“Why?”
He jerked his hand through his hair. It stuck up around his head in a prickly halo. “The cops told me to keep an eye on you. Get information. They didn’t tell me how. After Romero kicked me out of his office, I came back to find you. I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me, and apologize for . . . you know . . . what happened.” He squeezed his eyes shut as if blocking out the memory. “But you weren’t there, so I broke into your locker. I was only going to leave you a note about meeting up to talk, but I found the message. The one with Posie’s room number on it. By the time I got to the hospital to find you, I was too late.”
“So you stole the visitor’s log?” I waved the folded paper in his face. “Lying to the cops, tampering with evidence? This is obstruction of justice, Reece! You’ll go back to jail—”
“I wouldn’t have to break any laws if you’d just stop running from me and be where you’re supposed to be for once!” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
His face wrinkled with disgust. “You’re really not getting this, are you? You were supposed to be with me after school today. I was supposed to be your alibi!”
“My alibi?” I asked, only now remembering the note he’d left in my locker yesterday. Meet me tomorrow after school.
Reece’s head dropped into his hands, muffling his frustration. “Did anyone see you between the time school let out and the time Teddy went missing?”
“What are you saying?”
Reece raised his head. “I’m saying you’re the number one suspect in the case of three”—he lifted three fingers—“count them—THREE homicides! All the evidence points back to you, Leigh! And today, when you should have been teaching me chemistry in a packed restaurant full of witnesses who could place you there at the time of Teddy’s death, you traipse right into the damn crime scene! It’s like you’re walking into an ambush and I keep trying to keep you clear of the fire, but you just won’t listen! You were supposed to be with me!”
I hugged my knees. “I didn’t do any of this. None of this is my fault,” I whispered.
“Look,” he said through a long exhale. “The police think you’re involved. They just can’t prove anything. They’re looking for any connections. Motives. Accomplices. Even if you didn’t do it, they think you know who did. They’re watching you, waiting. They figure you’ll either do something stupid and incriminate yourself or lead them to the person behind this.”
He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. “Leigh, I know you didn’t kill anyone, and I know a set-up when I see it. You need to start thinking like the cops. It all boils down to motive. Think of everyone you know. Look for connections to the ads or the victims. Who has a reason to kill people you care about? To put you behind bars? Who would want to ruin your life, Leigh?”
I put my head in my hands. “I’ve never hurt anyone. I’ve never done anything wrong. My life isn’t all that great to begin with. It’s not like someone would have to work all that hard to ruin it.”
“They’re working hard because it’s personal, or they wouldn’t be risking so much. There’s got to be someone who wants to hurt you. Keep thinking. I’m just buying time— picking breadcrumbs off the trail until we can figure this out.”
He was covering for me. Which meant he believed me. And if he believed me, he could make the police believe me too. “Why not just give Nicholson the note the killer left in my locker? Tell him I’m being framed. I can’t do it, but he’ll believe you if you tell him you found it in my locker.”
Reece shook his head. “I can’t. It’s inadmissible. I stole it from a locker that the police didn’t have a warrant to search. Besides, the case isn’t Nicholson’s anymore. Homicide took it over weeks ago. The only reason I’m still involved is because I’m the only one who can help the cops connect the sale of the Special K to the killer.”
“Emily, Marcia, and Posie were drugged.”
“Roofies,” he explained. “I’m guessing they’ll find traces in Teddy’s blood too. The killer is using ketamine to subdue the victims. Lonny’s the only known ketamine dealer at West River, and he’s willing to sell it to me. He heard I was back on suspension and decided my credentials were solid enough. If I can prove he’s the one supplying it, the cops can squeeze him for a list of his buyers. Whoever’s responsible for Posie and the others will be on that list.”
I sat up, hope lifting me by the shoulders. A list of Lonny’s buyers would exonerate me. I’d never bought drugs, and I couldn’t possibly have a connection to any of Lonny’s clients. We needed that list.
“So you’re meeting him next Friday?”
He thought before answering. “At a rave. In Old Town.”
Perfect. He wanted me to stay close to him, and I wanted that list. “Okay, what do we do?”