The car turned out of my sight, and my heart cracked. This wasn’t right. To be accused of murder by your own mother!
But there’s evidence.
There were things belonging to Courtney and Josh in Blake’s room, which anyone could have put there. Josh was never on edge or nervous when I was in his room, not once, and he didn’t even think of his place in his mom’s house as his real bedroom. Why would he hide the jewelry there if it was his?
Someone’s setting him up.
I sprinted back in the house. “Eloise!” I shouted, gripping the doorframe for support and to stop myself before I fell over.
Eloise had her arms around her knees, huddled in her chair as she sobbed. I gritted my teeth as anger boiled inside my stomach. She was crying over her son being guilty. Why couldn’t she have faith in him?
Stay calm. I slowly walked over and perched on the edge of the sofa next to her chair. “What happened?”
“They found that stuff in his room.” She shook her head, wiping her tears. Her face was tearstained and blotchy. “I can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it.”
“Then don’t. I don’t believe it. Blake didn’t do this and you know it. The police searched the house before and found nothing. It doesn’t make sense for him to put their things there now.”
“Yes, it does. He thought the searches were done, that it’d be safe now.”
I shook my head. “No. Someone must’ve planted those things to make him look guilty. Blake is being set up, Eloise. Who else has been in the house?”
She had to have let someone else inside.
“I-I’m not sure. A lot of people have come by to check on me.” Her voice cracked and she sobbed again, wiping her tears on the back of her sleeve.
Taking a steadying breath, I asked, “Did Aaron, Megan, or Kyle come over?”
“They were here after Josh’s funeral.”
“But that was the only time?”
She nodded. “Yes, that was it.”
I closed my eyes and tried to think back to that day. The police had searched our houses straightaway, well before the funeral. We were together most of the time, but I had been flitting between them and Blake. Who had gone off alone? None of them had really moved from the spot I’d left them in, and I was never gone too long, but they could have had enough time to get upstairs and back. Which one of them would be so bold as to bring trophies from our dead friends to the wake and plant them in Blake’s room? I couldn’t picture any of them being brave enough—or stupid enough—to do that.
“Why would Blake want to hurt his own brother and uncle?” Eloise asked, breaking me away from my loop of questions.
“He didn’t. This wasn’t him. You have to believe that. Think about it. Someone tips off the police and they miraculously find Josh’s and Courtney’s things in Blake’s room. It’s too convenient. It doesn’t make sense for him to have put those there after the first search. He would have dumped them. Please don’t give up on him. He needs you.”
She buried her head in her knees and gripped her hair. “I have nothing left to give him.”
I clenched my jaw and my hands shook. “He’s your son! You have to find some compassion inside you, the same as you would have for Josh. I’m serious, Eloise. He needs you. You can’t honestly think it was him.”
She frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t know. I just… I don’t know.”
“Whatever!” I spat, walking out before I said something that I probably wouldn’t regret.
We had driven Blake’s car, so I had no way of getting anywhere other than walking. I didn’t want to call either of my parents or any of my friends. I still needed to figure out who put that stuff in Blake’s room, and I was going to start with Aaron.
He was the one with a temper.
I left Blake’s and walked to Aaron’s. My mind swirled with possibilities and theories. Blake must be terrified. He’d been arrested for something he hadn’t done. I didn’t want to believe it could be Aaron, but he could turn in an instant if someone pushed him.
It was the middle of a warm day, but the roads were deserted. I took a deep breath. Someone was cutting grass somewhere. It looked and smelled like summer, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Summer before university was supposed to be fun, and I’d never been more miserable.
I rounded the corner and heard what sounded like light footsteps. Stopping so I could hear properly, I turned my body to get a good look in both directions.
The only thing I could hear was my heart jackhammering in my chest.
You’re paranoid. There’s nothing there.
Spinning back, I picked up my pace until I was at a comfortable jog.
It’s fine. Just get to Aaron’s.
I pushed myself, my thighs beginning to ache from the exertion. If this didn’t motivate me to get back into exercising, then nothing would.
Thud. Thud.
Shit. I lurched forward and took off in a sprint. My lungs burned as I gasped air. Feet slammed down on the concrete, sending pains shooting up my shins. Keep going, almost there.
Someone was coming after me.
Did they want to hurt me like they had Pete?
Had Pete stumbled on some evidence?
Go, Mackenzie!
Aaron’s house came into view, and I wanted to collapse in relief. I was running too fast to look behind me to see if anyone was there, and I couldn’t hear through my loud, shallow breaths, but I kept one foot in front of the other as I flew toward my destination.
Hurry.
I slammed into the wall surrounding Aaron’s family’s front garden and almost toppled over it. My hip bone screamed as it came into contact with the brick.
I cried out, bending over and gripping my side for dear life.
I gasped and looked around. There was nothing but a cat sitting on a fence in the distance. I took deep breaths and held my chest, my lungs feeling like they were going to explode.
“Calm down,” I whispered, clenching my free hand. “You’re an idiot.”
There was no one following me and probably never was.
What the hell was happening to me?
I straightened my back and walked around the side of the wall to Aaron’s front door. My hip stung, but I didn’t care.
I raised my arm and knocked.
“Just a minute!” Aaron hollered from somewhere inside.
My phone beeped.
No, please not again.
I took it out of my pocket tentatively, like it was going to burn me.
The number. My eyes pricked with tears, but I was determined not to cry as the text came into view.
Careful, there’s a killer out there.
I stumbled back and dropped my phone. Had someone been following me?
Who’d sent this?
It couldn’t be Blake. He was at the police station, and I doubted they’d let him sit there on his phone. I knew he was innocent. I knew it.
But Aaron, Megan, and Kyle? Or someone else?
Aaron’s front door opened, and I jammed my phone in my pocket and shoved my hands behind my back so Aaron wouldn’t see how much they were trembling.
“Hey,” Aaron said, his smile stretching across his face, lighting up his baby-blue eyes as he pulled the front door wide-open.
“Hi.” He stepped aside, and I walked in with my heart in my stomach. “Can we talk?”
“Sure. My parents are home, so let’s go upstairs.”
I climbed the stairs and headed to his room. Accusing Aaron of murder, which was pretty much what I was doing at his house, was one of the hardest things I’d had to do. I was torn between wanting him to admit it and deny it.
“So what’s up?” he asked as he sat on his swivel chair by his desk.
I lowered myself onto his bed, facing him. I let my eyes wander around his room, looking for a phone I’d not seen before. It was clear, besides all of his junk. “Um, well, Blake was arrested today.”
His eyebrows shot up. If he had planted the evidence at Blake’s, he faked shock well. “Jesus. For the murders?”
“The police found something of Court and Josh’s in his room.”
“Wow…” He shook his head. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“No…you always thought it was him.”
“Well, I was right, wasn’t I?”
“No. He was framed.”
“Mackenzie, come on. How long are you going to defend the guy? Open your eyes! I know you don’t want to think badly of anyone, but this is bordering on ridiculous. We barely know Blake. On the night he randomly decides to play big brother, two people end up dead. How does that look?”
“I understand how it looks, and I know you don’t trust him, but please trust me. Blake didn’t do this.”
“So the evidence fairies left the stuff in his room, did they?”
I gulped. “No.” Raising my eyes to meet his, I waited and then watched his mouth slowly drop. He looked winded, like I’d just punched him in the gut.
“You think it was me?” he ranted, pushing himself up. “What’s wrong with you, Mackenzie? I think the guy is a creep, and yeah, I think he did it, but I would never frame anyone, let alone murder our friends!”
“OK, OK,” I replied, standing and holding my hands up. “I’m sorry, but Wright said you’ve been telling everyone how much you think it’s Blake, and—”
“So you believe that arsehole and not someone you’ve known for years? I thought better of you.”
It was his turn to wind me. My eyes welled with tears. He was right. I shouldn’t let what Wright said get to me. I’d never felt lower. “God, I’m sorry, Aaron. I don’t know what to think anymore. I don’t know how to handle all of this. Everything was already so messed up and now Blake has been arrested.”
Aaron grabbed my arms and bent his head down to my level. “You have to face the fact that it was him. How much more evidence do you need?”
To believe he did it, I need a confession. “It wasn’t him, Aaron. Why would he leave Court’s earring and Josh’s chain there? The police had already searched and found nothing. Did he store them somewhere else and then randomly move them under his bed? That’s stupid. He would’ve dumped that kind of evidence if it were him.”
Aaron lifted his eyebrow. “Maybe he thought it was safe. I don’t know what goes through his psychotic mind. Do I? If you don’t believe it was Blake, then who was it, Kenz? Me? Kyle? Megan? You? We’re your only other options, so pick one.”
I yanked my arms from his grip. “Don’t you dare ask me to choose between you.”
Because it’d be him. Blake was the only one I trusted now.
“I don’t need to. You came here asking me if I set Blake up. I think it’s crystal clear who you think killed them.”
“Aaron, I’m looking for answers. All I want is to know what happened.”
“So do I! They were my friends too. You’re not the only person who’s lost someone. You’re not the only one who wants justice.”
“All right. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. I don’t want to lose you too.”
Aaron groaned as he watched a tear slide down my cheek. I was exhausted; my energy was evaporating at an alarming rate. “Don’t cry. You know I hate it when you cry.” He wrapped his arms around me. “What you said hurt, but I don’t want to lose you either. I don’t know what I can do to convince you that I’m innocent, Kenzie, but tell me and I’ll do it.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “You don’t have to do anything. I believe you. Forgive me?”
“You’re already forgiven,” he replied. “Megan and Kyle’ll be here soon. Wanna help me get the drinks and snacks together?”
What I wanted was to check on Blake and make sure he was OK, but I knew Wright wouldn’t let me see him. Maybe hanging with them would be a good idea? I knew they all had secrets, but maybe I would be able to see through them to the truth. Unlikely, but I could hope.
“Sure,” I said, feeling uncomfortable. “Hey, you still have that farm app on your phone? I feel like not thinking for a while.”
“Err.” He looked around his room. “I do but I guess my phone must be downstairs. Let’s get the food and you can bring it back up.”
If he didn’t know where his phone was, what did that mean? Was he being honest, or was he the one sending the text messages?
I smiled. “Thanks, Aaron.”
• • •
I helped Aaron get the snacks together, and then I’d had about five minutes on a game I didn’t want to play by the time Megan and Kyle arrived. We sat on the floor in a circle. It was just like any other time we’d hung out, but the atmosphere was way off. There was no easy conversation and a whole lot of prolonged silences.
My fingers wouldn’t stay still; I tapped them together and threaded them through and around. I couldn’t tell if their expressions were grieving friend who’d been through so much or guilty conscience. Each one of them looked the same—tired. Blake was right. I couldn’t tell if they’d done it and I probably would never be able to.
I was closest to Kyle because he’d always been an open book. And Megan, I thought, had never kept a secret from me our whole lives. Aaron was the blue-eyed boy, the loving friend who would fight to the death to keep the people he loved safe.
Opening a bottle of some premade tropical cocktail—the only bottle that hadn’t had the seal broken—I took a large swig. It was stupid to be drinking, but I no longer cared. My mind was in pieces, and I wanted to forget for a while.
My friends didn’t seem to worry that one of us in that room was a murderer and had drugged the rest of us. It was clear they believed it was Blake and there was no danger of being drugged again. Were they all in on it?
“To Tilly, Gigi, Josh, and Courtney,” Kyle said, holding up his can of beer.
And to Pete.
I raised my bottle, clinking it against the boys’ cans and Megan’s glass of neat vodka. “Getting drunk, Megan?” I asked.
“It’s over now, Mackenzie. Blake’s going to prison for what he did. We don’t have to worry about Courtney and Josh never getting justice. I kind of think that’s cause for a celebration, don’t you?” she asked.
No.
“It is,” Aaron replied. “To justice and finally being able to move on.” He closed his eyes looking beyond tired. I felt the same.
How many toasts were they going to do? The real murderer hadn’t been caught yet. I was drinking with strangers.
Ten agonizing minutes later, Megan giggled. She hadn’t had much to drink, but she was drinking vodka. I couldn’t even blame her. At least if I were drunk, I could stop worrying for a while. I couldn’t do that to Blake though. He was sitting in some holding cell, so having fun, getting an escape—even if momentary—seemed so wrong.
“I can’t believe it’s just us four. This time last year, my room was filled with eight drunk and very happy people. Remember you girls dancing around the room, singing into empty bottles?” Kyle asked, laughing.
I smiled at the memory and wished we could go back in time. Things were simple and easy then. It was such a shock to see how much could change in just one year. My circle of friends had been cut in half, and I had a not-really-a-boyfriend friend who I could possibly lose to jail before we really got to be together. I was so tired of losing people.
“This is all so screwed up, but at least they have the person who did it. We’re all OK now,” Aaron said, raising his glass to me.
My hand tightened around the bottle, but I said nothing. Perhaps if they all got drunk, one of them might slip up. I didn’t have much hope, but it was the only piece I had left.
“Thank God,” Megan added. “I knew we would all get through this. We just had to stick together.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aaron raise his eyebrows, and I knew the gesture was for me. I had pretty much accused him of being the murderer when I asked if he planted those things on Blake.
“I’ll just be a minute,” I said and left the room. There was a phone call I needed to make that absolutely couldn’t wait, so I locked myself in the bathroom down the hall.
Wright was on the other end of the line almost the second as he was informed of my call. “Hello, Miss Keaton, what a lovely surprise.”
“Is Blake OK?”
“Blake is fine,” he replied.
“What’s happening? You know he didn’t do this, don’t you?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t speak about—”
“Cut the bull,” I snapped. “We all know you do nothing by the book, so don’t try to start now.”
The line was silent for a second and then I heard a quiet chuckle. “I admire your spunk, Mackenzie.” Spunk. Who still used the word spunk? “Blake is being questioned.”
“I figured that. You’re still looking at who really murdered Court and Josh though, aren’t you?”
“If you’re asking me if you’re still a person of interest, yes.”
My shoulders loosened in relief. That meant he wasn’t jumping on the Blake-did-it train like everyone else. “Good.”
“I find it quite remarkable that you would prefer to still be in the limelight.”
“I don’t want an innocent man going to prison.”
“Neither do I,” he replied. “The evidence we found in Blake’s room has been sent for testing.”
“You mean fingerprinting?”
“Nothing gets past you, does it?”
“Hard to say. You’re slightly more transparent than my friends right now though.” And that’s the biggest lie I’ve told.
“I wish I could say the same about you. Good day, Mackenzie,” he said and hung up.
I walked back to Aaron’s room, and they hadn’t moved an inch. Taking my seat between Megan and Kyle, I picked up my drink and then thought better of it.
They had been alone with it, and I didn’t trust them anymore.