Page 32 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

Chapter Eighteen

Matt steered Haley and Jason toward a quieter corner of the terrace, away from the crowd gathering for the awards ceremony. The mountain view provided perfect cover for their conversation, making it look like they were simply admiring the scenery.

"What did you hear?" he asked.

"Jill and Brooke were arguing in the locker room. Jill told Brooke to pull herself together, that people are starting to worry about her," Haley said, keeping her voice low. "Brooke is scared, Matt. She wants to leave town, but Jill told Brooke all she had to do was hang on for a few more weeks."

"A few more weeks until what?" he asked.

"She didn't say. She just reminded Brooke it wasn't about the past but the future, that it was all going to be worth it."

His pulse quickened. "Anything else?"

"Nothing specific. But whatever is happening now is about more than protecting secrets; it's about some big plan that's going to make them all rich."

"I don't like the sound of that," he murmured. "Brooke is clearly the weakest link. We need to put some pressure on her, see if we can break her."

"That needs to be done soon," Jason said. "They have a habit of getting rid of anyone who makes them nervous. And it sounds like that's what she's doing."

"We'll follow her home, get her alone," he said.

"Good idea," Jason replied. "Since you don't need me here, I'm going to head back to the office now and see if I can help Derek open that drive."

"Thanks," he said as Jason walked away.

"We need to stay close to Brooke, make sure she doesn't leave without us noticing," Haley said.

"Agreed, but it looks like that might have to wait," he said as Trent Adler approached them.

"Haley, Agent Lawson," Trent said. "Since I saw you yesterday, I've been thinking a lot about our conversation.

" He cast a quick look over his shoulder, then said, "I spoke to Landon the day before the party.

And you were right when you suggested there was some sort of grading scheme in play.

I didn't want to acknowledge that in front of Henry. "

"Because he was involved in the scheme?" he asked.

"Because a bunch of us were, including me, and I didn't want to betray anyone."

"But you're willing to do that now?" Haley challenged.

"I couldn't sleep all night. I never thought the grading issue had anything to do with Landon's death because I believed that it was an accident. Now you're saying it's not, and I can't keep quiet anymore."

"What was the scheme?" Matt asked.

"Landon told me the professor he worked for was pressuring him to bump up grades for certain students.

Landon didn't want to do it, but after he refused, he found out that Professor Harrington did it himself.

But when Harrington changed the grades, he used Landon's access code for the computer.

That way, if anyone went looking, they would think Landon had done it. "

"What?" Haley asked in shock. "Why didn't you say this before? The police could have talked to Professor Harrington. Maybe he's the one who killed Landon."

"I'm sorry. Like I said, I didn't think it was relevant, but I didn't know that Landon's death was anything but an accident."

"But now you believe it was murder?" he asked.

"I think you both believe it was murder, and I don't know anymore. Maybe what I told you doesn't matter, but I had to say it." He blew out a breath. "I have to go. They're about to announce the awards."

"Are you going to let him walk away?" Haley demanded, turning to him with fire in her blue eyes.

"For the moment. He said what he wanted to say. We need to confirm it through other sources, like Brooke."

She slowly nodded, her gaze still a bit uncertain. "Okay, but why do you think Trent suddenly decided to open up? Was it genuine remorse? A sudden realization that Landon was killed, or…"

"Or he could have been trying to point us in the wrong direction," he finished. "Every one of these conversations could be orchestrated. That's why I'm not going to jump at every ball they throw in my direction."

"You're right. But the conversation I overheard in the locker room was not orchestrated. That one was real. They didn't know I was there."

"Then let's find Brooke. We need to keep our eyes on her so we're ready to follow her when she leaves."

Brooke left the club around three, and they quickly followed. As Matt drove, Haley thought about the conversation with Brooke and Jill and Trent's admission about the cheating scheme.

"You're quiet," Matt commented, giving her a quick look.

"Thinking about what Trent said. His version of the cheating scheme felt true because Landon wouldn't have gone along with it, but maybe his professor would have.

And if Landon was going to be the scapegoat, that would have been very upsetting.

He would have felt betrayed by his friends and his professor.

" She paused. "But he still wouldn't have gotten blackout drunk. No way."

"Agreed. And we can't take anything these people say at face value."

"It's especially odd that Trent wanted to share that at the tournament. He didn't want to say anything in front of Henry, but our conversation was still very public. Anyone could have seen him talking to us, and he wasn't afraid of that."

"Another reason not to believe him."

"Hopefully, we can get Brooke to open up. She's our best hope."

"Well, it looks like she's home."

Home was a U-shaped apartment building near the freeway with an open-air parking area serving as the first floor, the apartment building rising up two stories above it. Brooke pulled into a spot while Matt parked on the street.

They got out of the car and moved into the parking area before Brooke could get to her front door. When she saw them, she froze, panic running through her eyes. "What are you doing here? Did you follow me?"

"Yes," Matt said. "We followed you because we want to talk to you alone, without your friends around you."

"I've told you everything I know," she said, a desperate note in her voice.

"No, you haven't, Brooke," she cut in, drawing Brooke's attention to her. "We know you went into Landon's room in his apartment and that you stole his notebooks."

Brooke's face paled. "That's crazy. I didn't steal anything from Landon."

"It's on video," Matt said shortly. "Do you want to change your answer?"

"Video?" she echoed in shock. "How?"

"Landon had set up a camera in his room," she said. "He obviously didn't trust you. And he was right, wasn't he? You went into his desk, took his notebooks, and gave them to someone. Who was that?"

Brooke licked her lips. "I want to speak to a lawyer before I say anything else."

She ignored Brooke's comment. "Did you love my brother? Or was it all an act? Were you trying to get close to him so you could take something from him? Please, I have to know," she begged. "Landon was all I had left of my family, and he's gone. I have to know the truth."

"I don't know how he died," Brooke said. "I don't. I swear."

"What about your relationship? And the notebooks?"

"I liked Landon. I did," Brooke said, staring directly at Haley.

"It didn't start out that way. Henry asked me to flirt with Landon, to get close to him, because he could be helpful to me, to everyone.

He was super smart, and the fraternity's grade point average was getting close to putting the house on probation.

There would be no parties, no rush, none of that.

But if Landon could help change some grades in the class where he was the teaching assistant, then that could help me, too, because I was also in that class. "

"You used him," she accused, beginning to see at least some part of the truth.

"We had fun together. It wasn't like I was hurting him. It was just casual."

"You told me it was serious, that you were moving in together after graduation."

"That might have been an exaggeration. We only went out a few times, just enough for me to get a key to his apartment so I could access his computer and his notebooks."

She was blown away by the truth. "You stole his phone and computer, too, didn't you?"

"No. Just the notebooks. I don't know what happened to the other stuff. And I only took the notebooks because Henry made me."

"How did he do that?" Matt asked.

"Henry is the kind of guy who helps you get into trouble and then blackmails you about what you did," Brooke said.

"That's what he did to me. That's why I had to flirt with Landon, try to get him to change their grades, and then steal his notebooks.

I don't know what was in them. I just know that Landon was working on something that he was excited about, but he told me he couldn't share it because it could be really important. "

"What's happening now?" Matt asked. "Landon died six years ago. But more people are dying now. Why?"

Brooke hesitated. "I can't say anything else. I don't know why that woman in Henry's office died. I don't know why she told you she knew who killed Landon or that Landon had even been murdered. I really did believe it was an accident."

"Did you, Brooke?" she challenged. "You knew the frat was trying to use Landon to change grades, and he didn't want to do it. Why didn't you tell me that after he died?"

"Because Henry had dirt on me, and I couldn't say anything, not that I actually knew anything to say."

"You knew what Henry was doing."

"I only knew he wanted the notebooks; I didn't know why."

"What are they plotting to do now, Brooke?" Matt asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Stop lying," she said forcefully. "I heard you talking to Jill in the locker room. She told you to hang on, that everything will be good, that you're all going to be rich. You have to talk now."

Brooke's lips tightened, then she said, "I gave Jill some money to invest for me. She said it was some kind of secret deal, and we were all going to get rich. But then you showed up asking about Landon, and that woman in Henry's office died, and everyone started acting strangely."