A flicker of shock passes through Kara’s face, but it’s gone in an instant.
“Because you’ve known Graham and me just as long as you knew Shaila,” Rachel continues, “and you owe allegiance to him as much as you owe it to her. You couldn’t save Shaila, but you can try and help save Graham.”
“Shit,” Kara says, biting her perfect red lip. “My mom would kill me.” She rubs her palms over her face and leans back into the couch. “Shaila was cheating,” she says with an unsteady voice.
“Do you know who she was with?” Rachel asks.
“She never told me.” Kara jabs a finger at Shaila’s handwriting. “Just like she says here, he told her not to tell and she didn’t.”
“That’s it?” Rachel asks. “That’s all you know?” Her voice is frantic, desperate.
Kara sighs and leans forward. She rests her elbows on her knees and her dark hair falls around her face. “Fuck it,” she mutters. “There was one thing. Toward the end of the year, just a few weeks before she died, Shay said this guy was getting a little creepy. He was a littletoointo her. Obsessed, almost.”
“Really?” My heart is racing.
“He got her a pair of diamond earrings.” Kara pushes her hair behind her own studs. “I guess she told him she loved mine so he found a set just like them. I think that was too much for her. I mean, these are each two carats. My dad got them forme when he left us.” She shakes her head. “Some consolation prize. But they made Shaila uncomfortable. She said she could never wear them, that people would ask too many questions. Shay gave them back to him and he freaked out. He said she was ungrateful. I think that’s when she wanted to end everything. That’s what she told me, at least.”
Kara tucks her feet under her. Curled up like that, she looks young, like we live on the same planet at least.
Rachel and I lock eyes again. If Shaila was about to dump this rando mystery dude, then that’s a perfect motive.
Kara checks her watch. “You guys have to go. My mom’s going to be back soon.”
Rachel begins to stand but I’m hesitant to leave.
“Wait,” I say. “She sent you other letters, right? Could we read some of them? Just to see if we’re missing anything?”
Kara starts to open her mouth, but I know it’s my last shot.
“I loved Shaila as much as you did. She was my best friend,” I say. “I just want to know what really happened.”
Kara’s brow furrows and she shakes her head no.
“Why?” Rachel blurts out.
Kara’s eyes begin to well and she sighs deeply before speaking. “My mom took them,” she says. “I kept them all in a box and after Shaila died she said I shouldn’t live in the past, that it would only bring me heartache. I don’t know where she put them, if she even kept them.”
“Kara...” I start. “I’m so sorry.” I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t have a little piece of Shay left in my life.
Kara shakes her head. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not. But what can I do?”
I nod. I know what it’s like to feel powerless.
Rachel’s about to say something when we all freeze, hearing the sound of footsteps approaching the front door. Then a key turns in the lock.
“Shit, that’s my mom,” Kara says. Her eyes go wide with fear. “Hurry, you can sneak out the side door,” she says, ushering us through the gleaming kitchen. She opens the door slowly so that it doesn’t make a sound. Without warning, Kara hugs us both tight—a far cry from when we first arrived—and presses Shaila’s letter into my palm. “Catch him, okay?” Before I can respond, she releases us and shuts the door gently.
“I’ll walk you to the train,” Rachel says, her voice barely a whisper.
We make our way out of the narrow alley, back to the street, and trudge along the sidewalk silently for a minute or two before Rachel speaks.
“We’ve gotta show the letter to the lawyers next week,” she says. “Can I see it again?”
I unfold the paper and hand it to her. Rachel takes her time with it, reading each sentence once, then twice. She gasps.
“Look,” she says. “This line right here.” Rachel reads it aloud. “‘It all began one day after school, in the parking lot behind the theater.’ She also says he’s more experienced.”
I stop short. “Oh my God.Shit.”
