the passenger seat of the car, Phoebe loaded her bike into the trunk. Backing out of the parking lot a minute later, Phoebe saw people trailing Glenda with their eyes. Her friend kept her own eyes ahead, her expression neutral, until they were two blocks away. Then she covered her face with her hands.
“What a nightmare,” Glenda said, her voice muffled.
“I know,” Phoebe said. “I just keep wondering how in hell she ended up in that river.”
“No matter what happened, it’s bad for the school, of course,” Glenda said, lowering her hands. “If she got drunk and fell in, that’s bad. If someone killed her, that’s bad. If she killed herself , that’s bad. We’re expecting a record number of applicants this year. Can you imagine what this could do to admissions?”
She looked over at Phoebe. “Sorry, I know I’m sounding selfish. I feel terrible about this poor girl. And I feel sick for her parents. But I have to think of the college, too.”
“Of course,” Phoebe said. “By the way, I talked to Lily’s roommate yesterday. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know a thing about any secret society. But Tom Stockton and I are supposed to meet in a few hours, and once he’s briefed me, I can really dig in.”
Glenda shifted in her seat, and Phoebe could sense her friend studying her with her deep brown eyes.
“You’re okay with this, right? I mean, looking into the Sixes.”
“I told you, I don’t want Stockton thinking I’m stepping on his toes, but I’ll make it work.”
“No, I mean are you okay digging into something like this, considering . . . considering your own experience?”
Phoebe cocked her head and smiled faintly. “Well, isn’t that partly why you asked me to do it?” she said quietly.
“Yes,” Glenda admitted. “I thought you would bring an understanding to the task at hand. But you must let me know if it hits too weird of a nerve with you.”
“I’m okay. I made a vow a long time ago to never let what happened control my life. If anything, it only makes me more determined to help out here. I know just how evil girls can be.”
“Do you think if the Sixes really do exist, they could be connected to Lily’s death?”
“It’s possible. A prank gone wrong. Or maybe she wanted out and they were tormenting and bullying her the way they’d done to that other girl. That could be the mess she was referring to. And she decided to ‘escape’ by drowning herself.” She told Glenda about finding the flyer with the number 6 scrawled across Lily’s face.
Glenda sighed loudly. “It would hardly be the first time a student killed themselves because of bullying.” Her voice hardened. “If the Sixes really are tormenting students, we need to shut them down. We’ve got to use every possible resource the college has.”
“What’s the deal with the campus cop?” Phoebe said. “You seemed a little wary of him.”
“Craig Ball. He’s fairly new in the top job, and so far his performance has been good—he’s been able to make a dent in the drug problem on campus. But he’s a bit of a glory hog. Plus, he seems to like to hoard info. I’m not a hundred percent sure I can trust him.”
“I’d have a hard time trusting anyone that orangey-looking,” Phoebe said. “The guy looks like he’s starting to rust .”
Glenda scoffed. “I think he’s a regular at the local tanning bed. And he seems to take every vacation in Miami Beach.”
“Was he hired on your watch?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t some conscious decision of mine. There was an older guy in charge when I started here—Hutch Hutchinson. Kind of crusty, but a real gem. Craig was his number two, hired a couple of years ago. We’ve got mandatory retirement here, but we’d found a way to ignore it with Hutch because he was so good at his job. Then word started getting around about it, and people were asking why I was playing favorites. The next thing I knew, Hutch was bowing out late last fall, and we had
“What a nightmare,” Glenda said, her voice muffled.
“I know,” Phoebe said. “I just keep wondering how in hell she ended up in that river.”
“No matter what happened, it’s bad for the school, of course,” Glenda said, lowering her hands. “If she got drunk and fell in, that’s bad. If someone killed her, that’s bad. If she killed herself , that’s bad. We’re expecting a record number of applicants this year. Can you imagine what this could do to admissions?”
She looked over at Phoebe. “Sorry, I know I’m sounding selfish. I feel terrible about this poor girl. And I feel sick for her parents. But I have to think of the college, too.”
“Of course,” Phoebe said. “By the way, I talked to Lily’s roommate yesterday. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know a thing about any secret society. But Tom Stockton and I are supposed to meet in a few hours, and once he’s briefed me, I can really dig in.”
Glenda shifted in her seat, and Phoebe could sense her friend studying her with her deep brown eyes.
“You’re okay with this, right? I mean, looking into the Sixes.”
“I told you, I don’t want Stockton thinking I’m stepping on his toes, but I’ll make it work.”
“No, I mean are you okay digging into something like this, considering . . . considering your own experience?”
Phoebe cocked her head and smiled faintly. “Well, isn’t that partly why you asked me to do it?” she said quietly.
“Yes,” Glenda admitted. “I thought you would bring an understanding to the task at hand. But you must let me know if it hits too weird of a nerve with you.”
“I’m okay. I made a vow a long time ago to never let what happened control my life. If anything, it only makes me more determined to help out here. I know just how evil girls can be.”
“Do you think if the Sixes really do exist, they could be connected to Lily’s death?”
“It’s possible. A prank gone wrong. Or maybe she wanted out and they were tormenting and bullying her the way they’d done to that other girl. That could be the mess she was referring to. And she decided to ‘escape’ by drowning herself.” She told Glenda about finding the flyer with the number 6 scrawled across Lily’s face.
Glenda sighed loudly. “It would hardly be the first time a student killed themselves because of bullying.” Her voice hardened. “If the Sixes really are tormenting students, we need to shut them down. We’ve got to use every possible resource the college has.”
“What’s the deal with the campus cop?” Phoebe said. “You seemed a little wary of him.”
“Craig Ball. He’s fairly new in the top job, and so far his performance has been good—he’s been able to make a dent in the drug problem on campus. But he’s a bit of a glory hog. Plus, he seems to like to hoard info. I’m not a hundred percent sure I can trust him.”
“I’d have a hard time trusting anyone that orangey-looking,” Phoebe said. “The guy looks like he’s starting to rust .”
Glenda scoffed. “I think he’s a regular at the local tanning bed. And he seems to take every vacation in Miami Beach.”
“Was he hired on your watch?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t some conscious decision of mine. There was an older guy in charge when I started here—Hutch Hutchinson. Kind of crusty, but a real gem. Craig was his number two, hired a couple of years ago. We’ve got mandatory retirement here, but we’d found a way to ignore it with Hutch because he was so good at his job. Then word started getting around about it, and people were asking why I was playing favorites. The next thing I knew, Hutch was bowing out late last fall, and we had
Similar Books
