Page 66 of Our Little Secret

“Uh-huh.”

But to Nick’s credit, the boy caught sight of the Range Rover, lifted a hand in greeting, and smiled at Marilee’s parents before she cast a look their way, said something, then took his hand and pulled him past a security guard who checked their ID before they disappeared into the gym.

Neal’s brow was furrowed. “Maybe he’s not such a bad guy. You know the family, right? They’re okay?”

“I know Tammi, Nick’s sister, and his mother, Renata. Not so much the dad.” She lifted a shoulder. “I know Renata is involved in the school and goes to St. Andrew’s, I think. As for Bruno?” She shrugged. “I’ve met him a couple of times and he seemed okay. But who knows what they’re really like?”

“Who knows anything about anyone?” he said as Brooke noticed the news van parked near the student lot, harsh lights cutting through the night, a reporter in a red blazer and a microphone talking into the eye of a shoulder cam held by a thin man in a puffy coat and a knit cap. Beside them was the sign for the school:

ALLSWORTHHIGHSCHOOL

HOME OF THEFIGHTINGORCAS

“There’s a grim reminder.” Neal nodded toward a police cruiser, lights dark, parked at the far side of the lot near the empty tennis courts.

“I know.” Brooke’s anxiety ramped up again. “I just hope they find her, that Allison comes back soon.”

“You and the rest of Seattle.” He cast another look at the gym. The band was tuning up, the thrum of bass vibrating through the night. Flashes of strobe lights were visible through the open doors. The security guard was still checking each student’s ID. “I guess we can go now.”

Neal cranked on the wheel, making a quick U-turn, then drove away from the school. His expression was darker, more thoughtful than it had been on the way over, his features illuminated by the headlamps of passing cars, only to shadow until the next vehicle appeared and washed the interior of the Range Rover in the short-lived glow.

She thought about the tracking device found on the undercarriage of her car, of the fight with Leahandthe spilled wine, of the bracelet feeling like a ton of bricks in her pocket, and of the warning that had been whispered from the anonymous caller.

He’s not who you think he is.

She’d assumed the warning was about Gideon, but with a prick of dread piercing her brain, she wondered if the caller had been talking about Neal.

“I need to talk to you.” Leah was waiting in the living room, a book on the couch beside her.

Brooke paused. She’d hoped to sneak the bracelet into a hiding spot until she could get rid of it, but she’d have to wait. Neal had already gone into his office shutting the door behind him, so now it was just she and her sister.

“Okay, about what?” she asked, taking a seat on a side chair.

Leah sighed. “What do you think?” She bit her lip nervously.

Brooke waited for Leah to finally cop to the real reason she’d flown to Seattle, because she didn’t believe for a second that it was only about emotional support. It never was. It was about guilt. It was about payback. And it was definitely about money.

“I need a loan.”

Boom. And there it was.

“Not much. Probably fifteen thousand?”

“Wow. Fifteenthousand?” Was she kidding? She’d never “loaned” her sister anywhere near that kind of money.

“Look, look,” she said tentatively, then rushed on, “I know I haven’t paid you back the last five, but I will. Seriously. I just have to get on my feet, and I’ve got a line on a job—substitute teaching again. It might lead to a full-time position if I get my certificate renewed and I’ve already applied.”

Brooke had heard this before. “You think fifteen grand isn’t much?”

“Well, for me? Yes. But you?” She motioned one hand to include everything in the house. “Look, I hate to do it, but I have to. Sean’s gone through everything we had and then some. I need to pay for a lawyer and put up first and last month’s rent.”

“Sean is staying in the house?” she asked, astounded. “But it’s yours; you paid for it with part of the money you got from Nana . . .” Her voice trailed off as she saw the pain in her sister’s expression. “. . . or not.”

Leah closed her eyes, battling tears. “I ‘loaned’ the money to Sean. We’re leasing the house. The whole lease-to-buy thing didn’t happen.”

So it was worse than Brooke had suspected. “I don’t have fifteen thousand,” she said, thinking of her own bad investment choices.

“Neal?”