a second, but Tom jerked his head toward her, and Meredith knew he’d picked up on her implication. “You think Scott killed Haley and Jess? Why?”
“Maybe revenge?” she suggested carefully. “She dumped him, all her friends turned their backs on him. This could be some sick way of getting back at them, and punishing Rachel.”
“That’s way too twisted, and not something Scott is remotely capable of. He’s not a killer.”
She hated the pain she heard in his voice and wished she could let it go, but she couldn’t. “He could have changed over the years without you noticing it. You said you didn’t keep in touch much, only met or talked a few times a year when you were in Chicago.”
Meredith watched his jaw tighten with anger. “Scott’s not a killer.” His tone allowed for no further argument. “What about Rachel? Alex is right, she’s the one who brought everyone here. And she decided to get back together with Scott after all this time, too.”
Meredith thought back to her conversation with the woman, remembering the genuine sadness she’d heard in her voice. At least she’d thought it was genuine. At this point, who knew what to believe? “What’s her motive?”
Tom was silent for a long moment, finally letting out a long breath. “I don’t know. There’s still so much going on here we don’t know about.”
“And we’re figuring it out too slowly.” And two people were dead, and more lives were in jeopardy as long as they continued fumbling around in the dark.
A wave of frustration and despair washed over her. Overwhelmed by the feeling, Meredith gave her head a small shake.
Tom didn’t fail to notice. “What is it?” he asked.
“Part of me can’t help wishing Adam was here,” she admitted. “He would know what to do. No hesitation, no doubt. Just action.”
“You and your brother must be close,” he said.
She nodded. “We were all we had growing up. Our parents weren’t what anyone would call loving. Our father only cared about his career and making money, and our mother didn’t have a maternal bone in her body. I always had the feeling they only had children because it was what they were supposed to do, and they would have been perfectly happy without us. Adam was five when I was born, and he looked out for me, up until the time he left for college.”
“It sounds like it’s a good thing you had each other.”
“It was.” She smiled sadly. “The funny thing is, I used to resent him a little, too. Our mother wasn’t exactly nurturing, but Adam was still her golden child. He was handsome and brilliant, while I was awkward and quiet. He was the valedictorian of his class in high school. I was the salutatorian of mine.” Story of her life. Never quite good enough. Always second best.
“That’s still impressive.”
“Not really. You know what they say. ‘Second place is the first loser.’”
He frowned. “Who says that?”
She grimaced at the memory. “My mother did, actually.”
“No offense, but she doesn’t sound like somebody who’s worth listening to.”
“I know that now,” she conceded. “Unfortunately some things aren’t that easy to shake. Growing up, it seemed like no matter what I did, all I ever heard was ‘That’s not what Adam would have done!’ And for the past few days in the back of my head, I keep hearing, ‘That’s not what Adam would do!’” Or would he have had to do any of this? she wondered. Would he have realized what was happening before it did, stopping the murder before it ever happened? Would he have somehow known who the killer was and recognized what they had planned?
There was no way of knowing. Adam wasn’t here. She was. And she was responsible for everything that happened here—and the lives of everyone at Sutton Hall.
“You’re doing great,” Tom said firmly. “No one could question the choices you’ve made. You’ve done the best you could under the circumstances. We’re going to get through this.”
She looked up into his strong, solemn face. She wasn’t entirely certain she believed him, but at the moment, she was grateful for the kindness.
“What about you?” she asked. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“One of each,” he said with a smile. “They’re great.”
If they were anything like him, she believed it. Because he was great. Strong and loyal and brave, and smart and considerate and caring. Again there was that sense of amazement in the back of her mind that someone so good-looking could be even