He jerks back, confused, until he follows her line of sight. His face goes slack when he sees us—me emerging from behind the shelf, Madeline trying to look casual, and Grant and Georgia stepping out like we’re playing a shitty game of hide-and-seek.
“I can’t get away from you.” Madeline says. Caleb drops his head, shaking it. It appears Lana has dropped the sad crying act.
“What are you even doing down here?” Lana asks with a snarl. Fuck, she really doesn’t like my girl. I think that would be one of those green flags.
“You get promoted from hall monitor to library monitor?” Madeline tosses back at her. Lana rolls her eyes dramatically.
“Research,” Madeline says, full of confidence, not missing a beat. “History project. Is that good enough for you?”
Lana laughs, and it’s sharp in the space, as bad as the copier. “History project. In the restricted archives.” She looks at each of us, her smile never reaching her eyes. “Must be a hell of a primary source.”
“Ice Crew centennial video,” Madeline lies. Damn, she was quick with that. “Coach Murphy wanted archival footage.”
“Coach Murphy’s dead, Madeline.” Lana’s voice drops, soft and dangerous. “Hard to confirm a wish list from the morgue.” She’s not wrong, and I’m sure my smart girlfriend here picked Murphy for that reason.
Lana isn’t dumb either. She’s always plotting what her next move will be. She’ll even play dumb, but don’t get it twisted. If not for Georgia, she could be valedictorian.
Silence stretches. Caleb looks between us, confused, and I’m sure he’s mad at himself for letting Lana lead him by his dick down here, but these two have been randomly fucking for years.
Lana continues to hold Madeline’s gaze, something calculating moving behind those eyes. After this shit is over, I’m going to need to deal with her next, or I’ll chop her ass up and toss her into the lake too. Lana is one of the most vengeful people I’ve ever met, and I know she’ll be gunning for Madeline.
“Hope you found what you were looking for,” she says finally, stepping around Caleb, who doesn’t have a clue what the fuck is going on. His brain only works when he’s on the ice. “ButI’d be careful what you dig up. The past has a way of biting back.” When she’s finished, they go back up the stairs.
Caleb throws one last look over his shoulder, pleading for me to save him. Lana doesn’t look back.
He made that bed. I’m not helping him out of it.
We wait a beat to make sure they’re gone.
“Why is she so freaking nosy?” Georgia whispers.
“Being queen bee isn’t easy,” Madeline corrects. “You have to keep up on everything.”
I exhale, running a hand through my hair. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to talk where others might hear.” Everyone nods in agreement.
We walk fast, moving with purpose, none of us speaking. A silent understanding. Back to Bennett’s. Because now we know... Rebecca Chen was killed by Joey’s father. And almost twenty years later, history is repeating itself.
The question is, who’s pulling the strings this time?
Chapter Thirty-Nine
MADELINE
We have turned Bennett’s kitchen table into our war room. There are papers spread across every surface, photocopies curling at the edges. I squint, trying to read Luke’s handwriting scrawled across a legal pad. Everyone is making sure we are drawing the same conclusion. These are not things we can be wrong about.
I sit cross-legged on the edge of the table, hugging a mug of hot chocolate that went cold ten minutes ago. Georgia is beside me in the chair, her knee bouncing under the table.
“So,” Grant says from the counter, where he’s making his second sandwich of the night. I had no clue how much teenage boys could eat. It’s insane. “Let me see if I’m getting this straight. About twenty years ago, a Kingmakers student named Rebecca…”
“She was no longer a student when she was killed,” Georgia interrupts him to add, which I’m sure she’ll keep doing, always wanting to have the facts straight. Grant nods.
“My guess,” I say, “if I’m doing the math right.” Which is not my strong suit. “She was pregnant when she graduated, going off the dates.”
In one of the articles, there was a picture of Rebecca in the hospital holding a baby. It said in the article that she’d left one son behind.
“So she comes back to town, and Joe Sr. takes Joey and then kills Rebecca. Then dismembered and dumped her in the lake.” Grant says.
“And he got away with it,” Luke adds, not looking up from his notes. “Questioned. Released. Nothing stuck.”
