“Aw, you guys have a romantic date planned?” Connor says with a grin. “Why wasn’t I invited?”
“You were,” Kab says. “That bonfire at the lake tomorrow night. I want Cheng to come so we can scope out the scene.”
Mar gives Ty a suspicious look. “What scene? What are you up to?”
Kab fields the question. “Get this, bros. We figured out where the bodies are.”
My breath hitches.
Across from me, Jasmine lifts her head from her phone, her finger poised mid-scroll. “Bullshit.”
“Nope, we totally did,” Kab says smugly.
“Oh really,” Mar challenges. “Where?”
They both shrug. “The lake,” Ty says, as if it’s perfectly obvious.
My cousin rolls her eyes. “They’re not in the lake. The cops searched it twice and didn’t find a thing.”
Ty waves her off. “They did it wrong.”
“Totally wrong,” Kab pipes up.
“Please, enlighten us.” Mar’s sarcasm is impossible to miss. “How did they search the lake two times and not findsixbodies?”
Ty takes a quick sip of his water before elaborating. “Oh, Amaryllis—”
“Don’t call me that,” she growls.
“—there’s aplethoraof reasons why they’d miss the bodies, especially the times they searched. First search was in August, right? A few weeks after Thorn confessed. So the lake was warmer. Muckier. Water levels can fluctuate a lot in late summer, depending on rain. And visibility is terrible that time of year; there’s a ton of algae in the lakes around here.”
“Terriblevisibility,” Kab says, as if he has any clue what Ty is talking about.
“So August was a bad choice. But then they search again the following April. The thing is, spring isn’t much better. Especially right after the thaw. Sediment gets stirred up, so visibility’s even worse.”
“Even worse!” echoes Kab.
“And everything shifts. Bodies could get covered over by all that mud and silt,” Ty says, his tone excited in that nerdy way I find kind of endearing. “If there’s even a little trench or thick aquatic plants, divers could miss an entire body.”
“An entire body!” stresses Kab.
“So you think November is the magic month?” Mar asks, skeptical.
Ty nods. “Actually…yes. Now’s ideal because the lake water’s cold but not frozen yet. The cold water settles the sediment. Visibility’s usually better in late fall than any other season. And with the right team, if they go in with fresh eyes, they might find something.”
“The right team?” Mar says, looking between them. “As in, you two? Because I’m confident in saying you arenotthe people for this job.”
“Agreed,” Connor says.
“Don’t you dare go diving tomorrow,” I warn, glaring at Ty.
He waves a dismissive hand again. “We’re not diving yet. Just walking around the lake and trying to locate the most likely spots where Thorn would’ve dumped them. Once we establish that, we’ll dive. But if we’re going to get that reward, we need to search thelake now, before winter. Before everything freezes over and we miss our chance.”
The moment the final bell rings, I’m ready to flee Crockett High. Agent Foster is picking me up in town because we all agreed it might draw attention if he shows up at my school. I call Maggie on my way outside, balancing the phone against my shoulder as I zip up my coat. I know she wanted to be the one to take me to the appointment, but she has showings until nine.
“Are you all set?” Her tone is light and chirpy, but it doesn’t fully mask the concern she’s trying to hide.
“I’m good,” I assure her. “It’ll be fine.”
