“Thanks,” Luke says to his brother, giving him a chin nod before leading me back out of his office and toward the kitchen.
“Georgia.” I head over and drop down in the chair with her. Those curls of hers are extra unruly today. Wonder if it has anything to do with last night. “Yesterday, remember, it was mentioned that another girl died like twenty years ago the same way.”
Her eyes widen, and I know we’re on the same page. “The library. That’s where we can try and figure out who it is.” She starts to get up.
“Hold on,” Luke says, putting his hand out in a stop motion like he’s Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet and the mere act can halt my movement.
“Thanos over there,” I hear Georgia say from beside me, and I can’t stop the small laugh that slips out. “You were thinking it too?” I nod.
Luke drops his hand. “You all stay here with Grant and my brother. I first need to go talk to Joey.” Yeah, that’s not happening. We don’t need Luke hauled down to the station next. He won’t be as lucky as Grant because he’s gonna put up a fight. Then they will have a reason to hold him.
“Shop’s closed on Sundays and Mondays.” I cross my arms, relieved. “So we can’t talk to him today anyway.”
“I,”Luke is quick to correct me. “I can’t talk to him today.”
“Agreed. No one talks to Joey today, then.”
“Oh, I can find his ass today, bet.”
“Luke.” I grab his arm. “Pump the brakes.”
He looks down at me. “Madeline?—”
“We don’t even know if Joey’s involved yet. We need more information before we go charging over there.” I give his arm a squeeze. “We need facts first. Plus, we don’t want to spook him if he really is involved in this somehow.”
“Information is power,” Georgia adds, her voice small but steady.
Luke exhales through his nose, his muscles tense under my hand, but he doesn’t pull away. “All right.”
“To the library we all go then.” I drop my hand from his arm, already moving toward the door.
The campus is quiet as we walk. A few students drift toward the dining hall or back to dorms. The normal hustle and bustle of the campus is muted with the curfew and all classes, sporting events and practices being canceled until Wednesday.
Grant was able to do his computer magic and get us the name of the previous victim, Rebecca Chen. So, we are not going in completely blind. Now, we just need to find anything and everything about her that we can.
The library is nearly empty when we arrive—most students are still sleeping. The librarian at the front desk barely looks up from her phone as we pass.
“Basement,” Georgia whispers, pointing to a door markedArchives. “That’s where they keep the old stuff.” Of course she knows this place like the back of her hand.
Luke tries the handle. Locked. He pulls out his wallet, sliding a credit card between the door and the frame. A few seconds of wiggling, and the lock clicks open.
“Where did you learn that?” Grant asks.
“Juvie,” he mutters, holding the door for us. “Learned all sorts of useful shit there.” I don’t know if he’s joking or not, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he spent a few nights there before. With the way he loves to fight.
“Madeline’s dad taught her,” Georgia says as she passes him.
I rub my nose with the back of my hand to stop a sneeze from forming. The basement is musty and dim, with rows of metal shelves stretching back into shadows. We all make a plan and then split up to see what we’re able to find. Divide and conquer.
“Here!” I pull down a yearbook, flipping through the glossy pages. “Rebecca Chen...”
“There.” Luke appears over my shoulder, his finger stabbing at a photo.
She’s beautiful. Dark hair, bright smile, wearing an Ice Crew jacket.
“She looks like you,” Georgia mutters. She kind of does.
“Keep looking,” I say, my voice trembling. “Find everything.”
