Reputation: A Novel by Sara Shepard

Author:Sara Shepard [Shepard, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-12-03T00:00:00+00:00

22

WILLA

TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2017

After a seven-mile run on the noisy Marriott treadmill, I drive to the house and set up shop at the kitchen table with my phone and laptop. My phone beeps with a few updates from work about the university hacks—a colleague from “The Source” has run with the story, and she seems compelled to keep me informed about some off-the-record stuff, perhaps because of my connections to one of the schools that was targeted. I read her report about how the hack has revealed that the Brown admissions staff inflated the SAT scores of its student body. I read something about how Princeton parents are pulling their kids out for the rest of the year. I almost, almost ping her and ask if she’s dug up anything about Chi Omega at Aldrich—or any of the schools. I think of the rumors my boss intimated the other day. But I decide against it.

A New York Times story has also come out that the socialist group that authorities thought might have hacked the universities was a false lead. Apparently, hackers commonly used proxy machines and fake IP addresses and planted false clues in their malware to throw investigators off their trail. “The truth is, we might not be able to attribute this hack to anyone,” an FBI agent named William Cornish told Meet the Press. “Hackers are clever. They know how to hide. What we need to do now is damage control and make sure this never happens again.”

Heels clack on the wood floor. Kit has on a pencil skirt and blouse, about to go off to work. She looks toward the ceiling, then at me. “Can you check on the girls in a bit?” she asks, thumbing toward the ceiling. “Without grilling them?”

“I didn’t grill them,” I protest.

Kit rolls her eyes. “Of course you did. I shouldn’t even be speaking to you.”

“Kit, I’m sorry,” I say, feeling frustrated. I thought we’d gotten past this. Kit and I had talked late into the evening last night, strategizing about how we wouldn’t go to the police with this new information until absolutely necessary. We both felt conflicted—it didn’t seem right to hide evidence—but I wanted to do some more digging before we pulled the trigger. “But look at it this way: Now we know. It was obviously tormenting Sienna to keep that secret to herself. And Aurora, too.”

Kit shrugs. “I guess we know what they were arguing about the day of the funeral, anyway. And why they’ve been acting so weird.”

“True.”

Kit squeezes her eyes shut. “I don’t know what to do now.”

“What about Raina?” I ask quietly.

Kit grabs her handbag from the chair, her expression clouding. “She says she was at a party with Sienna when it happened.”

“Are we sure? Was she there the whole night?”

Kit looks conflicted, like she’s about to say something. Then she shakes her head. “If Raina stabbed him, I’m not sure I want to know.”

I cross my arms. “So you’d rather everyone think you did

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