The bottom drawer contained a bottle of alcohol and a block of expensive Belgium chocolate. Ms. West’s private stash. But not a key in sight.
As I was pushing the drawer shut in frustration, the bottle rolled along the bottom, and the sound it produced sounded weird, muffled. Leaning down, I pressed my fingers on the bottom of the drawer, tracing the height against the outside wall. The drawer was a good one-inch shallower than it should have been.
Gotcha.
I set the bottle and chocolate on the rug and ran my hands along the edges of the wood, searching for a spring. I didn’t find one, but at the back there was a small finger hole. I inserted my finger inside and tugged up the false bottom, revealing a black velvet ribbon holding two keys.
Keys in hand, I rushed back to the panel, where I’d set down the blocks of soap. I pressed the keys into two of the blocks, careful not to move them around. When I lifted them out, I had a perfect impression of each key. I used the edge of my blazer to wipe off any excess soap, then dropped the keys back in the drawer, replaced the false bottom and bottle, slid the drawer back into place, and locked it.
I checked over the desk to make sure everything looked exactly as I left it. As I pushed the chair back in so it sat in the same position on the rug, my eye caught a colorful flyer on the desk. Gingerly, I pinched the corner between two fingers and held it up to the light.
The flyer looked like it had been made using 90s clipart, which meant it definitely came from inside the school. That software suite hadn’t been updated since the Miskatonic fire, and none of the teachers seemed to have the latest equipment.
It invited students to a formal dance in the third quarter, to be held in the newly refurbished gymnasium. A chill ran down my back as I remembered that eerie, deserted gym with the shadows flitting beneath the bleachers. The flyer promised a night of magic and wonder and encouraged students to ‘dress to impress’ in their most lush formal attire. One couple would be voted king and queen. Weirdly, instead of the Derleth Academy crest with the strange star, this flyer showed the old Miskatonic crest.
My first thought was,this is the perfect opportunity to have my revenge. Students and alumni gathered together in one place, on the site of the fire that started this madness.
But how can they be refurbishing the gym? Why hold a dance on the very site where all these students lost their lives? And why use the Miskatonic crest if it’s supposed to be a secret from the scholarship students—
Voices sounded outside. A door slammed. I jerked my head up in time to see the secretary shuffle over to her desk, followed by Ms. West dragging a protesting student by the ear.Quinn!
Shit.
If Quinn was here, that meant Courtney got into the computer lab at the other end. I had to hope that she hadn’t found the tunnel entrance. My only chance was to get inside and wait it out.
I dropped the flyer, but it fluttered off the desk and landed on the rug. I scooped it up and placed it back on the stack of papers, hoping she wouldn’t remember exactly where it had been.
I raced for the panel. As I swung my leg over to get inside, I accidentally kicked the lever that held the door open. The panel slid shut with me on the wrong side, still in the office. I yanked my leg out of the way just in time.
Shit, shit.
I pressed around the edge of the panel, but no amount of pushing or jiggling made it swing open again. I spun around to search for a hiding place just as Headmistress West walked into the room.
“Miss Waite, what are you doing in here?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Oh, hi, Headmistress,” I breathed, my hands behind my back, tugging my blazer down over my pockets in the hopes she wouldn’t see the phone I’d shoved in there.
“Why are you in my office?” she demanded.
An excellent question. I scrambled for a probable reason. “I was looking for some notes Dr. Halsey left for me. She said she’d drop them into the main office, but they weren’t there and I saw the door was open and I thought I’d just check if she left it in here…”
“Is that so? Because I distinctly remember locking this door behind me. I’ve just had to unlock it again.”
“It… er, swung shut and locked behind me. But it was definitely open when I came in.”
“I see.” She dragged Quinn inside and flung him into one of the chairs facing her desk. He met my eyes, his face creased with concern. “It would be very odd for Dr. Halsey to leave notes for her students in my office, since she has an office and cubby hole of her own.”
Damn. “Oh, well… I must have misheard.”
“Indeed.” The headmistress’ lip curled back into a smile that had no heart to it. “Or perhaps you were attempting to break in here to find the answers for your upcoming exams.”
“Why would I do that?” I glared at her, overwhelmed with rage. Was shereallystill going to pretend she was a normal principal at a normal school? “I’ll never go to a university. Come the end of the year I’ll be dinner for your god. I’m only acing classes right now to keep up appearances, so Greg and Andre don’t suspect anything’s amiss.”
“Then explain to me why only minutes before this supposed meeting with Dr. Halsey inmyoffice, Courtney Haynes saw you and Quinn Delacorte disappear into the computer lab under the library and barricade the door. And yet, when John Hyde-Jones broke down the door and they entered the room, only Quinn was in there.”
“I wish I could explain, Headmistress.” She moved around the desk toward me, her black skirts swirling about her ankles. As casually as I could, I shifted my weight to my back foot. “But the truth is, Courtney Haynes isn’t exactly trustworthy. She’s saying that I was with Quinn, even though I wasn’t. Right?” I glanced over at Quinn and he nodded vigorously.
