Deadly First Day, page 26
part #1 of Embassy Academy Series
I flee, not turning when Ricardo calls my name. There’s nothing he can say to fix this now. Better he go back to Genevieve, and leave me alone to sift through the wreckage of our friendship.
34
I have to hand it to Charlotte; the dress she found for me is the most exquisite thing I’ve ever seen. It’s deep blue with silver beading along the sweetheart neckline that trails down toward the mermaid skirt, and it even has a short train that I absolutely love. The chignon Charlotte managed to pull my hair into doesn’t hurt either. I look like a goddess. Mature. Curvaceous. Gorgeous. Warmth pools in my chest as butterflies twirl in my stomach.
I’ve never been to such a fancy event before, and I’m determined to enjoy it despite the fiasco that was my conversation with Ricardo a week ago. He’s been downright surly ever since. I shove the thoughts away as I turn to where my stepsister is attempting to zip up her own dress. I won’t let my former friend ruin our night.
After all of the pressure to get good grades, and the murder investigation, we deserve this night.
The thought niggles in my mind, though, that I should probably be worried since I haven’t heard from the police lately. The detectives, and my lawyer, have been quiet. I tell myself it’s a good sign, but I’m not sure. Somehow, I’d be more at ease if I knew what was going on with the investigation. But when I tried to call Ms. Cain and ask, she told me not to worry about it, that she was handling it.
All right then.
“Can I help you with that?” I snicker as I cross to where Charlotte is standing with her arms contorted behind her back, unable to reach the zipper to do up the last few inches.
“Ugh. Yes. Thanks.”
“There. And you’re welcome.”
She twirls around and plants her hands on her hips. “Don’t I look fantastic? Wait until Kenneth sees me in this!” She admires her own reflection. Despite their earlier agreement to keep their relationship from her parents, Charlotte wrangled Kenneth into coming tonight to meet them. She hasn’t said much about it, but I can tell she’s nervous by the way she’s been obsessing over her dress and hair, and once she was done with that, starting in on mine, for the past five hours.
“You’re going to knock him dead,” I say, hoping Charlotte doesn’t note the lack of enthusiasm in my voice.
I’m still not a big fan of Kenneth. Charlotte has a heck of a time getting ahold of him whenever she tries to call him. He’s terrible at texting back, and he keeps bailing on her when they have plans. I was gobsmacked when he agreed to come to the Winter Summit tonight, but Charlotte was so keyed up I kept it to myself. Better he ruin her mood than me.
“You ready to dance your heart out?” Charlotte says with a twirl of her black tulle skirt. Her strappy black heels are so high I would never dare to wear them.
“Definitely.”
A knock comes on Charlotte’s door. “Can I come in?” Dali peeks inside. “Wow. You two look amazing.” Pushing the door open wider, she comes in, careful not to snag her wide ballroom gown on the doorframe. The ethereal fabric is dotted with gold sequins, making her look like a sleek, sparkly angel with a halo of black braids woven with gold ribbon.
“So do you!” I squeal. “The dumb guys at our school are going to kick themselves for not asking you.”
“Ha. Maybe. I actually asked Cal, but he said no.” She frowns, but shakes it off quickly and hides it with an almost convincing shrug.
I put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure he had a good reason. It wasn’t you.”
Charlotte narrows her eyes at me like a scent-hound who’s caught a whiff of its prey. “Did he say anything to you? What is he up to?”
Trying to play it cool, I shake my head. “No. But Cal’s a nice guy, so he wouldn’t just blow her off. Right?”
Charlotte’s not buying my vague explanation. She scrutinizes me for another beat before nodding. “She’s right, Dali. Cal is my brother, and as much as it kills me to say it, he’s mostly decent. Even if he does hog the spotlight at Daddy’s events.”
“Voila!” Genevieve says, bursting into the room with hands wide to show off how amazing her tall, willowy body looks in her ivory gown with tiny silk rosettes. “Come on,” she says, tugging the arm of a guy out in the hallway.
I steel myself, mentally preparing to see Ricardo on her arm all night, but the guy who steps into Charlotte’s room is decidedly not Ricardo.
He’s Japanese with a hairdo that would put the boys of any popular J-pop group to shame. He’s average height and rail thin in a tailored tuxedo.
“But, I thought you…” I break off, confused as I look between Genevieve and her date.
“Have you met Kita Ryou? Adrienne, Ryou, Ryou, Adrienne.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, still stunned. “We’re in the same history class.”
“Ah,” he says, tipping his chin, but I can tell by his expression that that isn’t how he knows me. Being suspected of murder will do that to a girl.
I sink into Charlotte’s desk chair, my mind whirling. I thought Genevieve was getting back together with Ricardo. I assumed that was why she was in his room that night. She looked like she’d been making out with him, even. Then why is she standing next to this Ryou guy? Despite my best efforts to stay mad at him, a pang of sympathy hits me for Ricardo.
As if she can hear my thoughts, Genevieve steps closer. “Ricardo and I are just friends. My grandmère was in hospital, and I went up to let him know, because they’ve met, and she liked him. Despite everything.” A gentle wave of her hand punctuates her words. “I’m sorry we gave you the wrong idea. Truly, I am.”
Huh. Maybe Genevieve isn’t so bad.
But that still doesn’t excuse Ricardo from thinking I was involved in Na’s death. He could have at least asked me about it.
“Thanks for telling me. I appreciate that.”
Genevieve inclines her head. “My pleasure.”
“Now that we’re all here, let’s go. Kenneth will be here any minute.” Charlotte wraps a lush, faux-fur coat around her shoulders and, brushing past us, leads the charge down the stairs, taking them quickly in her gown and heels. Any trace of her limp is gone, even though her doctor hasn’t cleared her to begin strenuous training for tennis yet.
Genevieve and Ryou follow her, whispering casually to each other. Genevieve giggles at something he says, making me smile. I may not be making a love connection tonight, but maybe she will.
Dali waits for me to grab my wool coat, and we walk down arm in arm. I go slow, because I’d like to avoid running into anything or falling on my face tonight, if I can.
Two security guards man the front doors, opening them for us as we approach.
Outside, large snowflakes swirl in the air.
“Adrienne, Charlotte,” Mikhail says, approaching from the curb, looking devastatingly handsome in a tux. His eyes flash as he looks at us, and then he smothers whatever emotions course through him at the sight of my stepsister.
I look away, trying not to dwell on it. Mikhail will get over his feelings for Charlotte, since she’s dating Kenneth, and I’ll get over my feelings, and we’ll all be friends. Just friends. Especially since the senator would never let the bodyguard he hired date one of his daughters anyway.
“Hi, Mikhail. You look nice. It looks like we’re going to have a white Christmas this year,” Charlotte breathes, the white specks sparkling on the ebony fabric of her skirt before melting away. She checks her phone, and her face falls before she shoves it down into her bag. Looking up, she pushes her shoulders back.
I don’t have to ask to know that Kenneth has cancelled on her. Again. Cad.
Mikhail must sense it too, because he offers her his arm. “If you will allow me.”
Charlotte looks up at him, and the creases in her forehead relax. “Thanks.”
They walk together along the sidewalk toward the event, arm in arm, and I admit they look beautiful together.
The dull ache in my heart grows stronger, but I shove it down.
“Let’s go. It’s freezing out here.” Dali hooks her arm through mine.
Snow is starting to collect in the window wells of the cars lining the parking lot, making the whole scene cozy despite the dropping temperature. I burrow down into my wool coat, thankful I worked up the courage to ask the senator for money to buy it. My old puffy coat worked okay, but this one... It’s probably the nicest article of clothing I own, and among the prettiest. I’ll keep it forever.
Footsteps slip up the sidewalk behind us, and Cal whooshes to a stop beside me. “There you are. I didn’t think you’d left yet.” The orange glow of the streetlights illuminates his pale face, making his blue eyes bright in the dark. “You ready to run interference?”
Beside me, Dali’s fingers tighten on my arm. “Interference?”
Cal’s eyes move from me to her. “Dali, look, I really am sorry about tonight. But my dad, he wants me to spend the entire night kissing up to people. I didn’t want to drag you along for that. Sorry, again.”
Biting her lip, she nods. “I understand. It’s okay.”
“You’re the best.”
“I thought I was the best.”
Cal’s mouth drops open. “How about you’re tied?”
Dali gives him a smile. “I’ll take it.”
“Good.”
He walks with us toward a two-story gray brick building I’ve never been inside. Large windows run along the length of the structure, glowing as light streams out from within, giving us glimpses of shining wood paneling and colorful, rustling skirts.
Cal steps aside so Dali and I can enter first, floating between the two doormen dressed to the nines in black tuxes, their expressions affable.
I step inside, and my jaw drops. I have never seen a room this large or opulent. It’s lined with ornately carved panels. Chandeliers dripping with crystals bathe everyone in a soft, flattering light.
I turn in a slow circle, taking it all in. Tables draped with beautiful embroidered fabrics in bright colors line one side, laden with gleaming silver trays of food with heady scents. My stomach growls. I’m starving and excited to try everything the Indian students have had prepared for tonight. Classical instrumental music plays over hidden speakers, filtering quietly through the room underneath the flow of conversations taking place in numerous languages.
“There’s my dad. Be right back.” Dali untwines her arm from mine and skims over the floor toward a man I recognize from the news coverage the day the senator’s committee talks broke down and we watched the recap. He’s tall and burly with a bald head and a thick, well-groomed beard of black hair. There’s a stately woman next to him in a beautiful, multicolored gown, her hair in braids that trail down her back, colorful beads wrapped around the ends. She looks a lot like Dali, just older.
Dali and her dad bend together, and the image sparks a memory. The two of them, standing between cars in the parking lot, on our first day of school. They’d been arguing, about what I didn’t hear. I didn’t even remember I’d seen her there until now.
“They’re here. Come on.” Cal pulls me out of my stare and leads me to the other end of the room, where the senator and Mrs. Cavendish-Holt are talking to Charlotte and Mikhail, glasses of bubbly white wine in their hands.
“There they are. Are you ready to make some connections, son?” He doesn’t notice Cal’s lukewarm response, or the way Charlotte goes rigid.
Geez, our father is utterly clueless.
“Did you memorize the list of contacts I had my aide send you?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“And the talking points?”
“Yes.” Cal shoves his hands in his coat pockets.
“Good. Ah, Professor Rook.”
My spine goes ramrod straight as I spin around.
Professor Rook is right behind me. He ignores me, shaking my father’s hand. “Nice to see you, Senator. How’s the campaign going?”
“Excellent. Thank you for asking. My wife and I were sorry to hear you wouldn’t be coaching lacrosse this year. I know Cal was disappointed, as well.”
Professor Rook nods. “I’m afraid the boys wore me out last year. My doctor says my rotator cuffs are shot.” As if to prove it, he rolls his shoulders, stopping the motion when his arms are shoulder height. “I can’t swing a stick anymore. The doctor said if I did, I could injure myself permanently.”
“That’s a shame.”
Our father turns to my stepbrother. “Cal, why don’t you go get started on your mingling? Adrienne, stay and talk to me for a minute.”
Shooting me a look that sends chills down my arms, Professor Rook fades into the crowd.
It would be easy to mention the rumors about him to Mrs. Cavendish-Holt, and I know she’d worry about it enough to look into it. But would that be sufficient to have him removed from campus, and possibly arrested?
If anyone gets even a hint that I’ve been selling these to students, I’ll ruin you. Do you understand?
His threat is not what stops me from telling my father and Mrs. Cavendish-Holt about the good professor’s extracurricular sales to his students. It’s the sight of Charlotte, standing off to the side, her eyes fixed on me. She practically begged me not to tell anyone, saying that if her drug use was discovered, her future in politics would be ruined.
I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m not willing to find out.
I have to hope that, eventually, Professor Rook will slip up, and he’ll be caught in a different crime. Hopefully something that won’t implicate my stepsister.
Cal slinks off into the crowd without looking back. As he passes, the Chinese ambassador calls his name, forcing Cal to stop for a moment.
I glance at my phone. Cal’s final art critique starts in half an hour, so he’ll have to hurry if he’s going to get there on time. My job is to keep the senator from noticing that he isn’t here.
All I have to do is tell the senator that Cal is talking to someone who’s out of his eye line, and it should be fine. The overwhelming amount of people in this room should make it easy, as long as I don’t mistakenly name someone who’s standing right in front of him. I bite my lip. I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I should have memorized Cal’s entire list, instead of just a handful of names.
“Adrienne, how did you enjoy your first semester here at Embassy Academy?” My father cranes his neck to hear my response over the hubbub.
“Aside from the murder, it was fine. Good, actually.”
A half smile crosses his face. “I can understand that. Being implicated in a crime must have been hard for you.”
“Er, Senator? Do you know what’s happening with the investigation?”
His expression sobers. “Ms. Cain says that without fingerprints on the pen they found, they can’t charge you with anything, thank goodness. Unfortunately, they’ve run out of other leads. Ambassador Li and his wife are beside themselves. I feel for them. If something were to happen to one of you, and the perpetrator wasn’t caught… Well, enough of that. Why don’t you go join your friends and have some fun? We’re looking forward to having you with us for Christmas.”
“Really? Thanks. Me too. Bye, um...”
“You can call me Dad. Or Daddy. That’s what Charlotte calls me.”
“Okay, bye, Dad.” It’s awkward on my tongue, but not terrible. I could get used to it.
As I walk away from him, a thought is festering in my mind. It’s refusing to be swept away into my memory without further perusal. Something Professor Rook said.
I can’t swing a stick anymore.
If Professor Rook can’t swing a lacrosse stick anymore, would he have the strength in his arms to swing a pen? Say, into someone else’s neck?
35
I dart across the room, dodging between the attendees carefully to avoid bumping into anyone, because everyone in this room is a VIP, and I do not want to get into trouble. Headmistress Morgan would probably toss me out feet first if I got into any more.
A woman’s elbow brushes my side as I sweep past, and I apologize over my shoulder without stopping.
Wham.
I run headlong into a solid body encased in a tuxedo. I knew looking back was a bad idea, and I did it anyway. Clumsy me.
My gaze travels up the pristine, white button-up shirt to a black bow tie, and past that to ruddy light brown skin and amber eyes. It’s Ricardo.
“I can’t stay.” I bolt around him, but he catches my arm loosely in his fingers. He’s barely touching me, and yet I feel frozen in place. The sensation passes, and I snake my arm out of his light grasp. “I have to go.”
“Adrienne, wait. Please. We need to talk.” Ricardo’s voice has a thread of pleading to it that I’ve never heard before, but I don’t let it sway me.
“I already said everything I needed to say.”
“But I didn’t. Please.”
“Who’s fault is that?”
Satisfaction courses through me at finally being able to come up with a quick retort, but it’s mixed with disappointment. I would love to turn around, walk back to where Ricardo is standing, and listen to whatever he has to say. Genevieve already told me why she was in his room. Maybe there’s a good explanation for why he ghosted me after I was taken to the police station that day.
But I can’t. I have to follow my instincts, which are screaming at me to check out Professor Rook’s medical file. Right this minute.
I’m almost to the door when Gul appears out of nowhere, snagging my arm with sharp, glittery fingernails.
“Adrienne, you look lovely,” she says, eyeing me as she tugs me closer. “You owe me some dirt, after everything I’ve shared with you this semester.” Her eyes are cool and calculating as she stares at me.
My chin lifts. “I don’t owe you anything, and you can’t make me gossip about my family.” With a strong yank, I’m free of her grasp and out the door. Pride warms my chest as I run through the veil of snow toward the academy. This semester has been grueling in every possible way, but I’ve pulled through it, and, somehow, I’ve learned to stand up for myself in the process. It’s something I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing four months ago, but now? I’m worth it.
