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

by M. D. Archer

  I looked at him, but he kept staring straight ahead, his jaw muscles working.

  After an awkward, silent ride, Isaac pulled up outside the school. “Should we drive in or park out here?”

  “Out here. Just in case.”

  He turned off the engine, and we both jumped out. We ran through the main gates. At the front of the school, we stopped. I checked my phone. Cole hadn’t replied.

  “Is he coming?”

  “Not sure. Let’s go straight to the health centre and see whether his car is there.”

  Keeping low, we ran down the path along the side of the building. When we got to the lot, there was a car. A dark blue sedan.

  “It’s Logan’s car,” I whispered.

  “Where is he?” Isaac pointed at the health centre, which was completely dark.

  “He could be inside, just without the lights. Or maybe he’s at the back. Let’s do a circuit.”

  Isaac nodded. We started on the left, running hunched over as we did a complete circuit of the building. There wasn’t a single sound or sign of life inside. We got back to the front and huddled to one side, beneath the cover of a tree.

  “Maybe he just left his car here.”

  I checked my phone again. “Still nothing from Cole.” I looked at Isaac. “I guess we just wait a bit?”

  Isaac exhaled, his breath visible in the cold night air. “Maybe we should wait in the car.” He glanced behind us at the main building. “Or in the admin office. You have your keys, right?”

  “Yeah. We can watch what’s happening out of the back window.”

  We retraced our steps until we got to the front of the school again, but as I was getting my keys out, I noticed something had changed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t figure it out at first; I just knew that something was different, that I needed to pay attention to something.

  Then I realized.

  Smoke. I could smell smoke.

  I turned wide eyes to Isaac. “Where is that coming from?” We looked around, but the darkness around us was peaceful and the air was clear.

  I ran back around the side of the building. My eyes started stinging. Plumes of acrid black smoke billowed from the health centre.

  Logan Kerry’s car was illuminated by a wall of orange flames.

  The health centre was on fire.

  amanda

  Amanda Carsten had always had the best of everything.

  Her parents had insisted, and as much as she hated them sometimes, over the years she hadn’t been able to help but absorb their world view. It had infected her, gotten into her bloodstream, and now she also expected the best. Always. Which was why she wasn’t particularly surprised about what was happening to her. She didn’t know what was going on, but it was almost as if she’d been waiting for something like this to happen.

  At thirteen, it had been obvious that she took after both her mother and her father. She had a head for business—her mother was a self-made millionaire, building their hotel business from scratch, ruthlessly working her way to the top—and a body for athletics courtesy of her father, an athlete all through school and university and who even went pro briefly before turning his sports fame into business dollars via a sporting goods chain that was eventually incorporated into the Carsten hotel empire. And Amanda got a double dosing of whatever it was, that genetic code that made you determined to succeed. At any cost. But with that came a restlessness, and this was starting to build, starting to get to her. Something had to happen, and soon, or she didn’t know what she was going to do.

  She grabbed her phone and checked the time, then took her coat from the rack and left the suite. She exited the hotel and walked toward the restaurant where she’d told the others to meet her. As she strode down the street, past pedestrians idling away their evening, she didn’t bother to conceal the superiority she felt. They looked so dull, so slow, and so stupid. Like chimps trained to act like humans. She sighed. At least she didn’t have to put up with this town much longer. She’d always known that after graduation she’d be out of here, but now it looked as if her life might start sooner than that. She didn’t know what it would be—she almost didn’t care about the specifics—but based on that phone call she got last night, she knew it would be good.

  She spotted Justin across the street and smiled. He lifted his head to her in that way he did, a typical greeting to an outside observer, but to her it was so much more. An acknowledgement. He knew; he understood. He knew they were special. That they had been chosen. Of this she was sure. For what they had been chosen, she was less clear.

  She checked her phone again as she waited for him to cross the road and join her. The others should be here soon. They were the only ones she could tolerate right now. Everyone else had no clue.

  29

  Three days ago, the Montrose High health centre had burned to the ground.

  They’d pulled one body from the remains and made a preliminary identification with the caveat that they were still waiting for dental records.

  Logan Kerry.

  With his car in the parking lot and his wallet amongst the charred ruins, no one expected it to be anyone else. An official enquiry into safety procedures at the school was underway, but the full weight of blame had already been placed on Logan. And while the media waited for an announcement, they were enjoying speculating about everything from lax health and safety policies to secret meth labs.

  If only they knew.

  If only I didn’t.

  And it was awful, but I was relieved. Except that I still hadn’t heard from Cole. His car wasn’t at the health centre that night, and he hadn’t even confirmed he got my message. There was no evidence he’d even been in Montrose. But why wasn’t he answering my calls?

  I picked up my phone from my bedside table in case something had come in overnight. Nope, no messages. I got up, exhausted but unable to lie there any longer. I pulled on jeans and a hoodie, then texted Isaac.

  You up?

  Yes. Can’t sleep.

  Meet you outside?

  Five minutes.

  I scrawled a note for Mom and grabbed my coat. She and I still hadn’t talked, not properly, except for one brief conversation in which she promised there would be “major consequences” for my recent behaviour. But since the fire, everything was different. The school was closed and cordoned off. People stopped in the street to gossip in whispered huddles, and Mom wasn’t glaring at me or talking to me in her scary I’m mad at you voice anymore.

  The whole town was in shock.

  Isaac was waiting for me just outside the back door. “Gypsy coffee,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “You want to walk or drive?”

  “Walk.”

  Minette, the owner of Gypsy, was putting out her sign as we arrived. She was small and birdlike and seemed way older than Mom even though I knew she wasn’t.

  “Morning.” Her eyes were bright. “Did you hear about the fire?” she said, as if it would be possible to have missed it. As if fire engines hadn’t screamed through the streets. As if there wasn’t still the smell of smoke lingering around the school.

  We slid into one of the booths.

  “Isn’t it incredible?” Minette continued as she delivered our coffees. “And Logan Kerry was responsible? He seemed so nice.”

  Nice? Isaac and I exchanged looks as Minette scuttled away, excitedly preparing the tables.

  Isaac opened his laptop to check out the local news website.

  “Anything new?” I asked.

  “Not much. Just a lot of speculation. They don’t know if the explosion was because of the medical stuff or it was done on purpose.”

  “What do you think? Do you think Logan blew up the health centre?”

  “It’s a pretty drastic move, but yeah, I think he probably did. Or maybe it wasn’t on purpose? Maybe he left his gin bottle too close to a Bunsen burner.”

  “Bunsen burner?”

  “You know what I mean.”

&n
bsp; I nodded, looking down at my coffee. “At least he can’t re-dose anyone now, right?”

  “Have you heard from… him?”

  I shook my head, then picked up my phone to try Cole’s number again. “Where is he, Isaac?”

  “Callie.” Isaac’s voice sounded tired. “There’s nothing to say he was even in town, right? He said he wanted to meet you, but that was earlier, and when you got back to him, he didn’t reply. Maybe his phone died or was stolen or something.”

  I looked at him, hoping he was right. That something had happened to his phone and that Logan hadn’t done something to him. That there wasn’t a second body hidden in the remains of the health centre, waiting to be found.

  “Hey, so.” Isaac traced circles on the table with his finger. “I’ve got to get back to the city.”

  “Now?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “What are we supposed to do with this mess? Like, is it over?”

  He lifted his shoulders. “You heard Mr. Ellison. He thinks Radowski was paid off and if we go to the police, we’ll be the ones who get in trouble. And now that the centre has burned down and Logan is dead….”

  My phone buzzed and I grabbed at it, my heart racing, but it was only Mrs. Pemberton.

  “Calliope, dear. Can you come into the office?” Her voice wobbled.

  “Um.”

  We hadn’t spoken since she fired me.

  “Please?”

  I looked at Isaac, who raised questioning eyebrows as if to ask Who is it?

  “Is the school even open?”

  “The office is.”

  “Okay, see you soon.” I disconnected. “Mrs. Pemberton,” I explained. “She wants to see me. Like, now.”

  “Do you still think she could be involved?”

  “I mean….” I lifted my shoulders. “It’s possible, I guess.”

  “Should I come with you? What if this is a trap?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Even if she is involved in some sort of cover-up, I don’t think Mrs. Pemberton is, like, dangerous.”

  “Callie, being blasé is kinda dumb.”

  I bristled.

  “Not dumb, but… we should be wary of everyone. At least until we’re sure this is over.”

  “You think I shouldn’t go and see her?”

  “She didn’t say what she wanted to talk to you about?”

  “No, but if it’s not to confess she was involved in the secret experiment at Montrose High, I’d say it was because she wants to talk about how she fired me.”

  Isaac nodded. “What if I give you a ride and wait until you give me the OK?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  We both stood up.

  “And I’ll talk to Mr. Ellison when I get back to the city,” Isaac said, pulling on his coat. “Double-check there’s absolutely nothing else we can do.”

  ***

  As soon as I got to the office, Mrs. Pemberton lunged at me and took my hands in hers. “Oh, Calliope,” she said. Her eyes were wet and red-rimmed, as if she’d been crying for hours.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  She drew me inside and set me down on one of the chairs.

  “I still can’t believe it,” she said.

  “The fire? I know.”

  She dabbed at her eyes with a sodden-looking tissue.

  “How long is the school closed for?”

  “They’ve finished inspecting the health centre, or what’s left of it. They’ve put tape up and made sure it’s not hazardous, so the day after tomorrow, I’d guess.”

  I nodded. “And then….”

  “Back to normal.”

  I almost laughed. What was “normal”?

  “He made me,” Mrs. Pemberton suddenly said, her eyes filling with fresh tears. She clutched at my arm again, her hands soft and slightly clammy. “I feel so bad about it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Logan made me fire you,” she whispered, her eyes large, seeming to be asking me something. “It was Logan,” she repeated. “He made me.”

  “How did he make you?”

  “He… found out my secret, and he said he’d tell everyone unless….”

  I eyed her warily. “Logan blackmailed you? With what?”

  “It’s complicated,” she blustered, wringing her hands, “but… Mr. Evans and I… we’re in love.”

  My mouth dropped open. Both she and Mr. Evans were married to other people.

  “Um. Congratulations?”

  “I’m sorry, Calliope. I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t know.” Her face creased as tears started to stream out.

  “Um… there, there.” I patted her shoulder, and for the next ten minutes, she sobbed and shuddered, letting loose everything she’d been keeping to herself since the affair started six months ago. It was super weird to be talking to her like this, but she was obviously so relieved to tell someone. As she sobbed and talked, lost in her own little world, I was able to get a text to Isaac to say everything was fine.

  After about twenty minutes, she wiped her eyes, blew her nose, and gave me a shaky smile. “Thanks for listening.”

  “Um, no worries. It’s kind of a surprise. I thought….”

  “You thought what?” She sniffled and wiped her nose.

  I thought she was in on Logan’s secret experiment. And, I realized as she fixed her tremulous eyes on me, I was really glad that she wasn’t. That she was having an affair was kind of a big deal—I understood why she had to keep it a secret—but I was super relieved she wasn’t a baddie. I actually really liked Mrs. Pemberton.

  “Nothing. Don’t worry. And I’m glad you told me,” I said, smiling.

  The phone rang.

  It had been ringing every couple of minutes while Mrs. Pemberton had spilled her guts to me, but this time she actually answered. While she dealt with the call, I checked my phone. Isaac had replied saying we’d talk soon. I read the message a few times, feeling weirdly hollow. Isaac had gone. Was everything… done?

  I went over to the back window to look out the health centre. At its blackened, destroyed exterior. I’d stayed away since the fire, but now it was calling to me, and I couldn’t resist. I had to see for myself. I didn’t know what I thought would be there, but if I could get up close, maybe pick my way through the remains, then maybe I would find something to reassure me that Cole wasn’t there that night.

  I waited for Mrs. Pemberton to hang up.

  “I’m going to go now, okay? Thanks for, um, explaining.”

  She nodded, her chin wobbling. “I’ll talk to Ms. Michaels about getting you your job back,” she said, looking hopeful.

  For a moment, I hesitated. Was that what I wanted? But what else was I supposed to do with myself? “Okay,” I said.

  Mrs. Pemberton picked up her bag and her keys. “I’m heading off now too. I only came in to pick up my, ah, other phone”—she looked guilty—“but when I got here, I realized I needed to talk to you, to explain. I’ve missed having you here, Calliope. You’ve become a valuable employee.”

  A bloom of pleasure washed through me. “Thanks.” Her compliment actually meant a lot. We’d come a long way since she saw me as a charity project.

  We said goodbye at the front entrance. I waited until she’d left, then started toward the health centre.

  Just as I reached the cordoned-off entrance, I noticed my shoelace had snaked its way free. I bent down to retie it. Just as I straightened, a shadow loomed over me. Before I could turn, a hand clamped over my mouth.

  And everything went black.

  30

  I blinked and tried to swallow, my throat like sandpaper. My head pounded, but I didn’t seem to be injured.

  Darkness surrounded me.

  Moving slowly, gingerly, I stood up, my body a full throb of ache. As my eyes got used to the dark, some of the inky black lifted and I stepped forward, carefully, reaching ahead of me. After about five paces, my hands brushed against cold concrete. I moved to the left, t
railing one hand along the wall for about six steps until I got to an intersecting corner. It took ten or so steps to reach the other wall, and about ten more to get to the front, which wasn’t a wall. My hands gripped around the cold metal of bars.

  I was in a cell.

  I whimpered.

  “Hello?” I croaked. The darkness seemed to absorb my voice. Even though it was obvious no one could hear me, I tried again. “Hello?”

  A wave of nausea rolled through my stomach. I clutched at the bars for support. With a shiver, I became aware of the cold. It felt and smelt damp. Dank. I had the feeling I was underground. I had no clue how long I’d been here; the only thing I could even guess at was the person who’d brought me here.

  Logan.

  Even though it was supposedly his body they found in the health centre fire, it was the only thing that made sense.

  I pulled my coat tighter around my body and dropped to the floor to huddle into a small ball. I rocked back and forth, trying to comfort myself, trying not to cry. I stayed like that, curled up, until I heard the heavy tread of someone—walking down a flight of stairs, it sounded like—to my left. I turned in that direction, moving carefully in the dark until I once again could grip the bars of the cell.

  “You made it so easy for me.” A disembodied voice floated out of the black, and a moment later, he emerged in a pool of light from the lantern he carried, coming to stand a few feet away. I was right: Logan. Unshaven, grey-faced, Logan Kerry.

  “I’d been wondering what to do about the Calliope Laws situation, and then suddenly there you were, nosing around where you didn’t belong, once again. You made it so easy,” he repeated.

  “Where am I?”

  “Don’t you recognize it? You were here often enough. Traipsing over with stationery and paperwork like some sort of trained pony.”

  He could only mean one place.

  “The health centre?” I looked around, as if it was possible to tell anything in the darkness. “How? It burned down.”

  “Yes, Captain Obvious.” Logan chuckled to himself. “But only the top. The basement”—he swept his hand to indicate our surroundings—“is completely fire proofed.”

  “This is a secret basement?”