“Thank god you’re okay!” she whispered. She took Vero under her arms and helped her through the opening. “What took you so long? We were worried the police found you.”
“Our Uber driver refused to give us a ride,” Vero said through blue-tinged lips.
“Because you look like that chick on the door at the end ofTitanic?” Cam asked.
“Because of the handcuffs, you idiot! He said if I didn’t get out of his car, he was going to call nine-one-one and report us.”
Cam laughed. “How’d you talk him out of that?”
“With fifty in cash and some cheeseburgers. Here,” I said, thrusting the McDonald’s bag at him as I climbed in and shut the window. “Share these with Zoey. There are enough for both of you.”
“No Slushy?” Cam asked.
“Be grateful you got burgers.” I wasn’t about to walk into a 7-Eleven with a waterlogged woman in handcuffs. The drive-through was the best I could do.
Cam opened a burger and frowned into his bun. “I specifically said no onions,” he grumbled, scraping them off.
Zoey took a blanket off her bed and draped it over Vero’s shoulders. She offered Vero a bite of her cheeseburger, and Vero greedily gobbled it down.
“What now?” Cam asked, feeding a chunk of his to Arnold.
“We thought we knew who the thieves were, but now we’re not so sure,” I explained. “We need to talk to Ava again.”
Zoey stopped chewing. She swallowed hard. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You saw how angry she was the last time she found you in here. What if she calls Celeste? Or the police?”
“The police are already looking for us,” Vero said. “It’s only a matter of time before they find us. We have to figure out what happened to the money, and it has to be tonight.”
“But can’t you just run?” Zoey asked. “You were safe and happy in Virginia! I’m sure Cam can fix the belt. Maybe you can take his car and just keep going—”
Cam’s head snapped up. “I’m not voting for that.”
“Running isn’t an option,” I said over them. “I have two small children waiting for me at home, and we both have families and loved ones we can’t—andwon’t—walk away from. Whoever took the backpack had help from someone inside this house. Ava and Mia were the only other board members with access to a master key. But it was Ava who went to Vero’s room that morning, once she knew the police were here.”
Zoey paled. “You thinkAvatook the money?”
“We’ve exhausted every other possibility,” Vero said solemnly. “She’s the only one who could have done it.”
“But Ava wouldn’t!” Zoey whispered, as if she were afraid of being overheard through the walls. “She was chapter vice president! You can’t accuse her of stealing it. She could get in a lot of trouble.”
“I’min a lot of trouble!” Vero reminded her. “They all accusedmeof stealing it! And the only way I’m going to get out of this is to figure out what really happened that night. So are you going to help me or not?”
Zoey gnawed her lip.
“All you have to do is message Ava and ask her to come down here,” Vero said.
Zoey looked sick as she set down her cheeseburger. She pulled out her phone and sent off a hesitant text.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door. “That was fast,” Vero said.
Zoey unbolted the lock. As soon as she turned the knob, Mia burst in with Bennett on her heels. “I don’t know what the two of you think you’re doing here, butsomeonehad better explain to me what the hell is going on!” she snapped.
Vero looked at them suspiciously. “How did you two get in here?”
Mia held up a key card. “I knocked on Ava’s window, woke her up, and told her I needed her key. I was on my way to her room when I heard you all yammering in here.”
“This entire situation has gotten completely out of hand,” Bennett said. His tie was askew, there were sweat rings under his arms, and his hair was sticking up in every direction, as if he’d chased Mia the entire way here. “Will someone please explain to my fiancée that I didn’t steal her sorority’s money. And I didn’t murder my friend. For Chrissakes, Mia, I was with Theo thirty minutes ago. If you don’t believe me, ask Veronica. She and her friend were there, too.” The pleading look Bennett threw me felt laced with a threat.
Mia gawked at us. “But I saw you both at the party tonight. You told me—”
