I think I know why. Obviously, someone told Jackson what her and Will did. And if it wasn’t Will, but he claimed it was, does that mean he was only protecting his source, or… Did someone pretend to be Will Barbour through a phone call or a spoofed text or something else? DidJacksonsteal his phone, and he was only protecting himself?
Or was it Sylvan who stole the phone, and that’s why he seems to know so much about Neve? But she said they’ve never met before the night Jackson died, and he’s got enough girls’ attention, he doesn’t need to stalk someone whose name he doesn’t know.
But he knew her address, didn’t he? And her number? And yeah, he has a cover story on how he got them, but if he’s a murderer, it’s not that far-fetched to believe he’s a fucking liar, too.
Has he been stalking Neve? Why?
“Do you have any ties to New York?” I ask her quietly.
“I’m from North Carolina,” she retorts, like I’ve insulted her.
I smile. “I’m aware.”
She narrows her eyes. “How?”
“You have social media.” I finally checked.
Her gaze widens and her skin pinkens again. “You’ve seen that? I never post there anymore.”
“Yeah. You never show your face, and I kind of like that. So no one else can see you.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s that smile she’s trying to hide.
She’s posted about being from the Southern state, and if I squint, I can see it. The blond Southern belle who tries to blend in so no one thinks she’s different. But she is. Entirely so. And it has nothing to do with what country she’s from.
My pulse quickens, but I try not to think of it when she looks up at me, her gaze intense.
“I do, though. Have ties to New York.”
I wait for her to go on.
“My brother, Nolan. He’s a lawyer in NYC. His firm works with tech. IT stuff. Security. Some things he has strong NDAs for, and he never talks about it with me.” She frowns, and I think she knows where my train of thought was going because she adds, “But that’s far from Buffalo.” Where Sylvan is from. “Doeshehave ties to the City?”
We stare at one another, but I don’t have an answer.
“I guess we’ll find out,” I say, and she nods, serious. “And in the meantime, ask your brother about him.”
A shadow crosses her face, but she doesn’t argue. Still, it feels like she’s holding something in.
“You’re not telling me something.” I say it softly, without accusation. “On this, can we just trust each other?”
She bites her bottom lip, and I think she’s going to refuse. But then she says, “Someone texted me. Like, a countdown before Will knocked on my door. I thought it was him at first. I had deleted his number before.” She swallows. “But then he said helost his phone, and nowyou’reconfirming it.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. It’s eerie.”
Anger and concern snakes through me. “Have you told anyone about that?”
“No.”
“Neve, what the fuck.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Have you ever been in the middle of two murders? Don’t fucking criticize me.”
“Show me the texts.”
She closes her eyes tight. “I can’t.” Her voice is hoarse. “I deleted them.”
For fuck’s sake. I blow out a breath and run my fingers through my hair. “Whythe fuckwould you do that?”
She snaps her eyes open. “Do you want the truth?”
