25

Emily wrestled with sleep all night, unable to quiet her spinning thoughts. How big was this pack, and how many others knew about it? Was Nick afraid he’d lose his job if people found out? And why was Nick afraid to hire an attorney?

After sickening herself with worry, Emily fell into a half sleep an hour before sunrise. Her cell phone woke her up. She cleared her throat and hit accept. Before she could get out a hello, Jo’s voice spewed from the receiver.

“I’m absolutely furious right now!”

“Jo? What happened?” Emily sat up and stretched her legs out.

“I kicked Paul out last night.”

“What? Why?”

“I just learned he was part of the pack.”

Emily’s stomach lurched. Not Paul, too.

“I don’t even understand what this whole pack thing is,” said Emily, jolted awake by the news. “Nick refused to tell me anything last night.”

“Get over here and I’ll tell you everything.”

*   *   *

Emily found Jo in her kitchen hunched over her oak dining room table, staring blankly at the cross-weave fabric of her olive tablecloth. Normally bubbly and upbeat, today Jo had dark, swollen circles under her eyes and faint worry lines etched in her forehead. Jo was barely holding it together. Emily didn’t say hello; she just started a pot of coffee in Jo’s percolator.

“How did you hear about the pack?” Jo asked.

“I was with Nick last night visiting Tiffani Parkman at the Silver Slipper.”

Jo shot a glance at Emily.

“Yeah. I know. Story for another time. Anyhow, Tiffani mentioned the pack and said that Nick was in it. And that she thought Nick had something to do with Sandi’s murder. When I asked Nick about it, he shut me down.”

The coffeepot stopped gurgling. Emily poured the steaming coffee into their mugs and brought them to the table. Jo teaspooned sugar into her mug with a shaky hand and stirred. Emily was dying to jump right in with a million questions. Information about this pack could be one of the keys to Sandi’s murder. But she held back until her friend was ready.

Jo lifted her gaze to Emily only after she had taken several more sips. Then she let it all out.

“Paul says Nick knew about it but wasn’t really into it—at least not like he and the other guys were.”

“Nick said it was a name designation. What does that even mean? What did this pack do?”

“Apparently they had a pact of secrecy. And they did things they shouldn’t … to girls.”

What? “What kinds of things, Jo?”

“At first it was stuff like hiding in the girls’ locker room and watching them dress for practice.”

“Disgusting!”

“No, it gets worse. They would hide a camera in the locker room after swim practice.”

“And no one ever knew about this?” Emily felt sick. Had this been going on when she’d been at Freeport High?

Jo shook her head. “I never knew. None of my friends knew. They would hide cameras on the stairs and film up girls’ skirts.”

“And what would they do with this footage?”

“Paul said they just passed it around to each other.”

“And they never got caught?”

“Apparently not. Pact of secrecy.”

“How many in this pack?”

“I don’t know. Paul wouldn’t budge.”

Emily ground her teeth.

“I guess things took a turn during their senior year. James VanDerMuellen wanted to take it to another level. He came to school one day with a super-secret video. It was Sandi having sex with some guy. James cut the frame so they couldn’t see who it was.”

But Emily knew who. Rosy Ross. She held it back from Jo.

“I feel sick. And so angry.”

“Me too. Paul said that if the pack wanted to see it, they had to pay. Pretty soon, he was charging people outside the pack for a view.”

Disgusting. No wonder Ross had been furious with James. Emily’s heart sank.

“Paul said that in the video, Sandi looked really out of it. This wasn’t consensual, Em.”

Emily’s eyes went wide as the sick realization came to her. What if Ross had drugged and raped her and this was all part of the pack’s plan?

She didn’t know how to respond. It was unthinkable what Sandi had suffered. She must have been so alone in her suffering all those years, hiding her stepdad’s abuse. Then to be betrayed by James and used by Ross. The truth was so filthy and ugly.

“Why would James do something like that?” said Jo. “His family was rich. He didn’t need the money.”

“The rich always want more. Money makes them feel powerful. And power breeds the hunger for more power.”

“He was always so cocky.” Jo made a face. “How far do you think James was going to take this? How many times with Sandi? How many more girls?”

“He must have known that once she found out, she wouldn’t keep quiet.”

“I just don’t see pretty-boy James VanDerMuellen actually doing her in,” said Jo.

“Tell that to every Ted Bundy victim.” Emily raised an eyebrow.

“I see your point. But James was one of those guys who got other people to do his nasty deeds.”

Rosy Ross had said the same thing. “Where is James now? Does Paul know?” asked Emily.

“No.” Jo wetted her lips with her coffee, then in a daze, set the mug back down without taking a sip.

“Paul knew about all of this, didn’t he?” Emily asked quietly, hoping not to unleash a maelstrom of tears.

“Yes! And he did nothing! How can I ever let him back in this house as a husband and father? What kind of example is that to my kids?” The fury was taking hold of Jo again, and the blood rushed to her cheeks. “He betrayed me! Almost ten years. I hate him right now! I hate him for doing this to us!”

The roller coaster of emotions was cresting the hill. Between her punctuated breaths, Jo sputtered out her deepest fear. “And what if … Paul is liable for … conspiracy to kill Sandi? What if … he goes … to jail?” She broke down sobbing.

Emily wrapped her arms around her best friend. She didn’t want to give her false hope, but she had to say something to get her to calm down. “We’re going to get this figured out. I’m not going to leave you alone. Paul is a good man. A good father. Focus on that for a moment. Okay?”

“I just blew up. I’ve never, ever gotten that mad before at him, Em. I screamed and yelled. I was throwing clothes at him. The kids ran to their rooms and didn’t come out all night. They’ve never seen us fight like that. It was awful. Really awful,” she said, dabbing her eyes as they began flooding with tears. She took a tissue and tore it to itsy-bitsy shreds.

“Where are the kids now?”

“School. But I have to pick up Jaden from preschool at eleven. And look at me!”

Emily handed Jo a fresh tissue, and she dabbed it under her puffy eyes. “I can pick up Jaden. You take a shower and pull yourself together.”

Jo nodded and blew her nose into a fresh tissue. “Okay. Thank you.” Her face scrunched into a disconsolate expression, and fresh tears welled up. “What am I gonna tell the kids?”

Emily’s gut was on the floor. She had no answer for that. “We’ll figure something out.”

Jo melted into her shoulder and burst out with a fresh round of sobs. Emily hugged her friend as she heaved in despair. After Jo quieted and was able to sit upright and hold her coffee mug again, Emily went in for the bold question she had been dancing around. If there was one thing Jo valued most in any relationship, it was honesty and open communication. And really, she should be asking the same thing about Nick.

“Do you think Paul is involved somehow in Sandi’s death?”

Jo drew in a deep breath and answered with slow, weighted words. “That’s the thing. I just can’t fathom …” Her eyes got teary again. “We weren’t even together back then, but still. To know that I married someone who had the capacity to …” The rest of her words got caught in her throat.

“I don’t mean to scare you by telling you this, but I would advise Paul to get an attorney.”

Jo nodded, but Emily could tell from the cloudy look in her eyes that common sense was not registering with her right now.