Page 22 of Virgin Sacrifice

I shrugged. “I guess that’s good news then.”

The female detective pounced on my admission instantly. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, the heart had to come from somewhere, right?” I replied, nonplussed. “Better a pig than a human, however it happened.”

“And knowing that, you still can’t think of anyone who would want to send you a message?” he growled.

“No,” I said truthfully. “But I feel better knowing that no one was hurt or lost an organ transplant or something awful like that.”

We continued to go back and forth for another thirty minutes after their grand reveal before the detectives would let me go. I could have probably made it for the last fifteen minutes of Locke’s class, but given his reaction last time, I didn’t think he’d appreciate me waltzing in seventy-five minutes late.

When I made it back to the dorms, I wasn’t surprised to find Autumn there, waiting for me, camped out between our two respective rooms.

You would think a rich girl like her would be more squeamish about hanging around a crime scene, but she’d been determined to stick by my side and “protect me” since they found the heart nailed to my door.

“There’s strength in numbers,” she’d said with a dismissive scowl when I asked her how exactly she planned to do that. “I can’t, like, fight anyone for you, but someone will be less likely to attack you if you’re around other people.”

I had to resist the urge to point out that no one had attacked or even threatened me. And that I was certain that, if we got attacked, it would be me saving her.

Still, her commitment to standing by me, regardless of the rumors now swirling, was endearing.

Autumn jumped to her feet when she saw me get off the elevator. Ever since the incident, I had avoided taking the stairs.

“How did it go?” she asked as I let myself into my room.

I had briefly wondered if they might assign me a new one, but the administration had said there were none available at this moment. At least not in a residence that was covered by my scholarship.

“Apparently it wasn’t a human heart after all,” I said as I made my way into my room, Autumn slipping in behind me to come sit on my bed. A week ago, I would have been confused and irritated by her following me, but I was getting used to it.

“Holy shit!” she squealed. “Then what was it?”

I had to give her credit, she was a great listener, and her overreactions to nearly everything felt oddly validating at times.

“A pig’s heart,” I said, dumping my backpack onto the floor before settling down on the bed next to her.

With everything going on, I hadn’t had the chance to talk to her about what happened with her friends at the party. Still, I was starting to suspect that somehow, despite myself, I was truly becoming friends with this girl.

“Ewwww.” She wrinkled her nose. “I guess it’s better than it being, like, a person’s but still gross.”

I nodded along. “It’s definitely better than it being a human heart.”

So far, I had managed to avoid thinking too deeply about what it might mean to have a human heart nailed to my door. Learning that it was a pig’s definitely downgraded the severity of the situation.

But as much as I had dismissed the possibility of someone targeting me to the police, if I was being honest with myself, I had to admit that was the most likely scenario.

That it was the Blackwells was an option I had to consider. While I didn’t think Locke had left the heart for me, he wasn’t the only member of the family I had encountered recently. Was it only a coincidence that I had seen the twins just hours before someone broke onto our floor to leave me a nasty message? Had they caught me spying on them and the heart was some sort of warning?

Then there was the other possibility that had been niggling away at my brain. One that I wanted to consider even less than having a family of professional killers threatening me.

What if this has to do with Penelope?

My stomach rumbled, forcing my attention back to reality.

“Oh my God, Luz, you must be starving after having been stuck with those nasty cops all day.” Autumn sat upright and grabbed my hand to gently tug me from the bed before I could even protest.

“Fine, fine, you know I can always eat,” I said with a genuine smile and grabbed an oversized collegiate crewneck to slip on before catching up with her outside my door.

No sign of the incident remained; Facilities had started working to remove the stain almost immediately after being given permission by the police. Parts of the door had to be sanded and refinished, and it had stunk up the entire floor.

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