Natalie and Ruby stopped pacing, their expressions shifting from anger to sympathy. They knew what that kind of money meant to me. Honestly, it would mean a lot to anyone, but for someone like me, barely scraping together rent each month, drowning in credit card debt with no end in sight—that kind of money was life-changing. I could finally start climbing out of the hole I’d been stuck in my entire life.
I tipped forward in the chair, my head collapsing into my hands as I rocked back and forth.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said.
A moment of silence passed. The uncomfortable kind where everyone knew and acknowledged you were royally fucked. Sure, they were sad for you, but also immensely grateful the issue wasn’t theirs to deal with.
Finally, Ruby gasped and grabbed my shoulder. “I know!”
“What?” I sounded desperately hopeful, but I didn’t care. Iwasdesperately hopeful.
“My brother,” she said. “He’s obsessed with true crime. He’s in this whole online sleuth forum, where all they do is try to collect clues and solve mysteries.”
My hope wavered a bit.
“I don’t know,” I said, not wanting to insult Ruby or her brother, whom I’d never even met. But I was not exactly brimming with confidence in the ability of some wannabe-internet-vigilante to untangle my complicated mess.
“No, seriously,” she continued, pulling out her phone and typing. After a minute, she shoved it in front of my face. A news article displayed on the screen. “He and a group of his friends just solved a cold case last year. A missing person a few towns over. See?”
I scanned the headline. “Man arrested thanks to multiple tips from internet sleuths.” I barely had time to skim the details before Ruby pulled her phone away and tucked it back in her pocket.
“He’s good at this stuff, I promise,” she insisted.
“It’s worth a shot, Hazel,” Natalie said. “What have you got to lose?”
“Nothing,” I whispered, my tears threatening to spill as I realized the truth of that statement. My life had always been an old wooden rollercoaster, twisting and jerking aggressively in every direction. For a moment, I’d had a glimpse of what asmooth ride might be like. But now it seemed I was destined to stay on the same rickety track I’d always been on.
“I’ll talk to him,” Ruby said when I remained silent. “He’ll want to help. He lives for this kind of stuff.”
My resolve shattered. If her brother was generous enough to consider helping me with this, who was I to turn him away? Even if it felt like the longest shot in the world, I still had to try and get Vermont back.
For Gran.
My chest hollowed just thinking about her.
“You’re sure?” I asked Ruby. “I have nothing to offer him. I mean, I guess I could pay him if I don’t end up having to give all this money away.”
The thought made me sick. But not quite as sick as the idea of never seeing Vermont again. My worst fear was that whoever this lunatic was would take my moneyandnever give me my cat back.
Ruby shook her head. “I doubt Reid would accept anything. Let me talk to him.”
Even though her eyes shone with determination, I couldn’t force any hope to seep into my own veins. But I agreed. This could be the only chance I had.
I hoped my grandmother was still making good on that deal with the devil, or whatever magic she’d conjured to turn my luck around in the first place. Because at this point, all I could hope for was divine intervention.
TWO
Reid
Armchair_Detective: Did you look at the timestamp on that photograph?
WhiteKnight31: Yeah, it’s from the day prior and it doesn’t look altered IMO. I’m thinking this isn’t our guy.
Armchair_Detective: Good to rule him out, though. Everyone is always obsessed with the idea the boyfriend did it.
WhiteKnight31: Because it’s always the boyfriend.
ReidingRainbow: Not always. We can’t sequester ourselves into those narrow-minded stereotypes.
