Bad Like Us, page 14
Colton rubs his brow. “I had to,” he says, wincing. “I told him about the picture of the note, and that I knew he didn’t write it—”
“Yeah, he told me,” Danny interrupts, breathing fast. “And it’s lucky for you that he did. I’m about to save your ass.”
I keep my arms tightly crossed. “I’m not getting rid of the phone, Danny. It’s evidence in Piper’s murder investigation.”
He drags his hands down his face. “Eva. Please. Listen to me. If the cops find out you’ve been hiding that phone, they’re going to be all over you. They’re going to think you did it.”
I steal another glance at Colton, but he’s looking at the floor now.
Straightening, I return my attention to Danny. “I can’t get rid of it, that’s not an option. I’ll just have to explain that I found it and didn’t realize it was Piper’s until this morning. Which is true.”
Danny throws up his arms. “Oh, yeah. Because that doesn’t sound sketchy at all.”
I keep my expression cool, even though I’m spiraling on the inside. Because he’s right. This is exactly why I didn’t tell the police about the phone in the first place—because it makes me look guilty. It’ll look even worse now that I forgot to mention it when I was being interviewed this morning. I saw the way Karly’s and Alice’s faces changed when they found out I’d been hiding Piper’s phone. They’re my friends, I trusted them with this secret, and even they were suspicious of me. Alice, the person I share all my secrets with, is suspicious of me.
“Give me the phone,” Danny says, steadily. “I’ll get rid of it for you. It’ll be like it never happened.” He extends his hand, waiting.
I squeeze my eyes shut and massage my temples. “I need some time to think this through.”
In the silence, I hear Piper’s voice in my mind. The echo of her final words caught on video. The thought of the phone slipping from her fingers as she fell. Or worse, was pushed.
“Don’t worry,” Colton murmurs. “You don’t have to get rid of it if you don’t want to.”
But Danny chokes out a sound. “Come on, Colton. You know this looks bad. If anyone else finds out—”
“I’ve already told Karly and Alice,” I say weakly.
Danny slaps his forehead. “You told Karly? Why, Eva?”
“Because I didn’t want to lie to my friends! They’re grieving, and they’re confused. We all are.”
He heaves a sigh.
“I could tell the police I found the phone in the lodge, this afternoon,” I say quickly.
“Yeah,” Danny answers. “And do you trust everyone here to keep your secret? Even if Karly and Alice go along with it, I was on the deck last night when you were asking people if they’d lost a phone. It only takes one person to mention that to the cops, then they’ll put two and two together and figure out that you took the phone from the cave, and then you lied about it.”
I look at the window, out to the cove and rocky shoreline. The ocean is wild, crashing and shattering against the shore. Everything is misted by the rain, but the mouth of the cave is just visible.
I’m going to tell everyone what you did.
The echo of Piper’s scream tremors through me. I wince and fold my arms around myself.
“I just need some time to think.”
But Danny’s right. I can’t get away from this. None of us can.
COLTON
When Eva leaves our room, I give her a look, a nod. I know she sees it, and I hope it reminds her that I’m here for her, with her. We’re still in this together.
But she disappears onto the deck and closes the door behind her.
Danny slumps on his bed. “Thanks for backing me up,” he says, tossing a pillow at me.
I catch it and frown. “We can’t force her to get rid of the phone if she doesn’t want to. Anyway, she’s right, it’s evidence.”
His eyes narrow. For a second, I see the same expression my mom gives when things don’t go her way. The frustration that furrows her brow—and his—because it never occurs to them that their plans have holes. “But you know she can’t keep it,” he says. “She can’t get caught with it.”
“The cops will be looking for that phone, regardless. Eva could just leave it lying around somewhere.”
He grimaces. “With yours and Eva’s fingerprints all over it. Smart plan.”
“We could wipe it clean.”
“Yeah,” he says, “and that’s all good as long as Karly or someone doesn’t drop the real story.”
My eyes stray to the window—the same window that Eva had stared out of just minutes earlier. She was scared, and there was nothing I could say or do to change that. It’s spreading through all of us, making us act in ways we shouldn’t be.
“I hear you,” I say, turning back to Danny. “But too many people know about it now to just get rid of it. That could end up looking worse for Eva. Anyway, there might be something on it that clears Javier’s name.”
Danny laughs.
When I raise an eyebrow, he shakes his head and his jaw clenches.
“What?”
“Just because Javier’s your friend, doesn’t mean he’s innocent.”
I hold his stare. “What makes you think he isn’t?”
“The cops had reason to pull him in,” he elaborates, “they must have.”
“Because he didn’t have an alibi,” I shoot back. “Neither did you.”
“And neither did you. You weren’t with Javier the whole night. You don’t even know what time you got back here, so how can you be sure you were with him at the time Eva thinks she heard a scream?”
I don’t respond.
The muscles in his jaw twitch. “Javier killed Piper,” he says. Then he slaps his hand to his chest. “And I’m not letting my friend, my innocent friend, take the fall for it just because she found some phone.”
“That’s not fair,” I mutter. “I care about Eva, too. The cops aren’t even looking at her as a suspect.”
“But they will.”
I rub the nape of my neck.
“So, maybe we should take the phone,” he says. “Then it’s out of her hands.”
I trap my lip between my teeth and look down at my sneakers and the scuff marks on the toes. “We’re not taking the phone. We’ve got to think it through better than that.”
EVA
Alice steps out of my room at the same time I leave Colton and Danny’s—only, she doesn’t seem to notice me. Strands of her dark hair have come free from her long braid and are fluttering in the wind. She lets the door fall shut behind her, and begins moving down the corridor, heading away from me.
I rush to catch up with her, stepping over branches that have been swept into the corridor by the gale. Alice startles when I grasp her arm.
“Hey, what did—”
I press my finger to my lips, and nod farther along the corridor, past Danny and Colton’s room, to the side of the building.
She frowns but follows me as I pace quickly around the lodge, over the planked deck and down the stone steps that lead to the cove.
Rain has hardened the sand and misted the salty air. Alice and I stay close to the rocky wall that binds the bay, but we can’t hide from the storm as it whips at our hair and clothes. We’re alone on the stretch of sand beneath the lodge, far enough away to go unnoticed. The cave is lost behind fog, but the crash of waves sounds louder than ever.
“What’s wrong?” Alice asks, squinting in the wet gale. “What did Danny say to you?”
I glance back at the lodge, making sure that we’re truly alone. The windows reflect black, and it’s hard to tell if anyone’s beyond the panes, watching us. I take a quick breath and return my focus to Alice. “I’m just going to come right out with this.”
She frowns. “Okay. Sounds ominous.”
“I know it was you.”
Her breath falters, and I know that I’m right.
Title: Audio File_Alice Moloi Interview
Good morning. My name is Detective Brennan, and the time is approximately ten a.m. on April sixteenth. Can I take your name, please?
Alice Moloi.
Thanks, Alice. Why don’t you talk me through what happened here last night.
I don’t know. We were all on the beach for a while, then we went back to our rooms. I went to bed a little after one and woke up to this. It’s so much to process. I can’t wrap my head around it, honestly.
I understand. Alice, how was the mood amongst your friends last night? Some of your group have mentioned that Piper had a disagreement with her boyfriend.
Yes. Yes, that’s right. But it was just trivial stuff, I think. It wasn’t over anything big.
What were they arguing about?
I don’t know. Nothing, really. Or maybe just small stuff.
Okay. And how about yourself, what time did you leave the beach last night?
I’m not sure, exactly. A little before midnight.
Did you leave alone?
No, I was with my friend Miles.
But you and Miles left ahead of the rest of the group? Why was that?
Actually, we were looking for our friend Eva. She left just before us, so we thought we’d catch up with her back at the lodge.
And did you go straight back to the accommodation after you left the fire?
Pretty much.
Can you elaborate on that, please?
Yes. Um. We sat on the beach for a little while, away from the others so that we could talk.
What was it that you needed to talk privately about, if you don’t mind me asking?
Oh. Nothing in particular.
You were talking about nothing? That seems strange, considering you stepped away from your friends so that you could talk alone.
No, but... That wasn’t why we left the others. We were following Eva, and...and then we just started talking. Just about life, and our plans for next year. Miles really wanted to go to Harvard, but it didn’t work out, so he’s been feeling pretty down about it.
Okay. Alice, I’m going to ask you something, and I hope you’ll give me an honest answer. Do you think your friend Javier had reason to harm his girlfriend, Piper?
No. No, not at all. Okay, they were fighting, but it was nothing. It was all a misunderstanding, and it certainly wasn’t Piper’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
EVA
“I recognized your handwriting.”
When I say the words, Alice closes her eyes. Her shoulders drop.
“Danny didn’t write that note to Piper,” I hedge. “You did. Piper took a picture of the note on her phone, and I recognized your handwriting, Alice.”
She presses the heels of her hands to her brow.
“Everyone thinks it was Danny,” I say. “Even Danny thinks it was him!”
Alice musters a thin smile. “Yeah, well. That isn’t exactly true.”
I brace against the cold and damp wind. “Wait, what do you mean? Does Danny know?”
“Of course he knows, Eva.” She drops her hands. “When that fight happened between Danny and Javier, I told Danny right away. I was going to tell Javier, too. I wanted to. But Danny stopped me.”
I shake my head, confused. “Why?”
She heaves a sigh. “Eva, you and I are best friends, right?”
“Of course. Always.”
“And you know I tell you everything.”
“Yeah.” I reach for her hand. “Same.”
Her eyes wander away from me and her gaze lands on the sullen shoreline. “But I wasn’t ready for everyone to know about my feelings for Piper, and when I was honest with Danny about the note, we talked, and he told me not to say anything. The fight was already done and over, that’s what Danny said. He said it didn’t matter if people thought it was him, and that this would buy me some time to speak to Piper privately, without everyone else getting involved.” She brings her eyes back to me, and I notice the glassiness with tears threatening to spill. She shakes off the emotion and inhales sharply. “But I never got a chance to talk to Piper.”
“Right,” I murmur.
She sweeps aside the strands of her hair that are being tossed around by the wind. “I know I should be honest with everyone, but they’re going to wonder why I didn’t say anything sooner. I just feel like the worst person ever.” She takes another fractured breath and rubs roughly at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
“Alice...”
“I only wrote that note because of how badly the conversation ended when we were all in your room the other night. Piper and I had been getting on so great. As friends,” she clarifies, holding up her hands. “But she kept asking me who I was interested in, suggesting she could set me up with Noah, and I panicked. I snapped at her, and I felt awful about it.”
“I had no idea you felt this way,” I say, searching her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I never expected Piper to reciprocate,” she adds, blotting a tear from the corner of her eye. “I wasn’t trying to steal her away from Javier or anything like that. I just wanted to be transparent with her. And then when Javier found the note, I guess he assumed it was from Danny because of their history and...” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Danny and I just figured it’d blow over.”
“But it didn’t.”
She works her lip between her teeth and gazes down at the sand. Our shoes are sinking into the wet ground, spattered with the dark grains. “Do you think I should tell the police about the note?” she asks. “I don’t want people using this as a reason to suspect Danny for...for what happened to Piper,” she finishes quietly.
I don’t answer. Because how am I supposed to advise her on this? After all, I’m hardly in a position to preach about what people should and shouldn’t share with the investigators.
“This gives me motive to harm Piper, that’s what people will think.” She avoids my gaze when she says it. Her eyes wander to the misted cave. Alongside it, the ocean rears and crashes against the shore.
I catch my hair as the wind spirals it. “Miles was with you last night. That counts for something. You guys were together at the time Piper fell.”
“Actually.” She takes a small breath. “We weren’t.”
A shiver crawls down my spine, and the wind howls.
“We were looking for you,” she explains, glancing back at the lodge. The bleak sky seems to be closing in on it, darkening the log walls in shadow. Alice lowers her voice. “Miles and I separated for a little bit. But I didn’t tell the police that. Neither did Miles.”
“Okay,” I say slowly.
My thoughts start racing. If that final video taken on Piper’s phone is anything to go off, someone among us did push her. Piper was threatening someone, and they snapped. I saw the way Alice and Karly looked at me when I showed them the phone. If they considered me, should I be considering them?
It takes me a while to find my voice. “Why Piper?”
Her gaze drifts to the bleak horizon. “There was just something,” she murmurs. “Her energy, her enthusiasm, her confidence...” She gives way to a quiet breath. “The way she made me feel like I was important. Like I mattered.”
“Of course you matter, Alice,” I whisper.
She bows her head. “I liked being around her,” she says softly. “I’m going to miss her so much, Eva.”
I thread my fingers through hers. “I know,” I tell her gently.
Of course, I get it, the appeal. Piper had a magnetic way of drawing people in.
But she had an unparalleled way of pushing people out, too.
GIRLS GROUP CHAT
KARLY: Eva, what happened with Danny? Where are you? I don’t want to be on my own, I’m in the communal room and don’t know what to do. Paul is making food, but I can’t eat.
EVA: Hang in there. I’m going to try calling my parents again and then I’ll come find you.
KARLY: Alice, where are you?? I need you. I’m not doing so great.
ALICE: I’ve been outside. I’m going to go dry off and change, but then I promise I’ll stay with you, okay?
KARLY: Okay. Hurry.
COLTON
The storm bats at the windows, shaking the glass. It’s getting bad out there, and the roof is leaking, steadily dripping rainwater onto the floorboards.
Danny is lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Miles is sitting on the floor across the room, leaning against the wall. His hands are twitching, thumbs constantly moving. The dark clouds have dimmed the day, losing us in shadows.
I check my phone. No service.
“We should call Mom.” I don’t look at Danny when I say it, but I hear his bed creak as he sits up.
“Is that a joke?”
I frown at him. “Do I sound like I’m joking?”
“We can’t call Mom,” he says, shaking his head. “If she gets involved, it’ll just make everything worse. You know what she’s like, she’ll overreact.”
“Overreact?” I echo. “Danny, we’re in a murder investigation.”
“We’re not,” he says. “Javier is.”
“She’s going to be wondering what’s going on.”
I notice Miles’s gaze drift between us, and it makes me wonder how much Danny has shared with him about my mom and his volatile relationship with her. We don’t usually talk about this stuff outside the two of us.
“She won’t even know,” Danny says. “We said we’d be home on the weekend and it’s only Saturday. The cops will probably let us go home tomorrow.”
Miles looks at me from across the room and raises an eyebrow.
I get why Danny doesn’t want to call home. Things have been bad lately, for all of us. Danny blew up at Mom right before we left, called her out on a couple of things. I backed him because I always do. I told her I thought she was selfish, and she sucked in her cheeks like she’d been slapped. Normally, I don’t talk back to my mom, and I think that’s why it got to her more than when Danny was firing off. I’m supposed to be the levelheaded one, the dependable one who always keeps his shit together, takes care of everyone. But I hit my limit that day. It’d been brewing for a while, months, all three of us swallowing down our true feelings, and then the night before we left, Danny broke, and we all fell with him.
