The Amateurs by Sara Shepard

Author:Sara Shepard [Shepard, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471405648
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2016-10-05T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

Maddox sat on the suite’s patio, staring out at the city. Inside, everyone was dancing and drinking and wrecking the place, but he was out here trying to make sense of his swirling thoughts. Catherine had kissed him. Catherine wanted him. He should be psyched about that. So why wasn’t he? Why was he just sort of … meh?

He pulled out his phone and looked at the text she’d sent him a few minutes ago. Hey, cutie, what’s up? He knew he should text her back. He’d been dying to go out with her for years. And yet, whenever he opened a new window, his fingers stiffened and his mind emptied out.

The sliding door squeaked and Aerin teetered onto the balcony, a panino in her hand. ‘I threw up,’ she announced drunkenly. ‘But now I feel better.’

Maddox chuckled. ‘Good for you.’ She still seemed pretty wasted to him.

Aerin plunked down, stretching out her long, bare legs. ‘Guess who Madison and Seneca just spoke to?’ She took a bite of the panino. ‘Greg Fine.’

‘What?’ Maddox stood up halfway. ‘Is he still here?’

Aerin shook her head. ‘He said this place held way too much temptation.’ She stared back into the party. ‘He’s a recovering alcoholic. Said he’s done several stints in rehab, starting the same fall Helena vanished.’ She widened her eyes. ‘So he could have an alibi. The problem is, there’s no way we can check it. Rehab records are confidential.’

Maddox thought for a moment. ‘Maybe Dexby PD knows.’

‘So what are we going to do, sneak into the station and hack their computers?’ Maddox grinned, clearly eager to play 007, but Aerin shook her head. She tipped in her chair a bit at the motion, ingredients spilling out of her sandwich. ‘You’ve watched too many movies.’

‘Did he say anything about Helena?’ Maddox asked.

Aerin shook her head again. ‘I don’t think Seneca got that far. He bolted after he saw all the booze.’

‘Did he seem … weird to you? Did you get a vibe?’

Aerin thought for a moment. ‘Not really. But what do I know? I’m so lost at this point, Helena’s killer could be here at this party and I wouldn’t have any idea.’

Maddox waved his hand. ‘That’s ludicrous.’

Inside, two kids they’d met in the Apple Store popped the cork of another champagne bottle, which flew across the room and shattered a lamp. Everyone laughed drunkenly. Madison, who was now wearing an enormous stuffed Hello Kitty hat she’d bought at the Sanrio store earlier, tipsily kicked the glass into a messy pile.

Aerin turned back to Maddox and appraised him shrewdly, suddenly seeming far less drunk. ‘So how’s your mom?’

Maddox blinked, startled. ‘She’s well. And, um, doesn’t your dad live somewhere around here?’ He gestured out at the city.

Aerin’s face clouded. ‘Downtown. Luckily, we’re nowhere near.’

‘You’re not going to visit him?’

Aerin scoffed. ‘You like hanging out with your dad?’

Maddox was about to say that his situation was different – he didn’t even know where his dad was. But maybe, when it came down to it, broken families were all the same.

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