Page 48 of The Debutantes
“This all comes back to Margot,” April says. “Lily’s disappearance, the Jester—everything. That girl in the bathroom said Lily was at the Pierrot asking about Margot. And Lily wanted to talk to us about her that morning at the Den. She was trying to tell us something before she disappeared. Like maybe… maybe there’s more to what happened to Margot than everyone thinks.”
A chill creeps from my neck to the bottom of my spine. “You mean, like…?”
“Like they did something to her,” April says. “Those men at the Pierrot.”
There’s this look in her eyes now, like she’s never been more sure of anything. But Piper shakes her head.
“That’s not possible.”
“How do you know?” April snaps.
“Because she overdosed. It’s not like they could have faked that.” Piper pauses, like maybe she’s realized how harsh that sounds. “Look, I know that place was bad, but some kind of conspiracy feels like a step too far.”
“You didn’t know Margot,” April says. “I did. And she had stuff she was dealing with, sure, but I never saw her do hard drugs, ever. That was the thing. She liked to be a little dangerous, not reckless. She walked right up to the line but never crossed it. Not until—” She stops. “I just… I saw the look in that man’s eyes on the balcony. Heknewher. And y’all saw what it was like in there. It’s, like, the most powerful men in the city all in one room. If they did something to her, they’d be able to cover it up, no question.”
I don’t like it, how true that feels.
“Well, that’s still theoretical,” Piper says. “We don’t have proof.”
“It’s not a crazy idea, though,” I step in. “If Lily was asking about Margot, and she found something out, like…” I hesitate before saying it out loud, making it real. “Let’s say someone did something to Margot, and Lily knew about it. If it was this Jester guy, that’s a pretty good reason for him to be after her.”
“Maybe Lily is on the run from him,” April says. “Or maybe…”
It isn’t until now that it really hits me.Or maybe he caught her.And if the Jester or any of these Pierrot people are covering up a murder, then there’s no telling what they’d do to stop it from getting out. Including making another Queen disappear.
I hug my ribs, feeling suddenly nauseous.
“Okay.” Piper steeples her fingers like a therapist, probably something she’s copied from her dad. “Okay, so maybe it’s not a crazy idea. Clearly, this place is another link between Margot and Lily. But correlation does not implymurder.We need to keep looking.”
She’s right, but it doesn’t make April’s theory feel any less real. It eats away at me, shutting up any part that’s been able to convince myself that this is all some big misunderstanding and Lily will be home in no time.
“We should also probably tell Marty,” Piper adds.
“No,” April says quickly.
“Need I remind you that we literally just got chased by a masked man?” Piper asks. “We could kind of use a detective here.”
“Marty’s in Deus,” April argues. “Milford said the Pierrot is a Deus thing. And for all we know, everyone in the Krewe is a part of it.”
“No.” Piper shakes her head. “No way. I don’t know about y’all, but there’s no chance my dad is a part of that. Do you seriously think yours are?”
“Obviously not,” I jump in, creeped out at the idea that my dad would ever set foot in that place. “But April’s right. We shouldn’t trust anyone, at least until we know what’s going on.”
Piper juts her chin, like she’s thinking of her next snappy comeback, but then she sighs. “Fine. Itdoesseem like we’d get in huge trouble if anyone knew we were there tonight.”
A firework sizzles a few streets over. Then, deep laughter. We all turn toward the noise, but it’s just a group of drunk guys walking by.
“We should go,” I say. “It’s late.”
Piper nods. “But tomorrow, we should make a game plan. Decide what to do next.”
I’m not sure how to feel about the fact that we’re a “we” now, but to be honest, as horrible as tonight has been, it feels good to be taking action to find Lily. To not be doing it alone.
As Piper climbs into the driver’s seat, I turn to April.
“Hey,” I start, “if you ever want to talk about Margot… I guess I don’t know what it’s been like for you, not all the way, but I’m here. You know, if you need a friend.”
She blinks, and something flickers on her face. Not quite a smile, but a sort of relief.
