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CHAPTERSIX
Madelyn
I’d thought if I showed up at the law library first thing on Saturday morning, I might have a chance to poke around in the Vigil’s office before any of the guys showed up—if they showed up at all. I knew from things Holand had said that Logan had an off-campus apartment he shared with his friends, and surely they had better things to do than hang out around school on the weekend.
As I tried the office door, grimacing to find it locked, my phone pinged with a text alert from my best friend and frequent co-conspirator Summer. I’d filled her in on my missing car and my interaction with the Vigil last night.
Normally, Summer would have been all for a little reconnaissance, only annoyed that she couldn’t join in, since she’d ended up heading to Emerson College for its journalism program and was currently half a day’s drive from me. But as soon as she’d found out Logan was involved, her tone had turned a lot more critical.
Tell me they found your car already so you can dump that jerk harder than he ditched you?
Summer had always had a strong sense of social justice, which was partly why we were such good friends. She’d been so pissed off when she’d found out how Logan had ghosted me after our hook-up that there’d been a solid three months where she never uttered his name, only referred to him as “the prick” or “the asshole” if he came up in conversation. Even these days, she mostly relied on insults.
Unfortunately, no,I wrote back.They’re still working on it.
Well, let them do their thing and stay clear of him. I know you’re curious, but he’s not good for you.
I’m not going to do anything WITH him. I just want to know what’s going on with him and this whole private investigator thing he’s suddenly gotten into.
Unfortunately, Summer was very good at picking up on the things I wasn’t saying. She sent a side-eyeing emoji with the question,What are you doing, Maddie?
Just trying to get into their office, I admitted.Obviously none of them are going to tell me what all they’ve been doing, considering Logan hardly wanted to loop me in on the crime that affected me directly. It’s totally justified snooping.
I could almost hear her resigned sigh.Well, I know nothing’s going to get in your way once you’re committed to a mission, girl. Just don’t get too invested, all right? Or I’ll be obligated to race on over there and rearrange his face when he hurts you again.
I promise, I’m not giving him a chance. I learned my lesson.
Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I eyed the door. It wasn’t as if I could pick the lock. How could I get my hands on a key?
It always irked me a little to play the desperate girl, but sadly being female and upset opened doors—sometimes literally—when nothing else would. I hurried over to the reception desk as if I were a little frantic and came to a stop in front of the librarian on duty, pressing my hands against the check-out counter. “I’m so sorry, but I could really use some help.”
The librarian peered at me through her round glasses and offered a sympathetic smile. “I’m here to assist however I can. Is there a particular book you’re looking for?”
“No,” I said with an awkward wave toward the back of the room. “I just—I came to see the Vigil the other night, and I realized afterward that I left a binder in their office. I need the notes in it to study for a test on Monday, and I don’t know if they’re going to be back all weekend. Could you possibly let me in for just a minute so I can find it?”
It might not buy memuchtime, but at least I could take a closer look around while I pretended to search for my supposed binder.
The librarian’s smile faded. “I’m sorry. I have an agreement with the boys that they have sole use of that space, and I know there are a lot of private matters that they handle for other students. I have their numbers if you need to give them a call and see if they’d let you in?”
Crap. Now I had to go along with her offer, or it’d be obvious I’d been lying. “Sure. Thank you so much.”
I jotted down the numbers she gave me and walked away as if to place my call in private. Over at the back of the library where the Vigil room was, she couldn’t see me anyway. I studied the solid wood door again, wondering if there was any chance I could just jiggle the lock open—ha ha ha. Maybe in my dreams.
I grasped the knob again just in case it’d only been stuck before rather than being actually locked, and just my luck, a low, teasing voice carried to my ears at the same moment.
“We tend to use the key to make it a little easier to get inside.”
I whipped toward the male voice that’d come from behind me, and there, standing just a few feet away, was Slade, dangling a key from one hand while he grinned at me.
“I—” How would I explain this to him? The last thing I needed was for both Logan and Slade to believe I was a creepy stalker lady. I settled for avoiding the subject completely. “I imagine thatwouldmake it easier. Thank you.”
Slade stepped past me to insert the key into the lock. He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I thought Dexter passed on a message to you last night that we haven’t located your car yet.”
“Oh, well, yeah, but he didn’t say much.” That was my perfect excuse right there. “I was hoping to find out more, or that you might have made some more progress since then.” I splayed my hands in what I hoped looked like a cluelessly innocent gesture, although I hated playing clueless even more than I hated doing the desperate female act.
“I’m sorry, but we haven’t really had time.” Slade pushed open the door and stepped inside. He paused for a second before grinning at me and beckoning me to follow. “I know Logan gave you kind of a hard time. Don’t take it personally. He’s got a lot on his mind. If you have more questions about how we’ll handle the investigation, ask away.”
I hadn’t wanted to get into the office while one of the Vigil members was present, but if it was going to be anyone, I guessed Slade was the one least likely to give me a hard time. Maybe I could still find something out. And I could poke around a bit without looking suspicious, just curious.
