“For some time now, we’ve believed that Graham Calloway’s confession was coerced, that he didn’t commit this heinous crime. We’ve been building Graham’s case for appeal and while doingourjobs, we stumbled upon new leads that might bring about the truth of what really happened to Shaila Arnold.” Mr. Sorenson looks directly into the camera. The dude’s clearly had media training. “We just hope the Gold Coast Police will dotheirjobs, whether that means investigating Logan Beaumont or someone else. We all just want justice for Shaila Arnold.”
“Thank you, Mr. Sorenson. We have also just received a statement from Gold Coast Prep, the elite K through twelve private school where Logan Beaumont currently teaches and where both Shaila Arnold and Graham Calloway were students. The statement reads as follows: ‘Mr. Beaumont is a respected and beloved member of the Gold Coast community. We have never received any credible reports of wrongdoings since his employment began. We will be conducting our own investigation at this time.’ There you have it, Gold Coast. Reporting live from the GCPD, I’m Linda Cochran.”
The clip cuts off and my screen goes dark.
When I turn to face Mom, her hand is over her mouth and she’s scrolling through her phone at a rapid pace. “My gosh,” she murmurs. “Did you know about this?”
I shake my head. She slams her phone on the coffee table and eases onto the couch next to me, resting her hand on my shoulder. I resist the urge to flinch or pull away.
“Sweetie,” she starts. “Did Mr. Beaumont ever touch you? Did he ever hurt you?” I picture his hand burning mine in his classroom, the way his breath smelled like toothpaste and cigarettes. I feel dinner climbing up my throat.
I shake my head no. Never.
Mom squeezes my bare skin. “I have to call Cindy Miller.” She retreats from the room. The silence hurts my ears and my brain fizzes.
I pick up my phone with a trembling hand.
Did you watch?Rachel writes.This could be IT!!!!!!
I can’t bring myself to text her back but there’s another message. This one from Quentin, also sharing a link to the tweet.
Is THAT why you asked me about Beaumont????he texts.
Yes.
Shit!! Is this for real?
I don’t know, I type.What if...?
FUCK!!!!!!!!!Quentin responds.School’s gonna be BATSHIT tmrw. Weingarten’s gonna investigate. Did you see that???
Wonder what he’ll find.
Wonder what the police will do. If anything.
I bite my lip and type, knowing my next words could smash what’s left of our friendship into bits. But I want to know where he’s at. I hit send.
Wonder if Graham is innocent.
He waits a beat.
And then another.
Finally he begins typing. The words appear.
He might be.
My brain starts to crackle, like it can’t connect the dots fast enough. I shove my phone under the couch cushion, just to get away, but it buzzes again. When I fish it out and look at the screen I see Adam’s name. My heart steadies and already I feel calmer, knowing he’s on the other end.
Did you see this clip about Beaumont? This is wild...
I’m so confused...I type back.
Same, he responds.
Then another text pops up.I wonder if Rachel is behind this. Did you ever end up talking to her?
My whole body tenses. The one thing I can’t tell him. The one act of betrayal. I said I’d drop it so many months ago, that I wouldn’t believe a thing she said. But here she is just a few text messages away. Something tugs inside me and I know I have to lie to him. No one can know I was involved.
