Page 104

I display the text for Ryan, and Ty shrugs. “Sorry, man. Just following orders.”
Ryan slaps at his chest like he’s been shot. “And by my best friend, for one of those Alpha Theta Mu assholes.”
“What did you call my boyfriend?” Ty asks, but he doesn’t sound like he’s kidding.
“He just told you to kill me.”
“It’s taking you a damn long time to do it too,” Marty gripes, and I can tell by his tone Ryan’s gotten on his nerves since they’ve been here. But I also figure everyone’s tired since they must’ve been here on and off since late last night, and it’s already the afternoon.
Ty hooks his arm around Ryan’s neck, pretending he’s about to snap it. “Last words?”
“Can I use them to plead?” Ryan asks, which makes me laugh. “I have news.”
Marty confirms this with a nod, and I jot down in the notebook:He can live.
“Worked this time,” Ty says with a groan. “But I wouldn’t push my luck if I were you. What you got? Better be good.”
Ryan says, “Now, this is all unofficial…”
“He means it’s rumors,” Marty clarifies.
“You know what I meant. Anyway, I used to hook up with this girl over at Kappa Mu, and she waswild. The first time was just fun, but she wanted to pull out some toys pretty fast after, and then suddenly it’s restraints and safe words. I’mdown for a good time, but this was above my pay grade.”
“Weird context for that expression,” Marty observes.
“I thought I was a horny fuck, but this girl wouldn’t let me leave her place until I was drained. Like, I didn’t think it was possible to go again, and then she’d pull one more out of me.”
“Uh…Ryan,” Ty interjects, “you aren’t here to tell us about your sexual adventures with some sorority girl, right?”
“Oh, no.” He flinches, as if only now remembering his point. “She’s fucking around with guys in Omega Psi, and she says one of theirs just turned himself in for starting the fire.”
“Turned himself in?” Ty asks. “To the police?”
“No, to the Russian Mafia. Of course to the police. She said the Omega Psis found a way to access a master key, which gave them entry to plenty of rooms so they could pull a prank involving glitter bombs.”
“We definitely need to up security,” Ty says, “but looks like we’ll have a while to get that sorted.”
“Apparently, this guy added fireworks—some bullet cracklers—to give us a jump. Word is, the firefighters were freaking out when they did a walk-through after and the cracklers were setting off in the rooms. At first they thought there might be bombs in the frat, so they were relieved to just find themselves covered in purple and gold glitter. Probably won’t be once they realize how long it takes to get that stuff out.”
“I’m pretty sure they’ll still be relieved to be alive,” Marty says, echoing my thoughts.
Ryan ignores this. “I imagine when the guy found out how bad it went, he felt guilty. Said the glitter bombs were set up to go off with motion sensors, but one must’ve gone off by itself and sparked the fire.”
“Do you know the name of the guy?” I ask.
“Miles Banner or something.”
“MilesTanner,” Ty corrects.
Ty and I look at each other. Miles had also pulled that painting stunt against Zeta Tau, which he’d been reprimanded for. He seemed like a nice guy, someone who wouldn’t have intended for anyone to get hurt, but the reality is, his fun prank could have had tragic consequences.
“That’s probably it,” Ryan says. “It’s in my phone.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
Ty’s face flushes red. He pushes to his feet and starts for the door. “Where’s the little shit at now?”
Marty jumps between him and the door, which seems like a mistake given how Ty’s charging for it. I wish I had the strength to try and stop him, or even call out to him, but it’s too much for me.