11 #3
“The last time Aegan and I plotted together, we were nine years old, trying to decide whether to lock Aleixandre in the wardrobe or the basement.” Adrik stopped what he was doing and leaned on the rake.
He squinted at me. “Or do you think the three of us get together to come up with ways to ruin your life?”
What I thought was that they were cruel—like, really cruel.
“It’s just that—”
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Jude,” he cut me off again, this time sounding fed up.
“But it does revolve around the Cash family, doesn’t it?” I replied, raising an eyebrow.
“No, not the Cashes, and especially not around Aegan.” He laughed quietly and went back to gathering the hay. “But I won’t go into this with you. In your eyes, we’re the enemy, right? See you next time you make a complete fool of yourself.”
He was smart. Very smart.
Well, I couldn’t keep talking to Cash any longer, especially given how angry I was.
I started leaving, not saying a word. I just wanted to stay the hell away from that club for a few days.
“Jude,” Adrik called to me just before I left the stable.
I turned around. For a second I thought he was going to say something important. No idea why I thought that, but I did.
“What?”
“You have a branch stuck to your ass,” he told me nonchalantly, like having branches stuck to your ass was like, completely normal.
Great.
I twisted around to check myself, like a dog chasing its tail, and carefully peeled the branch off the bikini fabric. Adrik raised an eyebrow before going back to doing whatever he was doing.
Wait a minute—was he checking out my ass as I was leaving and then saw the branch?
I got out of there and headed to the bathroom to get changed. My mind was racing, and I needed to get away from that club to catch my breath or I wouldn’t be able to keep my act up any longer. I quickly got changed, left the bathroom, and headed straight for the front door.
Just as I was walking through the hall, a phone in the common room started ringing.
I could’ve walked away, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I went over and picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Sascha?” asked a male voice at the other end of the line. He sounded amused, and maybe tipsy. “Where’s Aegan?”
I’d no idea who Sascha was—maybe she was one of Aegan’s friends—but, to save myself, I didn’t clarify. If he wasn’t able to tell the difference . . .
“She’s in the bathroom with diarrhea,” I replied. “Call her on her cell.”
I was about to hang up on him, but he said, “The thing is, I’ve lost my phone because .
. .” He let out a cunning laugh. “Never mind, pass on a message, okay? I’m going to be late because my flight has been delayed.
I know it’s my turn to send the club code tonight, but I won’t be able to.
Tell her to let Aleixandre handle it; he already knows the code is ‘Magumbo.’” Another laugh.
“Tell her not to bother asking where I got it from. See you later, sweetheart.”
And he hung up.
A code to get into the club? A code that was also a reference from The Simpsons. But where in the club? I hadn’t seen anything there that needed a code. It seemed absurd. At first, I couldn’t connect the dots because I was still a little shaken from being hit in the face.
But then, suddenly, I had a lightbulb moment and started connecting the dots . . . The door that Aleixandre had said should be locked . . . A code . . .
What if that’s where the code is used?
Oh, fuck.
Was that club hiding something? Was it the perfect night to find out?
I knew I had to go back to figure out what the guy on the phone meant. The bad news: I couldn’t do it alone, and there was only one person who could help me.
I rode straight to the apartment on one of the student rental bikes, daydreaming about popping a painkiller for my poor, battered face.
I excitedly ran into my apartment. Artie was working on her assignments, laptop resting on her lap and glasses perched at the tip of her nose. She looked at me, puzzled.
“I need you to be my panic button,” I blurted out.
Her confusion was already starting to make me second-guess.
“What?”
“I’m heading to the club tonight because I’ve got a feeling Aegan is bringing a girl,” I lied. “I’ll keep my phone in my hand at all times, and if I run into trouble or something happens . . .”
“Why would something happen to you?” she cut me off, horrified.
“It’s just that Aegan doesn’t know I’m coming. And because of everything you told me about Eli, I have to be extra careful. So, if anything strange happens, you’ll get a call from me. You’ll know where I am and that I need you, Kiana, and Dash to come get me.”
She looked doubtful. Like, really doubtful.
“Maybe I’ll be fine; it’s not like I’m not going to do anything dangerous,” I tried to reassure her. “I just want us to have an emergency plan from now on.”
The panic button was a great idea, especially since I had a tendency to get into trouble.
“All right,” she finally agreed.
Now I had to come up with my plan.
Detective Jude: activated.