by S. Massery
We do. There’s another crash, and then the sound of voices.
“This is weird.” My skin crawls. “I have a bad feeling about this…”
Riley leans toward me. “You said your dad didn’t kill her husband. What if she had something to do with it?”
“Then… we’re alone with a dangerous woman.”
“No!” Lydia yells from the back room.
We both shoot to our feet, grabbing our stuff.
Riley yanks me toward the entrance. “Move, Margo. Come on.”
The kitchen door flies open, and my mouth drops.
I stop moving. Stop… everything.
Breathing.
Thinking.
My mother… in front of me at last.
She glares at me. Her hair is pulled back, mostly covered by a black bandana. Chef’s coat. Wrinkles across her tanned face. Thin. Angry. She raises her hands, and I’m pretty sure she’s about to shoo us away or, I don’t know. Flip me off, maybe?
I shudder.
Riley keeps guiding me away. Maybe she can see the family resemblance, or maybe she’s just freaked out about this woman’s sudden appearance.
“Margo,” Riley pleads.
Mom opens her mouth, but my shoulder hits the doorframe.
It knocks some sense into me.
Spinning around, I finally go with Riley. My feet move fast, almost outrunning my friend. We sprint to her car and fall into it.
“Go, go, go.” I stare at the entrance.
Mom bursts out just as Riley turns onto the street, and we fly past her.
Around the corner.
Shit.
“Who the hell was that?” Riley yells.
I laugh. I can’t help it.
Three fucking years, and I stumble upon her by accident.
“My mother,” I say through my giggles. “My stupid drug addict mother who abandoned me—”
I abruptly cut myself off.
“Caleb must’ve known she was there,” I muse.
Riley pulls onto the shoulder of the road. It’s one of the back ways to get between Beacon Hill and Rose Hill, and it’s deserted.
“That was your mom?” She cranks the heat.
My whole body trembles. “I’m so sick of surprises.”
She sighs. “I thought we were going to find Unknown. You know? Like in Pretty Little Liars.”
“I never saw that show.” I shake my head. “Were they threatened by a mysterious texter, too?”
She chuckles. “Yeah, they were.”
“Huh.”
She types on her phone. “I’m going to make a list. We’ve got to narrow this down.”
“Caleb said he might know who it is,” I admit. “But… I don’t know. Matt abducting me was a bit…”
“Of a shocker?”
“Right.”
She nods. “Yeah. He seemed nice at the football game. Okay, so… Unknown texted you before you started school. So they had to have your number somehow.”
I grimace. “I got that number when I was thirteen. Angela got the cell for me.”
“Angela—your social worker who lied about how your dad went to prison?”
“That’s the one.” I’ve never had a lot of contacts in my phone, just foster siblings I wanted to stay in touch with and new friends from school, Angela, and a lawyer who represented me when I was ten.
“They also had to see Ian dragging you off at school.”
I put my hand over my stomach, getting phantom pains just from thinking about it.
“Unknown said that was the only nice thing they would do for me,” I add.
“Asshole.” Her head is bent as she types. “And… there was the party. With the video.”
“Ugh.”
“What else?”
“They seemed to have insider knowledge. But… not inner circle stuff.”
Riley grins. “You’ve ruled me out, then?”
“Unless you have a secret phone I don’t know about…”
Her smile drops. “Shit. I didn’t even think of that. It could be literally anyone who picked up a disposable phone at the store. Paid minutes in cash…”
“Yep.”
“So you haven’t seen your mom since…”
“She’d stop by to check on me in foster care, but it was more about money than anything else. Quick visits on the sidewalk. That stopped when I was fourteen.”
Riley frowns.
“Please don’t pity me,” I say. “She’s a terrible mom, asking her teenage daughter for money. She gave me a present once, when I was… twelve, maybe? A little candy bunny for Easter.”
“That was nice,” she says.
“Yeah, nice. One of the other foster kids at the time stole it before I’d had a chance…” I sigh. “I wasn’t even going to eat it. I just wanted something to hold on to that let me know she was thinking of me.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s back.”
I shake my head. “Doubt it. Did you see the anger in her eyes? She always held a grudge for the secret I let slip.”
I fill Riley in about catching my mom and Caleb’s dad together. How Caleb told me he knew, begged me not to tell, and then we got caught leaving our hiding place. Mom said it was nothing, but…
That’s not quite accurate.
“So you went home and told your dad,” she fills in.
I lift one shoulder. “I think so.”
“You don’t remember that part?”
“Not yet. It’s coming back in pieces.”
She pulls back out onto the road, heading home. “You haven’t got any new texts, right?”
“Nope.” My phone buzzes, and I groan. “I jinxed it.”
Lenora: Dr. Sayer had a cancelation tomorrow afternoon and wants to see you. Can you get a ride for 3?
I grimace. “This lady is persistent.”
“Who?”
“My new therapist,” I grumble. “She wants to see me tomorrow. And Friday morning.”
Riley chuckles. “Maybe she’ll be able to help solve the mystery.”
Doubt it.
20
Caleb
It only took fifty bucks to bribe the junkyard attendant. He showed us to the cars involved in the accident, then ambled away with his hands in his pockets.
Eli kicks at the ground. We’ve been staring at the wreck for the last two minutes, waiting until the employee was out of sight. The cars…
I go closer to Robert’s car. What’s left of it, anyway.
All the glass is broken. The windshield is still there, severely cracked and only attached in one corner. There’s glass everywhere. All the windows are gone, and the roof of the car is crumbled.
“How did they survive this?” Theo asks.
He leans down on the driver’s side, peering in. It’s streaked with blood. Most of the door is gone, cut away by the rescue team.
“The car was upside down,” Eli informs us, reading from his phone.
There was a little article about it in the paper, but I wasn’t able to read it. Couldn’t stomach the thought. And now I’m staring at the actual evidence, and I think I might puke.
“Margo was in the passenger seat,” he continues. “And she wasn’t found at the crash. When her foster mother and case worker couldn’t locate her, she was reported missing.”
I shake my head. “Matt dragged her out and left Robert behind.”
I like the Jenkinses. They’re good for Margo. Good people in general.
And someone tried to—
“Don’t spiral,” Liam says behind me.
I find him watching me instead of the totaled cars.
“I’m not.”
“You are,” he argues. “Going down the wormhole. Going to let the anger take over. Well, just—don’t.”
I grunt and try to listen to him for once. I take a deep breath, then another.
“Margo and Robert both survived this,” he continues. “Got it?”
“I fucking got it,” I growl.
&nb
sp; I leave Robert’s car behind—I can’t look at it anymore—and head toward the other vehicle. It’s a maroon SUV better suited for moms and too many kids. It faired a lot better.
“Check this out,” Liam says, pointing to a few marks on the front of the SUV. “Was there a brush guard on it or something?”
There’s nothing on there now… and it would explain why this car is in much better shape than Robert’s. My anger flares, white-hot, but I push it down. There will be a time to deal with Matt—and whoever was giving Matt orders.
I raise my eyebrow. “That isn’t cheap. And not typically a rental.”
“I doubt it was a rental.” Liam circles it. His dad has always been into cars. I heard he once thought about opening his own shop. The family restored a few cars and sold them to folks in Rose Hill with too much money to burn, and I know for a fact Liam was just as involved in the project as his dad and brother.
He opens the passenger door and leans in, yanking off his gloves.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for the registration,” he says. The jackass he’d normally tack onto the end of such a statement is implied this time.
I roll my eyes.
He pulls out a piece of paper, grinning. “Not the Powerball, but no small potatoes, either.”
“Sorry, is that a lottery analogy?”
“Shut up.” He scans the paper, then tosses it across the driver’s side to me.
I open it slowly. It’s a receipt for an oil change, with the owner’s name printed neatly in the upper corner.
Lead stones drop into my stomach.
“Do you know who it is?” Liam asks. There must be something alarming in my expression, because he whistles for the other guys and comes around the vehicle.
He pries the paper from my hand and shows it to Eli and Theo.
“That name sounds vaguely familiar,” Eli comments.
“It should.” I take the paper back and stare down at it.
This situation just got a whole lot more fucked up.
“Tobias Hutchins,” I say, staring at the name. “Also known as Keith Wolfe’s public defender. The one my mother bribed to botch his plea deal.”
21
Margo
I pace in my room, practicing flipping open the knife. I jab the air, slice it, twirl around and pretend to stab it into someone’s eye.
I debate practicing on a pillow but quickly dismiss that idea.
My actions slow when the garage door rumbles open. Josh and Norah are in the city for the day, which means Eli and Caleb have returned. The door downstairs slams shut. Voices drift upstairs. More than two.
I flip the knife closed, sliding it into my pocket, and slip into the hall. I was hoping to catch Caleb alone, but now…
Caleb is the first to see me when I walk into the kitchen. They’re raiding the fridge and pantry. Eli is half hidden behind the door, tossing out snacks. His eyes narrow, moving up and down my body.
Oh, right.
I should’ve put something on over my tank top, but I’m too heated. Literally. It’s work keeping the frustration off my face.
He could’ve told me about my mother. Should’ve told me about her. I mean, yes, he had mentioned she was in town, but—
“I need to tell you something,” he says to me.
“It’s a little late,” I snap.
I march up to him, stopping a foot away. Close enough to touch, but I don’t dare reach out. Neither does he.
“Margo—”
“No. We went to the diner Matt took you to, okay? I saw—”
“You what?” Caleb’s face pales.
It’s not often that I catch him by surprise. Almost never, I’d say. But today—today is the exception.
I set my jaw. “You should’ve told me that my mother was there.”
“Oh shit,” Eli whispers.
I ignore it and focus on Caleb.
“I didn’t know,” he says. “I only saw my mom.”
“She’s working where?” Liam asks.
“Lucky’s Diner,” Caleb and I say together.
I blush.
“Okay, your turn,” Liam prods.
I raise my eyebrows, and then it occurs to me that all of them are acting suspicious.
“What did you do?”
“We’re not done talking about our mothers,” Caleb warns. “But, we went to the junkyard to see if we could figure out a connection.”
“The car Matt used to hit me? It was still at the…” I wince. I almost just called it a crime scene. I mean, it is a crime scene—but it’s a lot more devastating than that.
Theo clears his throat. “Maybe we should take this to… anywhere else.”
Eli snaps his fingers. “To the couch!”
Liam and Theo follow Eli out. I start to go, too, but Caleb holds me back.
“How was it?” he asks.
I tilt my head. “Which part?”
“Seeing them. I should’ve known she knew where your mom was, but I… believed her.”
“It was weird to see your mom. She was definitely shocked. I think mine is working as a cook there, which makes sense…” I shrug, looking away.
He grips my chin, twisting my head back around. “Don’t hide from me.”
I stare at him. “Seriously?”
“I can see you leaving as we speak.”
I push at his chest. “And where have you been? Lurking in the shadows. Following me and so-called leads around town.” My voice drops. “We should be doing this together.”
His face softens. “Is that what you want?”
“To work with you on this? To spend time with you actually doing shit instead of avoiding each other?” I roll my eyes. “Of course that’s what I want.”
He smiles, and it lights up his face.
My heart skips a beat.
Damn you, heart.
“Let’s go solve this thing, then.”
I pull out my phone. “Riley should come, too.”
He nods, then presses a kiss to my forehead. It’s sweet, and it shoots tingles through my whole body.
Me: How soon can you be here?
Riley: Two minutes. I was heading there anyway.
I grin to myself.
Me: No texting and driving. ;) Did Eli invite you?
The bubble pops up that she’s typing, then it disappears. It comes up again…
I bite my lip.
Oh god, if I’m the result of another car accident, I’m just going to… lose my goddamn mind.
Riley: He’s an asshole.
Well, fuck.
I shake my head, stuffing the phone back into my pocket. The guys are waiting for me in the living room, all of them looking like I have all the answers. Or maybe I’ll just have the most dramatic reaction to whatever they uncovered.
Who knows.
I take a seat in the armchair closest to Caleb, draping a blanket over my lap.
He opens his mouth, and I hold up my hand.
“Is this bad? Like, really bad?” I close my eyes. “I just need to mentally prepare myself.”
Theo chuckles. “Good thing you’re in therapy.”
I glare at him. “I start tomorrow, asshole.”
“As I said, it’s a good thing—”
“Shut it,” Caleb says mildly, leaning forward. His attention swings to me. “Ready yet?”
My fingers curl into the blanket. No, I’m not ready. But actually… “Just rip off the Band-Aid.”
“We figured Matt wouldn’t have been able to get his hands on a vehicle without help,” he says. “And since Masters didn’t question him outside of getting an alibi—”
“Bunch of shit,” I cut in.
“A fake alibi,” he amends. “We went to the junkyard to get our hands on the vehicle. It wasn’t impounded by the police because it wasn’t… I don’t know why they sent it there, actually.”
Eli growls. “Because Masters is after Caleb like a hound after a fox.”
My eyes go
wide. “So, wait a minute. You’re saying you were able to stroll right into the junkyard and find out who the vehicle was registered to?”
Caleb shifts. “Right.”
“And whoever owns the vehicle probably had something to do with it.”
“Supposedly,” Liam says. “Assuming it wasn’t stolen.”
“And was it? Stolen, that is?”
Eli perks up. “We didn’t check.”
I facepalm. “You didn’t check.”
“It’s a quick search in the public records,” Eli mumbles. “Don’t you ever check those?”
I shake my head, not bothering to ask why the hell I’d do that. Instead, I turn back to Caleb. “And? Who did it belong to?”
“Listen, Margo, before I say it—”
“Aha!” Eli yells. He lifts his phone. “It was reported stolen about three hours before the accident.”
“Why are you cheering?” Riley asks from the doorway, holding a box. “That’s not a good thing.”
I jump to my feet, but something in Riley’s face stops me cold.
Eli slowly rises as well. “I have a feeling we should take this upstairs.”
“No,” Riley says through gritted teeth. “I’m not going anywhere with you ever again.”
He tilts his head. “Why’s that?”
“Because you’re…” She swallows and looks away. “You’re a miserable, lying asshole, and I can’t be around you anymore.”
My gaze bounces from her to Eli, whose face is a blank mask. I glance at Caleb, raising my eyebrow.
He shrugs.
“Riley—”
“Don’t!” she shrieks. She reaches into the box and pulls out a shirt, chucking it at him. “Take back all of your shit, Eli, and maybe I’ll finally be able to forget about you.”
He flinches.
“I’m sorry, Margo.” Her gaze goes to me. “I just, I can’t—”
She upends the box, spilling clothes and random knickknacks across the floor.
I take a step forward, but that just makes her bolt.
I chase her as far as the door, but she’s in her car and out on the street too fast. I can’t follow her. I’ve never wanted to be able to drive so badly.