I wish you were here.
The words blur by until my eyes land on one from a little over a week ago. A date that feels like another lifetime entirely. The day the police contacted us about finding Phoebe’s remains.
I am so sorry, Phoebe. I am filled with so much regret. So much guilt, every day. And nothing I do or say will ever make up for what I’ve done.
“Claire,” Declan prompts.
But just as I open my mouth to tell him what I’ve found, a heavy knock lands on the door, louder and more severe than Declan’s moments earlier.
We exchange a wide-eyed look. Whoever’s on the other side of that door knows we’re in here.
I shove the phone in my back pocket, pulling my T-shirt over my jeans to cover it, just as Declan opens the door. It’s Ellery.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hey…uh, you two,” she says, clearly curious as to why this is the second time she’s found us together in my room, but thankfully she skirts over that. “This is weird, but have you guys been in my room?”
“No,” I say, joining Declan at the door, trying to form my face in an expression of innocence and confusion. “Why?”
She pauses, her eyes narrowed. “I can’t find my phone, and my tote bag seems to be in a different place than where I’d left it.”
Shit.
“You don’t think,” Declan says, his voice cautious, “that someone got in here while we were eating, do you?”
It’s an impressive lie, but something about the ease with which the suggestion slides off his tongue unsettles me. Ellery seems to buy it. Her eyes, which were narrow with suspicion at my response, widen with a burst of fear.
“But who—” she stutters, “who would do that?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t anyone,” Declan says, resting his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. “It was a stupid idea. How would they have even gotten by us when we were downstairs? Your phone will turn up somewhere. And maybe Adrien moved your bag, or maybe you left it that way and just forgot. Wehavebeen under a lot of stress.”
Ellery nods. “You’re right. It’s just, everything that happened today…you know.” Her eyes dart away from us, and I notice a flash of panic in her expression.
I don’t blame her. She must know how bad her strange texts to Phoebe look.
“I’ll go check the room again. I’m sure my phone is in there somewhere. See you guys later,” she says, leaving me and Declan alone, finally.
As soon as Ellery’s footsteps trail down the hall, I rush to tell Declan what I found.
“She must have been texting Phoebe out of guilt,” I whisper after I’ve brought him up to speed. “For killing her. This must be her way of apologizing to Phoebe. Phoebe’s phone was never found, after all. Ellery probably thought no one would ever see the messages.”
Declan sits down quietly on the bed, his brow furrowed. I sink down next to him, lost in thought.
“It must be because of Tomas,” I muse. “Killing Phoebe must have been her way of getting revenge for his death.”
I think of Ellery’s passcode, of the array of photos of her and Tomas saved in her Favorites album. It makes sense. Tomas and Ellery were closer than any of us. Maybe even than me and Phoebe at the beginning of the trip.
“Claire,” Declan says softly. “I don’t think it’s as simple as that.”
In all the chaos of the last few minutes, I’d forgotten what he’d said earlier, before dinner.If Ellery did do it, if she killed Phoebe, then I think I know why.
“The day after Tomas died, I heard Phoebe and Ellery talking,” Declan continues. “We were on the bus to Jagged Rock, and everyone else was sleeping. Phoebe and Ellery had taken the seats in the far back, and they were whispering. I was sitting in the row in front of them and had just woken up. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but they sounded so serious, I couldn’t help it.”
“What did Ellery say?” I ask, my voice tight.
He sighed. “She said she killed Tomas.”
If I hadn’t been sitting down on the bed, I would have needed to grab something to stay upright.
