Exposure Point: A gripping small town mystery. (The Candidates Book 1)

by M. D. Archer

  I wasn’t telling him that, though.

  “Thanks for the ride, Isaac. I appreciate it,” I said, and I meant it. Getting him out of bed before noon on a Saturday was a big deal.

  “No worries.”

  We were hovering a few feet apart, I think both unsure how to be around each other after so much distance.

  And he seemed different. Older? Could he be taller? I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe it was just that I hadn’t seen him in person for so long. And now that he was here and I properly understood how much I’d missed him, it made me ache. I put down my coffee and lurched across the space between us to pull him into a hug.

  “It’s so good to see you,” I said, my voice muffled.

  “You too.” I could hear the smile in his voice, but when he pulled back, he looked worried. “Except, you look, um….”

  “Tired? Stressed? Like I’m freaking out?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Can we go? I’ll tell you everything, but I have to get out of here. I’m supposed to be at the studio with Ms. Spencer today.”

  “Whoa, Callie. What’s your mom going to say?”

  “She’s at work.” I pulled the door shut behind us and cast a look back at the house. “I’ll deal with her later.”

  ***

  A couple of hours later—we only stopped once for food—Isaac pulled up outside an oldish-looking two-storey house, a few blocks from the main campus.

  I hadn’t told him about DcH yet.

  During the drive we’d talked about my decision to quit dance and then fallen into general chit-chat. I hadn’t brought up the stuff going on in Montrose because it felt too good to be hanging out like we used to. I wanted, needed, some classic Callie and Isaac time first. And since Dad was out of town this weekend, I could spend my whole visit with Isaac.

  “Let’s drop off your stuff so I can show you around my neighbourhood.”

  “Sure.”

  Inside the house was a wide central hallway. “The kitchen’s down the back,” Isaac said pointing. “Two bedrooms down here,” he added, gesturing at the two closed doors on the left. “Upstairs are three more, including mine.” The stairs that led up to the second floor were halfway down the hall. “And here’s the living room.” Isaac went to the room on the right and poked his head around the door. I followed and looked over his shoulder. It had a couple of cheap-looking couches and a big window facing the street. It also had high ceilings, nice wooden flooring, and a girl lying in the middle of the floor. She was on her stomach and swinging her legs as she read a textbook. Didn’t they have desks and chairs in the city? Libraries and study spaces?

  “Hey,” Isaac said.

  She looked up. “Isaac!” A smile broke out across her face. She was obviously pleased to see him. Isaac had a pink hue to his cheeks. He looked pretty pleased to see her too.

  “Hey, Quinn.”

  “Um, hi?” I said to this Quinn person.

  She had wavy blonde hair, chopped in a blunt cut just above her shoulders, elfin features, and large blue eyes. That she had braces didn’t detract from her prettiness. Her eyes flicked to me, giving me a quick once-over, before they returned to Isaac.

  “Callie, this is Quinn. She’s friends with Rob, one of my roommates. Quinn, this is Callie.”

  “Isaac’s best friend,” she said, bringing herself to a seated position. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  I smiled and raised my hand in a greeting but didn’t say anything because I couldn’t say, “Really? This is the first I’ve heard of you”. I glanced at Isaac, fiddling with the strap of my bag. Was this why he got all distant? An unpleasant pang shot through me. Had I been replaced?

  “OMG, guess who I saw earlier,” Quinn said, grinning.

  Isaac started to smile too. “Not….”

  She nodded. “Yep.”

  “Mrs. Higgins Cookies,” they said in unison, erupting into laughter.

  I looked from Isaac to Quinn, feeling like I was out of place, an interloper. Was it because Isaac had left Montrose behind or because I wanted to find my version of this: a new life with new friends and inside jokes?

  “I’m going to show Callie around the city,” Isaac said, interrupting my thoughts.

  “There’s a party a few blocks over, later, if you guys are into it?” Quinn said, looking at Isaac. I too looked at Isaac. I’d been hoping we would hang out tonight just the two of us.

  “Your roomies are coming,” she added.

  Isaac turned to me. “Rob, Jia, Jenny, and Vikram,” he said in explanation. “I don’t think they’re here at the moment.”

  “Rob’s upstairs,” Quinn said. “So… the party?”

  “Not sure yet. We have a lot to catch up on,” Isaac said, smiling at me. I nodded, looping my arm around his elbow, pleased.

  ***

  By the time we got back from Isaac’s food-focused tour of the neighbourhood—we’d visit campus tomorrow—the house was empty, and I was relieved. I wanted to have him to myself. And I still hadn’t told him about DcH because I was having too good a time. It was like old times. Almost. There was still a bit of distance, a layer of tension there hadn’t been before, but it was okay. It was kind of like we were finding our new relationship, how we were going to be from now on.

  We settled in the lounge with our takeout dinner. They had no dining room or table, so eating cross-legged on the floor of the lounge was standard practice, Isaac assured me as he opened carton after carton of Chinese food. Isaac’s house was basically in Chinatown, and I’d felt so sophisticated, nonchalantly ordering at a restaurant with barbequed duck hanging in the window. The dead ducks were pretty gross, but still, I was impressed by Isaac. I’d even been wondering if the old Isaac had completely disappeared until I asked for a plate and he looked at me with wide eyes and shook his head. “No dishes this way,” he said, as if he’d unlocked the secrets to the universe.

  We passed the cartons between us and ate until there were four empties next to Isaac and two still containing food beside me. When he leaned forward, I quickly shielded them from him, giving myself a chance to check out the contents. I kept the kung pow chicken and pushed the fried rice over to him. He took it with a burp and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. The old Isaac was definitely still in there.

  “Hey, so how are you coping with the whole skipping rehearsal thing? Has your Mom called?”

  I got a better handle on my chopsticks and went for another piece of chicken before answering. “She’s working a double, so she probably won’t find out until tomorrow. I’m trying not to think about it ’cos it gives me a stomach-ache.”

  Isaac shook his head. “Callie from a couple of months ago? There’s no way.” He forked more fried rice into his mouth. He didn’t use chopsticks because they slowed him down.

  “Ha, yeah, I’m totally badass now, all rebellious and stuff. Watch out.”

  “You joke, but you have changed.”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “I do kind of feel like the old Callie has gone. And I’m glad, you know? The old me was just about dance and being your side-kick.”

  “Callie—”

  “No, it’s true. And it’s been really scary trying to figure everything out, what I’m doing with my life, especially since no one takes me seriously. No one thinks I can do anything other than dance.”

  “I do—”

  “Maybe. And you’d be the only one.” I sighed. “All up, things have been kinda rough so far.”

  Isaac picked up his soda and played with the tab. “I’m sorry I haven’t been more available.”

  “I didn’t mean that, Isaac, I mean… it’s fine. I got myself into that mess.”

  “I was going to call you a few times, but then I saw… I mean, I figured you already had someone to talk to.”

  I paused; chopsticks suspended in the air. “What do you mean?”

  “You and Cole? C’mon, Callie. I’m still connected to Montrose—”

  “Are you?” My voice sou
nded a little bitter. “Sorry,” I added. “Wait. What do you mean me and Cole?”

  Isaac looked down. “I hear things… I see things. You guys are dating, right?”

  He dropped his eyes and dug around in the carton as if digging for gold.

  “I mean… sure, he gave me a ride home once, and I guess he did walk me home another time, and yes, we got sushi… but… but they weren’t dates.” I lifted my shoulders. “I mean, I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t know?” Isaac managed a grin.

  “It just doesn’t fit, does it? Him with me? Cole’s in college. I think he’s dating Brooke’s older sister. And, like, he’d have his pick of beautiful girls. I can hardly see him picking me.”

  “But you’re beautiful.”

  I froze.

  Isaac’s eyes went wide. He’d never said that before, at least, not like that. And I was almost certain he hadn’t meant to say it just now. My cheeks grew hot, and I had to look down.

  “Uh, I mean… don’t sell yourself short, okay?” he added.

  I couldn’t speak, so I shoved some food in my mouth. As a weird combination of emotions whirled around, I focused on coordinating the muscles needed to chew and swallow. Finally, I finished my mouthful.

  “What about Quinn?”

  “What about her?” This time Isaac was the one looking down.

  “Are you dating her?”

  Quickly, he said, “No.”

  “But it’s kind of heading that way?”

  “Uh.” He looked at me, uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

  This was weird.

  Seriously weird.

  We’d never talked about this kind of stuff before. Both of us had eyes on other prizes, so dating had been kind of a non-event. Was that why this felt so weird? So raw and intimate? Because it was new territory? And I didn’t know what to think about Isaac saying I was beautiful.

  The silence continued.

  It was awkward.

  “Hey, so I’m pretty tired,” I said.

  “Yeah, I’m beat too. We had a late one last night.”

  I didn’t ask who he meant by ‘we’ or what kept them up all night. I was just relieved to be out of this conversation.

  “Let’s call it a night. We can carry on talking tomorrow,” he added.

  “Yeah, tomorrow,” I agreed. “Hey, is it okay with your roommates for me to sleep on the couch in here?”

  “No. You’re taking my bed.”

  “Isaac—”

  “It’s my place, all right? No arguments.”

  “Okay, okay,” I grumbled, secretly relieved I wouldn’t have to sleep in the shared space. What if they came home later and wanted to hang out in there?

  We went upstairs so I could get settled in Isaac’s room and so he could take a shower before bed. I changed into my PJs and got out my toiletries, listening for the water to stop. Almost as soon as he’d gone in, I realized I needed to pee, and the sound of the water was making it worse. I hopped from foot to foot, then finally, when I couldn’t wait any longer, I knocked on the bathroom door.

  “Isaac? You done?”

  “Yeah, mmmph mmphhhh.”

  It sounded like a yes, so I opened the door. Isaac stood there, still wet from the shower, with a towel wrapped around his waist. My mouth dropped open and we both took a step backward in a bizarre kind of reverse dance until I bumped into the door.

  “Callie, what the…? I said just a sec.”

  “Sorry, I thought you said, uh….” I stumbled out and closed the door behind me, then stood in the hallway with a thudding heart. What was wrong with me? I’d seen Isaac with his shirt off before. Why was that so different?

  After a few minutes, he emerged in sweats and a T-shirt. “All yours,” he said.

  “Oh, uh, yeah, thanks. And sorry about, uh—”

  “No worries. It could have been worse, right?” He grinned.

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. When I got back to Isaac’s room, he was sorting out blankets. I wanted to pretend the towel incident never happened, but it was all I could see in my head.

  “Hey, so all set. See you in the morning, okay?” Isaac seemed completely unfazed.

  As I got under the covers, the image of Isaac coming out of the shower popped into my head once again, but I pushed it firmly away.

  20

  After breakfast, Isaac took me on a tour of campus, showing me where he attended classes and labs. As we walked, I placed my arm in the crook of his elbow and drew him closer.

  He was animated as he pointed out buildings and landmarks, interspersing campus information with stuff about his classes. He told me about the special projects program, which would start in a couple of weeks, excitedly adding that if you were selected for it, then you could call her, the professor, Natalia—it was possible he had a bit of a crush. He became even more like a kid in a candy store when talking about his different options.

  The main campus was beautiful. Sleek new buildings mixed surprisingly well with old stone structures, both decorated by the warm colours of fall foliage and a brilliant blue sky. Even though it was the weekend, students were everywhere, and there was a buzzy-ness that filled me with a yearning I hadn’t felt before. Was it because I missed hanging out with Isaac? Was I picking up on his love for this world, or was it something else? This environment was relatively foreign to me, but weirdly, it didn’t feel strange or hostile.

  But none of that mattered; that wasn’t why I’d come to the city.

  Out of nowhere, the urge to confide in Isaac and talk about DcH rushed up, nearly bowling me over. I needed to tell him all the weird stuff going on—right now. I grabbed his arm and yanked him around to face me.

  “Whoa, Callie, what’s up?”

  “I have to tell you something. Can we go somewhere?”

  “Of course.”

  We were right near the library, so Isaac ushered me inside and then found a free breakout room. He shut the door but didn’t take a seat, instead hovering near the door, eyeing me with a worried expression.

  “Relax, it’s not bad,” I said but then checked myself. “Actually, it kind of is. If I’m right, it’s pretty bad.”

  “Just tell me.”

  “Okay, here it is. Something weird is going on at Montrose, and I think I have evidence.” I rummaged in my bag for a second, then held up my patient file.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s my patient file. From the health centre.”

  “Why do you have that?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I have test results. I think something shady is going on. And it’s all tied to the health centre manager, Logan Kerry. At first, I thought Montrose might have a steroid problem, but now I think it could be something else.”

  “Yeah, I heard the steroids rumour.”

  “Check this out.”

  I went to the blood test results page and then handed the file over.

  “What the frak is DcH?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Wait. There’s an obvious explanation for this.”

  “The DcH test was for the chemical the truck released,” I said.

  He nodded. “They gave you the all-clear and your result says zero.”

  “Yeah, mine does. But Gabby’s didn’t.”

  “Really? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. Or she has been as far as I can tell. But, Isaac… did you hear about Emily and Mitchell? I saw their results as well. Gabby’s DcH number was like, .08 or something, but Mitchell and Emily’s were both like .5 or .6.”

  “So, a lot higher.” Isaac exhaled loudly and pulled his laptop out of his bag.

  “I already tried looking for DcH online. I couldn’t find anything that looked relevant.”

  He angled the screen so I could see it too. “I’m looking on a site which is like a search engine for academics and researchers,” he explained as he typed.

  There were no direct matches.

  “So,
according to the internet, it doesn’t exist,” he said. “It’s probably an acronym, but even so, something should come up. How do you run a lab test for something that doesn’t exist?”

  “Exactly.”

  We stared at each other.

  “So, DcH might be secret and, like, toxic?” I said.

  “I think it totally could be.”

  “What if the truck did actually release toxic chemicals?”

  “And they pretended it didn’t.” Isaac nodded.

  He paced the small room, clicking the fingers of one hand as he thought. Suddenly he stopped and swivelled around. “Maybe DcH is a classified substance some drug company made, and they found out it has a toxic effect. And they were supposed to stop making it, but they didn’t.”

  Isaac’s eyes were wide and bright, and I got the feeling he was enjoying himself.

  “And the truck that crashed into Montrose was transporting it somewhere,” he continued, “but it wasn’t supposed to be, so when it crashed, they had to cover it up!” Isaac was gesturing wildly. “But what I don’t get is if DcH is toxic, then why aren’t more students sick? You’re fine, Gabby’s fine. The whole grade twelve class was exposed, right?” He stopped talking and pacing. “What, Callie? You’ve gone grey.”

  I was thinking about all the recent drama at school. Mitchell and Emily, Theo and his issues, Nikki collapsing from overtraining, Justin and Liam fighting. I sat back and tried to calm my racing mind. Was all that down to DcH? Was it possible? Were students at Montrose exposed to a toxic chemical that had made a bunch of them go kind of nutso?

  “Callie?”

  “They’re not all fine.” I choked out the words, then gave Isaac a summary of all the stuff that’d happened, including what I’d seen and heard of Logan.

  After I’d finished, he shook his head. “I mean, it’s only a handful, but still. And I think you’re right about Logan. That’s too much sketch to ignore.”

  I nodded. Finally, someone agreed with me.

  “So what do we do with this?” Isaac said. “I mean, we can’t just rock up to a police station, can we?” He looked off into the distance with a wistful expression, probably imagining becoming the local kid who discovered a cover-up.