“Did you hear that?” I ask him.
“Hm?”
“Someone is in the restaurant.” I turn and bang on the freezer again, but my arms move slower this time. It takes more effort. Tristan tries it too. There’s more noise now directly in front of the freezer door until it swings open, revealing a police officer and our manager, Jess.
“Oh thank god,” I say.
The officer helps us up, putting his coat around me. Jess gives hers to Tristan.
“What the hell happened?” Jess says, picking up the crowbar on the ground that must have been lodged in the handle.
“Miss, don’t touch anything, please,” the officer says, while onthe phone with someone. “Yes... She was in there with him... Yes, it’s taped onto the front of the freezer door... Yeah, I’ll tell her.” Tristan and I both look at the door, where Tristan’s eulogy is. “Grange says not to touch that,” the officer says to me.
Tristan starts to read it and I back away slowly.
“‘We’re here to mourn Tristan Brent,’” Tristan begins to read. “Died from poison? What the hell, Sloane.”
“Sorry...”
“Detective Grange is on his way,” the officer says.
Grange finishes questioning Jess and walks over to me. He has the eulogy page and the crowbar in evidence bags. Likely to try to get prints from.
“Do you believe I’m not a suspect now?” I say.
He sighs. “Are you sure you didn’t see anyone come into the restaurant while you were closing up?”
“I’m sure,” I say.
“All right,” Grange says. “I’ll follow you back to your apartment to make sure you get back okay and we’ll put a police detail on you too.”
“Like you didn’t have one on me already.” It’s hard not to notice the black SUV that’s parked outside the English building on campus whenever I have class, the same one that sometimes sits in front of my apartment.
“Observant.”
Back in my bed I lie awake in the dark. I pick up my phone and stare at Asher’s number, desperate to tell him what just happened. He answers on the third ring.
“What’s wrong?” He sounds groggy but concerned. I suddenly feel bad for calling him so late.
“Nothing’s wrong... well, not anymore but—”
“Where are you?” he asks.
“I’m in bed.”
“Oh.”
I hear another voice on the line say, “Who is that?” A woman’s voice. A knot forms in my stomach knowing he’s in bed with someone else. But what did I expect?
“No one,” I hear him say back to her.
“I just...” I suddenly feel foolish for calling. But at the same time I need him to know. Would he leave and come here to comfort me knowing I just nearly escaped the killer? “I wanted you to know I got locked in the freezer at work with Tristan. The police found us an hour later with Tristan’s journal entry taped to the door. Whoever is doing this, they just tried to kill me too.”
He’s quiet for a while, and I can faintly hear him breathing. I close my eyes and listen to it until he says, “Well, I’m glad you made it out alive.”
He hangs up.
At the boys’ house the following week, we’re all seated in the living room around Wesley, who stands in front of the TV. Jake and Charlie make a show of peering around Wes to continue watching March Madness.
