Deadly Little Sins by Kara Taylor

happen. Not when Caroline already has her eye on his trust fund. I can’t let him live there, knowing what she’s really like.”
    “What do you mean?” I ask.
    Alexis exhales. “Amanda had the family therapist move into the guest house the summer before Caroline went to Wheatley. This was after Caroline pushed her friend off her bike in the street. While a car was coming.”
    “She tried to kill her friend? When she was thirteen ?”
    “Caroline claims she didn’t see the car coming,” Alexis says. “They diagnosed her with anger and ODD. Then her sophomore year, she attacked her roommate.”
    Alex looks at me, the ghost of a smug smile on her lips. I know that face: It’s her I-have-something-you-want-face. “If I remember correctly, her roommate’s name was Natalie.”
    “Are you just saying that because you heard me ask Caroline about someone named Natalie the other day?”
    Alexis snorts. “I have better things to do than invent stories for your amusement. Caroline’s flipped out at this Natalie girl and drew blood, and it got her sent back to therapy.”
    Something about the way Alexis says the words drew blood makes my stomach churn. “What did Natalie do to get on Caroline’s bad side?”
    “Caroline only has one side,” Alexis mutters. “Trust me, it wouldn’t take much.”
    I level with Alexis. “Let’s say all of this is true. Why tell me?” I pause. “What do you want from me?”
    Alexis tosses her hair over her shoulder and re-adjusts her signature black velvet headband. Unease settles over me: Alexis clearly isn’t going to tell me to stay the hell away from her family, like she did the last time she sought me out.
    “The same thing you want,” she finally says. “Answers. Caroline has been acting more bizarre than usual lately. Lots of hushed phone calls. Accusing me of things, like going in her room. I even caught her lying about being at an equestrian outing. Something is going on.”
    I run my hands over my sweater sleeves, wishing I had a jacket. “How long is lately ?”
    “I don’t know. A few months. Maybe more?” Alexis shrugs.
    Or around the time that Natalie reappeared in Wheatley—then disappeared again.
    “Who is this Natalie person?” Alexis asks, invading my thoughts. “I checked Caroline’s yearbook, and there was no Natalie in her graduating class. Did she just … disappear?”
    “Basically,” I murmur, drumming my fingertips on my knee. “Caroline could be involved. Or she might know something. I haven’t figured it out yet.”
    “Well, if you’re going to get to Caroline, you’ll need my help,” Alexis says.
    “I need to get into the tunnels. And you can’t help me with that. They’re closed off.”
    “Not so fast.” Alexis presses the pad of her index finger over her lips, thinking. “It’s a long shot, though.”
    I give her a sideways glance.
    “There’s a rumor—myth, or whatever—that there are three secret entrances around campus,” Alexis says.
    “Where?” I ask.
    “Did you not hear the ‘secret’ part? All I know is that one might be in the library.”
    “That’s not much to go on,” I say. “The library is huge.”
    “I know.”
    We look at each other, then down at our hands. It feels weird—agreeing with each other.
    “Start with Renee Linden, nee Jones. She was Caroline’s RA,” Alexis says. “She still works here, as head of student housing.”
    “What’s she going to tell me?” I ask.
    Alexis rolls her eyes. “Why Caroline went off on Natalie. The people who work here have more secrets than the rooms in your precious tunnels.”
    Alexis motions to get up.
    “Wait,” I say. “How do I know I can trust you?”
    Alexis cocks her head at me. “Because we want the same thing.”
    I’m not exactly sure that’s true. But sometimes a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all.

CHAPTER
    FIFTEEN
    There’s a line the length of a football field outside Renee Linden’s office. All freshmen—some