Page 69 of The Debutantes
We move toward the cracked-open door at the end of the hall. Vivian leads us inside, and at first, we don’t see her. Then I spot her feet sticking out from the other side of her perfectly made bed. She’s sitting on the floor, knees curled to her chest.
Piper looks up at us with puffy red eyes, somehow still managing her signature glare. “You broke into my house.”
“We texted a bunch of times,” Vivian says. “You didn’t answer. And I know where Wyatt leaves the spare key.”
It hits me, suddenly, that Piper must have been alone sincethe news broke. No one’s come to check on her. We may not be her best friends, but right now, we’re all she’s got.
“So,” she says, “I’m guessing you’ve heard.”
Our silence is an answer.
“Are you okay?” Vivian asks.
“Fantastic,” she says flatly. “Never been better.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“Apparently, they came to his office. Arrested him in front of everyone.” She swallows. “My mom’s still at the station. Wyatt went, too, but I can’t—I couldn’t—” She closes her eyes. “They won’t even say what evidence they have. They just took him.”
I don’t want to ask, but I have to. “Did he kill her?”
“No,” she says sharply.
“How do you know?”
“Because Iknow.”
The silence buzzes between us. Piper pulls her knees even tighter to her chest, like she’s trying to make herself small enough to disappear.
“He falsified a progress report,” she says. “About Margot. I found it on his computer. He sent one to Marty that said Margot was abusing pills and showing signs of psychosis, but his session notes didn’t say anything like that at all.”
My next inhale feels like syrup in my lungs, thick and heavy. I wasright.I knew Margot wasn’t so far gone. She wanted to live, and someone took that from her.
“And…” Piper squeezes her eyes shut, like she can’t bear to look at us for this next part. “He’s in the Pierrot.”
For a second, we’re all quiet as the truth sinks in: the Pierrot is full of familiar faces, maybe even ones we love.
“Are you sure?” Vivian asks.
“Aiden told me. He found an invitation for an event addressed to my dad. But he didn’t do it. Iknowhe didn’t. There has to be some other reason he faked that report.”
I recognize the look in her eyes, that fire of certainty. It’s probably how I looked when I told her that Margot’s death wasn’t an accident.
“I believe you,” Vivian says softly, sinking to the floor next to Piper.
I don’t know if I do, not fully, but Piper’s hurting, and she’s maybe my friend, and I think that’s all that matters right now.
“You said Aiden told you this?” I ask her, settling down on her other side.
Piper nods. “A few hours ago, after school.”
And now she’s starting to sound more like herself as she gives us new details at a mile a minute: how Aiden’s been investigating the Pierrot, all of the cover-ups he’s already discovered. My head is spinning by the time I remember the message in my hand.
“We found this outside,” I say, handing it to Piper.
She scans the message. At first, I don’t understand the look of revelation on her face, but then it clicks into place.
I warned you.
