Chapter Six - Good Boys Don't Bite

The entire population of Camp Harcourt watches as Rowdy, Benny, and Jackie are led away from the lake. Some of the other girls are crying, though Muse and Justice are stony faced and sober. Rowdy thinks about scoffing at them as they pass.

There are whispers as they go, hissed under breath too quickly for Rowdy to hear. She strains enough to catch somebody saying it was only a matter of time. Her stomach sours.

“I’m sure you three have a perfectly logical explanation. Nobody should jump to any conclusions,” Etienne continues babbling ahead of them, but as they make it past the thinner tendrils of campers, their expressions make it very clear that their opinions have already been made.

Etienne has them sit in the lobby of the office while he disappears into his own, the door cracked just enough for Rowdy to catch glimpses of his elbow as he picks the phone up off the cradle and starts a phone call.

“We’re so fucked,” Benny breathes.

“She’s been dead awhile. Obviously, it’s not us,” Jackie hisses back.

“No, I think we’re fucked.” Rowdy’s words hang, dead fish strung up in the air. Her neck arches and she rubs her fingers through the fine, spiky hairs along the sides of her head. There’s less comfort when she does it versus when Leena used to. Her hands fall away with the memory.

“You’re being really negative,” Jackie says.

“Realistic,” Rowdy argues back.

“Shh!” Benny’s eyes are round and locked on Etienne’s elbow. All they can hear is the thrum of his words, too fast and low for them to eavesdrop.

The silence only lasts a few seconds before Jackie leans in closer to Rowdy and asks, “Did you see how everyone was looking at us?”

“Yeah, because they think we murdered a human girl from the fucking cheer camp.”

“There’s no way, though.”

“Do you really think anyone is going to stop and think about that?” She gestures with a nod toward Etienne. “Even if they know he’s a sack of shit, nobody here’s going to argue against him. And he thinks we did it.”

“But—”

“No buts. We’re fucked.”

“Oh my god, will you two please shut the fuck up?” Benny’s got big, shiny tears in her eyes, which is the only reason Rowdy’s jaw sets and she leans back against the wall behind the bench they’re sharing.

“Is he calling our families?”

A perfect gray circle flickers to life on the hem of Benny’s purple shorts as a tear falls.

“Shut up, Jackie,” Rowdy mumbles. Etienne’s conversation ends, and then he sticks his head out. His smile doesn’t touch anywhere near his eyes as he looks them over. “Jackie? Would you come and sit with me for a moment?”

“We can’t all come in together?” Rowdy asks.

“Oh, no, I think not. We must conduct this investigation the correct way.”

“In-investigation?” Benny’s voice shakes harder than the rushing leaves outside the office window.

Etienne’s eyebrows lift at the fronts and he nods, a perfect, solemn picture. “I’m afraid so. A young woman is dead on our side of the lake. And I’m sure two of you weren’t aware, but she was drained of her blood.”

Rowdy feel like her ears need to pop.

“You seriously think it was one of us?” Jackie’s voice is all breath. Her hand clutches at the base of her throat.

Etienne’s eyes pass over Rowdy. “You were the only ones not with your assigned groups. Frank was very clear that you were not at breakfast, either.”

When Jackie doesn’t move to join him, Etienne’s expression goes flat. His eyes unfocus. The office lobby drops one degree at a time the longer Jackie stays seated.

“I won’t speak to you without my brother here.”

The muscles in Etienne’s jaw tighten, and Rowdy swears she can hear his teeth grinding together.

Benny gets up before the tension gets skin thin. She squeezes between Etienne and the door and sits in that same wooden armchair she always ends up in when they’re brought in for talkings to. It might as well have her name etched in the back of it.

All of the density in the air clears out the second Etienne snaps the door shut, no crack this time. The pressurized feeling in Rowdy’s ears lessens.

“Did I just fuck her over?” Jackie whispers.

“Only one cardinal sin a day.”

Jackie starts to ask something else but Rowdy holds her finger up to her lips and then points at the shut door.

From inside, there’s a short back and forth. Etienne asks Benny why she wasn’t in bed, Benny answers. Etienne asks what they were doing, Benny answers. A chill starts to creep up the back of Rowdy’s neck.