“Don’t you think this is bigger than your social standing at Keaton?” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m not judging—”
“Yes, you are.”
“Okay, sorry. I’m judging a little. But, do you know what would happen if you got caught doing this?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’d get kicked out, easy. Whatever. I’m sure Boulder will still take me next year.”
“Kicked out is the least of it. You could end up in jail.”
Matt laughed shortly. “Doubtful. I just want to enjoy the moment. People need me right now, and that’s kind of cool. Like you, you must get off on this therapy stuff a little bit.”
“I don’t know that ‘get off’ is how I’d describe it. But, yeah, okay, I get it. It does feel good to be needed.”
“See? We’re speaking the same language.” Matt smiled at her and smoothed back his hair. Devon flipped the page in her notebook to buy herself a moment to think. Did I somehow just condone the fact that he’s selling drugs?‡ Mr. Robins would make her do push-ups until she graduated if he found out. Or worse.
“Before you got involved, Hutch was doing this with Bodhi on his own?”
“Yeah, this summer he called and wanted me to take over this year. He wanted out.”
“You don’t think anyone would have wanted to hurt Hutch because of this? Maybe they were mad he stopped, or he was going to rat someone out?”
“Rat someone out? Did you watch The Sopranos over the summer? Seriously.”
“I know it sounds a little weird, but you were kind of saying the same thing the other day. Hutch overdosed on Oxy, yet he apparently never took the stuff. Maybe someone wanted him out of the picture. Like, Bodhi? They were partners. Maybe Bodhi felt betrayed.”
“As cute as this little detective act you’ve got going on is, I’ve already played it from every angle. Trust me. Hutch had no enemies; he was a good guy to a sickening degree. I think he just had more demons than any of us knew.”
“Is that how you really feel? You think Hutch chose to end his life?”
“Devon, seriously. Don’t become that obsessed chick. He’s gone. None of this changes anything.”
She swallowed. First Presley, now Matt, telling her to back off for the same reason. Was she obsessing? “But it does change everything. If someone … someone.…”
“Murder? You’re going to say that someone murdered Hutch? Come on, Devon. Stick to your counseling and straight As. You’re not Nancy Drew. Just.…” His voice softened again. “Just keep all this between us, will you?”
“Of course.” Devon slumped deeper into her chair.
“Our time’s up,” Matt said, standing. “See ya next week, Doc.” He walked out the door, leaving Devon staring at his empty chair.
Murder. It sounded much more dramatic when Matt said it. But Matt was right. As long as Devon and Raven refused to believe that Hutch took those pills on purpose, or that he accidentally took too much of a drug he apparently never touched, they were looking for a murderer. With all the drugs circulating around campus, there was one obvious place to start.
THE LIGHTS WERE STILL on in the Health Center when Devon stopped in. A knitted strand of bells hanging from the door announced her arrival.
“In here,” Nurse Reilly called from her cramped office. Devon moved toward the voice. Nurse Reilly was just putting her Sudoku book down on her desk next to a steaming cup of tea. Mint, like always. With tight white curls in her hair, her round face with rosy, wrinkled cheeks and her small half-moon glasses, the Keaton joke was that Nurse Reilly missed her calling as the mascot for a cookie company. Devon remembered when she had strep throat last year and Nurse Reilly had taught her how to knit to pass the time. Even though Devon had more than enough homework to keep her busy, knitting with Nurse Reilly was probably the closest she’d ever come to hanging out with a grandmother. A grandmother who always wore brightly-colored scrubs and matching Crocs, but a grandmother nonetheless.
And here was Devon, working up a lie to tell her. It was wrong. It actually did make her feel sick.
“Devon? Are you alright, sweetheart? What can I help you with?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that … um … cramps. They’ve been really bad this month and I’m out of Aleve. Do you have anything I could take?” It sounded pitiful, but what else was she going to say? Hi, Nurse Reilly. I