She cuts me off. “I guess everybody else saw, too,” she says, looking around. I glance around with her, but anyone who witnessed the fight is long gone, leaving just the two of us.
“It’s okay,” she says in s shaky voice. “He’s just… He didn’t mean…” It sounds like she’s going to cry again “I really do need to get to school.”
I decide to take a chance. “I couldn’t help hearing,” I say, “something about a necklace?”
She looks at me, her eyes wide. “Well, yes. I…lost it…”
I unzip the outer pocket of my backpack. Holding the plastic sandwich bag like a precious commodity, I carefully pull out the cross necklace.
Amy gives an audible gasp. Her hand goes out, and I place the necklace gently onto her palm.
“Oh my God,” she says in awe, turning it over in her hand. “Where did you find it?”
“I was just walking,” I fumble, “and I looked down and…there is was.”
“I can’t believe it. I can’t… Thank you.” She hugs me, catching me by surprise and knocking me off-balance. She doesn’t seem to notice as she says “Thank you” again before releasing me. My face is blazing hot and I know I’m blushing.
“This means so much to me,” she says. “This is what we were arguing about. I’d broken the clasp, and Greg said he’d get it fixed for me. But then he lost it, and I’ve been upset about it. He said he looked all over for it, he said he’d buy me a new one, but it wouldn’t be the same. My parents gave this to me the day I was baptized. He didn’t seem to understand that.” She shows me the necklace. “Oh, shoot. He didn’t get it fixed before he lost it.” She lifts the necklace up to her neck and looks at me. “Doesn’t it look beautiful?” she asks.
“Uh, yes,” I say. I imagine anything would look great hanging from her neck.
“I can’t wait to show it to Greg,” she says. “I really shouldn’t have gotten as mad at him as I did. Him losing it… It was just an accident.”
An accident, huh? I want to tell her the truth, but I don’t. For now.
“I have got to get to school,” she says, putting the necklace in her purse.
“Me too,” I say.
She looks at me. Smiles. What a great smile. “Thank you so much, Alden,” she says. I don’t expect the quick kiss she gives me on the cheek. If she notices me blushing again, she doesn’t say anything. Side by side, we walk quickly to school.
I could tell her now, before this gets even more out of hand. Every second I wait is another second Alycia’s parents are left without answers, and Amy could be in danger.
Say it! Just tell her!
If I tell her now, though, she’ll be horrified. She might not believe me at first. Maybe she’ll even think I’m a creep who’s obsessed with her and Greg. But at least she’ll know. It’ll give her time to process. I can offer to show her my evidence later.
But we’re in the building now, and Amy is waving to her friends, and the opportunity to confess everything I know is gone.
I watch her as she heads off to her first class, hating myself for being a coward.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I next see Amy between first and second period, talking to Greg at his locker. She’s showing him the necklace. She hands it to him. He studies it briefly as Amy gives him a hopeful smile. Then he gives it back to her. He doesn’t seem impressed.
She keeps talking, then tries to take his arm, but he steps back and says something I can’t make out. Then, abruptly, he turns and walks away.
Amy is left looking heartbroken. A few kids glance her way but keep going. I want to comfort her, but I worry what people might think. What Amy would think.
Two girls I recognize as friends of hers show up, and soon they’ve each got an arm around her and are walking with her to her next class. She looks miserable.
“Looks like things aren’t all that happy in Amy-Greg land,” I hear behind me. I recognize the voice, of course, and turn to face Charlie. Her arms are crossed. “Any idea what that’s about?” she asks.
“Uh, no,” I say.
“Are you sure?” she says, eyes squinting. “Looks to me like she has her necklace back.”
When I don’t say anything, she adds, “That argument I saw them having on the way to school sounded like it was about a necklace. The necklace.”
So she had watched the argument. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, really? That wasn’t you I saw sneaking into the drugstore to watch from the window?”
I don’t say anything. Charlie beckons me to follow her to the far wall, which I do, reluctantly, out of the way of student traffic.
“Alden, tell me you didn’t give the necklace back to her yourself. Tell me that’s not the reason the two of you were seen walking into school together. Tell me you slipped it into her locker or her purse without her knowing it.”
I don’t say anything, but the answer must be clear on my face because she rolls her eyes and says, “Alden…”
“What do you care?” I can’t keep the defensiveness from my voice.
“You don’t want anything that might connect you to Amy or the phone calls.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t mention you if your dad questions me.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Well, you don’t have to be.”
“You should have gotten rid of the necklace with the rest of the evidence.”
When I don’t say anything, her glare intensifies, and she seems to rise to her full six-foot height as she bears down on me. “You did get rid of the rest of the evidence, didn’t you?”
Now would be the time to tell her what I’ve learned since we last talked. But why should I? Best friends stick together, and when things got really tough, Charlie didn’t stand by me. She walked away. “I thought you wanted to keep your distance from me,” I blurt out.
Her eyes narrow even more. In the past, I wouldn’t have said anything.
Not this time.
“You don’t want to hang with me anymore, then don’t,” I tell her, my tone sounding different even to me.
“Alden…” she tries.
“Just leave me alone!” I hiss.
And then it comes tumbling out of me before I can stop it. “I don’t need you watching over me. Feeling sorry for me all the time because of what happened to my mom and dad. I don’t need it anymore. I don’t want it!”
As long as we’ve been friends, I’ve never seen such a look of deep hurt on Charlie’s face as I do now. I start to take back what I said—I want to—but for some reason I don’t. Something stops me.
And then it’s too late. Charlie’s expression changes from hurt to anger.
For a moment, I’m afraid of what she might do to me. Maybe she is, too, because all at once she turns and, without a word, marches off.
The feeling of something dark and heavy in my stomach keeps me in place. When the next bell finally rings, I manage to move, getting to my next class a couple of minutes late.
Along the way, I can’t help feeling like I’ve just broken something I’ll never be able to fix.
Chapter Thirty
By the end of the school day, I’ve seen Amy three more times: twice walking in the hall and once at lunch. Each time, Greg is not with her. It’s most notable in the cafeteria, where she sits with a group of friends. At one point, Greg comes in, but instead of going to Amy, he hooks up with a group of guys from the baseball team, and they leave the room. I notice Amy staring sadly at him, but he never looks at her. After he leaves, she tries joining her friends in conversation, but with difficulty.
I look for Charlie, but she never makes an appearance.
At the end of the day, I decide to use a different exit, taking a way home that’s not used as much by students. I told myself I wasn’t in the mood to be near anybody, but once I’m out
of the building I’m wondering what Amy might be doing. Normally, she’d be in the stands watching Greg at baseball practice. But after today, maybe she, too, is walking home alone.
Pivoting hard, I decide to look for her, and I almost crash into somebody. “Whoa, slugger, watch out there.” Big hands grab my shoulders.
“Sorry,” I say automatically as I look up.
“No problem,” Greg Matthes says. “How are you doing?” he asks.
I’m sure there have been a few times in my life at Milton High when Greg has given me a friendly hello or even a pat on the back—he seems to do that with everyone—but at the moment, I can’t think of any time before now. His smile is full of welcome and encouragement. His hands still grasp my shoulders.
“I’m…fine.” My voice sounds like it’s coming from somewhere far away.
“That’s good.” Thankfully, he releases his hold.
“Don’t…don’t you have baseball practice?” I hear myself ask. “Don’t the playoffs start next week?”
“I’ve got a few minutes,” he responds. “I wanted to talk to you, actually. I wanted to thank you for finding Amy’s necklace and giving it back to her.”
“You’re…welcome,” I manage. My mouth is suddenly dry, and I try to swallow.
“Amy loves that necklace,” Greg continues. “Dumb me, I was supposed to get it fixed for her, but I lost it. One minute, it’s in my pocket, the next, it’s gone. I looked all over for that thing. I’m really glad you found it.”
“Sure,” I say, getting at least some of my voice back. “No problem. Listen, I need to get going—”
“Where did you find it?”
A light pounding begins in my chest. “Pardon?” I say.
“Where did you find it?” Greg asks again. “Do you remember? Amy told me you were just walking somewhere, looked down, and there it was. Do you remember where?”
“No, I…I don’t.” I glance right and left to see if anybody is walking by.
Greg shrugs. “I was just curious.” He takes a step as if to leave, then stops and turns back. “Actually, the last time I remember having the necklace was last Thursday. I was walking on Bronco Street—you know where that is, don’t you? I was actually on my way to get it fixed. I was almost there, but when I reached in my pocket, I realized it was gone. I felt awful.” He shakes his head. “Is that where you found it?”
“Huh?”
“Bronco Street. Is that where you found it?”
“Uh, yeah,” I tell him. “Come to think of it, that is where I found it. On Bronco.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, thanks again, man.” He gives a wave and turns. Happy to get away from him, I leave in the opposite direction. Suddenly I feel his hand on my shoulder again. “Wait a minute,” I hear. “Stupid me.” He pulls on my shoulder, turning me around. “It wasn’t Bronco.”
“What?” I say.
“It wasn’t Bronco,” he repeats.
His smile is still the same, but his eyes have changed. They’ve grown darker, more intense. “What was I thinking? I was walking on Turner Street when I realized I’d lost it. That’s way across town from Bronco. In fact, I was nowhere near Bronco that day.” He moves toward me a step. “How the heck did her necklace end up all the way on Bronco?”
The thudding in my heart has reached my head, pounding. I want to rub my forehead, but I keep my hand still. “I don’t know,” I say in a shaky voice. I try to laugh, but it comes out strangled. “I really don’t remember where I found it.”
“But you did,” Greg says, his smile growing thinner. “Find it, I mean. So I was thinking you might’ve found something else I’ve been missing. Something really important to me. I know it sounds silly, but it has all these patches on it that I’ve put on over the years. They have sentimental value for me, I guess. You know what I’m talking about, right? Why getting it back to me is so important? Why I’d do just about anything to get it back?”
He moves closer. “Anything.”
He says this last with a chuckle even though his smile is barely showing now. He seems to be waiting for me to say something. “Uh” is all I manage at first. I clear my throat and try again. “Uh, sure,” I say. “I can understand that.”
“Last time I remember having it,” he goes on, “I was home. Alone. I had it. In my hands. Then I put it back. I swear I did.” His voice is changing. The smile disappearing. “The next day, I went to get it and it wasn’t there.” He comes even closer. “Do you know where it could be, Alden?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. At six feet two, he towers over me. “I asked you a question,” he says. “Or maybe I could ask Charlie. She might know… Right? Oh, and by the way, I found something interesting. In my backyard, of all places. Behind the shed. It made for an interesting read. I left it where I’d found it, though. In case the person who lost it came back for it. Because I know how bad it feels to lose something important. And you know what? He came back. So it’s all good. Except, now I want back what belongs to me. Do you know what I mean?”
He’s standing so close it feels like he might topple over me. Crush me under his weight. My throat feels clogged. I know if I try to talk, to breathe, I’ll start choking. He’s staring at me, and now that he’s dropped the smile, I can see the creature behind it, like the removal of a mask. A creature capable of striking out, suddenly and without warning, with whatever weapon available.
“Alden,” he says, “where is my—”
“Hey, Greg, there you are.” The unexpected interruption comes from one of his teammates coming toward us, wearing a baseball team practice shirt. I can’t remember his name. “Coach has been wondering where you are. Practice started.”
Greg steps back but doesn’t look away as he says, “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“I think you need to come now. He’s pissed. You know how he gets close to playoffs.”
Irritation flashes across Greg’s face as he shouts back over his shoulder, “All right. I’m coming!”
I should take advantage of the moment and get out of here. Fast. But my legs feel heavy. I can’t get them moving. Greg seems uncertain now. Then, the smile returns, but it’s sad this time as he leans in and says, “You know, Alden, I don’t think I ever really told you how sorry I was about what happened to your parents. It was awful. You have just your uncle now, right? No other family? I bet you’re glad he’s here to take care of you. Otherwise, what would you do if something happened…?”
Letting his voice trail off, his smile changes again. “Gotta go,” he says, waving as he retreats, the mask solidly in place, exuding nothing but charm and affability. “We’ll talk again soon.”
He pauses for emphasis. “I promise.” He joins his teammate and, together, they walk away.
Everything inside me is swirling, pulling, as if I’m trapped in a whirlpool. If I try to move, I’ll collapse.
But I have to move.
Eventually, I start walking, desperately trying to figure out what I’m going to do next.
Chapter Thirty-One
It takes me a while to gather my panicked thoughts together. When I’m finally able to think again, one thing pops out.
He knows. Greg Matthes knows.
Okay. What exactly does he know?
He doesn’t know I have the bag of bloody clothes he tried to get rid of.
He did find my notebook. And he read it. And he may have been babysitting his sister, but he was watching when I came back to get it and found out it was mine. What I’d written in my notebook at that point told him I had the necklace, but he didn’t know the backpack was missing until the next day when he’d finally decided to get rid of it.
You know what I’m talking about, right? Why getting it back to me is so important?
He put two and two together and realized I had
the bag.
Why I’d do just about anything to get it back.
And if he knows I have his backpack, he might have assumed I found the cell phone hidden inside, with the pictures and the texts on it.
Anything.
I’m such an idiot!
Why I’d do just about anything to get it back.
He’s going to come after me. He’s already killed one person. What’s one more?
Or maybe I could ask Charlie…
Or two more.
You have just your uncle now, right? No other family?
Or three? Would Greg really kill the two people I love the most?
Anything.
What do I do next? Should I warn them? What if I just give everything back to Greg? His bloody clothes. His backpack. I can pretend I didn’t find the cell phone. And I’ll promise not to tell anybody.
Ever.
Yeah, he’ll believe that.
And what about Amy? What’s to stop him in the future from killing her if she does something he doesn’t like? Or says something? I need to tell her. For her own safety. The sooner the better.
I have to talk to Chief Walker. It’s not just about me anymore. Or solving what happened to Alycia Beaumont. It’s also about protecting Charlie and my uncle. And Amy. I can’t do that alone. Whatever the consequences are for not telling him before, I’ll face them.
With my decision made, I actually feel a little better. As if it’s a sign, Amy appears just a couple of blocks ahead of me. I guess I’d been so lost in thought, I hadn’t even noticed her.
She’s walking with her head down, her shoulders slumped. She has plenty of friends she could be walking with, if she wanted. Maybe she wants to be alone.
I run to catch up, and she must hear me coming but she doesn’t turn around, so I try clearing my throat. Nothing. I clear my throat again, then try, “Uh, Amy?”
Abruptly, she stops and turns, a startled look on her face. I skid to a stop to keep from bumping into her.
“Oh, it’s you, Alden,” she says, letting out a sigh. “You surprised me.”
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