28
Beck
Beck sat on one of the pool lounge chairs, pretending to beengrossed in some serious social media scrolling. After five minutes of “acting normal,” it had become clear to him that he was not cut out for surveillance. His foot wouldn’t stop bouncing. His fingers were leaving sweaty prints on the phone’s screen.
He glanced at Sierra, who was laid out on the next lounge chair with one arm tossed over her eyes. Without her boots, her torn-up stockings made her legs look infinite.
In front of her, Adi sat on the edge of the pool, feet in the water, book on his lap. Neither of them struggled withacting normal.
Beck returned his focus to the phone, pausing on a pop-up ad teasing exclusive reveals about Victor Cunningham and his puzzle resort. Like the advertising algorithm knew him or something.
To think that Victor Cunningham was Adi’sdadwas beyond mind-blowing. If their team won those Sweetbrier passes, that was going to be one heck of a family reunion.
“So,” he said, feeling like he had to saysomethingbefore he exploded from nerves, “that video in the alien room was nuts, wasn’t it? I wish we had a recording of it.”
“Why?” asked Sierra. “It didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.”
“Think the murderer is getting anxious?” asked Adi. “If they really are on that list, they’ve got to be thinking their days are numbered.”
“The Real Game Master better be watching their back,” said Sierra. “If the killer figures out who’s leaving the clues . . .”
Beck recrossed his ankles so his other foot could take its turn jiggling uncontrollably. “I think I recognized the voice in that video. It was distorted because of the auto-tuner, but there was something familiar about it.” His mouth watered as he tried to recall the flavor he’d tasted while the video played. Rhubarb pie? No—not quite. If he could hear it again . . .
“He’s leaving,” Adi said suddenly.
It took Beck’s brain a moment to shift directions. But there was Elijah Kua, traipsing casually out his front door, right on time for his prescheduled interview for Carter’s channel. He waved at the three of them as he headed toward the dining hall.
Beck waved back. Sierra and Adi did not.
The moment Elijah had rounded the corner, Adi climbed to his feet and tossed his book onto an empty table. “This shouldn’t take long,” he said, before strolling to the RAs’ door. He knocked.
“Stop staring,” said Sierra.
Beck lifted his phone in front of his face again.
Lisa answered the door. She and Adi talked a moment, then she beamed and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her. Seconds later, the two of them were on their way to the dining hall, too.
“Adi’s got game,” Beck murmured, impressed.
Sierra pulled on her boots. “Let’s do this.”
They hurried toward the villa, down the pathway that ran along the side of the building. Sierra strode with purpose, like she had every right to be there, but Beck glanced around every few seconds to make sure no one was watching. With the back gate visible from the pool, it wasn’t exactly the most private place to try breaking and entering.
Sierra pulled on the gate, then cursed. “It’s locked again.” She gave it a frustrated shake.
“I’ve got this.” Beck eyed the wall on either side of the wrought iron gate. It was a foot or so taller than him and covered in stucco like the villas. Mostly smooth, but with a few minuscule imperfections scattered across the surface.
Nothing to it.
He grasped the top ledge and hauled himself upward. His toes found placement on some of the tiny ledges. Pressing with his legs, he brought one elbow onto the top, then planted his palm and used it to leverage his body weight up and over. He doubted it took more than five seconds before he was dropping quietly down to the other side.
Sierra had her hands on her hips and a skeptical frown when he unlocked the gate and let her in. “You know, if you’d told me you could do that a week ago, we could have finished this a lot sooner.”
“I didn’t realize it was the gate holding you up. I thought you were more concerned with getting Elijah and Lisa out of the way.”
“That too,” she said, shutting the gate behind them. “For the record, I choose you as our dexterity competitor in the semifinals.”
“Really? Cool!”
