Leave Her Hanging: A Noir Thriller

Chapter Twenty-Eight

By the time I’d finished threatening Jo and getting everything organised, I was twenty minutes late for English. The teacher gave me the eye, but said nothing as I sank into my seat.

It’d been something Alex—Stephanie—said that gave me the idea. They’d like you, little boy. We’d have to see how right she was. When the teacher turned around to write something on the board about the machinery motifs running through One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Stephanie: We need to meet again. Tomorrow evening, if possible.

It was a risk. I still didn’t know whose side she was on—if she was on anyone’s side at all. But I needed to know a few things before I went in. The reply came a few minutes later. My teacher pretended not to hear my phone vibrating and I pretended to care about the sexualisation of Nurse Ratched. You’re testing my patience, little boy, Stephanie texted.

I hid my phone under the table and replied. I’ll buy you coffee.

Nothing for twenty minutes. I sat through the rest of the class with a fake expression of eager learning plastered to my face. Then, just as the bell rang, my phone vibrated again.

Bring lots of money. I like expensive coffee. 8 p.m. tomorrow. She gave me the address to an upmarket cafe near Queen Street. I told her I’d be there, then I pocketed my phone and followed the crowd out of class.

I spotted a familiar ponytail through the knot of students. I was too far away to call to Megan, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to anyway. After how I’d left things yesterday, I didn’t expect her to be happy with me. Then, as a group of Year Tens moved out of the way, I saw Megan wasn’t happy anyway.

Jeremy was walking with her, looking agitated. I couldn’t make out what he was saying through the crowd, but it seemed serious. Megan was nearly in tears. Jeremy threw up his hands and stomped away, leaving Megan looking lost in the middle of the quad. I squeezed between the students leaving the science block and came up beside her.

“You okay?” I said.

She started and rubbed her red eyes with the back of her hand. “Spade!”

“What was that about?” I nodded towards Jeremy’s back.

“Nothing. The detective came back to talk to both of us yesterday. He asked us about that guy Ella was supposed to be going out with. Jeremy was asking me if I knew who it was. I don’t know why he’s so upset. Do you know—?”

She stopped in mid-sentence, her lips clamping shut. I could tell she’d just remembered she was supposed to be mad at me. But I didn’t care. My hackles were up. A thought had just occurred to me. What if Jeremy is one of them too? If Malcolm and his goons had hired Jo Kim to be a talent scout, maybe they had others in the school. Maybe Jeremy had passed Ella along to them. Maybe that’s why he had the pictures in his phone. Maybe that’s why he was getting worked up when the cop came by asking about Malcolm Barker.

I was so busy glaring at Jeremy’s back that Megan was halfway across the quad before I realised she’d walked away. I hurried to catch up and grabbed her arm.

“Don’t,” she said, trying to shake me off. I clung tight.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” I said, walking fast to keep up with her. “I wouldn’t have left like that if it wasn’t important.”

“Everything’s always ‘important’ to you, isn’t it? I’m trying to help you, Spade, but it’s like I’m trying to help an injured cat who won’t stop clawing me.”

“Megan, wait. Wait, will you?” I pulled her to a stop and forced her to face me. “You’re the only friend I’ve got left. I don’t want to lose you too.”

She wouldn’t meet my eyes, but she didn’t try to get away again. I let go of her arm and stood awkwardly next to her until a pair of teachers clutching coffee passed. Should I tell her what I’d learned? The thought of dragging up the darker sides of Ella’s life made my chest tight. But Mr Harvey was right; if I kept going on the way I was going, the truth would come out eventually. Maybe I could keep it from becoming widespread, but I wouldn’t be able to hide it from Megan.

“I said I’d tell you if I found out anything about Ella,” I said when we were alone again. “Do you still want to know? Even if it’s unpleasant?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “She was my best friend. I…I should know.”

So I took a breath and told her. I left Jo Kim’s name out if it, but I didn’t hold anything else back. I told her how I’d got the information, all the things I’d done to get it. I told her about Stephanie. I told her everything. I watched Megan’s face screw up in confusion, then denial. For a little while, she just shook her head as I spoke. But by the end she was staring at me with her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide in disbelief.

I gave her a few minutes to compose herself. And to get my own emotions under control. Every word I’d said out loud had been another turn of the vice constricting my chest. I shoved my hands in my pockets and took some deep breaths. After a few minute, Megan spoke, voice shaking.

“How could we not know?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know. Maybe we didn’t care about Ella as much as we thought we did. Not until it was too late.

“Keep all this close to your chest,” I said. “Don’t tell the others. Especially not Jeremy.”

She nodded absentmindedly. “You’re going to tell the police this, aren’t you?”

“Eventually.”

“You’re going after those people, aren’t you?”

I said nothing.

Megan took my hands out of my pockets and held them between hers. “They sound dangerous. If they…if they killed Ella, they’ll kill you too.”

“That’s why I need you to stay quiet. They can’t know I’m gunning for them. And I need a favour.”

“Anything,” she said without hesitation. I looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity swimming there. The curve of her lips twitched upwards into a small smile.

“Keep an eye on Jeremy.”

The smile disappeared. “You think he has something to do with this?”

“Just watch him, okay?”

She sighed. “Okay. Spade?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Not even close.”

~~~

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