B00B9FX0F2 EBOK Page 12

  “Yes, that.”

  “Jason, for real, it’s not healthy.”

  “Look, no one told you to come along, okay?”

  “If you can give me one good reason why you care about this person who you never met except on Facebook, or why you trust her even though you know she has been straight up lying to you, I’ll shut up about it.”

  “It’s hard to explain.”

  “One good reason. You can’t even give me that.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “You’re going to have to do a little better than giving me your Facebook relationship status.”

  “She didn’t lie to me because she wanted to. Someone made her disappear and now she has to protect herself, and I have to protect her, too. And that involves figuring out what happened, even if I have to deal with some ugly stuff from her past. Or get followed in the woods. Or threatened by who knows who. Someone did this to her, and I promised to help.” He left out the way Jenna had looked at him with her saucer eyes; he felt disloyal enough to Lacey for spilling the beans about the contents of Luke’s glove compartment as it was.

  The only sound in the car was “Tik Tok” blasting from the radio. Normally, Jason would consider the music an affront to his speakers, but he wasn’t in the mood to pick that particular battle at the moment. Finally, Rakesh broke the silence. “Ke$ha would definitely go for me.”

  Jason laughed. “But then you would have to date Ke$ha.”

  “Who said anything about dating? But now that you mention it, it might be worth it just to piss you off.”

  “I would literally never talk to you again.”

  “Like I said: Worth. It.”

  They pulled up outside the address Jenna had sent them. It was a brick colonial house with green shutters, modest compared to some of the palatial residences on the street, but still significantly nicer than the homes either Jason or Rakesh lived in.

  “You didn’t tell me she was rich,” Rakesh said.

  Jason shot him a warning glass. “I didn’t know. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  When they rang the bell, they could hear the loud old-fashioned chime in the house. Jason half expected a maid in uniform to answer the door. Instead, Jenna greeted them barefoot in black leggings and a gray V-neck T-shirt. A long chain with a purple pendant hung gracefully from her neck.

  “This is my friend Rakesh,” he explained, after they’d said hello.

  Rakesh lifted Jenna’s hands to his lips. “My lady,” he said formally. “What an impressive abode you have.”

  Jason glared at him. “Ignore him, please,” he said to Jenna, though she was obviously amused.

  “Why thank you, good sir,” she replied with a curtsy.

  “Are your parents here?” asked Jason, eager to put an end to whatever was happening between them.

  “My dad’s working late,” she answered in her normal voice. “And my mom has her book club. So we have my impressive abode all to ourselves. C’mon upstairs. Max is here, too.”

  The wooden staircase was lined with painted landscapes in ornate frames. “It’s like a museum,” Jason observed. He thought he heard Rakesh snicker, but he didn’t dare look behind him.

  “My mom is a lover of culture.” Jenna’s tone was derisive. “Except when it comes to my iTunes library.”

  “When did you invite Max?” Jason asked, hoping she couldn’t hear the disappointment in his voice. He should be glad — Max had been there when the video was filmed, surely he’d know something about it — but his vision of hunching over the computer with Jenna looking for clues was rapidly turning into a reality featuring a whole Scooby-Doo gang.

  “I ran into him in school today, and he asked if you heard from Lacey, so I told him to come over. I hope that’s okay.”

  They were inside her bedroom before he could answer. There was thick beige carpeting and eggshell-colored walls with framed black-and-white photography. Butting out from the opposite side of the generous space sat a double bed with a wildly colorful comforter that stood out against the neutral tones of the rest of the room. Jason had a feeling her mother had “helped” with the decorations, but he got the sense Jenna had chosen the bright centerpiece on her own.

  “Have a seat.” She swept her hand around the room, and Max looked over his shoulder from her desk. He was scrolling through the aforementioned iTunes library. Jason wondered if The XX playing over the clear computer speakers was his choice or Jenna’s.

  “I’m Rakesh.” He stuck his hand confidently in Max’s direction. “Any Rihanna on there?”

  Max shook his hand. “Did you know Lacey?” he asked coldly. Jason felt a defensive pang for Rakesh, even though he knew he couldn’t care less what Max thought of him or his musical taste.

  “Nah, but any girl that gets Jason to commit burglary is a friend of mine.”

  There was an awkward silence. Jason had told Jenna he had something to show her, but he hadn’t explained what or how he’d gotten in. “So I heard from Lacey again last night. She asked me to do something. It’s kind of a long story, but it involved taking this.” He held up the drive.

  “From where?” Jenna asked uneasily.

  “Luke’s glove compartment.” He didn’t wait for her to react, pressing on and addressing himself to Max. “It was from the night at her house this summer that you told us about. I mean, at least I think that’s what it is. But there’s something you didn’t see. Do you mind?” He gestured to the computer, and Max stood up.

  Jenna and Max and Rakesh gathered around the computer, peering over his shoulder.

  “So, um, can we go back to the part where you broke into Luke Gray’s car?” Jenna asked, and Rakesh started to tell her about Jason’s adventure the night before, but Jason silenced him by playing the video, and he stood up so as not to obscure their view.

  Jenna gasped audibly when Lacey threw her hair back. Without thinking, Jason lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, realizing a second too late that he had not escaped Rakesh’s hawkish gaze. “Is this the night?” she asked when Max appeared in the frame.

  “Yeah.” He colored when he heard the partygoers say his name. He muttered something Jason couldn’t hear, his eyes trained on the picture. After that, Jason noticed, no one looked away, not even Rakesh. As they watched Lacey’s hands settle on Max’s chest, Jason felt envy twisting in his gut. He tried to put himself in Troy’s shoes. The idea of Lacey with someone else made him feel lonely and empty. And angry, too, if he was being honest with himself. If watching Lacey flirting with Max had sent Troy into a jealous rage, how much further would he need to be pushed to hurt her?

  “Holy shnikes,” Jenna whispered when Lacey and Troy began fighting.

  Realizing they were talking about him, Max’s face darkened. “That guy’s always been such an ass to me — if this is the reason why, I mean, if it had something to do with what happened to her …” he didn’t finish the thought, and Jenna glanced over at him sympathetically.

  When the camera shifted, Jason asked if they had any idea who was shooting.

  “It sounded like John Sullivan at the beginning,” Jenna said. “He’s on the lacrosse team and he’s always got his camera out. It’s so annoying …” She trailed off as Luke began attacking Max. They watched through the end in silence, and Jenna turned to Max. “God, I’m so sorry.”

  He looked surprised. “It’s not you.”

  “No, but, like, Luke is my friend. And my other guy friends are always doing stuff like this. I never say anything. It’s just that while it’s happening it never looks this messed up.”

  Max shrugged. “Trust me, I’m used to it. And anyway, I’m not the one you need to be worried about. If Troy has it out for Lacey, how long until he figures out she’s alive? What if he finds her before we do?”

  “I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Jason said. “But also” — he looked nervously at Jenna — “I don’t know if we can rule out Luke in all of this. I mean, I got this from his car. So he def
initely knew about them. And I am trying not to think about what’s gonna happen when Luke figures out this video is gone.”

  Jenna didn’t say anything, but an expression of guilt passed over her face.

  “I know he’s your friend, but he’s been hiding this,” Jason added.

  “Guys, Luke wouldn’t hurt anyone.” She didn’t sound so convinced. Jason didn’t press the matter, but he wasn’t, either. He thought back to his Facebook profile. He’d looked mean, pure and simple. Like a bully.

  “So what do we do next?” Rakesh asked.

  “We?” Max said sharply.

  Rakesh didn’t bat an eye. “Usually, when someone is missing, you’re supposed to report it to the police.”

  “Lacey told Jason not to do that. But she also told him not to tell you about stealing this video, so I guess all bets are off.”

  “I’ve been thinking about this,” Jason said, doing his best to ignore Max’s sour look. “I don’t think we should tell anyone yet. If we go to the police, they’ll say we’re just kids who’ve made up a story. Even if they take us seriously, the first people they’d turn to would be Lacey’s family. And Luke would probably go straight to Troy, and if he’s kept his relationship with Lacey hidden this long, he’ll probably figure out a way to keep it hidden longer. We have to keep this to ourselves until we know more about what happened.”

  “So you think we should just wait until Lacey sends you on another errand?”

  “I think we have to do some digging on our own. See if there’s anything we can learn about Troy, more about his relationship with Lacey or what he was doing the night she died. Jenna, can you talk to him without giving anything away?”

  “I don’t know, Luke and I are friends ’cause of Lacey, but I barely know Troy.”

  “Besides,” Max added, “if he’s the reason Lacey had to disappear, is sending Jenna to talk to him a good idea? She said so herself, he’s dangerous.”

  Jason felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “It was a bad idea.”

  “No, you’re right, we need him. We just have to figure out another way in. Maybe I can ask around.”

  Rakesh threaded his hands together behind his head and leaned back against his seat. “Come on, guys. Have we learned nothing from Sherlock Holmes? Encyclopedia Brown? Nancy Drew? What ever happened to good old-fashioned detective work?”

  “You think we should follow him?”

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Jason said. “If we know where he goes, who he sees, what he does, maybe it’ll give us some clue about what happened.” No one disagreed.

  They decided to start the next day. Jenna would do a little stealth research and see if she could learn anything about his schedule, and then Jason would pick her up after school and they would follow him. At first, Rakesh protested that he had a squash meet and they should wait until he was free. But when Max noted he would also have to skip the stakeout due to a rehearsal, Rakesh’s complaints suddenly stopped. “Looks like it’ll be just the two of you, then,” he said suggestively, looking back and forth between Jenna and Jason.

  But Jason was thinking about Lacey. Was this what she wanted? He still felt like a blind man feeling around in the dark, but they had all listened to him as if he was carrying a map and a flashlight. All he wanted was to help her, but what if he was only making things worse?

  You’re out of your mind.”

  “What? I like this song!”

  “This song? This one?”

  Jenna turned the volume knob so that MGMT’s “Kids” blared even louder. “Yes, I love it,” she said defiantly and giggled at the look of disgust on Jason’s face.

  “It’s, like, one of the top five overplayed songs in the world. And it wasn’t even that good to begin with!”

  “Do you have ears? Do you have a heart? It’s a great song. You can dance to it, but it’s serious, too. The reason people are always playing it is it literally never gets old.”

  “Oh my god. I can’t believe I’m on a stakeout with someone who loves ‘Kids.’ This is what you get when you associate with people who think The Sunset Tree is the best Mountain Goats album.”

  All afternoon it had been like this; Jason had met Jenna at the Brighton High entrance and they had sat in the bleachers observing Troy’s lacrosse practice under the guise of watching the JV soccer game taking place on the next field over. They’d waited patiently out of sight next to the field house while Luke and Troy and a few other diehards stayed behind tossing the ball after the official end of practice. At dusk, when Troy left the locker room with Luke, they’d tailed them to the parking lot, and then into town where they’d watched the two guys devour burgers on plates heaped with fries through the glass window of Johnny Rockets. All the while Jason and Jenna had chatted easily like old friends, exchanging stories about school, going back and forth about music, and occasionally mocking one of Troy’s jock mannerisms.

  “You really don’t have a heart,” Jenna said.

  “All Hail West Texas has more heart in a single song than all of Sunset Tree combined!”

  “I swear, it’s like you and Lacey are the same person when it comes to music.”

  The mention of Lacey’s name thudded heavily in their buoyant conversation.

  Before the pause grew awkward, though, Jenna pointed into the restaurant. “Look, there’s Aaron Majors and Luis Gonzales.”

  “Friends of yours?”

  “No, but they’re on the lacrosse team, which means we might be here a while since they tend to travel in a pack.”

  Luis slid into the booth and Aaron pulled up a chair. A few elaborate high fives were exchanged. Inside the car, Jason rolled his eyes.

  “So you’re one of those guys who hates high school, huh?”

  “And you’re one of those girls who loves it?” Jason challenged.

  “Yeah, you know, my best friend, who I thought died in a freak accident or was murdered, turns out to be hiding out somewhere and giving me the silent treatment, but other than that it’s peachy.”

  Jason was taken aback. Jenna, usually so warm and kind, sounded utterly angry. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have …”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. Honestly, before all this stuff happened, I did like high school. We’d be in a car seven deep, and I’d be sitting shotgun on Lacey’s lap with the radio blasting and the windows down, and we’d be driving to go to some house party, and I’d think, ‘This is the stuff people remember.’” She looked at him. “You probably think that’s the type of cheesy thing Taylor Swift would sing about. Anyway, now that Lacey’s gone, I do remember those nights, and I’m even more grateful that we had them, and it makes me want to enjoy what’s left of high school. You know, after I figure out what really happened to my best friend.”

  “I’m going to help you do that,” Jason said. “And by the way, I love Taylor Swift. A lot. Unironically.”

  “I knew there was a heart beating somewhere in there.” She tapped Jason’s chest lightly and smiled the sad smile he’d come to associate with her.

  As they watched the boys in Johnny Rockets fumble for their wallets and pool cash on the table, Jason asked Jenna where her parents thought she was.

  “Volunteering at an animal shelter. Which I do, but normally the shelter closes at six. What was your excuse?”

  “I told my mom I have a chemistry project. It’s weird, I think she’d rather I be out partying somewhere than on Facebook.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. The other day my mom tried to talk to me about sending ‘intimate photos.’”

  “If my mom ever said ‘intimate photos’ in front of me, I think I would move in with Rakesh.”

  “Oh, look, they’re leaving.” Jenna and Jason shifted their gaze to the diner. On the sidewalk outside, the guys split up — Luis and Aaron heading for one car while Luke and Troy climbed into Luke’s Jeep. Jason wondered how he’d reacted when he realized the video had go
ne missing. Maybe he hadn’t noticed yet, though that didn’t seem likely considering the urgency from Lacey’s instructions. When Luke pulled out of the parking space, Jason waited a minute and did the same, leaving two cars in between them. Brighton was becoming more familiar now that Jason was spending so much time there, but navigating out of town they found themselves on streets Jason had never seen before. He asked Jenna if she knew where they were.

  “I think we’re going toward Troy’s house. He’s neighbors with a girl I used to be friends with, and she lives a couple streets over from here. She had the best American Girl doll collection I’ve ever seen.”

  “Were you really into American Girl dolls? Is that a phase all girls go through?”

  “Yes! Except I was totally obsessed. I had Molly, and I took her with me everywhere. Even Lacey made fun of me for it.”

  “Really?” Jason was incredulous. He was certain Lacey had told him about her own doll, but the night they talked about childhood toys seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  Before he could question her further, they watched the SUV slow to a stop, and Jason pulled over halfway down the block. Troy jumped out of the car and grabbed his lacrosse bag from the backseat, slinging it over his shoulder. They waited until they saw Luke’s brake lights disappear around a corner before pulling up to Troy’s house. A few of the lights were on, but there were no people visible through the windows.

  “So now we wait?” Jenna asked.

  “I guess so.”

  Considering how little progress they were making on uncovering Troy’s darkest secrets, Jason was in a pretty good mood. If he had met Jenna in school, he would have dismissed her as just another generic popular girl. At first glance, she seemed just like the pretty girls from Roosevelt, the ones who piled into shiny cars on Saturday nights wearing the same designer jeans, the same ruffled tops, the same lip gloss. Rakesh was friends with those girls. Most of them were perfectly nice, some of them were plenty book smart, but all of them were hopelessly boring.

  Jenna was a lot of things, but boring wasn’t one of them. She was funny and opinionated — even if most of her opinions about music were wrong — and she treated Jason like an honest-to-god interesting person, not just a sidekick who might help her get closer to the most sought-after guy in school. She was telling him about a night when she and Lacey had told their parents they were sleeping at each other’s houses, gone to a Feist concert in the city, and then wound up crashing on the dorm room floor of two guys they’d met there after they realized they couldn’t go home. He was laughing when he saw the front door to Troy’s house open.