Page 76 of The Game Is Afoot

I should talk to him…at some point. Eventually, but not now. Now I don’t have time to think about any of this. Now I need to deal with Bethany. And Corey and Jack…and my unemployment.

But first Bethany.

My eyes dart to Principal Smith’s door. I wonder if I’ll be able to hear what they’re saying if I get a little closer. But,ugh—damn it. Lilliam. There’s no way she’ll let me get away with that, and she’s still right here next to me, pretending to clean.

“I think that’s the last of the juicy details for the day, if you want to take your lunch.”

But Ms. Lilliam ignores my snarky callout and bends down to pick something up off the floor. “That woman has a lot of nerve, dropping these in her eyes like I couldn’t see her. Mm-hmm, and then she leaves ’em for me to clean up.”

“Who? Are you talking about Mrs. Nel—”

The question dies in my throat, though, when I see what it is she’s picked up. From underneath the chair Bethany was crying in, just moments ago.

It’s a small plastic bottle, clear with a red label. The letters on it are white, but they might as well be flashing neon.Visine.

Twenty-Two

“Hello? Detective De La Rosa?”I say, once I’m finally put through to his extension. I told the receptionist that it was an emergency, but after she confirmed that I wasn’t in any immediate danger, I was put on a very lengthy hold.

“Ms. Miller.” His voice is flat, like he’s purposely trying to hide his emotion, but there’s no time to analyze that now.

“Hi! Okay, please listen for a second. Don’t write me off yet.” I can feel my words tumbling over each other as I talk as fast as I can, pacing around the living room just as fast. “I found out something that is going to help your case. Bethany Bowman. Do you know who she is? Actually, you must, because I mentioned her last time we spoke!”

“Yes, you did.” I give him a beat, waiting for more, but there are only muffled sounds of his office around him. I guess I should just be happy he hasn’t hung up yet.

“Well, hopefully you’ve already looked into her then, and you know she was in a business deal with Cole. Probably a pretty lucrative one, for these gummy vitamins? So she has amotivefor him being out of the picture, because it would mean more moneyfor her. Also, I’m pretty sure he was suspicious about her faking cancer, which would, like, blow up her whole self-care MLM, so that’s anothermotiveright there.” I pause again for any sign that I’m swaying him with my use of official detective language, but he seems intent on giving me absolutely nothing. “So, anyway, today, I saw her at Knoll Elementary, and guess what fell out of her bag? A bottle of Visine! Or, you know…tetra-tetril—yeah, Visine. I don’t know if she has sodium nitrate—sorry,nitrite—too, but I’m sure you can get a warrant now and look for that.”

It’s still silent. And, okay, I admit that might not have been the best delivery. I’m not some TV detective, laying out the facts in a perfectly rehearsed monologue, but still—everything he needs is there. Maybe he’s already hung up, racing to the first judge he can find, and he’ll call back to thank me later.

He clears his throat: proof of life. “Ms. Miller…how did you know about the Visine?”

So apparently he’snotin any hurry to get that warrant signed.

I sigh, weighing my options here. I don’t want to get Irene or Leon in trouble and lose that information source, but I also need to sound legit.

“I have my sources.”

He lets out a snort, which is honestly uncalled-for.

“It doesn’t matter where I heard about it, because are you listening to me? She carries it around with her and uses it to fake cry! I saw her do it today in the main office, before a meeting with the principal. She was trying to get money from him. And I think she probably has it with her all the time, because I saw her crying suddenly at her party, too! So if it was in her purse that Sat—”

“You went to a party,” he says, cutting me off. “With this woman you think is a murderer?”

“Um…yeah? But only to get evidence!”

He snorts again. “Why are you doing this, Ms. Miller? I tried to make it as clear as I could last time, we don’t think Corey Harding was involved. He is no longer an official suspect.” He exhales sharply. “Damn it. I shouldn’t even have told you that. But, just—there’s no reason for you to be involved in this anymore. You can move on.Pleasemove on.”

I can feel my pulse rising, and my words speed up to match it. “Except, if I wasn’t still looking into this, you wouldn’t know this about Bethany. That she carries Visine around in her bag—well, sheusedto, but it fell out today, so Ms. Lilliam in the office has it. You can probably go get it now, though, and test for fingerprints. I tried to take it from her, but she insisted on putting it in the lost and found? Because it’s protocol? She doesn’t like me very much, but she might be nicer to you.”

I’m blabbering again, and I can feel him slipping. My chest feels tight with the urgency. This may be my last second before he hangs up. “She threatened me!”

“Ms…. Lilliam?”

“No, Bethany. I got a text yesterday. Telling me, ‘You better stop—or else’! She knows I’m onto her, about faking cancer and killing Cole, and she’s trying to get me off her trail.”

“She sent you this from her personal phone number? Why didn’t you start with that?”

“No, a burner! And I know Cole got a threat from a burner, too, so…”

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