Page 114 of Good Girls Lie

“No, Dean.”

Ford shakes her head. “I’ll see to it. Off with you, continue your search.”

Piper smiles gratefully and scoots off. The bathrooms aren’t stocked, which means the support staff isn’t on top of things. Students wandering campus, out of class, at all hours of the day. A possible impostor on the grounds. An affair with the handyman. Heavens, she’s let Goode go. Let herself go, dropped her standards.

When are you going to wrap your head around the fact that you don’t want to be here? You should find a replacement, someone who cares enough to make sure things are run properly. You obviously don’t care enough about the school’s management to be in charge.

Perhaps itistime for her to be thinking about naming a successor. But how would that look? Like she is running away the moment there’s something negative going on. Like her mother. Jude fell on her sword without a second’s thought. When asked, Jude said, “Goode is more important than any one person.”

Ford almost understands.

Resigning in protest over a forced move to coed, though, that would be a legitimate out.

No. She needs to clean up her mess, but she’s not going to run.

And she’s not going to let anything ruin her. She is going to destroy this phone. Call Alan, set up the meeting with Ash and the sheriff.

And have a word with her wayward student. It’s time she finds out exactly what Ashlyn Carr is up to. Answers must be given. By Ash, and by Rumi. He’s avoiding her, she knows it, and she needs to get him alone and find out what his relationship was with Camille.

But to do it safely, she needs privacy.

Using her own phone, she texts Rumi.

Meet me at the house. Please?

She has to wait ten minutes for the reply, but finally, finally, three dots appear.

I can’t get away until later. Is 9 okay?

Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.

Thank heavens. At the very least, she can find out what’s going on with these photos of him and Camille.

She calls Alan next, who is happy to be of service. She asks him to reach out to Tony for more details. He suggests she wait to talk with Ash until he’s present. She agrees, though she’s lying. She has to talk to Ash first.

Then she stalks to her attic garret, stares out the window onto the quad.

How is she going to approach Ash?

68

THE REALIZATION

I retreat upstairs after the trip to the mail room, the damning note clutched in my hand. After the initial shock of the words, my head has cleared. It’s strange how calm I am. The world is about to come crashing down at my feet, but my heartbeat is steady. My breath comes in regular sequence. My vision is hyper focused.

I sit on my couch in my quiet, empty room and set the note carefully on the coffee table.

This can mean only one thing. Someone knows.

But who? Who is theshein this warning? I’m surrounded by women, girls, variables ofshefrom every corner.

Becca. Vanessa. Piper. Dean Westhaven. The cop.

Camille.

The number ofshe’s is astounding to think of. Any one of these girls could be about to wreck my life.Think. Who has the most to gain from seeing you exposed?

Piper isn’t capable. She’s a good girl.