Page 20 of The Perfect Obsession
After an hour of searching through emails, making calls to Thornfield alums, and researching school archives, Jessie was starting to get a sense of the place and its students.For the last fifty years, Thornfield was a boarding school for the daughters of the rich and powerful.And as such, the students were often treated with kid gloves by the staff.When called, several fellow alums admitted that they were spoiled brats during their time at the school and had to grow out of it.
But until Jamil found a digital version of the yearbook from the 2013 graduating class, no one could offer much insight into Caroline and Diana's relationship.Nobody they spoke to could immediately recall anyone holding a grudge against one of them, much less both.
But the yearbook was more revealing.It included graduation headshots of both women and lots of club photos that they were both in.None of that was particularly helpful.But what Jessie did find intriguing were the senior quotes.
Most of them were inside jokes among the girls that would make no sense to an outsider.But one leapt out at her.It was written by Diana to Caroline and read:That thing where you date the same guy but decide the friendship is more important than the boy.Girlbosses: 2, Alex K.: 0.
“Do we know who Alex K.is?”she asked the researchers after showing them the quote.
They were quiet for a moment before Beth’s face lit up.“I might have an idea!”
She returned to her computer, her fingers flying across her keyboard.It took less than a minute before she turned back to them.She was smiling.
“I think I might have found him,” she said, pushing her chair back so they could all see her screen, which showed a rakishly handsome teenage boy with dirty blond hair.
“Who’s that?”Ryan asked.
“His name is Alexander Krantz,” Beth explained.“I started thinking—how did these two girls who went to a relatively isolated boarding school date the same guy?So I checked and found that there’s a boys’ boarding school just down the road from Thornfield Academy.It’s called The Griffin School.They partner with Thornfield on all kinds of activities.And Alexander Krantz graduated from Griffin the same year as Diana and Caroline.He was the only Alex K.at the school at the same time as them.It at least seems worth looking into.”
“Absolutely,” Ryan agreed.“Maybe things weren’t as copacetic among the three of them as that quote makes it seem.If Krantz was dumped by both of them, then maybe he’s still holding a grudge.I could see any number of motives there.”
“Even if it doesn’t turn out to be that, or something else like a love triangle gone wrong,” Jessie added, “it can’t hurt to talk to the guy.Dating both of them, he might have insights we wouldn’t otherwise get.I say we pay him a visit.Where is he now?”
Jamil had the answer to that one.
“He and his wife live in the Hollywood Hills.But he works downtown.He’s an investment banker with Lubow & Crane.”
Their headquarters are in the Bradbury Building.That’s almost walkable from here.”
“But we’re not walking, right?”Jessie protested.“Time is of the essence.”
“We can drive,” Ryan said, “but I don’t think I’m aware of the real reason you don’t want to walk.”
“What?”
“It’s hot as hell out.”
“I confess,” Jessie said, holding up her hands with a smile.“Now let’s go see what Alexander Krantz will confess to.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It was 3 P.M.and Hannah was on her fourth cup of coffee for the day.
She half-worried that all this caffeine would prevent her from sleeping tonight, which was already an ongoing issue.But she had to stay alert.
She and Kat had been on surveillance duty since Wren entered her office building this morning.In the intervening time, they’d trailed the man with the mole, alternating who stayed in the car and who followed him into different businesses.
As far as Hannah could tell, there wasn’t much rhyme or reason to where he went, other than that he never got more than a block away from Wren’s building.Much of his time was spent camped out on a bench across the street.He seemed particularly antsy when lunchtime rolled around and Wren didn’t leave her building, which was at Kat’s instruction.
But now the mole man was on the move.Both Hannah and Kat watched from the car as he got off the bench and crossed the street, eventually going into a place two doors down from Wren’s building.It was a café called the Greenery, specializing in salads.
“I’ll go in,” Hannah volunteered.“Maybe I can get a table near him.If he calls anyone, I can listen in or maybe even get a peek at his phone.”
Kat looked hesitant for a moment before relenting.
“Under one condition,” she said.“No interaction.”
“Of course,” Hannah replied as if that was obvious.But it wasn’t.She had a habit of confronting bad guys.
