My heart flaps in my chest. “How do you know she’s real?”
“Well, he goes out to meet her all the time and brings her stuff. I guess he could eat the chocolates himself, but why buy the flowers?”
My foot jitters and my palms slip over the back of the laptop. Gideon and I assumed the argument in front of the diner was Melody telling off her stalker. Was it actually a lovers’ spat? Between Melody and the guy she didn’t want anyone to know about? It would explain why they were in the woods together. I run a clammy hand through my hair and shrug. “Maybe he became a vegetarian.”
Emily giggles. “Can we please go back to talking about your brother?”
I let out a long breath. “Because why would we actually talk about the 1930s?”
One way or another, I’m going to have to get into the Greer house.
* * *
After Emily leaves, I find Asher in the kitchen, eating ice cream. It’s my favorite—peanut butter chocolate crunch from Daisy’s Ice Cream Parlor in town—so I help myself to a bowl. “Hey, Asher, I wanted to ask you something about Seth.”
Asher squints. “Are you and Gideon still looking into that guy?”
“Sort of. Except I’m doing it alone because Gideon is MIA.”
“What? Cass, that doesn’t sound safe.” His spoon clanks in the bowl as his fingers move to the scars on his left hand.
I pretend not to notice, the way I always pretend when Asher goes into security guard mode. “Just tell me what you know about him. All the kids think he took Melody. They’re even giving Emily hell about it.”
Asher’s eyebrows lift, but he shrugs. “Well, you can’t blame them, I guess. You walked by those bleachers. I’m sure you remember how uncomfortable he made everyone feel.”
I set my spoon down and lean in. “Yeah, but is that it? Did he ever actually do anything to anyone? The cops don’t seem to be looking at him.”
“There were rumors about him figuring out girls’ locker combinations and taking stuff,” he says with a head tilt, “but I’m not sure he was ever caught. Girls would say he was following them around.”
I busy my mouth with a bite of ice cream as guilt swishes in my stomach. But I can’t stop myself from blurting, “Emily said he has a secret girlfriend!”
Asher’s shoulders straighten. “Okay.” He draws out the word.
“Well, what if…what if it was Melody?”
“Melody and Seth?” He shakes his head and chuckles. “I know you’re trying to help, Cass, but let the cops do their jobs.” He rests a hand on my shoulder. “It was one thing when Gideon and I were with you. But if Seth’s the guy, he’s more dangerous than everyone thought.” Asher gets up and ambles toward the kitchen door, bowl in hand. “Just stay away from him, okay?” He waits for me to nod and then motions past the door. “I’m taking mine to my room. I’ve got a little more work to do.”
“See you.” I spin back around, my head nearly sinking into my bowl. I’ll never find the proof I need by keeping far away from Seth.
I stay, swirling the ice cream around with my spoon in the quiet of the empty kitchen. After a minute, I check my phone again, a habit I picked up the moment Gideon began to distance himself from me.
Minutes drag by. I stare at the tiny screen on my phone for most of them, willing the glowing beacon of a new text message to replace my reflection. I’m too antsy to sit here. I grab my phone, shrug on my backpack, and head out the door.
I hop on my bike, headed toward Gina’s Diner. Maybe I’ll have some coffee and get a little homework done. Maybe, since Melody worked at the diner, I’ll catch some town gossip.
And, just maybe, I’ll run into Seth Greer. He was there the last time I went to Gina’s.
When I hit the main drag, I spot a familiar car parked in the small lot across from the diner. It’s a blue Honda Civic with a peeled and puckering Maribel High Football bumper sticker.
Brandon Alvarez’s car.
Brandon’s in the front seat, so I duck behind the wall. He had an alibi: Tina Robbins. No wonder it seemed like he was interrogating me yesterday. He thinks I followed my own plan and got rid of Melody.
But maybe Brandon can help me. He already knows about the notebook, and he isn’t a “loved one.” Maybe he’ll be able to help with my investigation. I remember that furrowed look of concern at the party. The finality of his words. Whatever it is, I’m going to fix it for you.
Would he help me now?
If he’s headed to the diner, I can accidentally bump into him. I wait a few minutes, but he doesn’t budge. His head is tilted toward his lap, like he’s texting someone.
I can’t wait like a creep forever; I’ll have to flag him down.
I speed across the street to the lot. Brandon’s head remains low, his engine off. Must be one interesting conversation. My last few steps are cautious; I don’t want to startle him.
I approach the car and peer through the front window. The object in Brandon’s hands isn’t a phone at all. It’s a small, white box. The kind you’d get from a department store to put jewelry in.
Something else in his hand gleams in the refracted window light. He palms the shiny object into the box. It goes into his jacket pocket, and his hand reemerges with car keys.
I duck down behind the car next to his, my legs quivering beneath me. My hands grip the warm asphalt as I take in a shallow breath.
The gleaming thing in the box.
It looks like Melody Davenport’s necklace.
13
Brandon’s engine rumbles to a start, filling the air with toxic fumes. After he drives off, I let out a long breath. Then I whip out my phone, type a quick text, and send it before I can talk myself out of it.
Can you meet me at HH?
This is our secret code for the hobbit house. In ninth grade, Gideon and I discovered the acronym doubles for Hathaway Hall at school. We figured this might become useful if anyone tried to torture the location out of us.
My legs are shaky when I stand. I have to talk to Tina again. Somehow, there must be a crack in Brandon’s alibi. Brandon was the voice from the woods.
My phone buzzes with Gideon’s response.
When?
My heart lifts. Now
OK. OMW
See you
I can’t do this on my own. The past two days, I’ve given him space, but I’m done with that now. Mad at me or not, Gideon’s the only person I can trust. And I need him on my side so we can come up with a plan. Together.