Two Can Keep a Secret(76)
“Kyle McNulty,” Malcolm says shortly.
“You want to press charges?” Ryan asks.
Malcolm grimaces. “No.”
“Maybe you can convince him to change his mind,” I say. “In the meantime, I have this kind of … theory about Kyle. That’s why I called you.” I lick my lips, trying to get my thoughts in order. “I ran into Officer McNulty this morning, and—”
Ryan frowns. “Where did you run into Officer McNulty?”
I wave my hand dismissively. “That part’s not important.” I don’t want to get sidetracked with a lecture about not going home when Ryan told me to. “But it got me thinking about Kyle, and how connected he is to everything that’s been happening around here. Declan broke up with his sister, Liz, and that was a whole big thing while you guys were in school, right?” Ryan nods warily, like he has no idea where I’m headed and isn’t sure he wants to find out. Malcolm looks the same. I haven’t shared any of this with him yet. I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to do it more than once.
“Then Lacey dies and Declan’s basically run out of town,” I continue. “And now, five years later, Brooke breaks up with Kyle. And Brooke disappears. And Kyle and Katrin are friends, and we already know Katrin is involved in the homecoming threats, so …” I steal a glance at Ryan to see how he’s taking all this. He doesn’t look as impressed as I’d hoped. “Basically, I think they’re all in it together. Liz, Kyle, and Katrin.”
“That’s your new theory?” Ryan asks. I don’t appreciate the somewhat sardonic emphasis he puts on the word new. Malcolm just sags against the wall, like he’s too exhausted to get into any of this right now.
“Yes,” I say.
Ryan folds his arms. “It doesn’t concern you that Liz and Kyle have alibis?”
“They’re each other’s alibi!” I say. It only makes me more sure I’m on to something.
“So you think … what? We just took their word for it?”
“Well. No.” A trickle of doubt seeps in. “Did somebody else see them?”
Ryan rakes a hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t tell you this, it’s not your business. But maybe it’ll get you to stop trying to do my job and trust me. For once.” He lowers his voice. “An entire fraternity saw them. There are pictures. And video. Time-stamped and posted on social media.”
“Oh,” I say in a small voice, embarrassment warming my cheeks.
He makes a frustrated noise in his throat. “Will you knock it off now? Please? I appreciate you coming to me this morning, but like I told you, at this point, you’re more likely to hurt the investigation than help if you keep talking about it. In fact …” He shoves his hands into his pockets and slides his eyes toward Malcolm. “If you could stay with friends for a day or two, Malcolm, I think you should do that.”
Malcolm goes stiff. “Why? Is something happening with Katrin? Was it the video, or—”
“I’m not talking about anything specific. But tensions are running high, and I …” Ryan pauses, like he’s searching for exactly the right words. “I wouldn’t want you to accidentally say something to her that could … interfere.”
“Interfere how?” Malcolm asks.
“It’s just a suggestion. Consider it, all right?”
“Should I be worried about her?” Malcolm asks. “Doing something, I mean?” Ryan doesn’t answer, and Malcolm glowers. “It’s bullshit that she’s just walking around like nothing happened. You have proof she’s shady and you’re not doing anything with it.”
“You have no idea what we’re doing.” Ryan’s face doesn’t change, but his tone gets steely. “I’m asking you to lie low. That’s it. All right?” We nod, and he clears his throat. “How is, ah, everything else, Ellery? With your mom and … you know?”
“Horrible,” I say. “But who really cares, right?”
He heaves a sigh that sounds as bone-deep exhausted as I feel. “Right.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Malcolm
Thursday, October 10
Turns out I didn’t need to leave the house. Katrin did.
Her aunt swooped in two days after Brooke’s body was found. She wanted to take Katrin to New York, but the Echo Ridge police asked her not to leave the state while the investigation is pending. So they’re at some five-star hotel in Topnotch, instead. Which pisses me off every time I think about it. Of all the possible scenarios I thought might happen once I turned over that video of Katrin, her taking a spa vacation wasn’t one of them.
“So much for keeping all the key witnesses nearby,” Declan snorts when I tell him. “We were all told we had to stay in Echo Ridge when Lacey died. Money talks, I guess.”
I’m at his apartment, having dinner with him and Daisy. It’s weird for a few reasons. One, I’ve never seen my brother cook before. Two, he’s surprisingly good at it. And three, I can’t get used to seeing him with Daisy. My brain keeps wanting to replace her with Lacey, and it’s kind of unnerving.
He doesn’t know about the car repair receipt, or the video I took of Katrin. I’m keeping my promise to Officer Rodriguez to stay quiet. It’s not hard with Declan. We might be getting along better than usual, but he still talks a lot more than he listens.