“Your dad is a bad man. I’m going to make sure my contact is aware of what I’ve found. I don’t know how your dad was able to do it, but there are always crumbs. Your mother, Sian, she loves you so much. Every time she is lucid, she has done everything in her power to help you. I hope you know that. There is nothing else I can do at this point. The Society will know the answer to dealing with Alexander. You have to stay away from him. He is guided by greed and power. That is all. I will be mailing this laptop out to my grandma with strict instructions to give this to Sian only. If you’re watching this, it means that my gut is right. I hope I can get to my contact before this is over. Until then, tell Fred to get the evidence you need. The server for the campus is not within the grounds. They can’t control everything, just the camera they know about. Love you, Sian, and Fred, if you’re watching this, I liked you a lot. I was going to ask you to a Halloween party. I hope you’re feeling better.”
The screen went blank, and I now had more questions than answers.
“She liked me,” Fred said.
“What did she mean about the outside servers?” I asked.
Fred snapped his fingers and got to typing. “Fucking genius.”
“You want to tell me what is going on?” I asked.
“When you know an exact location of certain systems, it can be easier to find. To hack. The amount of dollars in All Saints, they have to have protection of all kinds. It’s why I couldn’t always access files. I knew they were storing them in a database off campus, but where? Outside servers for our security systems are not too hard to track down.” He began clicking away. “All it takes is finding the ones closest to them and seeing about a direct link to our systems.”
“I have no idea what you’re saying right now.”
Fred laughed. “That’s my lingo, dude. Got it.” He got into a network.
“Are those the cameras into the school?” I asked.
“You betcha. Let’s see what the fuck has been going on.” He clicked some more. Sure enough, I saw the campus, the gym, each building, the main hall, and the dorms. The school had plenty of cameras for their and our security.
“Please tell me you can access that night ten months ago?” I asked.
“That might be a little tricky. Depending on what information they want to keep and for how long, they could have deleted it.”
“We already know the camera within the library was destroyed.”
Fred got to clicking. “Well, fuck me,” he said. “They keep files backdated by a year. That’s a lot of footage.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Keep them for a year, see if anything comes of it, then wipe them clean. Why do people do this kind of shit?” he asked. “Go to the principal and ask.”
As if I’d do that.
“Here we go.” I watched the screen as Fred moved the camera angle, changing it to the school dorm. “There’s Heather with her package. She’s going to the mailroom.”
We watched her as she went to the mailroom.
On her way back, that was when the action happened. It was way too dark, and I squinted, trying to see.
“Get the angle different.”
“I’m getting it there.”
My patience wore thin as Fred began typing, bringing in the monitors of several angles.
“Okay, whoever this guy is, they know where most of the cameras are. There were several that had a sudden malfunction that night. I see the report.”
“I’m guessing the ones that are working are the ones that were installed after he left school,” I said.
“You think this person is a student?” Fred asked.
“I think he is an ex-student, and what’s more, I think it’s Alexander Roberts, let onto the grounds by Coach Bilson.”
“Then who is that?” Fred asked, pointing at a second figure.
I watched as Alexander, dressed all in black, released his rage on Heather. He beat her until she was unconscious, but there was a second person with him that night. She was too small to be Joan. I’d seen her.
We watched as Alexander went into the library, Heather’s dead weight hanging over his shoulder. The person next to him was opening doors.
When nothing happened, Fred sped up the video until we got to the two people exiting.
Alexander was clear, and he talked to the woman.
“Sound?”
“No, not for this.”
Then I saw it. The woman removed her mask, and I stared at Chloe as she kissed Sian’s father.
“Well, well, well,” I said.
“Mateo, you want me to fast forward?” he asked.
“Yes.”
And I watched. I watched as Chloe started the fire, locking and securing the doors. She stepped out of the library dressed in her school uniform, looking happy with herself. The smoke flooded the camera, but I saw Sian. I saw her smacking the glass, trying to get to her friend.
I waited, and then I saw Chloe again as she cut Sian’s hair right off.
I had my evidence, and now I also felt my rage.
Chapter Eight
Dante
Alone in the library, it was easy to gather my thoughts and to draw. This was my private happy place. People rarely came in here. Any place that was private gave me a happy feeling. I liked to draw alone in the silence.
Only, I was alone until William came in.
He’d spotted me and given me a nod, but had yet to say anything. I wondered what was on his mind. He always had something to say, but clearly, that wasn’t the case now. I watched him grab a book off the shelf and start to read it.
Turning the page of my notebook, I watched him as I started to sketch.
I noticed the way his hand bounced on his lap as if something plagued his mind. He gnawed at his lip. What was going through that head of his? Did he want to talk to me about it? Did he want anything from me?
Silence.
Sketching his outline, I started small relevant details. The frown across his forehead. Each small element bringing the picture to life in a way I loved to see unfold, even if it was by my own hand.
The more I drew, the more concerned I became.
I was about to open my mouth and ask him what was wrong when the door opened, revealing our girl, Sian.
“Hey,” she said.
William looked up. “Hey.” He put the book down. “What’s up?”
“Gideon said I’d find you here. Mateo’s on his way back. He says it’s big. Whatever he’s got to show us.”
“There he goes bragging about the size of his dick, putting us all to shame,” William said.
I saw her blush. Sian went to William, taking his hands.
“I’m not saying I don’t have a big dick as well.”
“Stop, William,” Sian said, laughing.
“I can’t seem to stop. I’d love to show you my big dick.” He pressed his face against her stomach.
I didn’t think Sian had even noticed me here. Sitting perfectly still, I watched whatever was about to happen unfold. I truly wanted to sketch it out. To hold this moment in my memory.
Sian ran her fingers through William’s hair. “I’d like to see it too.”
William looked up at her, and I’d have to say I was in a bit of shock as well. Sian wanted to see his dick. Not that I should be surprised. She’d been with me, and with how happy Mateo was this morning, I thought she was with him as well.