Fiona Frost: Order of the Black Moon (14 page)

I
pondered
about why
he spoke
to Camber in the hallway after I asked him not to do so
, but
I couldn’t come up with an explanation
for it
that I could live with.
My bottom lip
quivered,
and I quickly
stabilize
d
it
with my hand
, blinking my eyes to fight the tears from forming.

“Fiona, are you crushing o
n
him
?
I knew it!
Maybe you should go for it?
Didn’t he ask you to the prom
? O
r was he just joking
because I said Carden asked me
?
”
Maddie
said
as the room
g
rew
sti
ll.

I didn’t expect this reaction.
My jaws clenched from shock as I surveyed her expression.

“I think
…
he was joking.
W
e have to keep a
n honest
working relati
onship for the good of the lab,” I said in a
monotone
voice,
my subconscious
still refusing to be honest.

“Whatever, I have noticed how you two look at each other and that hug thing you guys
did
after he saved you
in
the cave.
C’mon, I’m no idiot.”

“Maddie, it’s nothing.
We’re just friends, I promise.
However,
I don’t like the fact that he keeps talking to
Camber Johnson
.
If he is going to work the case with us, he can’t befriend her
because she’s a suspect
.”

Her
expression turned
hesitant
.

“
Y
ou
’re
jealous.
I’ve known you most of my life
,
you are not fooling me.
Please just tell
him
how you feel before he
does
hook up with that
Goth
chick.
You wouldn’t want
him
turning into one of the vampire kids, would you?
Save him!
”
she
giggled.
“But keep it from Detective
Chase;
you know how
he’d flip his wig.
”

I had
entered a Twilight Zone.
She had previously lectured
me
about making things
personal with
him
because of the club.
Maybe because of her newfound interest in Carden Doyle, she was w
aning on this train of thinking?
I couldn’t decide if I liked this
change, as I needed my second
-
in
-
charge to keep me in line when I strayed.

“Get real, I would never intervene.
If
he
wants to be with
her
, that’s what he wants, but I can’t allow him to stay on the case if he keeps associating
with her.
Already, he’s
trying to defend that group and say they didn’t do it
—
when there is obvious evidence that says they most likely
did
do
it
!
Or,
at a minimum
,
they were
highly involved
.
And we al
l know that Camber
is outright lying to the police!
”

A
chill tingl
ed
along my spine, radiating
towards
my fingertips.
I was infuriated, consumed by
r
aw
emotion.
For the first time in my life, there was actually something I was
envious
of
, but it
was impossible to admit, even to myself.

“Wolfe’s never been wrong with profiling a case, Fiona.”

I sighed
, scanning
the happy faces
around the lunchroom, wishing
I could feel like
them.
They didn’t have the troubles I did
,
or at least they
hid
it better
than me
.

Maddie tapped on the table with
vigilance
as
her eyes whipped t
oward
s
the cafeteria entrance.

“Fiona!
Your
hottie
agent
’s
coming!”

I spun around
;
Agent Bronson
was rushing toward
s
me
.
Students mumb
led
, staring
at him as he approached
.
I
staggered from my chair
, meeting
him half way.

“
Get your things
.
We have
to go.
I have to take you home immediately
.
Gerald Smith was spotted in t
he parking lot only moments ago,
”
he
ordered,
extending
his
suited
arm to
lock with my
elbow.

“Are you serious
?
”
I darted over to grab my
backpack from the floor
and
whispered loudly to
a bewildered
Maddie
that
I w
ould text her
.

Agent Bronson
escorted me to my car
, inspecting it thoroughly
before I
vaulted
in
to the driver’s seat
.

“You should
ride
with me,
b
ut
I know how to tail you to where it’s like we’re riding together
,
”
he said cautiously as he sprinted to his Town Car,
the
engine already running.

He followed m
e
closely, with
a
radio pressed against his cheek
, driving
inches from
my bumper.
As we drove up to my house, I noticed a few more Town Cars in the drive
—all with government
plates
.

“We’re sending somebody back to the school to pick up your assignments for the classes you are missing this afternoon.
Your mother is due to arrive within minutes
,
and your father is already
home,”
he
reported,
standing outside of
my car
.

He
escort
ed
me to the
front door
of my house
, ushering me inside with
my father
. A
gents
were
scattered about my living room.

“Hello, Fiona.
I apologize for having to get you out of school, but we thought it was best to have the family intact at home while they track down
Mr.
Smith
.
He was spotted at
your school;
the agents believe they know where he is,” my father
reported
as my
frantic
mother rushed in from the back door.

“Did you hear what Haley did this morning
?
”
I
settled into
the
sofa next to him, grabbing a
tray
of fruit from the
coffee
table
.

The good thing about agents taking over my house is they always brought fruit and cheese trays. They worked long hours and always had snacks available.

“Of course, she was arrested for being in your lab at school.
I posted bond
,
and she’s being driven home right now.”

I
released
a long sigh and popped a grape in
to
my mouth
, grabbing
a
throw pillow f
r
o
m the couch and placing it behind my back
.

“Why not just leave her there, Dad?”

“Fiona, your mother would never allow that.
Family is family
.
We’ll deal with her trouble
-
making
with
due process of the law,” my father said bluntly.
“She claims she was borrowing supplies to do a citywide microbial sample experiment with her friends from
b
iology class.
T
hey learned about
it
at school
,
and they wanted to test to see what surface
s
were the
filthiest in town.”

“Are you serious
?
That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
Why wouldn’t she just ask me for the stuff?”

“You wouldn’t have given it
to her,” my dad laughed, reaching for a piece of
cantaloupe
from the
tray.

He was right. I would have said no.

“Good point.”

“She’ll be in trouble for this, no doubt.
No family favors.
I won’t let her walk free without being punished through the legal system.
No worries,”
he
patted me on the shoulder.

“Oh, Lewis
.
You don’t have to be so harsh.
Haley is family!
”
m
y
hysterical
mother rushed over, hugged me, and gave me a long, firm kiss on the top of my head.

“Emma, give me a break.
If Haley acts like a criminal, she’ll be treated
like one
,”
he
barked, grabbing
another
piece of cantaloupe from the tray.

“How
’s
Janice,
M
om?”

“Oh, she’s not
getting
better
—
I’m so worried!”

“She’s going to be fine, Emma
.
Stop worrying so much.
Janice has hardly been sick a day in her life, she’s a strong woman,”
he
said sternly.

My mom plopped down
on the
loveseat adjacent to the couch, raking her bare feet on the rug
.

“Fiona, I
’m
so glad you
’re alright
.
I was beyond worried when I got the call Haley was arrested
,
and then after getting the
word about
the
criminal man at your school, we
ll, I almost had a heart attack,
”
s
he
said,
pushing one side of her silky
hair behind
her
ear.

“Don’t you teach an afternoon class, Mom?”

“Yea
h
, I canceled it.
Put a note on the door
for them to read chapter five,” my mother said,
grab
bing
a strawberry from the fruit tray.

“Oh my gosh, Dad
.
Do you think that Gerald Smith was working with Haley in any way?
I mean, it seems coincidental
she
was at school in my lab
,
and then Gerald is spotted there.
Two criminals at
the high school
in one morning
—
a bit obvious, huh?”

“No, I don’t think Haley
is involved
with Gerald Smith, Fiona,”
he said,
handing my mother the newspaper
.
“I’m going to see if they have any updates,” h
e marched intently
towards
a cluster of
black suits
in the foyer.