Page 77 of The Lake of Lost Girls

“Me neither.”

I tipped my face up to him and he kissed me. And all thoughts drifted away as the water, with its hidden secrets, lapped at our feet. Somewhere close by, I knew Dr. Daniels would be watching.

I felt better, more settled, by the time Ryan dropped me off at the dorm. I fumbled with my keys in the lock when the door flung open suddenly and Daisy stood there, seeming frazzled.

“There you are!” she exclaimed.

Daisy pulled me into our room and quickly closed the door behind me.

“What is it? Did you lose your lip gloss again?” I joked.

Daisy looked like she was about to have a panic attack. “This is serious, Jess.” She walked to her desk and picked up her ID. “Where did you find this?”

“What are you talking about?”

Daisy shook the ID card. “My campus ID, Jess. Where was it? It’s been missing for like three months. I’ve not seen it since before Christmas.”

“Oh, Ryan returned it earlier.”

“What? Why did Ryan have my ID?” She was gnawing at her bottom lip.

“He said he found it so he brought it back.” I shrugged nonchalantly.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she murmured. She seemed close to tears. “Where did he find it?”

“What’s going on, Daisy?” I asked, getting to my feet and crossing the room to my frantic roommate. I reached out and took ahold of her shoulders. “You need to calm down. Tell me what happened.”

She sat down on her bed, covering her face with her hands. “I was called to the police station in town.”

My stomach dropped. “What? Why?”

Daisy looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Because, apparently, my student ID was the only one used in all the last locations where Tammy, Phoebe, and Meghan were seen.”

I swallowed. Anxiety rising in me. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

Daisy’s eyes took on a wild look. “Don’t you get it, Jess? My card was used to check out a computer in the computer lab within ten minutes of Tammy checking into thatsamecomputer lab.” She ran her hands through her hair. “My ID card was used to check out a book at the library, at the same damn kiosk as Phoebe’s. At almost the same time!” She was getting worked up again. I could see she was spiraling.

“Daisy, take a breath—”

“And at the gym, too. At like one in the morning. Guess who was also at the gym at one in the morning onFebruary 8?” She looked at me, her eyes unwavering. “Meghan Lambert.”

“Okay …”

“I don’t go to the gym, Jess,” Daisy went on. “And I sure as hell have never set foot in the library. But the police have proof that my card, at least, has been to those places, coincidentally around the same time as Tammy, Phoebe, and Meghan. And wouldn’t you know it, it happened to be the last place anyone ever saw them.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

But I did.

Daisy’s eyes welled up with tears. “They were interrogating me, Jess. Like I had done something to those women.Me—as if I’d ever do something like that.”

I sat down beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. “I know you would never hurt a fly, Daisy.”

For once, she didn’t lean into me. “I don’t understand what’s going on. How could my card be used at all those places? You know it’s been missing for months. I’ve been borrowing Erica and Tina’s IDs.”

“Maybe it’s some kind of technology error. I can’t imagine Mt. Randall’s police force being too skilled in that area,” I offered.

Daisy wiped her face. “Yeah, maybe. But it’s so weird.” She looked down at the ID in question. “Where did Ryan find it?” She seemed to be bordering on hysteria.

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