Covert

by Natasha Preston

  Wright got out of the car and walked in front of us. He seemed so calm and relaxed in every situation. It was unnatural and unnerving. "Aaron Walker, just the guy I want to see," he said, swinging his arms behind his back. "Let's take a drive."

  Aaron frowned. "Where to?"

  "The station," he replied and walked back to his car, knowing Aaron would follow.

  Aaron frowned and looked at me. "It's fine, Kenz, just go on to Megan's." Without another word, he got in the passenger side of Wright's car, and they drove off. Why didn't Aaron seem at all surprised?

  I blinked in shock. What on earth just happened?

  Chapter Twelve

  I stood stock-still on the path, trying to piece together what just happened. Why was Aaron taken? And he just got into the car as if he'd expected it, known it was coming. Aaron would have put up a fight, at least asked why. He knew why.

  Pick up, pick up! I held my mobile so close to my ear it hurt. "Wright just took Aaron to the station," I said into the phone the second Blake answered.

  "Oh, I'm fine, thanks. How're you?"

  I sighed. "Cut the crap for five seconds. What does he want with him?"

  "This probably won't come as a surprise to you, but I'm not psychic."

  "Blake," I snapped. "Why don't you take anything seriously?"

  "I am. I don't know what Wright wants with him," he replied a little too coolly.

  I bit my bottom lip. There was more to it. He was thinking the thing that made my stomach turn. "Why do I get the feeling you have a theory but don't want to share it with me?"

  "Because, Miss Keaton, you take this detective job far too seriously."

  "Just say it. Please."

  "The blood, Mackenzie. I think the blood is Aaron's."

  I froze, and felt the blood drain from my face. That was what I was afraid of. "No. It... It can't be his. Aaron wouldn't hurt anyone."

  "Alright," Blake replied, and I could picture him rolling his eyes. "Just call me when you know more."

  "Why, what're you doing?"

  "Do you really want to know?"

  "Goodbye, Blake," I said and hung up the phone. He probably wasn't doing anything at all. Frustrating idiot!

  I walked the remaining two minutes to Megan's alone and tried to calm myself down. It was probably routine questioning and we would all be called back in, too. I shouldn't let Wright get to me because his way of doing things was to be designed to do just that.

  Taking a deep breath and plastering on a fake smile, I rang Megan's doorbell. I didn't want her to know what was going on, but I wasn't too sure why. Blake and I just sort of kept what we were doing to ourselves. Besides, he was the only other one that seemed willing to help.

  Megan opened the door and visibly relaxed. "Thank God, you're here!"

  I walked inside. "Why, what's up?"

  "My family is driving me crazy!" She slammed the front door behind her and lead me into the kitchen. "They're in the garden having tea. We'll say hi and escape to my room."

  "Do you produce that stuff?" I asked and pointed to the four new bottles of whatever that Italian alcohol was we had the other night.

  She turned and rolled her eyes. "My grandparents keep sending it over. They brought these with them. Mum's pissed because she only just got rid of the last lot."

  "Why don't you just tell your nan you don't like it?"

  "That's what I said!"

  "Well, I guess it's not too bad if you have something else first."

  "A lot of something else first." She nodded to the French doors that lead out to the patio in the back garden. Her parents and grandparents were sitting around the cream metal table, drinking from tiny china cups and saucers. "Nan, Granddad, you remember Mackenzie, right?"

  Megan's nan gasped, clasping her hands together and stood up. "Of course I do! Mackenzie, you look like you've grown!" The last time I saw them was about ten years ago so I couldn't have been older than nine, it was fairly safe to assume that I had, in fact, grown! "How are you? Your hair is darker." She frowned. "Did you dye it? Ruins your hair, you know."

  I was pulled into a pretty tight hug for a pretty small woman. "Not dyed. It just darkened like my dad's, I guess."

  That seemed to please her, she pulled away, smiling and stroked my hair. "Would you like to join us for a cup of tea? I was just about to make another pot," she said, grabbing the large teapot.

  "That'd be great, thanks."

  Megan's dad, Hank, fetched two more matching cream chairs from the garage for us. "How are you, sweetheart?" Hank asked.

  "I'm alright."

  "I've been looking into counselling for Megan, is that something you'd be interested in, too?"

  "Hank!" Megan's mum, Judy scolded.

  He held his hands up. "After a trauma like that speaking to a professional is a sensible idea. Sometimes it's easier to speak to a stranger."

  Megan mouthed 'sorry' and squirmed. It was really okay though. I knew he was only trying to help. "Thanks, Hank, I'll think about speaking to someone."

  "Megan's been having trouble sleeping. Are you okay at night?" Judy asked.

  "Mum," Megan hissed.

  "Oh, don't be embarrassed, darling, it's only Mackenzie."

  "I'm okay when I manage to fall asleep," I said, taking the attention off Megan a little. "I keep seeing them." Megan grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Guess that's something we're just going to have to live with." There was no way to un-see something, unfortunately. I would do anything; give anything, to be able to erase that image from my memory.

  "That will ease in time, I'm sure," Megan's nan said as she returned to the table with a fresh pot of tea. "I'm so sorry you both had to see that."

  I bit my lip. Her words were exactly the same as Lawrence's, but they sounded so much different, genuine.

  "Do you know what happens next? I've tried speaking with Detective Wright, but it's like getting blood out of a stone," Hank said, shaking his head. At least he was like that with everyone and not just the five of us.

  "He doesn't really say much. Not anything that makes much sense anyway," I replied.

  "I just hope they find out who did it soon. Absolutely absurd accusing you lot. Not to worry though, the truth always comes out in the end."

  It was absurd but with no one else in the frame they had little to go on. Still, they should be actively looking for someone else rather than concentrating on us. I frowned. I didn't know for sure that they weren't. Could they be looking for someone else, too? I should tell them about Lawrence now, despite what Blake said. Was Wright not telling us he was looking for someone else because he wanted to keep the heat on us, waiting for someone to crack?

  "We're going to my room," Megan announced as we finished our tea.

  I stood up. "Thanks."

  Megan and I made our way to her small bedroom. She had insisted on having an en suite bathroom so now her room could just about fit her double bed and wardrobe in. I always felt a little claustrophobic in there.

  She sat down on her bed against the back wall and hugged a pillow to her chest. "Mackenzie," she said slowly.

  I sat at the end of the bed, facing her. "What?"

  "My dad's right, the truth always comes out eventually, doesn't it?"

  My heart rate picked up. "Sure. Why?"

  "I did something."

  "Go on," I whispered. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and the tips of my fingers prickled.

  "The night of the crash. I... I spiked Gigi's drink."

  My mouth fell open. What did she...? "You did what?"

  Megan gulped. "The accident was my fault, Kenz. I spiked Gigi's drink."

  I blinked in shock. Gigi only had two beers because she was driving but after that she felt drunk which was odd, but she was on a diet, so no one really questioned it. We all thought the alcohol went to her head because she was eating less and losing weight.

  Spiked. My heart dropped to my stomach. "You spiked her drink."

  Megan's eye
s widened. "Oh my God, Mackenzie, don't think that! I put vodka in her beer; I have no clue where to get fucking Rohypnol from!"

  "Why?" I whispered and shook my head. What the hell would she have done that for?

  She shook her head. "I can't tell you."

  "What?" I said, almost shouting. "You can't tell me something like that and not explain. Shit, Megan! Tilly and Gigi died. Tell me what happened."

  Courtney was the only one not drinking because she was on antibiotics. She had just passed her test and wasn't confident driving at all. With little choice and Josh in her ear telling her 'it's no different from a fucking car', she drove it. She pulled out at a junction and then we were hit.

  "I...I" She stopped and gulped. "Promise you won't think any different of me?"

  "Just tell me." I couldn't promise her that. She had just told me she was the reason Courtney was forced to drive; she spiked Gigi's drink! "Why, Megan?"

  "Because when we were drunk we slept together," she said in a rush.

  I laughed but quickly stopped when she didn't. Her expression didn't change. She wasn't joking. "You did what?"

  "We slept together whenever we were drunk." She looked down at the floor. "I wanted her that night."

  "But you're not gay," I blurted out and mentally slapped myself. That wasn't the most important part of what she had just told me, but it was true. I had never even heard her mention a Celeb girl crush like the one I had on Mila Kunis and Tilly had on Mischa Barton.

  "I know." She shrugged. "But there was something about her. The first time was in the summer after we left school. All of you were on holiday or busy, so me and Gigi were hanging out in her room. We were drinking Malibu and she just kissed me out of nowhere. At first I was stunned, but then I kissed her back. It was so different to anything I've ever felt before, softer and more intimate. Anyway, we didn't stop with a kiss and every other time we were drunk we'd have sex."

  What the hell was going on with everyone? Was I the only one that hadn't slept with someone in our group? First Kyle and Courtney, now Megan and Gigi. "Why did it only happen when you were drunk?" God why was I concentrating on that part? She just told me she purposefully spiked someone, and I was getting all the gossip!

  She bit her lip. "She said I wasn't ready to be a lesbian so nothing could happen, but you know her, she had no self-control when she was drunk. She was half-right; I'm not a lesbian, and I've never felt anything for a girl before or since her, but I wanted to be with her. It wasn't because she was a girl; it was because she made me feel things that I never knew existed."

  A tear trickled down Megan's face, and I felt awful for her. "It's all my fault. She died because of me. Tilly too. They both died because I was so selfish and wanted to get laid!"

  I pushed myself up and wrapped my arms around her. "Shh, it's okay. You didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

  "B-But it's my fault. I have to tell the police. I-I have to."

  I pulled away and gripped her face in both of my hands, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were wide, scared. "Megan, that will achieve nothing. It was an accident. Maybe Gigi would have pulled out too. It was dark and foggy. No one saw the lorry."

  "But..."

  "Think about it. You spiked her drink. Do you know how that looks?"

  She started sobbing, covering her mouth with her hand. "I know. I get it, I do. I get how it looks, but I swear to you, Mackenzie, I didn't hurt Court and Josh. Please believe me."

  I wrapped my arms around her shaking body. "Shh, it's okay." It wasn't okay, but I needed her to calm down so we could talk more. "Megan, we need to discuss this. You can't go to the police. I know you didn't kill anyone. I believe you, but the police won't."

  "But I didn't do anything to them," Megan replied. I pulled back so I could see her and try to make her see sense. "I should come clean about Gigi. People blame her for the accident."

  "People blame Josh and Courtney, too." I closed my eyes. This was definitely revenge. "There are about a million what ifs, Megan. I could have gone to the toilet and not waited and we would have been a few minutes later and missed the lorry. We could have left an hour earlier when Kyle wanted to, or pulled over at the burger van like Aaron wanted. There are so many things we all could have done that would have changed that night but you can't go back in time. It was an accident."

  She nodded, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. Her dark eyes were bloodshot. "I feel so guilty."

  "I think we all do. That's part of being the ones that survived. Take me through everything that happened that night."

  Did I really want to hear how much I clearly didn't know Megan and Gigi too? We all kept our secrets, but I didn't think Courtney or Megan would have kept Kyle and Gigi from me. We could talk about things like that. Or so I thought.

  She bit her lip and hugged the pillow tighter. "It was the last night and we hadn't been... together for a few weeks. She kept flirting with me, but when I tried to kiss her she pushed me away. Do you remember me suggesting someone else should drive back because Gigi drove there?"

  I nodded. Megan had asked us during the afternoon before anyone had started drinking. I would have driven but like Courtney I hadn't long passed my test after failing twice and didn't feel confident enough to drive a minivan full of people. Gigi insisted that she didn't mind and wanted to drive back too. Her stepdad owned it anyway, so she didn't want anyone else being responsible if anything happened to it.

  At the time I just thought Megan was being considerate and wanted Gigi to be able to drink on the last day. I had no idea of her ulterior motive. They never acted any differently around each other, not that I'd noticed anyway.

  "When it was decided Gigi was driving back, I took matters into my own hands. Later at the hotel she said she was just going to have a couple beers so I put vodka in them."

  "How could she not know?"

  Megan smiled. "Probably because you bought the cheap, crap stuff."

  I tilted my head to the side and glared. "I'm not forking out for the good stuff when you lot down it in seconds." Alcohol never lasted very long with my friends. Perhaps that needed to change. "So what happened next?"

  "Well, it worked. When you lot went back into the park we... Well, you don't want the details. I knew Courtney couldn't drink, so she ended up having to drive and you know the rest. It was my fault."

  My head spun. I couldn't have been more shocked at her actions. "Okay." I took a deep breath. "What you did was wrong, so, so wrong, but it doesn't change anything and telling people will only make you suspect number one. If the police never find out who really did it who do you think they're going to come looking for?"

  "What do we do? Mackenzie, this secret has been killing me. I want it off my chest, but I don't want to go to prison for something I haven't done."

  "Talk to me about it, whenever you want. Whatever you need to say or vent, just do it to me, okay? We're not going to the police. You made a stupid, stupid mistake, but you didn't mean to hurt anyone."

  Her eyes filled with tears. "I don't know what to say."

  "Don't say anything. Dry your eyes and plaster on a smile. You need to be normal when you see me out."

  "You're leaving?" she asked, frowning.

  I need to leave. "I have to, but don't worry, everything's gonna be fine."

  Chapter Thirteen

  I sat cross-legged on my bed in a daze. Two of my friends had hidden huge secrets from me. Actually, four had. I knew that if I told anyone I could land them both in trouble. Wright would definitely see both their secrets as motives. And what about Aaron? What had he been hiding for Wright to pull him in?

  An awful thought kept popping into my head: What if it was them? If it was and I chose to do nothing, I was protecting my friends but preventing justice for Courtney and Josh. I loved Megan, Kyle, Aaron and Courtney equally. How could I choose?

  I picked up my phone and called Courtney's cousin, Felicity. We hadn't spoken at the funeral, and I was hoping she could make thin
gs clearer for me. She grew up with Courtney. Her mum was a total flake, so she practically lived with Court and her parents until she moved away to university.

  "Mackenzie," she said, picking up on the first ring.

  "Hey, how are you?" I closed my eyes. Stupid question!

  "I'm doing alright. You?"

  "Yeah, okay, I guess. Are you busy tomorrow?"

  "Not really. I'm packing to go back to uni but apart from that sod all." She was going back so soon? "You want to meet up for breakfast?"

  "That sounds good."

  "I'm leaving here at eight. Wanna meet at The Lion at ten?"

  "Okay. I'll see you then."

  "Bye, Kenz." She hung up but I stayed still with it attached to my ear. I didn't think she would leave that soon. Courtney was practically a sister to her. Was the same thing happening to her as Blake? Did Courtney's mum wish it was Felicity instead?

  "Mackenzie?" Mum shouted up the stairs. "Kyle's here, I'm sending him up."

  I threw my phone down and waited for him. He had barely left me alone since he told me about his affair with Courtney. I found it unnerving. He knew I wasn't going to shout it out, so why was he obsessed with speaking to me or seeing me all the time?

  "Hey," he said, closing my bedroom door behind him.

  I plastered on a smile. My heart beat faster as if it was telling me something I didn't want to know. "What's up?"

  He shrugged and flopped down on my bed, lying on his back with his arms above his head. I smiled a genuine smile. That was so normal of him. He would always kick back with his limbs sprawled out on my bed. "Nothing much. I can't stand being at home."

  "Parents driving you insane?"

  "Yep. What are you up to?"

  "Nothing. You?"

  "Just come to see one of my oldest friends."

  I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not old."

  "That's right." He grinned and it lit up his hazel eyes. "You're the baby of the group."

  I was turning twenty in four months. Courtney should have been sixteen weeks before me, but she would never get to do that. She would be a teenager forever - like Tilly and Gigi.

  We fell into an awkward silence that we'd never had before. We met when we were kids, and kids just got on with it, no matter if they knew a person or not. I wanted to ask him if he really meant the nasty things he said about Courtney, and I think he wanted to talk about it too.