“They were all stabbed. I guess it was pretty violent. One girl almost got away, but the guy ran after her.”
“Have they made any arrests?”
She shook her head.
I grinned. She had no clue I was watching her.
“Not that I know of. I’ve been trying to stay updated. My friends text me when they hear stuff. One of the girls was Therese’s cousin.”
“Which one was that?” I asked, pretending not to remember.
“She’s got brown hair and is dating Remington.”
“Ah, I remember now. That’s unfortunate. Is she doing okay?”
“I don’t think they were super close, but she’s scared that the killer may have targeted their group specifically.”
“Why?”I fought back a smirk. She’d hear it in my voice. I’d looked them up before I called her. Those kids and their families all deserved whatever came to them. Their parents had no problem ruining other families' lives; why should we give two fucks?
“Three of them came from big families. You know the ones,” she huffed.Using my thumb and forefinger, I pinched my screen and zoomed in to see her rolling her eyes.“They’ve got money, so just dropping their name gets them places.”
“Like Spencer Foxworth.”
“Like Spencer Foxworth.” She nodded. “He’s one of them, so is Soleil and Therese, and Rem, actually. Hmm…”
“Not your other friend? Emi?”
“Her dad’s a police officer, but I think he’s like the chief or something. He finally started talking to her again. It was a whole thing. But yeah, Therese is all paranoid that if they don’t get the killer soon that she’ll be next.”
“Why would someone be picking off rich people? I mean, I’m all for eating the rich, but that’s more along the lines of public figures. Not Shelley Vale donors.”
“I know, right?” She chuckled. “I think it’s absurd. Anyways, what’s new with you? What are you up to today?”
“Just some studying,” I replied, clicking on the other cameras and taking stills. This wasn’t my first go-around with this brand of home security. With a few clicks, I turned off her cameras and put the stills in the live feed’s place. Now, whenever she looked, all she’d see is an empty porch, yard, and kitchen.“I actually called to see if you got my flowers.”
“Those were from you?” she gasped. “How did you—”
“I had a little help from your friend. I reached out to Emi online. She was able to give me exact details.”
“They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“They are kind of an apology gift. I hate how I left things when I visited.”
“Oh?” She left the kitchen, allowing me to grab a photo of the empty room and slide it into place. That one would be trickier, as she was always in her kitchen, but I’d shut down her app or something later.
“Yeah, I was a jackass. I got drunk, pushed myself on you, told you about other people, and then yelled at you because you got a letter from that documentary crew. It was a shitshow.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t say it was that bad.”
“Well, I want to fix that. I’m cleaning up my act. I’m not going to drink as much, I’m going to focus on school and finish my degree, and then I’m coming back for you. I want to come home.”
“Yeah?”
I wished she’d sprung for more cameras to line her house, but she’d only done the major rooms, and whoever set them up wasn’t all that great at it. It was all so easy to tap into.I paused, planning my next words carefully. “And I don’t plan on dating anymore.”
“Kansas, I thought—”
“I only told you about Harper and the others to make you jealous and it worked. It was a dick move, and once I got home, I realized just how bad it was. I don’t want to do that anymore. When I get back, I want to give us an honest go. What do you think?”
