Part 11 (2/2)

Seth stayed close to her. 'Ill tell you the truth, he whispered back, but I still heard every word. 'Willows not doing anything. But someone is. And I guess its going to come out sometime. I suppose itll get down to where everyone was on that day. He paused and I heard the fake concern dripping from every word. 'Are you okay, Kris? Like, you werent anywhere near the accident that day, were you?

She sat up quickly and stared at him for a moment, her eyes hidden under her outsized gla.s.ses. Funny how the gla.s.ses were so big and the outfit so small. Maybe her problem wasnt bad taste but no understanding of proportion. 'I wasnt anywhere near that d.a.m.ned accident! she said, then got up and started to walk away.

But not before I accidentally b.u.mped the bottle she was holding and sent liquid splas.h.i.+ng across my leg and top. 'Oooh, sorry, I muttered, pretending to wipe myself down.

Kristies mouth tightened as she stood over me, and I readied myself for the blast that didnt come. Instead, she just spun on her heel and stomped off.

Pretty steadily for someone so drunk . . .

Macey sauntered across to us, trying to look nonchalant, but I knew she was as curious as we were. She squeezed onto the sun-lounge, pus.h.i.+ng me up closer to Seth, whod dropped his head down low so that his mouth was protected by my shoulder. 'Whatd you make of that? he asked.

Macey leaned in closer. I was sandwiched between them, so that Seths breath tickled my shoulder and tingles were running up and down my spine, and there was no way I could have halted the s.h.i.+ver that rippled through me. 'Two things, I finally got out. 'One is that we have to find somewhere more private than a crowded yacht to talk, and two, that Kristie Negerson is a fake and a liar.

The words were barely out when I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of dej vu. My brain did an immediate scope but came up blank. Why had I thought Id heard that before? That was the thing, I hadnt . . . So why did it seem familiar?

Seth was still trying to get his head around what Id said. 'What?

Macey just stared like I was some sort of mystic sage.

Shaking off the weird thoughts, I slid back to the present and licked my finger, the same finger that had just swiped up some of Kristies spilled drink. 'Shes sober. That was an act. The only thing in that bottle is fizzy lime drink no vodka.

Macey slid her finger through the remaining drops of drink and tasted. 'Youre right, no vodka.

I felt Seths surprise in the quickly drawn breath. 'But vodkas tasteless.

'Not completely, and its still got an alcohol smell, right? Ive watched her drink all day but there was no alcohol on her breath. And no smell in that drink.

'I dont know, Wills, she seemed pretty p.i.s.sed to me, he argued.

Suddenly, the fog in my brain cleared, and my heart started thumping so loudly I was sure everyone would turn and stare. I swivelled so that my mouth was right against Seths ear. 'Oh my G.o.d, I hissed. 'Now I remember! It was because of the question you asked . . . I darted a quick glance around us, but no one was near enough to eavesdrop, though even then Seth had to strain to hear. 'Kristie was near the accident that day. Seth, she went through the drive-thru about ten minutes before JoJo.

Chapter Ten.

When the boat finally docked we headed back to my place to drop off Simon and pick up Maceys car. Shed had a couple of drinks, so it was a no-brainer that Id drive her car and follow them home. But the real reason was that I simply needed some s.p.a.ce from Simon.

Of course, extra time with Seth was kind of a bonus.

I arrived at their house in time to see Seth swinging Macey off the ground his face beaming. As he waved me inside, Macey scrambled out of his arms and ran towards me, almost jumping out of her skin, waving her phone. 'Oh my G.o.d! Oh my G.o.d! Look at this! She thrust the phone under my nose and then immediately pulled it back and began reading out loud. ' ”Weve been following your blog and wonder if youd be interested in writing a column for our paper. Were a small independent, but with a readers.h.i.+p of almost 60,000, we can offer you great exposure.”

Maceys excitement was contagious, and I squealed along with her. 'This is it! The break youve been working for! I was so proud of her!

'This, she continued, 'could be the first step to being offered a cadets.h.i.+p on one of the nationals! Or a magazine! We jumped and squealed some more. 'Oh my G.o.d I have so much to do. I have to get the blog out. I have to ring them and organise a meeting. Oh my G.o.d I have to ring Dad . . . Suddenly, though, her face changed and I could see other thoughts finally penetrating. 'Oh h.e.l.l, Wills! I cant believe I almost forgot all your stuff. I mean, I- I hugged her. 'Mace this is huge. You have to focus on this! Ill be okay. Truly.

'But you need me! I mean, you cant do this on your own.

Seth had reached us and tossed an arm over my shoulder. 'Shes okay, Mace. Well handle it until you take care of your stuff. Then he winked. At me. A slow s.e.xy wink that made me gooey all over again. 'Besides. Ive got an idea . . .

If he was playing a game with me, he was very, very good at it.

While she scampered inside, Seth and I shared a table and bowl of corn chips and hot chilli salsa out by the pool. It felt weird being out there again after last night and I forced back the memories that would serve only to give me another headache because I was still confused.

The chilli was home-made. A load of stuff forced on me by Suzy when Id raced in to pick up Maceys keys. And I made my parents proud by silently giving thanks to G.o.d for Suzy. And salsa. Maybe I could talk Mimi into letting her and Carlos live in; it wasnt like we didnt have room. That would be too cool.

I downed a huge scoop. 'You know, I think we made progress today.

Our legs were stretched out towards each other and Seth had trapped mine between his. As he began to speak, his legs began a rhythmic rock against mine. 'How so?

'For starters, I realised I probably wouldnt even get a job on Blues Clues, let alone be a detective.

He grinned. 'Yeah?

'It hit me when you asked Kristie about what shed been doing at the time of the accident, I mean. And I was there thinking, why hadnt we thought of that before? Correction: why hadnt I thought of that before? Like, alibis? h.e.l.lo? How basic is that? And really? I think thats where we should start.

'Yeah, he nodded between salsa scoops. 'And I think we need to know the strength of everyones motive. Like who had the most to lose.

'You know, I really dont get that. Were this pretty ordinary school . . . I paused at his incredulous look. 'Okay, so any ordinary school where the parents incomes average seven figures. But, I mean, take away the trust funds, clothes, yachts, cars, houses, holidays and stuff and were just like other kids.

By now he was totally cracking up. 'Wills, if you take away that stuff were totally different people.

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