Page 59 of The Obsession

“I know Dee.”

“Oh, right.” Lisa smiled back and pushed her glasses up. She was laying on the librarian act nice and thick.Look at me, I’m Lisa the librarian! I wear glasses! I couldn’t possibly be the mastermind behind Draycott’s drug ring!“Can I help you with anything, Detective?”

“Yes, actually, I’m looking for a…some sort of message board?” Mendez took out a slim notebook and riffled through the pages. “A message board where students post their secrets?”

There was a beat, and then Lisa chirped, “Of course! Yes. The Post Ur Secret board. Right this way.” She ushered Mendez out of the office, chattering the entire time. “What are you looking for at the board? Ooh, don’t tell me if it’s something awful, I have a very weak stomach. Maybe you could give me a hint, though.” God, she was such a pro. No one could possibly suspect this version of Lisa of doing anything remotely illegal. She absolutely radiated helplessness; someone who’d turn herself in if she so much as ran a red light. Someone who fainted at the sight of blood. I should be taking notes.

Mendez laughed. “I’ll know when I see it. Tell me about this board.”

The two of them seemed to have forgotten about me, which was just fine. I trailed along quietly, trying to look calm, trying to keep all of the little broken pieces of me from falling apart. I listened closely to Mendez’s voice and studied her every move. Was anything off? Was she looking at me differently, like she knew something I didn’t? What had she heard about the Post Ur Secret Board? Worse still, what would she find?

By the time we got to the board, every nerve inside me was thrumming.

“This is it,” Lisa said, with a flourish. She stood to one side with her back to the board, her eyes studying Mendez studying the board. You’d catch the cold calculation behind Lisa’s deferential expression only if you were looking out for it.

“Whoa,” Mendez said.

“It is quite a lot to take in,” Lisa agreed.

No kidding. The first time I’d come across the board, I’d been swept away by the sheer size of it. So many secrets pinned together to make one giant flock, so many voices whispering, so many emotions, all of them extreme—elated, excited, some enraged, others sorrowful, none of them peaceful. It was like plunging into the deep end of the ocean. I stood on the other side of Mendez and scanned the board. She’d never find anything in this—

“Aha!” Mendez cried.

Lisa and I jumped. I twisted to look at Mendez and found her gaze locked not on the board but on me. Every inch of my skin turned cold. This was a trap. She didn’t care about the board. She’d just used it as a way of catching me out—

“What is it? Did you find something?” Lisa said, her voice just the right mix of excitement, wonder, and fear.

Mendez tore her gaze from me and glanced at Lisa. “Hmm? No, I thought I saw something, but I was mistaken.”

Lisa frowned. “Well, maybe if you could give us some sort of clue as to what you’re looking for, we’d be able to help…”

“Sorry, Lisa, I need to talk to Dee for a second.”

Lisa’s mouth dropped open. “But—”

Mendez took me by the arm and led me, gently but firmly, out of the library.This is it, then. This is how it all ends.All of my planning was for nothing.How much does she know?My legs turned to water, and I would’ve fallen if Mendez’s hand weren’t wrapped around my arm, steadying me. With each step, I had to remind myself to breathe deeply, slowly.

Outside, Mendez turned to me. “Okay, Dee, you need to be honest with me.”

My voice was gone. I could only nod wordlessly as I waited for her to say the words that would end my life. “I’ve told you everything I know about Brandon’s acc—”

“I’m not here about that,” she said. “Well, it’s sort of related to that. I’m here investigating the drug ring at your school.” That was not much better. I’d thought it would be Brandon’s murder that got me in the end, but apparently, I was mistaken. “Remember that pill I found in Brandon’s car?”

Oh god, here it comes. Just tell me you know it belonged to me. It must’ve fallen out of my bag. Rip off the Band-Aid already. Tell me you know, tell me!

“I’ve told you—I don’t do drugs,” I said weakly. “Honest. You can ask anyone here—”

Mendez sighed. “Dee, I know that. I’ve been talking to people here. They all say the same thing about you. That you’re the last person who’d know anything about drugs.” She gave me a sad smile. “You’re a good kid, Dee. But maybe a bit naïve.”

My head whirled. What was she saying? Okay, she just said I was a good kid, which meant she didn’t know about Brandon’s murder or my role in the drug ring. But then she said I was naive… “I don’t understand,” I said.

“Dee, I know relationships in high school can be intense. I was so in love with my high school boyfriend when I was your age. I would’ve done anything for him.”

“I—what?” I said.

Mendez leveled her gaze at me. “How well do you know Logan?”

My mind drew a blank. Of all the questions I’d braced myself for, this was not one of them. “Um, I don’t know—” At some point she was going to notice how I was answering everything with “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.” I had to come up with something more tangible to satisfy her. Something that wouldn’t tip her off. “We haven’t been dating that long…” I said.

---