Flawed (Flawed, #1)(69)

She sits down in the armchair across from me, but not delicately and prissy as before. She’s on the edge, feet parted, elbows on knees; she’s getting down and dirty today.

“What did he do?”

“Not just him. He had a few friends. Their mission was to humiliate me.”

“And did they?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me.” She’s being soft and patient, but underneath it there’s a sense of urgency about her today, nothing calm and calculated like our previous conversations. The first time we met, Pia was in “Pia TV Personality” mode, then I saw “Off-Duty Pia,” but this woman is new, this is a side to her I’ve never seen. I have been gullible in the past, but I believe this person.

“They put a sackcloth bag over my head, tied me up, hit me, kicked me, dumped ashes on me, stripped me, and locked me in a shed. That about covers it.”

I don’t mention their forcing the alcohol into my mouth—that would get me into trouble, even though I had no option. I’m not going to take my chances, not even with Pia in this mood.

Her eyes turn cold. “Logan Trilby. And who were the others?”

I give her fuller details and she shows her disgust, discomfort, and empathy in all the right places and I believe that she cares.

“So what’s happening?”

“Nothing. My dad arranged for everybody to be at the police station today. Principal Hamilton, Natasha, Logan, Gavin, Colleen. Their parents, apart from Angelina. Logan’s parents have vouched for him, said he couldn’t have had anything to do with it, because he was in Bible study.”

“They don’t believe he was lying?”

“They’re lying. They say he was with them at Bible study.”

Her mouth falls open. “What about the other kids?”

“Natasha and Gavin blamed Colleen, said she masterminded the entire thing, in retaliation for something that happened between me and her mom.”

“What happened?” She naturally switches into her journalist mode.

“Can’t tell you. Natasha’s dad is some fancy lawyer, started jabbering on about human rights and his daughter protecting herself from a Flawed. The police aren’t going to do anything about it. They let the school punish us. My dad went crazy. Gavin and Natasha were suspended for two days. Colleen is expelled, but it doesn’t matter, because Bob Tinder was fired as editor of the newspaper—”

“Believe me, I know,” she interrupts, and her eyes start racing again as I see her mind ticking.

“I forgot he was your boss. Anyway, they’re moving. You probably know that, too, so it’s hardly a punishment. Colleen will have to start at another school anyway.”

She shakes her head, seemingly appalled.

“Pia, there’s one other thing I’m worried about. Last night, when they stripped me”—I swallow hard, feeling the humiliation all over again—“they photographed me. They’ve seen the sixth brand and have proof of it.”

Pia focuses hard while she thinks it through.

“The thing is, they were afraid of it, they backed away after that. So I think they know not to say something, but sooner or later it’s going to come out. Natasha’s bound to let it slip to someone. She couldn’t keep a secret if you paid her.”

“But they don’t have the video,” Pia says. “We need to get our hands on that video. And we need to move on this story fast.” Pia starts pacing again. “We need to break it before they do. Before Crevan hears their rumors and has a chance to spin it, if he’s not working on that already.” She looks around the room to see if anyone can hear us. “This morning I learned that there’s an inquiry into Crevan,” she says, her voice a hush. “A private inquiry. The outcome of your case, Angelina Tinder, Jimmy Child, Dr. Blake, they’ve all got people talking.”

“Who’s Dr. Blake?” The name’s familiar. Granddad mentioned him to me during the trial. He said I needed to find Dr. Blake and somebody else. It didn’t seem important at the time. I was putting it down as his conspiracy ramblings, but I should have taken note.

“Dr. Blake is the woman who misdiagnosed Crevan’s wife, Annie,” she says. “Your granddad told me to look into her at your trial, and I fobbed him off as a crazy old man. I started looking into it, though, after meeting you. She didn’t catch the cancer in time. Crevan found her Flawed just before Jimmy Child’s case. She was found Flawed on another personal matter, much like Angelina Tinder was. The case had nothing to do with Crevan’s wife. I would never have caught the link until your granddad tipped me off.”

Good old Granddad, I think proudly. He was always on my side, but I, too, thought his views were extreme. If he got Dr. Blake right, perhaps he’s right about it all.

“Crevan is using the Guild as his own private court,” I say.

“I believe he was planning the Dr. Blake case for some time. The outcome gave him confidence to proceed with Angelina and Jimmy Child. He got away with them, but now people are questioning his decisions.”

I roll my eyes. “A Guild into the Guild?”

She smiles weakly. “Kind of. A private inquiry into a public one.”

“Well, let me guess the outcome. The Guild will find that the Guild acted perfectly and appropriately. Ta-da! Inquiry over.”