1st Case - James Patterson Page 0,15

where we stopped to take things in.

A folding table in the hall was overflowing with flowers, stuffed animals, and sympathy cards. Two electric votives flickered softly. And the locker door itself was covered with little messages, all written in silver or gold Sharpie.

Love you, Gwennie.

Gone but never forgotten.

My heart is broken, xoxo.

“The response has been somewhat difficult to manage,” Oppel said. “As you can see.”

He may have been talking about the students’ grief, but he could have just as well been talking about this roadblock of a memorial sitting in the hall. I thought it was beautiful, in its own way, and fought back the lump in my throat.

“It’s quite something,” Keats said in a husky voice. When I looked over, I was shocked to see tears rimming his eyes. He pinched them away with a swipe. “Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be,” I told him. If anything, I was relieved. It was the first indication I’d gotten so far that I wasn’t the only one struggling with this case. It also told me that Gwen Petty’s memory was in good hands with Billy. Even more than I’d realized. I had no doubt that he was excellent at his job, but this little glimpse of humanity only made him better, in my eyes. I thought about what Eve had said, about the way men worked differently from women at the Bureau, and I thought, Well, yes and no.

“The guidance office is just down here,” Mr. Oppel said, pulling me out of my own thoughts. I started to follow, but Keats put himself in my way. He stared at me just long enough to lock in my attention.

“I’ve got this,” he said. “Maybe you want to go grab a cup of coffee in the cafeteria or something.”

He didn’t owe me any explanation, and I didn’t get one, but it pissed me off all the same. Just when I thought I was going to be sitting in on those interviews, I’d gotten shunted off to the side.

It reminded me of freshman year soccer, getting to suit up for a varsity game and then spending the whole night on the bench. I understood. But still, the bench sucks.

“No problem,” I said, staring back at Keats but keeping it professionally vanilla for Oppel’s sake. “Just text me when you’re done.”

It wasn’t until the two of them had disappeared around the corner that I even considered the alternative. Maybe Keats was trying to tell me something. Maybe this was the real watch-andlisten part, while he was off doing something else.

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. I had no real way of knowing, so I went with the answer I preferred.

A second later, I turned around and headed off in the opposite direction to go exploring.

CHAPTER 16

I DIDN’T GET to shadow Keats the way I wanted, but I didn’t leave that high school empty-handed, either.

After I’d picked up a truly bad cup of “coffee” from the cafeteria, I went back to Gwen’s locker. A small group of girls had gathered there. They were holding hands, their heads down. It looked like some kind of prayer circle, but then one of them saw me and smiled through teary eyes.

“It’s okay,” she said, and let go of her neighbor’s hand to make room for me.

On the other side of the circle, I recognized Kallie Sawyer. Kallie had been Gwen Petty’s best friend, as far as I could tell from the social media analysis I’d done. A few of the other faces were familiar, too, but I couldn’t remember the names. I’m better with numbers.

I took a hand on either side of me, fighting back the sense that I shouldn’t be there. It was vaguely surreal, like taking a step deeper into Gwen’s life without her permission.

As the others lowered their heads again, so did I.

“Dear Lord,” Kallie said. “Please watch over our friend Gwen, and welcome her into your sweet embrace, forever and always, amen.”

“Amen,” I repeated with them, before everyone looked up again.

“Was she a friend of yours?” one of them asked.

I shook my head. “No. But I can tell she was really loved,” I said, in all sincerity.

Kallie started to speak, then stopped to choke back tears, and tried again. “She was the best,” she said.

And now it was me, reining in my own tears. The whole thing was beyond heartbreaking. I’d never had to face anything remotely like this in high school.

“I haven’t seen you before,” one of the girls said. “Do you go to school