“Stop.” Ava caught her arm. “We really, really can’t talk about this here.”
“Maybe we should just turn ourselves in,” Caitlin said frantically, her voice rising. It was clear she had to talk about this right then—there was no waiting. “Before anyone else is killed. Before anything else happens. What do you think?”
“And what good would that do?” Ava hissed. “You really think whoever’s doing this will stop once we’re in prison?”
“Maybe!” Caitlin cried, her voice turning a few heads.
“Shh,” Mac warned her, hoping that the passing students assumed they were talking about an upcoming history exam. She leaned closer to the girls. “Do you hear yourself?” she said to Caitlin. “You want to throw your life away for some stupid conversation we had? Like we’re the first people ever who talk about people we want dead. Come on, Caitlin.”
“We’re the first people whose people we want dead actually end up dead!” Caitlin whispered, the blood pumping at her temples.
“Let’s think about this logically,” Mac said, her voice low. “Maybe we can figure this out ourselves. We should question some of the girls Granger was fooling around with. I mean, they had motive to kill Granger, right?”
Ava nodded. “Alex said he saw a girl go into Granger’s house some time that night, after we left. It could have been one of them.”
“That covers Granger,” Caitlin agreed. “But what about Ashley? Parker’s dad? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Is there someone who does make sense?” Ava snapped.
Mac couldn’t help it—her eyes darted toward Ava suspiciously. She thought about her own conversation with Dr. Rose. It was hard not to have some hypotheses. She barely knew these girls.
Ava stiffened. “I didn’t hurt Granger,” she said defensively, as if reading Mac’s mind. “And I didn’t do anything to Ashley.”
“Neither did I!” Caitlin said quickly. She looked at Mac with sudden mistrust. “Where were you yesterday?”
Mac’s mouth dropped open. “Why would I hurt Ashley?” she asked, astonished. “I don’t even know her!”
Ava shrugged. “Why would any of us? Maybe you knew that Ashley overheard our conversation in film studies. Maybe you had to stop her before she broke the news, the same way she spread that rumor about Julie. You have a lot to lose, Mackenzie. You just got into Juilliard. You need to protect your future, don’t you?”
“Are you insane?” Mac cried. It was one thing for her to suspect the others, but how could they suspect her? She pointed at Ava. “I could just as easily say the same thing about you. And what about your boyfriend? He’s got a history of violence!”
Ava’s eyes flashed. “There’s more to that story than you know. Alex beat up that guy because he raped someone.”
“Yeah, but Granger hit on you,” Caitlin pointed out, barely hearing Ava’s explanation. “You make the most sense to want him dead.”
“I’m sorry, have we forgotten that Nolan drove your brother to suicide?” Ava hissed, her lips curling. “You make the most sense for that. Got any cyanide on you, Caitlin?”
Caitlin’s mouth dropped open. “How dare you!” She was about to lunge at Ava, but Mac caught her arm.
“Just hold on a minute!” Mac felt herself snap into a more rational frame of mind. “Everybody take a breath, okay? It’s clear that all the stuff the cops said to us is messing with our heads. But does it actually make sense?” Then she looked around. Ava and Caitlin were frowning. They didn’t do it, she told herself. She wanted so badly to believe that.
“What about Julie?” Caitlin said softly. “Does anyone know where she is?”
“I tried to call her this morning, when I heard the news about Ashley.” Ava’s throat bobbed. “She didn’t answer. And I’m sure she’s not in school after what Ashley did yesterday.”
Mac pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. “Maybe we should ask her where she was yesterday, after our meeting at the police station. That’s about the time Ashley . . . you know.”
Ava widened her eyes. “You’re not saying—”
“Of course not,” Mac interrupted. “Or . . . I don’t know. Ashley was ruining her life.”
“And did you see that Instagram?” Caitlin whispered. “Ashley called Animal Control on Julie’s mom. They took away all the cats. It was on the news.”
Ava put her hands on her hips. “You two are awfully quick to point fingers.”
“So are you,” Caitlin snapped.
The bell rang, and they all flinched. Ava slung her Chanel bag over her shoulder. “We’ll talk later,” she said tightly to Caitlin.
“Unless we’re in jail,” Caitlin mumbled under her breath.