Six Little Secrets(26)

‘What do you suggest we do next?’ Cece asked Teddy.

‘Let’s gather a list of people in our lives named Jacob,’ he said. ‘Look outside the box. Family, friends, friends of friends, you get the picture. If there is even one connection, then we have a jumping off point.’

‘You said you knew Jacob Thompson,’ Q said to Holly without hesitation. ‘On an intimate level?’

Holly flipped him off. ‘What I do in my spare time is none of your business.’

‘Holly,’ Cece said. ‘We need to start somewhere.’

Holly flicked her hair over her shoulder. ‘We went out a few times. He’s nice. A little skittish around girls, but harmless.’

‘And he’s in your Calculus class?’ Zoe asked Teddy.

Teddy nodded. ‘As Holly said, he’s harmless. He barely gets by with passing grades. I think he’s being pressured by his family to take advanced classes.’

Cece snorted.

‘Do you know something more?’ Teddy said.

Cece sighed and shook her head. ‘I just know what that feels like.’

‘Anyone else come in contact with him?’ Teddy continued.

Just then, the door to the library opened.

Zoe jerked her head in the direction of the entrance to see Jackie entering the library. She leaned into the room, checking on Mr. Curtis before slinking back to her seat. She held a wet paper towel against her forehead, and there were no longer streaks of tears cutting down her cheeks.

‘Are you okay?’ Q asked.

And for the first time in the years she’d known Q, Zoe saw a hint of concern for someone other than himself. It would have been sweet if it wasn’t coming from him. He probably needed someone on his side for his task.

Jackie removed the paper towel from her face.

Zoe gasped, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth.

‘Oh my God,’ Cece said.

The rash had spread across Jackie’s forehead and halfway down the side of her face. She looked as if she rubbed poison ivy all over her skin.

‘It should go down in a few hours,’ Jackie said. ‘But I don’t have any of my medication to stop the itching.’ She placed the towel on her forehead once more and closed her eyes.

Zoe could tell Jackie wanted to scratch the angry red bumps, but that would probably make it worse.

The investigation into Jacob halted for a moment.

‘Q, can I borrow your hat now?’ Jackie asked.

Q handed over the beanie and Jackie fitted it over her head, stuffing her ponytail inside. She tugged at the sides, dragging it down to cover as much as she could.

She glanced at the group, revealing that the corners of her eyes were red. ‘What were you talking about before I got here?’

‘Nothing,’ Q said at the same time Teddy said, ‘Jacob.’

Jackie looked at Q then switched over to Teddy. ‘Did you find anything else?’

‘The only Jacob a few of us know is Jacob Thompson,’ Teddy said.

Jackie shrugged. ‘The name sounds familiar.’

‘Are you sure he didn’t suffer from your little gossip mill?’ Holly asked.

Q sat straighter in his chair as if he was the one she was speaking to.

‘No,’ Jackie said.

‘Where do we go from here then?’ Holly asked Teddy.

‘I don’t know,’ Teddy said. ‘I’m having trouble thinking that he would do this to anyone.’

‘Then we’re back to having no suspects and no idea who is next?’ Cece asked.

Zoe thought about that. She couldn’t recall anyone else named Jacob. She kept her head down every single day of school, just trying to make it to graduation. She never bothered anyone, unlike Jackie and Q. Cece could brag so much that it might have upset someone. But Teddy? Teddy was a smart kid and a kind one at that. Who would want to steal from his bank account?

Whoever this person was, he had a strong grudge against every individual in that room. There had to be something they were missing.

What could she offer? She was one of last three to receive a task. It was in her best interest to figure out the who’s and whys before her turn came around.

But how could they expand their search without using technology?

She glanced around the room. They were in the library. While the computer lab was on the second level, there was no way someone could get up there and do a quick search. This was going to take time and thought, and their collaborative minds.

‘Yearbooks,’ Zoe said to herself the moment the idea appeared in her head.

‘What was that?’ Holly asked from beside her.

‘We can search yearbooks to find another Jacob,’ Zoe said, finally feeling a sliver of hope in their crazy situation.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN




ZOE



Saturday


Zoe’s cheeks flushed with the idea that they might be closer to finding out who was torturing them. ‘We’re all juniors so we can narrow the search down to the last, say, five years? If someone named Jacob knows us from school, he would have to be in there.’

Teddy nodded. ‘That’s a good idea.’ He gave her a small smile, and Zoe’s heart fluttered against her chest. It was an inappropriate reaction, but she couldn’t help it. After years of being apart from Teddy, in the short time they had been together that day, she remembered why they had been close when they were kids. She had yearned for that connection every day until she found it in someone else. She wished that someone could’ve been Teddy.