Page 70 of The Silent Note

I look up from my phone. What was hot and liquid inside me turns to cold stone.

“What’s with that face, Grey? What did Jinx say?“

“Principal Harris… is dead.”

Jinx: All The Kings’ horses and all The Kings’ men couldn’t put Harris together again

Our dear royal governor gently stepped off his dining room chair into a six-inch noose tonight. Save your thoughts. Save your prayers. They won’t bring him back to life.

You and I both know what truly never dies, don’t we?

If Harris has gone to join the other skeletons in the royal closet, it’ll only be a matter of time before those bones fall out.

Until the next time, keep your enemies close and your secrets even closer,

-Jinx

Chapter Sixteen

ZANE

Our night is shot.

Grey hops around our bedroom, pulling on her panties and bra while fielding a thousand calls that suddenly flooded her cell phone.

“No, I haven’t heard anything official, Mrs. Henderson,” she’s saying as she crawls to all fours and peeks under the bed.

I imagined her perched like that a thousand times and, if she wasn’t so desperate to find her pants, I’d probably give her a good smack.

Unfortunately, she finds her pants and hides her perfect, round backside from me.

“I haven’t gotten any calls from the police. No, not yet. But I’m heading out to investigate.”

Like hell she will.

I glare at her.

She glares back at me.

The person on the line must have said something off-putting because she turns her face to the side. Her lips smash into a thin line and she uses that stern, teacher tone. “Mrs. Henderson,I assure you that while we had our differences, I did not wish Principal Harris psychical harm. I resent the insinuation that I was involved in any of this and I hope you don’t repeat anything like that to the students who’ll undoubtedly be confused and alarmed while they grieve.”

She’s angry. Whenever Grey starts using lots of stiff, fancy words one after the other, it means she’s at the end of her patience. That English degree spoiled her ability to use regular old curse words to tell someone off.

“Like I said, I don’t know any details.” Her voice thickens with exasperation. She hunts around my bed. “If you’ll excuse me, the Vice Principal is calling.” She taps a button and puts the phone back against her ear. “Hello, Vice Principal Vincent? Yes, I’m aware of Principal Harris’s passing. No, I don’t know any more information than you and I don’t understand why you’d assume that I would.”

Feeling sorry for her and realizing she’ll probably never find all her clothes after I flung it who knows where, I walk over to my closet and pull out a hoodie.

A grateful little smile flits over her face and it almost makes up for the regret that hits me when she covers her generous tits with the shapeless jacket. At least she’s wearingmyhoodie. It’s oversized and swallows her lean frame, but it looks good on her.

“No, I haven’t yet been contacted by the police.” She tosses the phone, tucks the hoodie so it’s cropped into her pants stylishly, and grabs the phone back from the bed in one smooth motion.

I stare at her, impressed.

“Oh, wait… Vice Principal, I’m getting another call. It could be the police. Yes. Yes, I understand. We’ll talk more at school tomorrow. Good night.”

Grey pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs heavily.

“The VP has Jinx’s app?” I ask, an eyebrow arched.