I’m irritated that I don’t know the exact answers, but I go through the motions knowing they can speak to her after this.
“I don’t suggest she stays here tonight,” one of the officers says, and I nod.
“Already taken care of.”
“Shy.” I turn around to see Apollo and his dad Rory coming through the door.
“Holy shit,” Apollo hisses, and I see the flash of anger in his eyes. No doubt he’s thinking of his fiancée Celeste and how this could have happened to her. She was alone in her apartment all afternoon.
Rory goes straight to the officers and speaks to them as I walk over to where Apollo is standing.
“I don’t understand.” Apollo shakes his head. “Nothing looks like it’s been taken. She didn’t even have expensive stuff here. Her television was probably the most valuable thing in the whole place, and it’s smashed.”
“I know,” I agree, clenching my teeth. “It looks like someone did this for the fun of it, or to send a message.”
“Or both,” Apollo says, and his grave look meets mine.
“Security cameras?”
He shakes his head. “We’re having trouble accessing the drive. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but the last recording was at ten o’clock this morning.”
“That’s her first class,” I say absentmindedly.
“Do you think she was the sole target?” He looks around the room like it has the answers.
“Just based on the fact that no one else's apartment was broken into, I’d have to say yes. I saw Jamie just before Carrie got home. She was coming out of her apartment and seemed fine.”
“I saw Sam on the first floor when I was running in here. He was good too.”
“So it was just Carrie?” I don’t even want to know the answer to that question.
“Just Carrie,” Apollo agrees.
“I think there’s some shit going on here we don’t know about.” My fists clench at my sides with the thought that she’s in danger.
When I first met Carrie, I knew there was something sweet and innocent about her. I also knew she came from old money and a family name that rivals the Crews. Rory and Apollo are known not just on the island of Craven Cove but in most social circles. It’s something that intimated me at first, but now I just keep my distance.
We’ve gotten closer over the past couple of years, but I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable in the spotlight. Knowing Carrie came from that same kind of life, I couldn’t help but remember my past and how the smell of being poor won’t ever truly wash off of me. It is what it is, but I grew up in a very different world than the rest of my family. One where you might go to bed hungry, have to sleep in the car to stay safe, or pretend the bruises are from sports and not your aunt's latest meal ticket. Celeste might be the closest to understanding my life, but even she had a mom who protected her. Unlike me.
Just then the officers come over and ask if they can come back to my place to interview Carrie. I nod as all of us make our way back to my apartment, because I have more than a few questions of my own.
Chapter Three
Carrie
“No ex-boyfriends?” the detective asks me again for the fourth time.
I shake my head no as my eyes move over to where Shy is sitting. He’s finally stopped pacing and taken a seat across from me. He watches me the whole time as I answer the officer’s questions. I wish I had the courage to ask if I can sit in his lap, but I chicken out.
“Girlfriend?” Detective Adams pushes. “Even someone a few years ago? People can hold grudges.”
“No one.” I tuck my hair behind my ear. Could I look more pathetic? I wonder what Shy thinks about my lack of dating life. “I don’t really date unless you count over the summer when my mom tricked Justin Moore and me into sitting next to each other at a dinner party.” I honestly don’t think it even counts as a date honesty.
I should have known my mom was up to something. Why else would she have pushed so hard for me to go to some stupid dinner party with her and Dad? They never really take me to any of their events; not that I cared to go. I’m getting closer to graduating college, and now she’s been setting her sights on who I’m going to marry.
Shy pops up out of his seat and starts pacing again. “How did the date go?” Shy asks before Adams can fire another question at me.
“Justin and I laughed about it.” I shrug. “He’s nice and all, but neither of us are interested. He’s a player.” I shrug. “Our parents think it went well, so it got them to leave me alone.” I wasn't in the same grade as Justin in Bradford Prep, but I was friends with his stepsister. He's a few grades ahead of me, but going to the same school is about all we had in common.