Scratching his sunburned nose, Caden looked out across the desert. Something had been bothering him since Benny crossed the line. He struggled to rewind his thoughts and play back the moment Benny was shot. He pictured him standing, arms outstretched, the sound of the gunshot as he fell, his uniform riding up as he lay in the dirt.
Any way that Caden played it, things didn’t add up.
He scanned the middle distance. The nearest shelter was a small pile of boulders, maybe three hundred yards away. Nothing else. Just flat, dusty emptiness and a couple of scraggly weeds. Pointing at the rocks, he closed first one eye, then the other, peering along his finger like a gun scope.
If there was one thing he’d learned about in military academy, it was guns. To make a clean shot from that distance would take a high-velocity rifle—the kind of gun that would do serious damage. Benny was too clean.
“Hey, C-Dog. How’s it going?”
Alex had come up behind him, carrying an armful of pink sheets and pillows. Caden glared at him. It was nothing personal; he didn’t mind Alex, but he preferred to be alone. Simpler that way, and a hell of a lot quieter.
“I’m thinking,” he grunted.
“About anything in particular?”
“Benny.”
“Yeah, I know, me too. I’m sorry.” Alex stepped forward and for one horrible moment, Caden thought he was going to hug him. Alex clearly had the wrong idea. He wasn’t sad. He had to shut this down before Alex thought he was a pussy.
“There were no brains or guts and stuff. Should have been way more blood and chunks of skin, stuff like that.”
“No brains…and, um…guts…er…?” Alex looked taken aback and a little queasy. He seemed to be struggling to say the words.
Caden grinned. Alex was the pussy.
“It was too clean—didn’t look right. There’d be splatter over that distance. High-velocity rifles will mess you up.”
“So…what are you saying? Benny wasn’t shot with a high-velocity rifle?” Alex asked. Caden nodded. “So, that means what…the shooter’s close by?”
Caden shrugged noncommittally.
They both turned to stare out across the desert. There was nothing but the distant rocks, shimmering slightly in the heat. The white line stood out starkly near their feet.
By now, Caden’s attention span had reached its limit. He glanced at his phone. It was almost time. The others would be coming soon to build the shelter. He rubbed his sweaty neck. It was too darn hot. Waytoo darn hot. His empty stomach hurt. He was a big guy and needed regular meals. He hadn’t eaten all day and was starting to feel sick with hunger. Time for a little pick-me-up.
Settling himself on the bus steps in a small patch of shade, Caden reached into his pocket, feeling for the comforting crinkle of plastic. He pulled out a small Ziploc bag containing several treasured pink pills. These were his pride and joy—premium quality, top of the range. Each pill sold for twenty dollars a pop at school, but there was no point in saving these for resale. Not while he was stuck in this hole. Just one little pill would do more than take the edge off. He took two and dry-swallowed them both.
“You should go easy on those.” Raya had arrived. She walked up to Caden and squatted down in the shade next to him. “Remember last time you took too many and went skinny-dipping in Ellis’s pool—mid-party. Trust me, no one needs to see that again.” Raya grinned, clearly enjoying the memory.
Caden nodded at her grumpily.
“Not your business, Mori,” he growled. Raya just laughed.
“Check out my fabulous signal fire.” She nodded towards the pool enclosure. A weedy stream of smoke trickled out over the top of the fence, dissolving instantly into the strong desert wind. “Impressive, huh? Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be our ticket out of here.” She looked around at the large pile of bedding and raised a pierced eyebrow. “Let’s hope we have more luck with this lot.”
Figures were appearing around the corners of the motel, heading for the bus. Caden groaned. People—the reason he took pills and anything else he could get his hands on. If he was the only person on the planet, he’d be stone-cold sober and happy, just hanging out in the school parking lot in his affectionately named Candyvan. No noise, no bother.
Sniffing loudly, he wiped a grubby arm across his pink face and stood up. Break time was over. He picked up an armful of bedding and dragged it over to the bus, hefting it over the side.
Ellis and Jade arrived first, closely followed by Jax. They were arguing.
“…it’s means, motive, and weapon. Seriously.” Jade tossed her shiny, golden hair back as though to emphasize her point. Caden kept his eyes averted. Girls like Jade made him uncomfortable.
“Fuck’s sake, Jade. You’re thinking of Clue,” Ellis said sharply. “It’sopportunity.A suspect has to have means, motive, andopportunity.”
“Okay, whatever, Ellis. I just don’t get how that’s going to help us figure out who’s behind this.”
“I’m saying we start with motive. Who would go to all the effort to set this up and lure us out here? Why? They’re going to have to have a damn strong reason, strong enough to kill.”
