I didn’t let him finish; instead, I stepped forward and surprised myself by poking him in the chest. “Where was Daniel, Manik?” Tag asked from behind me, his voice sounding somewhere between irked and infuriated. “Where was Daniel when you snuck out tonight?”
NINE
Manik’s eyes widened—or at least, I imagined they did. The trees were a whirl of darkness. “What?” he asked. “What are you talking about?”
“Daniel,” Tag repeated. “Daniel Rivera? Your friend, fellow prefect,andour school president? Maybe you’ve heard of him?”
“Okay, seriously,” Alex tried again. “Whathappened?”
“Bunker happened!” I couldn’t help but snap, suddenly realizing whyelsethe Jester had tapped Manik for tonight. It wasn’t only because he was the Almanac’s hardworking helmsman; he was also Daniel’s roommate, which made him perfect for recon. He could ensure nothing was amiss before the prank had officially begun.
Although something told me Tag hadn’t spelled that out for him.
“We hid the clue,” Tag started to explain. His tone was now precise, all business. “But Mr. Hill caught us afterward—” He dropped off, as if unsure whether to share the details about our encounter with Bunker. I waited with wavering lungs, onlyexhaling when he skipped over our showmance. I didn’t want to hear the word “pretend” leave his lips.
Even if that was what we’d been doing.
“That’s really what he said?” Alex asked once Tag had finished. “‘President Rivera stopped by for a chat this evening.’”
“Direct quote,” I confirmed.
Alex sucked in a breath. “Did you tell him, Manik?” he said. “Did you letanythingslip?”
“No!” Manik exclaimed. “How could I? I had no idea about any of this! Once I accepted the prank bid, all I got was the email about wearing black and the midnight rendezvous. That’sit.”
“And that’s notat alltelling,” Alex deadpanned, though no one laughed. I wanted to believe Manik, I did, but…
“Daniel likes to take walks,” I said, readjusting my baseball hat. “He goes on walks when he wants to clear his head.”
“What does he need to clear his head about?” Alex muttered to Tag. “He’s achieved nearly everything this school has to offer.”
Except valedictorian, I thought.
Blair had beaten him there.
I couldn’t hear what Tag muttered back, but even in the dark, I felt his eyes on me, and my heart rate hitched. Sometimes after we studied, Daniel asked me to join him on his meanders. He did most of the talking and I did most of the nodding along while keeping my hands in my pockets so he wouldn’t try holding one.
Sneaking out to take a moonlit stroll didn’t sound like Daniel, but it was late May. The end of senior year gave people incentive to take chances.
I mean, here I was.
“Manik, did youseeDaniel?” Tag asked inquisitively.
“Of course,” he said. “We live together. Of course I saw him; I see him all the time.”
“No,” I said, taking more of a bad cop stance. We needed to get to the bottom of this. “He means did you see himtonight? Your rooms have an adjoining door, right? Did you see him brush his teeth? Climb into bed and close his eyes? Did youseeDaniel before you left?”
Manik sighed. “No,” he admitted. “I didn’t. Our connecting door was closed because I lied that I was going to bed early, but Daniel needed to stay up to finish his English essay.” He coughed. “His light was off when I snuck out onto the fire escape, but I didn’t check if he was in his room or not.” He was quiet for a few seconds,guiltyfor a few seconds. “I’m sorry.”
Alex groaned while my stomach squirmed. There was a possibility Daniel was wandering campus—and that possibility, the possibility of running into him didn’t add to the thrill of tonight. It only made it more dangerous. “Maybe we should hide the rest of the clues tomorrow morning?” I gently suggested. “Our building access will have been restored, so we won’t need my mom’s keys—”
“But he’s asleep!” Manik insisted. “Hehasto be. I said his light was out when I left and now that I think about it, I remember hearing some snoring…”
After a second of deliberation, Alex snapped his fingers. “Alright, devil’s advocate,” he said. “Let’s say Manik is right that Daniel’s all tucked in for the night, snoring and hugging his teddy bear.” He took a breath. “Was Mr. Hill plastered, Lily? Like you predicted?”
“Um…” I thought of Bunker’s rumpled hair, red-ringed eyes, and bourbon-filled tumbler. “Pretty much.”
“Then what does ‘this evening’reallymean?” Alex posed. “He’s probably lost his sense of time. Daniel might’ve visited him at 8:30 or 9:00, and then it could’ve felt like you guys arrived right after he left. Minutes later…when it’s actually beenhours.” He illuminated his phone to show that it was a little past 1:15. “What do you think?”
