So many witches throughout history had been burned for much less and had never gotten the chance to explain.
This was her chance. Embry straightened in her chair. She swallowed down the ball of sadness that had been forming in her throat since she first saw Oakley’s lifeless body on the supernaturally green turf of the football field and fought back.
“There was a whole stadium full of people. Surely, we can find someone in that stadium who saw that Oakley left on her own, while I stayed back and had a discussion with Rye Knighton? I mean, that’s what happened even if the video cuts off. Talk to Rye. Or Balthazar Hale—he saw us in conversation.” Embry scrambled for her phone. “Let me text him; I’m sure he can give a statement about how I didn’t go after Oakley—”
“Miss Woodcross, it is exactly this brand ofovert witness tamperingthat has me concerned about your presence on this campus during this investigation.”
That hot-and-cold feeling swept down Embry’s entire body. “Wait, what?”
“As I stated before, there’s an established protocol when something like this happens. It’s one I need to follow to protect my students and ensure they feel safe bringing their concerns to myself and Inspector Brown.”
Embry felt the scythe in the headmaster’s words before it fell.
“Which means, as a suspect in an active homicide investigation, you are to be suspended from Raven’s Head until further notice.”
CHAPTER 15
THE FALLOUT
AFTER THE ARRIVAL OFLAZARUSWOODCROSS IN DUAL GUARDIAN/attorney mode, the questioning with Inspector Brown lasted more than an hour.
Almost all the questions were the same. And though Embry was a very good witch, she was still human, and therefore she couldn’t be sure all her answers were identical.
Where did you go after your confrontation with Oakley Riddle?Bed.
Can anyone confirm you went directly to your room?No.
Can anyone confirm you were in your room the whole night?No.
What was the nature of your confrontation with Oakley Riddle after the homecoming royalty ceremony?
Ughhhhhh.
That last one was hard to explain because Embry barely understood what happened herself. It was a disagreement. It was a surprise—at least on her end. It was a confrontation, maybe, but she wasn’t the one doing the confronting, which is how they made it seem, even though they sawOakley approach heron the video.
The rest of the questions were as expected. Their history—how they met, the nature of their relationship, what Embry knew about Oakley.
She hoped they’d asked her friends the same thing. Surely, Ames, Fairfax, Alistair, and Balthazar would paint a similar picture. And then there was Rye—he could provide context, even if he wasn’t a student, right? He was there. He’d talked with Embryafterward. He knew she planned to go straight to her dorm room, because she’d told him that. He’d watched her walk off in that direction.
This all had to add up to something. Embry just didn’t know what.
As a suspended student, she’d been sent home. Given her current precarious position, Embry had made a point of not answering a single call or text on her phone. For all she knew, anything she said or did on her device could and would be used against her. So, she hadn’t made a peep when Ames’s messages began to roll in after several missed calls.
Hey, are you okay?
I heard you were in questioning with Martinelli? How’d that go?
The Table asked me a bunch about Oakley and you and last night.
Fairfax was brought in separately.
Lockdown. Even alums can’t come on campus. My brother left early.
They canceled homecoming tonight. Everyone’s pissed.
Fairfax and I asked for permission to go to the coven meeting tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
What’s going on?
