Whitney Prep.
“How do I explain this to my mom?” Katie asked, and her eyes filled with tears. “How am I ever supposed to feel safe again?”
“No place is safe,” Tessa said, pushing hair behind her ears. “Anyone can find you if they really want to. All they have to do is Google. If you really don’t want to be found, you have to drop off the grid like you don’t exist—”
“Stop, Tessa! You’re only making things worse!” Katie gave her a scathing look.
“Hey, it’s not my fault! Blame Big Brother.”
“It’s completely normal to be afraid after what you’ve gone through,” Dr. Capello said. “But the headmaster has campussecurity working overtime, and I’m sure the Barnard police will get involved as well.”
“You think they’ll catch whoever did it?” Katie asked.
Dr. Capello nodded. “I do.”
“Get real.” Tessa snorted. “People get away with stuff all the time around here. And if their parents can’t buy them out of it, they just yank them from school and they start all over again somewhere else.”
“You think someone from Whitney cut off that girl’s hand?” Katie asked, looking horrified.
“Why’s that so hard to imagine?” Tessa said, wondering how her friend could be so naive. The school was full of spoiled rich kids who’d been raised by nannies and used as pawns in their parents’ divorces. To say they had issues was an understatement. “It could be anyone, right, Dr. Capello? You know things about us that no one else knows. Everyone tells you their deep, dark secrets. I’ll bet some are even creepier than this.”
The school shrink leveled her gaze on Tessa. “I understand why you’re cynical,” she said. “You’ve been through a lot more than most.”
Maybe Dr. Capello meant to sound sympathetic, but Tessa heard only pity in her voice, and it got her back up.
“So whose hand is it?” she said, sure that Katie was wondering the same thing but was too afraid to ask. “Is it that girl in the sex pic with Mark Summers?”
“Tessa!” Katie turned a shade paler.
But Tessa didn’t quit. “It’s the same rose tattoo, isn’t it?”Did Katie want to pretend that there wasn’t a connection? “Does anyone know her name?”
“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” Dr. Capello replied.
Tessa turned to Katie. “Didn’t your boyfriend say she was someone Steve Getty brought to his party?”
“Would you stop dogging Mark!” Katie snapped. “He had nothing to do with this.”
“I didn’t say he did.” Tessa was a little surprised that Katie defended him, especially after what Mark had done to her.
“Drop it, okay?” Katie went to the window, pushing back the drape. There was a swirl of red and blue lights as a police car pulled up out front. “Will the cops take the box with them?”
“Yes,” Dr. Capello said. “They’ll need to examine it to find answers. I’m sure they’ll piece everything together soon enough.”
“Piece together, huh?” Katie dropped the drape. “Where’s the rest of her?” she asked, a pained expression on her face. “She wasn’t alive when her hand was cut off, was she?” Katie swallowed. “Whoever she is, she’s dead, right?”
Dr. Capello didn’t answer. “I’m just very sorry you have to deal with something as horrible as this,” she said.
Tessa wanted to laugh. What a lame reply! Katie had to know the girl was dead. Otherwise, there’d be a zombie chick walking around without a hand. That was the problem with everyone at Whitney. They liked to pretend bad things didn’t happen. They acted like everything was picture perfect inside the gates.
Only Tessa knew better than anyone that it wasn’t true. Bad things happened to everyone, everywhere. They were just easier to hide when you had money.
“Campus security will keep an eye on Amelia House, and if you’re afraid to go somewhere by yourself, an officer will tag along, okay?” Dr. Capello was saying. “If you need to talk any
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