Those black circles under your eyes say as much. You look skinny, too. You eatin’? Sleepin’?”
“I’m getting by,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.
His eyes narrowed. “Has that fed got you helpin’ him with this case?” he asked, leaning closer to me. He was angry, but not at me. It was that kind of anger parents shared when they were watching out for one another’s kids. When I didn’t answer, he bent down to level his gaze on mine. “I want you to listen to me, girl. If what he’s gettin’ into leads back to the AD, you don’t want to be anywhere near that, you understand?”
“Who is this guy?” I asked, voice thin and soft.
“I don’t know,” he replied, resting his hands on my shoulders. “But I pray to God you never find out.”
With that, he gave me a nod and climbed into his car. Seconds later, he was gone, leaving me in his driveway alone with my thoughts. Then the door opened and Tabby popped her head out.
“Hey! Are you going to help me, or what?”
“Yeah. I’m coming.”
I walked back to the house, forcing a smile, but Tabby saw right through it.
“Is Garrett’s dad mad at you about something?” she asked, draping her arm around my shoulders as she ushered me in.
“He’s just worried about Garrett for the same reasons your dad is worried about you. Being around me seems to court a certain amount of disaster, you know? And, if I’m being honest, I don’t do much to counter that.”
She frowned, then tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
“You stand up for what’s right, Ky. That’s not something you should apologize for.”
“I should when it almost gets my best friend killed.”
That truth gave her pause. “But all that’s over now,” she said, thinking she was pointing out the obvious.
Oh, how wrong she was.
“Yeah. I guess the sheriff will come around eventually.”
“He will once he sees how awesome these decorations are!” she exclaimed, holding up a massive WELCOME HOME GARRETT sign. “Nothing says friendship like a well-decked-out party.”
I had no choice but to laugh at that.
“Then I guess we’d better streamer the bejeezus out of this place to get me out of the doghouse.”
We went to work on Tabby’s creation until not a surface in the Higginses’ living room was bare. Tabby took a step back into the kitchen to admire her vision come to life and gave a nod.
“I think it’s ready.”
I heard the crunch of tires on gravel in the driveway outside.
“And not a moment too soon.”
I ran to the door and threw it open wide to find AJ making his way to the house. He smiled when he saw me and picked up his pace.
“Is he here yet?” he asked.
“No. I thought you were him, actually.”
“Ah! That would explain the open-door treatment.”
“It would,” I replied, jokingly closing the door on his face. He caught it before it shut.
“That was harsh,” he said, feigning affront. I merely shrugged in response.
“Hey, AJ!” Tabby called. “Glad you could come.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it.”
It was then that AJ realized just how ridiculous the Higginses’ living room looked. He turned his dubious expression to me, and I shook my head no. If I didn’t get to rain on Tabby’s parade, he didn’t, either.
“Here they come!” Tabby shouted, jumping down from the couch.
“Are we supposed to hide or something?” AJ asked, looking at me confused.
“I’m pretty sure our cars in the driveway are a bit of a spoiler,” I said. “She’s just excited. Let it go.”
Tabby threw the door open, bouncing on her toes as she waited for Garrett to slowly walk up to the porch.
“Easy girl,” I cautioned. “You can’t pounce on him. He’s still not in great shape.”
My warning went in one ear and right out the other. In two steps, she snatched him up in her skinny arms and hugged him like she’d been waiting to do it her whole life. Thankfully, she wasn’t strong enough to do any damage, but Garrett still winced a little until I pried her off him and shooed her into the house.
“I tried to stop her,” I said, smiling up at him. Then I gave him a hug, too.
“Well, I think we both know how in vain that effort was from the get-go.”
He draped his arms around my shoulders and did his best to squeeze. I did my best not to be bothered by how weak it was.
“Hey, man,” AJ said, coming up behind me. I slid out of the way so they could do their bro-hugging and backslapping, which was really more of a light tap on both their parts. I guess the two of them had hashed things out. It felt amazing to see them together and friends again. It felt right.
“Just wait till you see what Tabby did,” I said. Noting my overly enthusiastic tone, Garrett shot me a sideward glance and I nodded. He knew how much she’d loved the decorations at homecoming. He’d already put two and two together.
“I love it, Tabs,” he said as he walked in, eyes wide. “You girls have been busy.”
“Do you really like it?” Tabby asked. The poor girl held her breath, like our approval meant the world to her.
“I do. I think it’s awesome.”
“Why don’t we all let Garrett get settled on the couch,” Sheriff Higgins said from behind his son. “He’s home, but he still needs rest, and if you tire him out now, there won’t be much of a party to speak of.”
AJ helped Garrett over to the couch and the rest of us found places to sit. Tabby and I crammed onto the love seat while AJ perched on the arm of the sofa Garrett was stretched out on. Sheriff Higgins asked if we all wanted anything to drink, then came back with soda and cups.
Then he disappeared to give us some space.
“Hey, did you invite Alex?” Garrett asked. It was such a harmless question—one he didn’t realize he shouldn’t ask because he’d been isolated from the AJ/Alex drama. But given how tense everyone went at the mention of his name, Garrett sorted it out pretty quickly.
“He said he’d stop by if he could,” I lied. “I think he’s got some stuff to do out of town today.”
Garrett gave a sympathetic look and nodded.
“I brought cake!” Tabby shouted, launching herself off the love seat. “Anybody want some?”
“I could use a sugar buzz,” AJ replied, getting up to help her. Once the two left the room, Garrett struggled to sit up on the couch. He clearly was preparing to launch an interrogation—one that would have made my pretend boyfriend proud—but my phone began buzzing. I fished it out of my pocket to find a local number I didn’t recognize on the screen.
“I’ve got to take this,” I said, heading for the front door. The second it closed behind me, I answered. “Hello?”
“Did you get anywhere with the information I gave you?” Jane said, skipping the pleasantries.
“I did,” I replied. “I’ve constructed a pretty elaborate timeline and cross-referenced the girls’ lives to come up with a list of people they have in common. I need to run them past you to tighten up the suspects list.”
“Fine,” she replied. I rambled off every name I could remember from the list Dawson had amassed. Some s
he didn’t recognize at all. Others she knew all too well. By the time we finished going through it, only a few remained. All the JHS staff that had been implicated were still in the running, though some more than others, along with Mr. Matthew, Kru Tyson, and Sheriff Higgins. I sighed, wishing a few of those names hadn’t made the cut. “Kylene,” she said, pulling me from my disappointment.
“Yeah?”
“I feel like you’re missing a couple names from that list.”
“How so?”
“Well, there was another teacher that came over the same year as Principal Thompson, Coach, and Callahan. You forgot Ms. Davies.”
“I know, but I eliminated her because you said a man killed Danielle. That you saw him.”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean he’s in charge, does it? That he couldn’t be working with someone else?”
My heart sank to the gravel at my feet. As much as I prided myself on seeing men and women as equals, I’d completely overlooked the possibility that a female could be the kingpin behind the operation. And though the thought made me physically ill, that didn’t make it any less plausible.
“You’re right,” I said. “You know what I really need right about now? Physical evidence—like from a crime scene.”
“I can’t give you that.”
I hesitated for a second. “You could if you tell me where the murder took place.” I looked over my shoulder to make sure I was still alone, then moved farther away from the house just to be sure. The last thing I needed was Sheriff Higgins overhearing me.
Silence.
“I can’t.…”
“Do you want to end up the next recruiter? No? Then help me get something concrete.”
“I don’t want to end up like Danielle, which is what I’m afraid will happen if you go poking around that bridge, dusting for prints or whatever it is you think you’re gonna do.” I opened my mouth to argue, but she kept right on going. “And if you think I’m sittin’ around here thinking ‘hey, maybe I should drag this out a little longer … what’s a few more nights on my back with some of Jasperville’s finest grunting and sweating all over me,’ you’re not the girl I’d hoped you were.”
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