One Tiny Secret - By Adam Kunz Page 0,83

message from an unknown number,” he replies, moving closer to show me.

I take the phone from his hand. “What? Why is he sending you a message?”

“I don’t know.”

I focus on the phone and read the text out loud. “You might want to check dearly departed Mr. Whitman’s top left desk drawer.”

The moment I finish reading the message, Parker moves over to the left drawer.

“Should I open it?” he asks with reluctance.

“No. It’s just another mind fuck courtesy of Unknown. And frankly, I’m over it.” I place his phone on top of the desk and slide it over to him.

The phone chimes again as it sits in the middle of the desk. Parker reaches out and snatches it up, bringing it in front of his face.

“The text says that I really should open the drawer,” he says and flashes me a look of worry. “How the hell does this guy know what we’re doing?”

“I’ve stopped trying to figure that out,” I respond in a defeated tone. “You better open the drawer. He only becomes more persistent if you ignore him.”

I watch as Parker slowly pulls open the drawer. A look of confusion appears on his face.

“Well, what’s in there?”

He draws out a manila folder and holds it up for me to see. “It’s full of undeveloped photos. Shit, the light,” he says, snapping the folder closed. “Light ruins undeveloped pictures.”

“I think that’s only sunlight,” I comment.

“Oh, right.”

“Either way, I think we need to get those developed.”

“I thought you said you were over Unknown,” he quips while moving around to the front of the desk.

“So I’m fickle. Sue me,” I reply, taking the folder from his hands. “Doesn’t Phoebe know how to do this whole process?”

It’s like an epiphany hits him. “Yeah, she does. And she told me she’d be in the darkroom for a little while after school.”

“I don’t like how so coincidental this all is right now.”

“You’re right. It does seem off. But don’t you want to know what’s in these pictures? They could give us answers,” he says, tapping on the folder.

“This asshole is really not one for giving answers—just more puzzles.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out, right?”

“Can’t you see he’s just fucking with us? Nothing good will come of this, I can promise you,” I reply in a harsh whisper, shoving the folder into his hands.

“What else are you going to do? It’s obvious we can’t run from this, and doing nothing will only end up getting someone else hurt. We have to play along if we want any chance of catching this bastard,” Parker argues. I see the fear in his eyes, but I can also tell it’s giving him strength. “I know things are really fucked up between us right now, but I told you we’re in this together, no matter what.”

He holds out the folder like a handshake, waiting for an agreement. I take the folder from him and a nervous smile shows on his mouth.

“Okay, let’s play.”

We move down the hall and through the double doors at the end of it, leading into the next section of the building. Rounding the corner into the right hallway, I see Phoebe standing outside the production lab, locking up.

“Phoebe, we need your help,” I call out while running up to her.

She freezes and stops turning the key in the doorknob when she looks over at us in confusion. “Okay…what do you need my help with, exactly?”

“We have some pictures that need to be developed,” Parker interjects over my shoulder.

“Can’t this wait ’til tomorrow? I’m kind of nauseous from the fumes in there,” she replies, finishing locking the door.

“This is very important, Phoebe. It can’t wait,” I insist.

She sends both of us a suspicious look. “What’s this all about?”

Parker places his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll explain later, okay? But now we need to get these developed.”

Phoebe looks dubiously at both of us again, but then turns the key that’s still in the door, opening it. “All right, follow me. Dark room is in the back,” she says, moving into the room.

When we enter the dark room, Phoebe flips a switch, bathing everything in deep red light. “So, where are these pictures of yours?” she asks after Parker shuts us in the small room.

I hand the folder over to her and she begins removing them one by one. She lays them out on the table behind her in the empty space next to a few trays full of liquid. She snaps on a pair of rubber