“I don’t know. I mean, I know it sounds silly, but he knows us. He talked to all of us.” Ana blushed. Her suspicions about Dankman had been growing. But now, saying it out loud—it just sounded stupid. Dankman—the slobby school psychologist who spent most of their sessions playing solitaire on his phone. A criminal mastermind? That sounded like too much hard work for a man who wheeled himself around his office in his desk chair so he wouldn’t have to actually stand up. Besides, he had no reason to do this. From what she’d seen, his only motivation in life was to avoid having to do anything.
“Well, who do you think it might be?” she asked, quickly redirecting the conversation.
“I did have this wild thought…” It was Alex’s turn to blush. “It’s stupid. It’s just something that Caden said about how Benny’s death didn’t look right. He said there wasn’t enough guts and stuff for a high-velocity rifle shot. So, I had this idea…what if Benny faked his own death? What if he’s actually the one behind this?”
“Benny?” Okay, now Ana didn’t feel as ridiculous. They were both reaching and knew it.
“Yeah, I know. Stupid idea,” Alex said. “Just forget it.” He bent down to pick up a lamp, hiding his face.
“No, it’s a good idea. Certainly, no stupider than thinking Dankman’s behind this,” Ana said kindly. “You know, I sort of wish one of us was right. I’m pretty sure we could outrun Benny if it came to it, and Dankman wouldn’t get too far chasing us in his chair.” They laughed. Somehow talking about it made Bates seem a little less scary—a little more human.
For a few more minutes, they dug around in silence, shifting furniture and peering behind shelves. Reluctantly Ana forced herself to check the time:
23:12
She put her phone away and took a deep breath. Panicking wouldn’t help. There was still enough time—everything would be okay. With renewed effort, she clambered over a large pile of stacked chairs to check behind them. Nothing there.
“I hope Raya’s doing okay,” she muttered, half to herself. It felt wrong to split up, but Jade wasn’t capable of walking, let alone searching a building, and with Ellis on the loose, it wasn’t safe for anyone to be alone.
“You know, I got to hang out with her today,” Alex said, sounding oddly nervous. “She’s nice. I never really spoke to her much before. We talked about…stuff.”
“Yeah? What stuff?” Ana said with what she thought was an air of nonchalance. It was silly, but her curiosity was piqued. Alex balanced a pink lamp on top of a crate and smiled at her.
“You.”
Ana flushed a little, stupidly pleased at the thought that her two best friends had been talking about her. She picked up a box and threw it to one side, hoping to hide her expression.
“Raya had this idea,” Alex said, looking for all the world like an awkward middle-schooler. “She thinks that maybe, you and I…”
Ana’s heart started beating fast. Was thisthatmoment? Was this happening? She silently thanked Raya for sticking her nose in, willing Alex to finish the sentence. But he fell quiet, turning inward to his thoughts. Ana could have kicked him.Don’t stop now!
For a painful minute they both poked around in the piles surrounding them, the air heavy with unresolved business. Ana’s brain stewed with thoughts; prompts she could give to get Alex to keep talking. Before she got the chance though, she felt a hand touch lightly on her arm. A musician’s hand.
Alex had stopped digging and was next to her, looking at her; his soft brown eyes had an urgency in them. Ana’s stomach flipped. She could feel his fingers resting gently on her skin. There was fire in his touch. Her eyes held his look.
“Raya said…”
Oh, god. Just say it!Ana nodded encouragingly. It was like squeezing water from a stone. Her heart was pounding; it seemed impossible he couldn’t hear it, feel it. Thank goodness there were no cameras in here, spying on this moment, watching them.
“Raya thinks we like each other,” Alex said, the words finally coming to him. “But…I mean, that’s just stupid, isn’t it? I mean, you’re Ana, as in Danny’s sister, and I’m, like, you know…just Alex.” The bubble burst. Alex dropped his hand and stepped back from her, turning away. He started picking at the junk around him again.
Ana was frozen to the spot. Her whole body tingling as the feelings faded, her heart throbbing painfully. Disappointment crushed her. What had just happened?
She forced herself to turn away too, no way she wanted Alex to see her expression. Questions raced through her mind, formed on her tongue, then fell away. Was she wrong? Was Raya wrong? Had Alex unceremoniously tried to let her know he didn’t feel the same way about her? Frustration and mortification rose in equal parts.
She shoved a box hard. It fell back, opening a pathway into a dark corner behind a bookshelf. Stepping over, she moved into the shadows, grateful for an excuse to hide her face from Alex.
From her hidden spot, she dared to sneak a peek at Alex. He had stopped digging again and was sitting on an upended box. His face seemed tight, racked with thought. She didn’t get him. What was he trying to do here? Let her down gently, or tell her he loved her? It was one of the two.
“Ana, I need to tell you something, and I really need you to just listen.”
Here we go again.
“Sure.” She kept her voice neutral, but the mental barriers were dropping into place. Her moment of weakness had passed, and she needed to protect herself and move on. Keep digging. Keep busy.
“Do you remember the night Danny died, at the hospital?”
Ana remembered every painful detail, whether she wanted to or not. The red plastic row of chairs, the green walls. The waiting families. Maia’s parents in matching NASA hoodies, huddled together in the corner, waiting in terrified silence. Karl’s dad standing by the window—apart from the others, hands deep in his sweatpants pockets, shoulders hunched. Disinfectant. Masks. Announcements as people bustled past,crinkling in their blue gowns. Slamming through the swing doors into surgery, out of surgery. Gurneys. Police. Noise.
