“There’s no way we’ll get out of here without her seeing us,” I said. “Maybe we should wait and come up with something else.”
Vero dragged me out of earshot of the others and whispered, “We can’t wait, Finn. You heard her, someone’s already filed a missing persons report. We need to figure out what happened to Theo and the money, and we need to do it tonight.”
Cam groaned. “Can I at least go to the party without you? Zoey hasn’t seen the Eggplant, and I was really hoping to show it off.”
Joan perked up again. “Who’s showing off their eggplant?”
Vero looked disgusted. “No one, Joan. Go back to your… Wait,” Vero said, as if she’d been struck by an idea. “The Eggplant. That’s the solution, Finn. That’s how we’ll make it to the party without Oates seeing us.”
I knew that look in Vero’s eyes, and I had a feeling I was going to regret asking. “How?”
Vero pulled Cam into our huddle. “Cam, you and Arnold are going to leave through the front door and drive the Eggplant to the bus stop at the entrance of the community. When you get there, use your spoofer to make it look like I’m in my bedroom,” she said, pointing to her belt. “Wait for us at the bus stop. Finlay and I will meet you there in ten minutes.” Vero turned to me. “You and I will sneak out through the back door, cut through the woods, and meet Cam at the bus stop. Oates will see your minivan parked in front of the house and assume we were here the whole damn time. She’ll probably get tired of watching and leave. If everything goes according to plan, Officer Oates will never know we were gone.”
CHAPTER 26
A full hour had passed by the time Vero and I had snuck out of the house, traipsed through the woods, met up with Cam, and picked up Zoey. The party was in full swing when we finally arrived at the fraternity house. The run-down, two-story Colonial was nothing like the pristine, stately McMansions I’d seen on Frat Row. It was in sore need of new shingles, a lawn mower, and a paint job, but judging by the other neglected homes all around it, I didn’t imagine the neighbors cared about the state of the place or the music blaring inside it.
More than a few heads turned when we drove slowly past the frat house and parked. The Eggplant was… a lot. Between the disco ball on the ceiling, the iridescent purple paint job, and a chassis that bounced with more zeal than my checkbook, we had managed to make quite an entrance.
“Stop showing off,” Vero said as Cam played with his hydraulics. “We’re not trying to draw attention to ourselves.”
Cam cut the engine and killed the lights. We sat in the dark vehicle, checking out our surroundings.
Cars lined both sides of the street and filled the driveway, spillingover into the front lawn. Every light was on inside the house. A deep thumping bass pumped through the windows, and pockets of people stood laughing and talking in the front yard. Cam rolled down his window. The smell of vape smoke and weed wafted into the car.
He reached eagerly for his door. “We should go scope the place out. I’ll get us some drinks.”
“No drinks.” I reached over his seat and yanked him back down by his collar. “You’re underage, and you’re driving. You’re going to stay right here and wait for us to get back.” Depending on how this meeting went, Vero might need to make a fast retreat.
“I’ll stay and keep you company,” Zoey offered. “These parties are just pukefests anyway. You, me, and Arnold will have more fun here.” She scratched the dog’s ears.
“Seriously?” Cam schooled the excitement from his face. “I mean, yeah… okay.”
“We’ll be back in a few minutes. Stay in the car,” I reminded him. Vero and I slipped quietly out of the Eggplant and started up the driveway. Loud voices and cheers echoed off the neighboring houses. It sounded like they were coming from the backyard.
“Think it’s safe to go in?” I asked Vero. Every room of the house was brightly lit and packed with people. She’d worn long pants to conceal her ankle monitor, but it still seemed like a risk. Between the lights and the crowds, someone in that house was bound to recognize her.
“Let’s check around back first,” she suggested. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and Mia will be outside.”
We kept to the shadows, sticking close to the hedges, avoiding clusters of intoxicated partygoers as we circumnavigated the front yard. Vero led the way around back, waving away clouds of pot smoke. We paused at the edge of a large patio. A spotlight hadbeen positioned over a folding table containing a punch bowl, several bottles of clear liquor, and an open bag of red plastic cups. A silver cask was set up beside it, and a group had gathered to watch as a line of girls took turns doing keg stands. A crowd chantedDrink! Drink! Drink!from a second-floor balcony overlooking the lawn.
A kidney-shaped swimming pool glowed an eerie blue in the center of the yard. Tiny votive candles bobbed on the water’s surface, along with a few empty red cups and a patch of something that might have been vomit. Suddenly, I remembered why I had always hated the frat parties Steven used to drag me to in college.
“Do you see her?” I asked, standing on my toes for a better look.
Vero squinted at the windows. “She must be inside.”
“Maybe there’s a way to draw her out,” I suggested.
“Or better yet, a way to get in.” Vero took me by the arm and led me around the far side of the house. She pointed at the only window obscured by a set of blinds. “I’ve been to parties in this house before. That’s a bathroom. Everyone has to use the bathroom sometime, right? It’s the only room in this place where I’ll be able to corner Mia and get her alone. We’ll climb in here just like we did at the church.”
“You fell in the toilet.”
“This is a ground-level window. There’s nowhere to fall.” Vero crept to the window and looked both ways before attempting to shoulder it open. It wouldn’t budge. “Go inside and unlock it for me.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll hide in the bathtub while you find Mia. Wait for her to head to the bathroom and text me when she’s coming.”
