Chapter 19
The four of us left Theo’s house and got back to Norma and Gloria’s just after ten.
We had all stayed longer than we’d planned.
Vero and I had used baby wipes to clean every surface the four of us had touched, leaving everything exactly where we’d found it.
Vero and I hadn’t said a word about the AirTag’s disappearance into the river or the missing shower curtain.
The less Javi and Ramón knew about what had happened to Theo, the less they could be accused of covering up if Vero and I got dragged into a murder investigation.
We’d locked the house and left in our respective vehicles.
Ramón had insisted on following us home. The headlights of his van were right behind mine when I rounded the bend to Norma’s and her house came into view.
Vero squinted at her mother’s stoop. “Is that … fire! Holy shit, Finn! My mother’s porch is on fire!”
I slammed on the brakes. Ramón’s van squealed to a stop behind me.
Vero shot out of the passenger seat and sprinted across the lawn.
Ramón, Javi, and I charged after her through the grass.
She raced up the front steps and slammed down her foot.
A ribbon of black smoke engulfed her as she stomped out the flames.
Ramón pulled his shirt over his nose to cover the smell. Javi’s eyes watered with disgust as he fanned the smoke away. We all stared at Vero when it cleared. Her face was livid, her shoes covered in dog excrement.
She wiped her spattered cheek with the back of her sleeve. “Someone’s going to pay for this.”
“Did you see anyone?” Ramón asked me.
“No one. It was too dark. All I saw was the fire,” I answered, still short of breath. He looked at Vero. She shook her head.
Wendell’s porch light turned on across the street. Joan was already halfway down the sidewalk as Eugene’s walker clunked down his ramp.
“Is everything okay?” Lenore called out from her yard. “I heard a commotion.”
“I smelled something burning!” Joan wheezed.
Wendell made a face. “Smells like shit.”
“That’s because it is!” Vero snapped.
“Did anyone see who did it?” Javi asked them.
The Fantastic Four all shook their heads, too.
“That fire couldn’t have been burning for more than a minute,” Ramón said. “I didn’t see any cars or anyone on foot when we drove in. Whoever did it must have come from the other direction.”
“Or they snuck in from the back and left through the woods,” Javi said.
“Whoever it was, they probably have a dog,” I suggested.
“A big one,” Wendell added, chuckling at the mess on Vero’s porch.
“Can you think of anyone that could be?” I asked the neighbors.
“Loads of people,” said Joan.
Eugene harrumphed. “Most don’t even bother to pick up after them. Anyone could have scooped that crap off the street.”
“Maybe you should check the note.” Lenore pointed at the front of the door.
We all turned to see a piece of paper tucked in the frame. Vero shook off her hands and pulled it free. We all stayed where we were on the grass, none of us brave—or foolish—enough to come read over her shoulder.
“What does it say?” Javi asked.
“You know what you’re doing is wrong. Back off before someone gets hurt,” she read aloud. “No name. But that’s nothing new.” She crumpled it up. “At least Aunt Gloria and my mom weren’t here to see it.”
“Or smell it,” Joan said, waving her hand in front of her nose.
“Lavender is good for masking odors!” Lenore said helpfully. “You should try putting some in your bathtub—”
“That’s it,” Vero snapped. “Everybody go home unless you plan to start scrubbing.” The Fantastic Four were quick to bid one another good night, and they all headed back to their homes.
Ramón checked his watch. “It’s getting late. We should get this mess cleaned up before our moms get back. Where are they anyway? They should have been home hours ago.”
“Their hot dates must be going pretty well,” Javi said with a sly grin.
Ramón threw him a surly look. “Don’t even joke about that, unless you want another black eye to match the one I already gave you.”
“You should get out of those clothes,” I suggested to Vero. “I’ll put your pants and shoes in the wash while you grab a shower.”
“I’ll hose off the porch,” Javi said, unspooling the hose from the spigot.
“I’ll replace that smoke detector my mom broke the other night. I don’t want to take any chances in case this idiot decides to come back and try again.” Ramón gave Vero a wide berth as he stepped around her and unlocked the house. Vero kicked off her sneakers, and we followed her cousin inside.
Cam and Arnold were watching TV in the living room, sharing a bag of microwave popcorn. Ramón smacked Cam in the back of the head as he walked past the couch.
“What was that for?” Cam pulled a face at the smell that rolled off Vero’s clothes. Arnold buried his nose under his paws.
“For aiding and abetting my delinquent cousin, asshole. You’re lucky I’m too tired to beat your ass.
” Ramón handed Vero a trash bag, presumably for her clothes.
“I’m installing the new smoke detector, then I’m going to bed.
I’ve got to hit the road before daybreak if I’m going to make it around the Beltway before rush hour.
No more escapades while I’m gone. And don’t give Javi any trouble.
I’ll be back in a couple days, and we’ll figure all this shit out.
I promise.” He looked like he wanted to ruffle her hair but thought better of it.
I was surprised he hadn’t asked her to surrender her belt before she headed upstairs.
He must have known it wouldn’t do any good, since he had no choice but to leave Javi in charge of her.
“You might want to use extra soap,” Cam called after Vero. “Or maybe a—”
“If the words bath bomb come out of your mouth, I will take you outside and set you on fire.” Vero stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door.
I wished Cam and Ramón good night and hustled upstairs after her.
I let myself into the bathroom and locked us both inside.
Vero sat on the edge of the bathtub and started to hyperventilate. “What do we do now, Finn? Ben knows I was looking for Theo. And now Theo’s dead.”
“We don’t know that,” I said in a low voice.
“There was no shower curtain, Finlay! And his car is in the river! If we don’t figure out who did it, we’re both going to prison!”
“Me? Why me?”
“That AirTag on Theo’s car belonged to you,” she reminded me. “It was our last hope of finding the people who were in Theo’s house.”
I sat down hard on the toilet lid. Well, this was just great.
I had come here to help Vero get through her trial for larceny and had somehow managed to land myself in the middle of a homicide—again!
How was I going to explain this one to Nick?
There’s nothing you need to know probably wasn’t going to cut it.
“Even if Theo is dead, you didn’t kill him,” I reminded her.
“You were wearing the belt, and Cam did his job. As far as Officer Oates is concerned, you were in this house the whole time. All we have to do is figure out who is actually responsible. If the killer went to Theo’s house looking for the money, they probably have that, too.
We’ll find the person who murdered Theo and prove you’re innocent of both crimes. Two birds. One stone.”
I knelt in front of her, trying not to recoil at the smell. “Think, Vero. Do you have any idea who could have done this?”
Her eyes were wild and brimming with tears. “You heard Ben! Lots of people. If Theo was getting death threats, it could have been anyone. For all we know, it was the same person who’s been leaving these threatening messages for me!”
That made sense. If the vandal had been eavesdropping on our dinner conversation while they were inside Vero’s room, they would have heard Javi suggest that Theo could have stolen the money. Which could explain why the vandal went to his house.
But something about that theory didn’t track.
“If the person who’s sending you these notes is the same person who broke into Theo’s house, then why would they bother coming back tonight to leave you another note?”
“Maybe they didn’t find the money.”
“Or maybe they’re not the same person,” I considered aloud.
I pried the crumpled note from her hand.
It was written in the same handwriting as the one in the envelope on her desk.
It also matched the handwriting on the note attached to the rock.
It didn’t look at all like the writing I’d seen on the eggs.
Those had contained single words, written in uneven block letters.
But I supposed that could be explained by the change of medium.
Eggs were small and difficult to write on.
“Okay, so we don’t know who wrote the notes. But we know Theo has been missing for more than six hours, his computer is gone, and his car is somewhere at the bottom of the river. Take a deep breath and think,” I said, guiding her through it like a labor-and-delivery nurse. “What else do we know?”
Vero inhaled deeply through her nose, then exhaled, long and slow. “We know Theo’s car was at his house this afternoon. Then it moved to the mall. Then someone drove it to Frat Row. Then it made a quick stop at the industrial complex. Then it was in the river.”
Frat Row … That was the stop that raised the most questions.
If Theo had already graduated and the best parties were off campus, why bother going back to Frat Row?
Zoey said she hadn’t seen Theo in the KG house since the night he picked up Vero for the party.
So why was Theo going back now? Unless Theo was in the trunk and not the one who was driving.
“If our working theory is right and someone who lived in your sorority house let Theo into the building the night of the party, they could have been the same person who went to his house and dumped his car. You have a few hours for errands tomorrow, right?” I asked. Vero nodded. “What do you normally do?”
“I go to Target, then I go to Costco, and then I get a venti caramel macchiato at Starbucks and drink it while I get my nails done.”
“Your nails are an essential errand?”
“They’re essential to my sanity, Finn. So yes, right now that manicure is feeling pretty damn important.”
“Okay. Tomorrow, we’ll give the GPS coordinates of Costco, Target, and your nail salon to Cam and he can stay in the van and spoof your signals while we go talk to Zoey.
” I pulled back the shower curtain and turned on the water.
“Get clean and come to bed. We have a lot to accomplish in the morning.”