Page 76 of Live To Tell

“There,” says Rowan, and pauses again. “The guy’s face is clearer because he’s stepped into the car headlights—and that’s definitely the green jacket from the cafe. Look at the silver emblem on the chest.”

“Is he human? The witches are with humans,” says Grayson.

Rowan shrugs and Leif says, “He’s never in any of the clips from the academy.”

“Hmm.” I watch as Rowan winds the footage forward slightly. “Look carefully.”

I blink. “At the girls dancing in a drunken fashion while everybody mocks them?”

Quite honestly, I’m embarrassed on their behalf. Annabelle can barely stand, gripping onto Christine’s navy blue cardigan sleeve with one hand and waving a liquor bottle around in her other. She stumbles in her heavy boots and a girl in sneakers yells when Annabelle stomps on her by accident. They’re singing along to the music. Badly. Others dance too, and one abruptly pauses.

“Is she vomiting?” I ask in horror. “Please. I can’t watch any more of this spectacle.”

“Behind them. Look. Madison isn’t filming. She’s talking to the guy. Look behind the girls dancing. I’ve watched enough of this to know what Madison looks like,” says Rowan.

The girl who wore the tiara in the photo stands close to the guy Rowan identified, with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, opposite him. She tugs at his tightly crossed arms, agitated. He steps back, instead putting hands in his jacket pockets and replies. They’ve drawn attention from a group beside them who stare—the pair must be arguing loudly. I can’t pick up the conversation, thanks to the music that her drunk friends are dancing to and the poor recording.

“There’s no way to know what they’re saying,” says Grayson.

“Yeah, but he’s pissed about something,” says Leif.

I peer. “Where is this place? Do you recognize it?”

“Too dark,” says Leif. “Though it could be a parking area outside town.”

“Like where?” I ask.

“Dunno. There’re a few tourist stops around, especially at the edge of the National Park.”

“Rowan. You need to look closer for clues about the surroundings,” I inform him.

He pauses the footage. “I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s dark, Violet,” he says sarcastically.

“What about her diary? She might mention the place,” says Leif.

I chew my lip. “I haven’t gotten far with deciphering that.” My gaze switches to Grayson. Oh, how things have changed. I left behind my investigative duties because a sickening dread that something had happened to Grayson distracted me. I lost focus. Rowan frowns at me, then looks up at Grayson but says nothing.

“Is there anything else relevant in the footage?” I ask.

“Like you said, boring teen stuff and gossip,” says Rowan.

“Who’s playing with fire?” asks Grayson. “That sounded directed at Madison.”

“You think Madison’s an elemental witch whose spell activities are drawing attention?” I ask and straighten. “That somebody reprimanded her for that?”

“Uh. No. It’s a phrase—like Madison’s choice of guy is as sensible as a human dating a vampire,” says Leif.

“Which was a crazy idea back then,” says Grayson. “Consequences for the vamp wouldn’t be pleasant if he did... vamp things to her. Playing with fire in a literal sense because that’s where he’d end up if she died.”

I shake my head. “Madison’s relationship threatened her. Is that what the girl meant?”

“If she was definitely talking about Madison, yeah,” says Rowan.

“Then who’s the guy?” I ask in frustration. “His name is never mentioned? Not once?”

Rowan’s mouth tips at the corners. “Oh, they mention a lot of guys’ names. I wrote a list. See if any match the initials in the diary.” He slants his head. “Once you find time to study the pages.”

I ignore the pointed comment. “Ask Julius if he knows the location. If he does, I want to visit.”

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