Chapter 4 - Her name was Emily Carter.Sixteen years old.
Cheerleader.
Honor student.
Popular.
Perfect smile.
Perfect grades.
Perfect reputation.
And one year earlier, she'd suddenly transferred schools.
At least, that was what everyone had been told.
But Maya knew something different.
“She didn't transfer,” Maya said.
“What happened to her?”
“She vanished.”
The detective immediately leaned forward.
“Why wasn't that reported?”
“Because her parents were told she ran away.”
Maya's voice trembled.
“They said Emily was having problems at home.”
“That wasn't true.”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Emily told Sophie.”
“What did she tell her?”
Maya looked at the floor.
“She said someone was threatening girls on the team.”
I felt sick.
“Threatening them how?”
“Pictures.”
The detective's face hardened.
“What kind of pictures?”
“Private ones.”
Nobody spoke.
Maya continued.
“Emily said someone was secretly recording girls in the locker rooms and using the videos to control them.”
The detective asked, “Did she know who?”
“Not exactly.”
“But she suspected someone.”
Maya nodded.
“Someone with access.”
“Coach Reed?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“She thought it was someone higher.”
I stared at my daughter.
“How long have you known this?”
“Three weeks.”
“Three weeks?”
“I was trying to help Sophie.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Sophie begged me not to.”
The detective asked, “What happened three weeks ago?”
Maya hesitated.
“That's when Sophie found Emily's old phone.”
My blood ran cold.
“Where?”
“In the equipment room.”
“What was on it?”
“A video.”
“What video?”
“A video Emily recorded before she disappeared.”
“Did you see it?”
“Yes.”
“What did it show?”
Maya began crying.
“It showed someone entering the locker room.”
“Who?”
“I couldn't see his face.”
“But you saw something.”
She nodded.
“A ring.”
“What kind?”
“Black. With a silver line across it.”
The detective exchanged a look with his partner.
“You recognize it?”
I asked.
The older detective slowly nodded.
“We've seen that ring before.”
“Where?”
He didn't answer.
“Where?”
He looked directly at Maya.
“On Principal Harris.”
Silence.
Maya stared at him.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
But she didn't sound certain.
The detective stood.
“We need to speak with him.”
“Principal Harris?”
“Yes.”
He called the school.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then the school secretary finally picked up.
The detective asked for Principal Harris.
“He left twenty minutes ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don't know.”
“Was he alone?”
A pause.
“No.”
“With who?”
“I saw Coach Reed with him.”
The line went dead.
The detective immediately ordered officers to search for both men.
I couldn't stop thinking about the ring.
“What if Coach Reed and the principal are involved?”
Maya whispered:
“They're not.”
“Why?”
“Because Sophie was afraid of someone else.”
“Who?”
“I never saw him.”
“But she did.”
Maya nodded.
“She called him the Keeper.”
The name made no sense.
“What does that mean?”
“Sophie said he kept everything.”
“Everything?”
“Secrets. Pictures. Names. Money.”
The detective's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at us.
“We found Coach Reed's vehicle.”
“Where?”
“Three miles from school.”
“Was he inside?”
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
The detective's jaw tightened.
“There was blood inside the vehicle.”
Maya screamed.
“No!”
She collapsed against me.
I held her.
Then the detective added:
“And we found something else.”
“What?”
“Sophie's cheer jacket.”
Maya looked up.
“Was it bloody?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“It was folded neatly on the back seat.”
He reached into an evidence bag and showed us a photograph.
The jacket had a note pinned to it.
Three words.
SHE CHOSE WRONG.
Maya stared at it.
Then suddenly whispered:
“Oh God.”
“What?”
She pointed to the sleeve.
There was a tiny embroidered symbol.
A black circle with a silver line.
The same symbol as the ring.
“The Keeper,” she whispered.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Maya stared at it.
Nobody breathed.
The detective motioned for her to answer.
She did.
“Hello?”
At first there was only static.
Then a man's voice.
Calm.
Almost gentle.
“You should have left Sophie alone.”
Maya couldn't speak.
The man continued:
“Now I'm going to finish what Emily started.”
The call ended.
And three seconds later, another message appeared.
A location.
The school gym.
May you like
The message contained only one sentence:
COME ALONE, MAYA.
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