Six Little Secrets(43)

‘But we didn’t have sex,’ Zoe said. She wasn’t embarrassed to be a virgin like Jackie was. And Mr. Curtis never pushed her. The thought of kissing him now made her stomach lurch.

‘I use the phrase loosely, but how long do you think he would have waited until he went off and found someone else who would take it further?’

‘I can’t ruin his life,’ Zoe said softly. She hated that he had a hold on her like this.

‘Would you rather another kid get killed? Or another teen girl to fall for his false charms for his own gain?’

‘No,’ Zoe said. ‘Of course not.’ The idea of Mr. Curtis with anyone else made her stomach twist. She still wasn’t sure that he killed Jacob but Megan hadn’t been wrong about anything that day.

‘Then you know what to do,’ Megan said. ‘If there can be justice for Jacob, that’s worth all of this.’

Megan turned away from Zoe, but not before Zoe reached out and touched Megan’s shoulder. The girl stiffened and glanced back.

‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’ Zoe said. ‘I know what it feels like to lose someone important in your life.’

‘Thank you.’

Zoe dropped her hand to her side and watched Megan walk away from her across the playground to the parking lot. Several of the parents gave her a suspicious look, but no one approached her.

Zoe was about to walk away when Megan stopped at a car, and the door opened next to her. The man stepped out, and Zoe’s world flipped upside down. She squinted, unable to believe who came out of the car to meet Megan.

Victor wrapped his arm around Megan and pulled her close.

Zoe’s jaw dropped as Victor’s gaze locked on hers. Megan had someone helping her the whole time. The most invisible person at the school. The perfect accomplice. He had access to everything school-related that Megan needed to begin her research on all of them.

Victor, Megan’s father, nodded his head at Zoe.

Zoe didn’t move from her spot until the car was long gone.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE




ZOE



Monday


Walking to school on Monday morning, Zoe heard the slow echo of the death march in her head with each step. While she hadn’t opened up to her mom about Mr. Curtis yet, she had talked to the police. More specifically Detective Moreno. She was the one assigned to Jacob’s hit and run, and it hadn’t taken long for the trail to run cold.

That was until Zoe had a confession to make. As she didn’t have hard evidence, she had two names to give the detective.

Zoe blinked, and the memory of the police station returned. Her stomach had been in her throat the entire time. Detective Moreno’s probing questions about Zoe’s information made Zoe regret her decision more than once during the questioning.

‘Do you have evidence of Leonard Curtis’ involvement in the car accident?’ she’d asked.

‘No,’ Zoe had said. ‘But I have a name of someone who was in the car.’

‘Where did you come across this information?’ Moreno asked.

Zoe still had the thick red lines outlining her nails from where she picked at her skin the entire time. ‘Mr. Curtis and I. We, uh, we have a close relationship.’

Zoe would never forget the slight narrowing of Moreno’s eyes when she’d said that.

‘Explain what you mean by “close”,’ Moreno said.

Zoe thought of Megan the entire time while she spilled the entire contents of her relationship with Mr. Curtis for the detective.

‘You realize we will have to investigate these claims before anything happens,’ Moreno said when Zoe had finished speaking. Moreno had two whole pages of notes in front of her from their conversation. ‘You don’t have to go to school on Monday if you feel the least bit unsafe.’

‘He would never hurt me,’ Zoe said. Considering Mr. Curtis had hurt two people, killing one of them and betraying the trust of another, she still held him in the highest regard. Love did crazy things to people, and she wasn’t the exception.

Moreno sat back in her chair, considering Zoe. ‘Thank you for coming forward, Zoe.’ She’d handed Zoe her business card. ‘Call me if you remember anything else. You did a good thing here.’

Zoe disagreed. The moment she’d stepped out of the police station, she doubled over, losing her breakfast in the bushes.

She’d hoped from there the police could do their job and hopefully bring justice to Jacob. Even if that meant hurting a man she’d loved so deeply.

Zoe had a strong feeling she’d never see Megan or Victor again, but there was a small glimmer of hope inside of her that made her want to. She wanted to show Megan, face to face, that she completed the consequence, just as the others had done. She wanted to prove her worth to the girl for some reason.

As she left the precinct, her body was lighter and the constant weight on her shoulders since detention had lifted.

When Zoe returned home later that day, she’d made Mom dinner that didn’t involve a microwave. For the first time since Dad’s death, they had a conversation with each other. It would take some time to get back to where they were, even though she knew they could never really go back. Moving forward, Zoe wanted to make a change in her life. Megan was the reason for that.

Zoe didn’t know what to expect when she arrived at school. But she didn’t expect a dozen news vans and multiple police cruisers. Flashing lights from the cars and cameras punctured her vision.