Page 130 of For Your Own Good

“Good.” A lot more will need to happen over the next couple of days—meetings with lawyers, with the board, with the faculty—but first things first. “We also need to issue a statement, expressing how heartbroken we are to hear the news of these arrests.” He’s still looking at Daphne. She sits down and starts typing as Teddy dictates.

Winnie stares at the TV, tears streaming down her face. For the second time today, Teddy misses Ingrid. She was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a crier.

She was a mistake anyway. One he has spent months correcting, starting with Sonia and then having to poison the milk and plant the evidence. A receipt for syringes buried in Ms.Marsha’s desk. The remnants of a sprig of doll’s-eyes in Joe’s office. He did, after all, have a habit of sneaking into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. Alone.

And who else would have become so sick of catering to rich kids and parents but the two employees who had been at Belmont the longest? Especially when they were posting anonymously on a blog complaining about it? All that research into fake profiles had been more useful than Teddy had ever expected, like knowing how to set up an IP redirect to theschool’s server. He’d used thinly veiled email addresses and confidential information that only they would know—both signs of people whodon’tknow what they’re doing. Like Ms.Marsha and Joe.

Finally, it had worked. Courtney was released, Zach was no longer under suspicion, and now Belmont could get back to the business of educating the students.

80

“IT ACTUALLY MAKEStotal sense when you think about it. I mean, at first it didn’t seem right, because we had talked about Crutcher so much, you know? But then when I think about Ms.Marsha and Joe, and all the shit they’ve put up with from kids like us. Can you imagine cleaning up after us year after year? Or taking all those calls from angry parents? I’m not saying I’m not pissed. I’m just saying, like, I can see the motive...”

“I know, right?” Zach says, reminding himself that it’s good to see Courtney happy again. Not stressed about the news, not obsessively checking social media. Just happy.

Even if he does have reservations about these arrests.

They’re in his car, heading back toward her house, and the radio is tuned into the news. Courtney pauses to listen, then talks, listens again, repeat. Zach isn’t about to interrupt. And he’s not about to tell her that the FBI could be wrong.

But maybe he’s the one who’s wrong. Maybe it was never Crutcher.

But the book.

The milk.

Fallon.

Maybe she’s the craziest one of all.

Courtney’s dad calls, and she spins off again, repeating everything she just said. Her reasoning grows bigger. Stronger.

“It’s so obvious, don’t you think...? Exactly, why didn’t anyone...? That’s what I’m saying! How did we not see it? Thank God for the FBI, right?...”

When she hangs up, she turns to Zach. Beaming. She is literally beaming.

“Awesome, right?” she says.

“Obviously.”

“My dad and I are going out to lunch to celebrate. Wanna come?”

Zach shakes his head. “Can’t. I’m meeting Titus.”

“Boo.”

“I know.”

He isn’t meeting Titus, but Courtney believes it because Zach doesn’t lie to her. No reason to. Usually. But he’s been lying for a while now, if only by omission.

After dropping her off at her house, he pulls over to the curb to think about where to go next. The Grove? No doubt everyone will be there, according to the text from Lucas.

TWO Mad Scientists?! Get thee to the Grove to discuss, STAT.

In Lucas lingo,discussmeant “get high and talk shit.” Not a terrible option. Although Lucas doesn’t know anything about Crutcher, or Fallon, and the last thing Zach wants to do is let any of it slip. If he’s high or drunk, it might.

No to the Grove.

Then there’s Fallon, whom he could try and talk to again. Not the bestidea, not the worst. She hasn’t contacted him, though, so the idea of going to see her again makes him really feel like a stalker.