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Jake’s voice trails off and when we look at each other, I know we’re both thinking the same thing.
“Caleb’s sister!” We say in unison.
He reaches into his wallet and unfolds the flier. “Why do you have that?” I ask.
“I kept it in case we needed to make more copies. I promised Sparky I’d make sure there were fliers everywhere.”
“Sparky?” I arch a brow.
He waves at me to forget it while scanning the paper. “Holy shit.” He flicks his eyes from the flier to the Jane Doe report. “The height, weight, hair and eye color…they’re exactly the same.”
“I knew it was familiar!”
That day in the Medical Examiner’s office when Ellery first showed it to me, I got a sick feeling in my stomach. The details were familiar, but I couldn’t understand why. Now I know. I’d seen those exact details the day before, on the beach before I left for Elmhurst.
“Let me see.” I grab the flier from Jake’s hand and shake my head. “I’ll be damned.”
“It could be a coincidence,” he says slowly.
“Or it could be more nefarious than that.”
He sets the flier down and leans forward. “Whatcha’ thinkin’?”
“See that stamp,” I point to the bottom of the Jane Doe report. He nods. “It was also on the witness testimony in the files Ellery copied from the DA’s office.”
“County seal?” Jake asks.
“Nope.” I shake my head.
He rubs his chin and blows out a heavy breath. “You know what this sounds like…a secret society.”
“A what?” I tilt my head.
“You know, all those ivy league schools have them. Princeton, Harvard, shit, my dad is always being called to campus because Order 322 is up to some bullshit.”
“Order 322?” I repeat.
“Yup.” Jake takes a sip of his shake and nods. “They are one of three at Yale. The most prestigious. A few presidents have been Bonesmen.”
“Shit man, sounds like a movie.”
“They should make it into one,” he laughs. “So you said Ellery’s dad and the DA were close and both went to Yale? Maybe they were members of one of those societies and that’s where the stamp is from.”
I rub my chin and consider the idea. Could be. It would make sense. “Do you think your dad would look into it if we asked? Also, see if he might have some ideas on how we can find out who Jane Doe may be?”
“Sure.” He reaches for his shake and takes a sip. “We can call him in the morning. He’s in bed by now and if I wake him by calling him when we get back, he’ll bust a nut.”
“Alright.” I run a hand through my hair. “I’m going to call that guy Jared from the lab that takes our blood for those steroidtests throughout the season. There’s some data in Ellery’s father’s autopsy that I want to get a read on.”
“Steroids?” He arches a brow. “Did he work out?”
“Maybe,” I nod. “With hookers.”
“Shit,” he shakes his head.
The two of us grow quiet for a moment. “If it is some secret society,” Jake muses, “why are they trying to cover up Ellery’s father’s deathandthe murder of a minor from Cherry Cove?”
I tilt my head, considering the question, and not liking the line my mind was drawing between a dead girl and senator. At the same time, Ellery’s father died years ago and he couldn’t have been connected to Jane Doe.
