The Amateurs

  Kevin offered her another tepid, possibly dangerous smile. His controlled composure was making Maddox feel edgy. He could be one of those people who seemed perfectly calm but then randomly snapped.

  ‘You told my friends that elements of your relationship with Helena weren’t real,’ Aerin said. ‘What did you mean?’

  Kevin stared at Brett and Maddox accusingly, like they’d betrayed him. ‘Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m going back to my party now.’

  He started past the rest of the group, this time brushing against Seneca’s shoulders kind of hard. She wheeled back a little, lifting a hand to massage the spot where he’d hit her. Maddox was about to chase Kevin down, call him out for being an asshole, but then Seneca got this look of discovery on her face. What? Maddox mouthed to her, but she just shot him a sneaky smile.

  ‘Kevin,’ she called out after him. Kevin turned back, giving her a cautious look, and Seneca stepped up to him and leaned in close to sniff his collar, her nose almost touching his bare neck.

  Kevin backed away. ‘What are you doing?’

  Seneca stepped back. ‘That’s an interesting cologne you’re wearing. What’s it called?’

  Kevin looked at her like she was crazy. ‘I don’t remember.’

  ‘Don’t remember, or don’t know?’

  His jaw tensed. Maddox felt uneasy. Maybe they should leave this guy alone.

  ‘It’s Bay Rhum,’ Seneca filled in. She chuckled. ‘You really don’t know the name of the cologne you put on tonight?’

  Kevin jutted his chin into the air. ‘Macie picked it out for me.’

  ‘I think Macie would have better taste,’ Seneca said. ‘My dad wears Bay Rhum, too, and the sales clerk in the store where he bought it said that it’s for older guys – no one under forty would be caught dead with it on.’

  Kevin stared at her. ‘I wear old-man cologne. Who cares?’

  Maddox watched her, wondering where she was going with this. ‘You know what’s interesting? Senator Gorman was wearing the same cologne just now – I smelled it on him when he left the bathroom. It’s very distinct. Such a coincidence that you both have it on …’

  Kevin’s eyes flashed. ‘What are you implying?’

  Seneca blinked innocently. ‘I’m not implying anything.’

  Maddox stared at Seneca, connecting the dots. Suddenly, he got it. He looked at the others, who seemed surprised, too. Kevin and the senator … together ?

  Kevin balled up his fist. ‘I didn’t invite you people. I’ll call security.’

  ‘Oh, we’ll leave,’ Seneca said smoothly. ‘But before we do, we’ll tell everyone. I’m not sure the senator would appreciate people knowing what he was up to with his old protégé. I’m really sure he wouldn’t want his wife to find out.’

  ‘And, for that matter, your almost wife,’ Maddox said.

  Kevin looked furious. A peal of laughter sounded from the dining room. Kevin shut his eyes. ‘I’m at my engagement party. My whole family is here. My ninety-year-old, ultra-conservative grandfather is here.’ He stumbled over the word conservative. ‘I just need to get through this, okay?’

  Need to get through this? That seemed like a strange way to phrase something that should be joyful. Then again, maybe Kevin didn’t want to marry Macie. He wanted someone else, someone he couldn’t have.

  Maddox thought of Kevin’s Facebook page again. All those enthusiastic links to Connecticut Youth events. All those pictures of him standing next to Senator Gorman. Never with Kevin on one end, Gorman on the other – always side by side.

  He pointed at Kevin. ‘Your whole relationship with Helena wasn’t real. You didn’t love Helena like that. That’s what you meant.’

  Aerin stared at him. ‘What are you talking about?’

  Seneca was nodding along. ‘Aerin, that thing you told me yesterday about how you called Kevin a puppet and Helena got angry? Kevin was a puppet. You hit the nail on the head.’

  ‘I did?’ Aerin still seemed confused.

  Maddox glanced at Seneca, knowing where she was going. They were on the same wavelength, like they’d been so many times while solving cases online. He touched Aerin’s arm. ‘Helena was Kevin’s beard.’

  Aerin’s eyes narrowed. It took her a moment to digest the news. She glanced at Kevin’s face, and he didn’t deny it. ‘But that doesn’t make any sense. My sister could have gone out with anyone. Why would she choose a boyfriend who wasn’t even into her?’

  Everyone turned to Kevin. A quick whiff of steak wafted from down the hall. A glass broke, and someone laughed. Kevin tried to slip away, but Aerin grabbed his arm. ‘Tell us,’ she said through her teeth.

  Kevin wrenched his arm away. ‘God, fine. She might have been seeing someone. Someone she didn’t want anyone to know about.’

  Maddox’s heart stopped. ‘Who?’

  Kevin sniffed. ‘I don’t know that.’

  ‘But you knew there was someone else?’ Aerin’s voice was shaky. ‘How could you keep that to yourself?’

  Suddenly, she lunged for Kevin. Maddox caught her and pulled her back. ‘Hey,’ he said warningly.

  Kevin glowered at them. ‘All I knew was that the guy was older. Into art, museums. I think he lived in New York.’

  ‘New York City?’ Maddox felt bad as he heard Aerin’s voice crack. To her, this was more than just a fascinating development in an unsolved case.

  Kevin nodded. ‘We went once, in the fall. She disappeared for a while. Said she was going to an art gallery, but I had a feeling what she was really up to.’

  Brett tapped his bottom lip. ‘You might not have been attracted to her that way, dude, but still, letting your girlfriend run off with some … random? What, you were totally chill with him wining and dining her in his Upper West Side pad? Taking her for romantic carriage rides in the park? Didn’t you care that she was making you look like a fool?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Kevin sputtered. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell anyone about this? Like the police?’ Aerin cried.

  ‘I didn’t think it mattered.’ Kevin’s voice registered higher and higher.

  Didn’t think it mattered? That seemed so weak to Maddox. Maybe he was hiding something.

  ‘Why did you not show up for your speech at the leadership conference the weekend Helena went missing?’ Seneca asked.

  Kevin narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you trying to say I’m a suspect? I have an alibi. I was already cleared.’

  ‘News flash,’ Brett said. ‘We don’t trust you or your friends.’

  ‘Well, the cops do,’ Kevin said, puffing out his chest.

  Maddox stepped forward. ‘What about that angry message you wrote for Helena in the yearbook? We figured out the code. It said –’

  ‘You’ll get what you deserve, H?’ Kevin offered quickly. ‘That code was friendly. She’d done me a huge favor by keeping my secret. I meant that karma was going to bring her good things in return.’

  ‘Why is your secret so horrible?’ Seneca said. ‘So you’re gay. It’s not that big a deal.’

  Kevin looked away. His expression was tortured, like his secret was bigger than just that. Maddox put the last pieces together. ‘It was the senator, wasn’t it? Even back then. That’s why you couldn’t tell anyone.’

  Kevin gritted his teeth and stared into the middle distance.

  ‘Whoa,’ Brett whispered.

  Madison placed her hands on her hips. ‘And that’s why you didn’t tell the cops, because you were worried about yourself? That’s pretty selfish, dude.’

  ‘You have me all figured out,’ Kevin muttered.

  ‘Did Helena know about the senator?’ Aerin asked.

  Kevin shrugged. ‘We didn’t exchange details. We were just there for each other, so people didn’t ask questions.’

  ‘Did anyone else know you guys weren’t for real?’ Seneca piped up.

  ‘No one.’ When Kevin glanced at Aerin, his expression was bleak. ‘I’m sorry.’

  With that, he
turned on his heel and walked solemnly back to the party, his back straight, his hands limp at his sides. He seemed so much less dangerous than he had a few minutes ago, as though revealing his secret had stolen his power. Maddox felt bad for the guy.

  Once Kevin rounded the corner, Maddox pointed at Seneca. ‘You read his mind.’

  ‘I just smelled him,’ Seneca said offhandedly, though she had a pleased smile on her face.

  Maddox turned to Aerin. She was leaning against the wall limply, like she’d been hit over the head with a golf club. ‘Are you okay?’

  Aerin shakily took out a compact and started to reapply her lipstick. ‘I don’t know.’ She glanced at Maddox, then Seneca. ‘That was amazing. I didn’t think you guys had it in you.’

  Maddox beamed. ‘If Kevin is telling the truth, maybe Helena really had a boyfriend from New York.’

  ‘Some guy she must have met before she started dating Kevin, because otherwise she wouldn’t have needed to recruit him to cover for her,’ Brett said. ‘Guys, we should go to the city. It makes sense.’

  ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,’ Seneca said. ‘Aerin, when did Kevin and Helena get together?’

  Aerin squinted. ‘July, I think.’

  ‘Did your sister ever go to New York that summer?’

  There was a dazed look on Aerin’s face. ‘She did a summer program at NYU, also in July. Maybe she met the guy then.’

  ‘See?’ Brett urged. ‘All signs point to New York. It’s easy to get there on the train.’

  Kevin might have left in a daze, but everyone figured he’d probably call security within minutes. They found an exit door that led straight to the packed parking lot. Brett looked around for the two caterers who’d taken their Patrón, but they weren’t back. In fact, the parking lot was eerily empty.

  ‘Screw it,’ he said, tearing off his jacket. ‘Let’s just leave the tuxes on the curb.’ He unbuttoned the shirt, revealing tight, sculpted abs. Then he proceeded to strip off his tiny pants, too, letting out a sigh of relief. He stood in the parking lot in a pair of black Under Armour boxer-briefs.

  Madison whistled. Maddox gawked. He might be an elite runner, but he’d never be that jacked. ‘Holy Magic Mike,’ Aerin murmured appreciatively.

  Brett struck a jokey male-stripper pose, then bunched the clothes from the back of Maddox’s Jeep under his arm. ‘Can someone run me back to my hotel?’ he asked nonchalantly.

  ‘I’ll drop you after Madison,’ Aerin offered. She was still eyeing him up and down. Brett made a move to get into the front seat of her car, and Aerin giggled. ‘You going to put your clothes on first?’

  ‘Oh, yeah.’ Brett quickly pulled on his shirt, stretching all his taut stomach and chest muscles as he lifted his arms over his head. Show-off, Maddox thought good-naturedly.

  Madison slid into the backseat. ‘I need to smoke, eat some Cheez-Its, and go to bed.’

  ‘I can’t believe you people are ready for bed,’ Seneca said. ‘I’m way too wired.’

  ‘Me too.’ Maddox looked at her. ‘Wanna stay out?’

  Seneca turned to him with a look of surprise. ‘Um. Yeah. Okay.’

  Aerin started the engine and cranked Katy Perry’s ‘Firework.’ Soon enough, the parking lot was silent again, the only sound the buzzing crickets. Maddox grabbed his jeans, ducked behind one of the cars, and stepped out of his tux pants, too.

  ‘Lucky,’ Seneca said dourly. ‘You get to change, while I’m still stuck in this.’ She twisted uncomfortably in her tight dress, making the skirt twirl.

  ‘Yeah, but you look good,’ Maddox said idly, before he remembered it was Seneca – she probably wouldn’t appreciate him treating her like one of the airheaded girls at school, always fishing for compliments.

  Seneca’s head shot up. ‘You mean the dress looks good.’

  Maddox blinked, not sure how to respond to that – was he really supposed to agree that it was the dress that was pretty and not Seneca herself? But before he could dig the hole any deeper, he heard a loud crack behind him. He grabbed Seneca’s arm and whipped around, scanning the line of cars. He heard a fluttering sound, and then a whisper. The shadows rippled. The moon drifted behind a cloud.

  ‘What is it?’ Seneca hissed, her eyes wide.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Maddox felt a sudden prickly sensation, like he was being watched. He glanced sidelong at her. ‘I keep thinking about the fire. And that voice you heard through the door. I guess it’s just freaking me out.’

  Seneca was about to speak, but suddenly there was a whoosh. Something gigantic dived for his head. He ducked and yelped. When he looked up, two huge, majestic, outstretched wings flapped skyward.

  The owl settled on one of the peaks on the roof and glared at them, its round yellow eyes glowing. Maddox and Seneca clutched each other, neither of them breathing. Then Maddox laughed weakly, slowly untangling himself from Seneca. Unsure where to look, he kept his attention focused on the owl.

  After a calm, thoughtful blink, the owl lifted off the roof and swooped away.

  CHAPTER 16

  For a few blocks, Seneca and Maddox walked in tense silence. Seneca could tell the owl had shaken up Maddox. What was pathetic was that it had kind of freaked her out, too.

  ‘There’s no one watching us,’ she assured herself as much as him. ‘That’s nuts.’

  ‘But maybe we’re on the right track. Maybe Helena’s secret boyfriend is trying to silence us.’

  ‘If Helena did have a secret boyfriend, who’s to say he wasn’t a nice guy?’ Not that she believed that. Still, she couldn’t possibly believe that someone was spying on them, even trying to hurt them.

  The country club was nestled in a neighborhood where every property was at least 7,000 square feet of mansion and sat on ten acres of pristinely landscaped lawn. Horses whinnied at a fence a few yards away. An import sports car rumbled at a stop sign ahead of them, its rear lights winking. Finally, Maddox gestured down an embankment at a large parking lot that led to a long line of 4-H barns. It seemed to have popped up out of nowhere. ‘Check it out.’

  He was pointing at a carnival in the parking lot. Seneca must have been really lost in her thoughts, because she heard the loud, jarring calliope music and smelled the lardy, sugary funnel cake all at once, as though jolting out of a dream. A Ferris wheel with spokes that looked as spindly and breakable as Popsicle sticks whirled. A rocket ship ride, neon lights blinking, shot screaming kids into the air. There were yelps from spinning teacups. In the distance, a large structure called the Time Machine twinkled. See the Future! read a neon sign on the top.

  A pathway opened in Seneca’s brain, and she glanced at Maddox. ‘It’s the Dexby Firemen’s Carnival, isn’t it?’

  Maddox cocked his head. ‘You’re like a Dexby-pedia.’

  Seneca shrugged. ‘I just do my homework.’ Truthfully, Helena used to post about this on Facebook. ‘It’s definitely a breath of fresh air after that country club. All that opulence and pageantry freaks me out.’

  Maddox gestured toward the midway. ‘Go, then. Be with the common folk.’

  Seneca started down the embankment, careful not to slip in Madison’s uncomfortable heels. She was serious about hating what she was wearing – she felt constricted in the stiff dress and shoes. Still, she tried to forget about it and let the soul music from the merry-go-round wash over her. On the right were a bunch of hokey but fun games like Guess Your Weight, Ring Toss, and Balloon Pop. People smiled in Seneca’s direction, probably amused at how overdressed she was, and she smiled back, embracing it.

  ‘What a night,’ she sighed. Part of her wanted to grab Maddox’s arm and rehash the situation, saying, ‘Can you believe Kevin cracked?’ or ‘Do you think they were making out in the bathroom?’ But then, she didn’t want to seem overly excited. She should act like she interrogated people all the time! And she still wasn’t exactly sure where she and Maddox stood. She’d appreciated the Red Stripe he’d brought for her at his house. It was also satisfying that
they’d both come to the same conclusion about Kevin at the same time. So were they friends again? Co-crime solvers?

  As they passed a big booth full of cheesy-message T-shirts, Maddox blurted, ‘Dude, that was crazy back there. I never thought Kevin was going to spill his guts!’

  Seneca grinned. Guess he’d been thinking the same thing. ‘I feel bad for him. It must be terrible having to hide such a big truth about yourself.’ As soon as the words tumbled from her mouth, she caught herself. Hadn’t she been doing the same thing by omitting the truth about her mom? She glanced at Maddox, wondering if he’d made that connection, too, but his expression gave nothing away.

  ‘I guess Helena lied, too,’ Maddox said.

  Seneca considered that. All this time, she’d maintained that Helena must have had a secret, but she had actually hoped that she was wrong. Helena had seemed so carefree, so innocent in pictures and videos. If this young girl could be hiding dark secrets, that meant that anyone could be. Even her mom.

  Only, she’d known her mom best. Collette often hummed when she was hiding something, and she doodled when a problem was on her mind. That fateful morning, she’d been relaxed and composed, placidly doing Sudoku. There had been no inky, distracted squiggles on her day planner. She’d hummed no nervous tunes. If Seneca were to make her best educated guess, Collette hadn’t known she was going off to her death when she pulled into Target. It had just been … a day.

  A scream rose up from one of the rides, and Seneca whipped around, still on edge from the screech owl and the confrontation with Kevin. Maddox had crossed the midway to the cotton candy booth, purchasing big, flossy whorls for both of them. He handed Seneca one. She took a huge bite of it, the sugar dissolving on her tongue. ‘Uch, I can feel the cavities forming,’ she scoffed.

  ‘And yet you’re still eating it.’ Then he peered into the crowd. ‘Who here screams cotton candy to you?’

  Seneca licked some sticky sugar off her lip. Maddox was referring to the candy game they’d made up, but it felt too intimate now. She didn’t answer.

  ‘Come on.’ Maddox nudged her. ‘I say her.’

  He pointed to a blonde girl across the midway in tall wedge heels and a white minidress that barely covered her butt. Seneca burst out laughing. She looked a lot like the girl who’d sat across from her on the train, the one who’d been reading OK!.