Revelation (Private 8)

Unreal. Ivy was actually more innocent than I was.

"Maybe we should get back to what we were doing," I suggested.

"Works for me," Ivy replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "So you looked into some of the

Billings Girls, but not all."

"Why would I look into all of them? " I asked, my face screwing up in consternation. "Some of

them have no motive whatsoever."

"Oh, I don't know, because they all had the opportunity?" Ivy suggested with a shrug. "Better

opportunity than anyone else. I mean, when it comes down to it, the obvious choice is someone

who lives in Billings. A random stranger would have a tough time breaking in there in the middle of

the night without any of you guys noticing."

"They wouldn't have to break in. It's pretty easy to get a key card for any dorm on campus," I said.

"I know this. All you've gotta do is get into that lockbox in Ms. Lewis's desk," Ivy said. "But--"

"How do you know about that?" I interrupted.

"It was one of our 'tasks' for Billings," Ivy replied, tossing in some air quotes. "We had to make

Ketlar keys for all the sisters. It was the easiest thing they had us do. But even if someone had a

key, it's not like you guys wouldn't notice that person didn't belong in your dorm. There are only

sixteen of you."

I hated to admit it, but the girl had a point.

"I say we check out all the Billings Girls," Ivy added. "Especially considering we have no other

suspects at the moment."

224

Honestly, it seemed like a wise idea, even though I wouldn't be sharing that thought with Ivy. After

all, Ariana had been one of my best friends, and I never would have suspected her of Thomas's

murder. Never in a million years. So wasn't it just as possible that there was someone else inside

Billings who seemed just as innocent, but was capable of horrible things?

"Damn, I wish I still had that disc," I said under my breath, leaning my elbow on the desk.

"What disc?" Ivy asked.

I hesitated for a second but realized there was no point in keeping the disc a secret from her. We

were supposed to be partners here. And besides, there was no chance of her ever seeing what had

been in those secret files. The disc was long gone. I took a deep breath and turned in my seat,