Good Girls Lie(90)

But had she eliminated Muriel because she was worried about being exposed as a fraud? That would be...diabolical.

“Ash? Do you have any—oh!”

Ford whirls around to see Piper standing in the doorway. She puts her hand behind her back immediately, praying the phone hasn’t been seen.

“Dean Westhaven. Hello. I was just looking for Ash. I’m sorry to disturb you.”

And she disappears before Ford can say a word.

Damn sneaky girls. What did she see?

Ford shoves the phone in her pocket and steps into the hall. “Miss Brennan. A word, if you please?”

Piper’s tall frame stops dead. “Yes, Dean?”

“Why aren’t you in class?”

The freckles go dark with a charming blush. “I got my period. I came up for tampons but I’m out, V doesn’t have any. I was just seeing if Ash has some.”

If she’s lying, she’s a smooth operator.

Why do you assume everyone is lying? Just because you’re up to your neck in deceit doesn’t mean everyone is.

“Are the bathrooms not stocked?”

“No, Dean.”

Ford shakes her head. “I’ll see to it. Off with you, continue your search.”

Piper smiles gratefully and scoots off. The bathrooms aren’t stocked, which means the support staff isn’t on top of things. Students wandering campus, out of class, at all hours of the day. A possible impostor on the grounds. An affair with the handyman. Heavens, she’s let Goode go. Let herself go, dropped her standards.

When are you going to wrap your head around the fact that you don’t want to be here? You should find a replacement, someone who cares enough to make sure things are run properly. You obviously don’t care enough about the school’s management to be in charge.

Perhaps it is time for her to be thinking about naming a successor. But how would that look? Like she is running away the moment there’s something negative going on. Like her mother. Jude fell on her sword without a second’s thought. When asked, Jude said, “Goode is more important than any one person.”

Ford almost understands.

Resigning in protest over a forced move to coed, though, that would be a legitimate out.

No. She needs to clean up her mess, but she’s not going to run.

And she’s not going to let anything ruin her. She is going to destroy this phone. Call Alan, set up the meeting with Ash and the sheriff.

And have a word with her wayward student. It’s time she finds out exactly what Ashlyn Carr is up to. Answers must be given. By Ash, and by Rumi. He’s avoiding her, she knows it, and she needs to get him alone and find out what his relationship was with Camille.

But to do it safely, she needs privacy.

Using her own phone, she texts Rumi.

Meet me at the house. Please?
She has to wait ten minutes for the reply, but finally, finally, three dots appear.

I can’t get away until later. Is 9 okay?
Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.
Thank heavens. At the very least, she can find out what’s going on with these photos of him and Camille.

She calls Alan next, who is happy to be of service. She asks him to reach out to Tony for more details. He suggests she wait to talk with Ash until he’s present. She agrees, though she’s lying. She has to talk to Ash first.

Then she stalks to her attic garret, stares out the window onto the quad.

How is she going to approach Ash?



68

THE REALIZATION

I retreat upstairs after the trip to the mail room, the damning note clutched in my hand. After the initial shock of the words, my head has cleared. It’s strange how calm I am. The world is about to come crashing down at my feet, but my heartbeat is steady. My breath comes in regular sequence. My vision is hyper focused.

I sit on my couch in my quiet, empty room and set the note carefully on the coffee table.

This can mean only one thing. Someone knows.

But who? Who is the she in this warning? I’m surrounded by women, girls, variables of she from every corner.

Becca. Vanessa. Piper. Dean Westhaven. The cop.

Camille.

The number of she’s is astounding to think of. Any one of these girls could be about to wreck my life. Think. Who has the most to gain from seeing you exposed?

Piper isn’t capable. She’s a good girl.

Vanessa, though...

Which leads me to wonder, how long was the note in my box? While I’ve been down to the mail room several times since Becca tapped me, I haven’t checked my own box in days. Camille has been dead for four days. Was the note placed before Camille died? Or after?

She.

Becca. Camille. The dean.

Sister.

Camille’s sudden suicide.

She is going to expose you.

No. It can’t be.

I’m jumping to conclusions, I know, but I can’t help but think the absolute worst.

I heard my name that night. I’ve forgotten that small but eerie detail. I’d written it off as my imagination which was already in overdrive coupled with drugs and alcohol, but when I entered our dorm room, I thought I heard my name called.

Was it Camille, yelling for help?

Did Becca somehow find out Camille was going to share my secret and kill her to stop the rumors? Did she kill Camille to protect me?

The shirt she gave me had a tear in it. She gave it to me that night. We were apart for at least fifteen minutes. She had time to get up there. If Camille had been stashed away somewhere, it’s entirely possible.