Page 83 of The Lake of Lost Girls

I slowly made my way in the direction of the arguing, stopping outside an open door with Daisy Molina’s name embossed on the glass.

“I have nothing more to say about this, Ryan. I’ve told you what I needed to tell you and that’s the end of it. Now, you need to leave,” I heard a woman I suspected was Daisy say, her voice even and controlled.

I surreptitiously peeked around the door to find two people standing in the middle of the room. I knew one of them to be Daisy—and the other was Ryan McKay.

Daisy tried to move past Ryan, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her up short. He leaned in close, his face only an inch from hers. His features twisted in fury.

He looked scary, but Daisy remained calm, pulling her arm from his grip and giving him a shove.

“Don’t you dare put your hands on me, Ryan. I am not the sort of woman who will stand for your bullshit,” she threatened.

“For God’s sake, we’re supposed to be on the same side, Daisy!” he shouted in frustration.

“There’s only one side, Ryan. The right side. And we’ve been on the wrong one long enough,” Daisy exclaimed, her cheeks flushed. Ryan threw his hands up in the air and turned his face away from her and in that moment his eyes connected with mine.

“Lindsey,” I heard him say, his voice reflecting his surprise.

I walked into Daisy’s office and gave Ryan my best withering look. “I should have known you’d be doing whatever you could to cover your tracks.”

“It’s not what you think, Daisy contactedme.” He sounded desperate and worried.

“I think you should go, Ryan,” Daisy cut in. “I’ve told you there’s nothing more for us to talk about.”

Ryan looked like he wanted to argue. “Daisy—”

“Just go,” I ordered. “I need to talk to Daisy,” I gave him a pointed look, “alone.”

“I know it looks bad,” he said, his tone soft, “I know you think I—”

Daisy picked up the phone off her desk. “I think it’s time I make that call to campus security.”

“That’s not necessary, I’m leaving.” Ryan’s jaw was stiff and I could tell he was barely reining in his frustration.

He looked at me again. “We need to talk, Lindsey.”

“If Lindsey is at all like Jess, you should know you can’t force her to do anything,” Daisy interjected. She walked him to the door. “Goodbye, Ryan.” And then she closed the door in his face.

I sighed in relief, glad that he was gone. Daisy turned around, her smile blinding. “Lindsey.” She came toward me, her arms outstretched.

I let her hug me, feeling a little awkward. When she pulled back and patted my hand, I relaxed. Daisy had a comforting way about her. I understood why she and Jess had been friends.

“You really haven’t changed much,” she announced. I must have looked confused because. Daisy laughed. “That sounded weird, but I looked at your face every day for an entire school year. Jess kept a framed picture of you on her desk.”

That was an unexpected gut punch.

“She did?”

Daisy nodded. “She talked about you a lot, so I feel like I almost know you. Or at least the younger you.” She had no idea how much I needed the reminder that my sister had, in fact, loved me. Especially after all of the revelations from the past twenty-four hours.

“You handled Ryan nicely by the way,” I commented as Daisy returned to her desk.

“I’ve dealt with bigger pains in the ass in my life than Ryan McKay. Please, Lindsey, have a seat.” She pointed to the cushy armchair on the other side of her desk.

We both sat down, regarding each other intently.

“I was surprised to find you were still in Mt. Randall. And here at the college, no less.” I looked around her office. It was a comfortable space meant to put people at ease. There was a small water fountain glowing with LED lights in thecorner. Wind chimes tinkled in the breeze from the open window. Incense burned, giving off a soothing scent. There were thick, multicolored rugs on the floor and soft instrumental music piped through the speakers on Daisy’s desk.

My sister’s former roommate gave me a sad smile. “After what happened to Jess, I thought about leaving a hundred times. About transferring to another school. It had been awful after she went missing. Every girl on campus was terrified. We felt like sitting ducks. But, I decided then and there that enough was enough. I was sick of the endless cycle of fear that we, as women, live in. I stayed, I graduated, and then was accepted to the graduate program in counseling. After that, I applied as a counselor here because this was the one place where I knew I was needed.” She looked out the window at the manicured lawns. “I wanted to do something important. I wanted to try and prevent what happened to your sister and to Phoebe, Tammy, and Meghan from ever happening again.” She opened a drawer and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

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