13. Oh, Oh Ohio

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Seven red crosses.

What does that mean?

So far, messages have been sent to four different people; Sienna, Tom, Principle Wilson and Zoe. Are we to expect three more? Or are we looking too much into things?

I mull over this as I lean on the back of Elliot's chair, staring at the computer screen in front of us. A search for @ S_D_S brings up nothing substantial, which isn't a surprise. Even Elliot with his mad I.T skills is seemingly at a loss.

"Nothing," he sighs, rubbing his tired face.

We're hauled up in the A.V room at school, after hours.

"Try typing in Lucy Gilmore," I say, figuring if we can't follow up one lead, we might as well try another.

Her social media links pop up instantly, Elliot choosing her Instagram first. Selfie after selfie flashes before us, varying in angles, filters and location. What Mom said last night is cause for a little investigating, though I must admit, it's not a priority. Still, a good detective never ignores a tip off.

"This seems pretty standard," says Elliot, endlessly scrolling.

"Wait!" I point to a post dating two weeks from today. "Look."

It's a mirror selfie, identical to the one Sienna had on her account. The one with principle Wilson's blazer in the background. Even the caption is word-for-word perfect.

"Coincidence?" I ask.

Elliot shakes his head and right-clicks to print, certainly taking no chances.

"It's going on the murder board," he insists.

I pull out my phone and open up Instagram, heading straight to Tom's account. Once there, I scroll through his photos, checking for any similarities. Any replicas on Lucy's page. Until I find one. Dated ten days ago.

"Fuck."

Elliot snaps his gaze to mine. "What?"

"Another match," I reply, holding my phone up next to the screen. "Lucy is imitating them."

He looks between the two, brows furrowed. "Quickly, check Zoe's."

Sure enough, another–almost identical–image pops up, cementing the fact that, for some reason, Lucy is recreating images of those who have received text messages. The question is; why?

"What're you guys doing?" asks a voice, startling us both.

Michelle Singh.

"Oh, umm..."

"Is that Lucy?" she enquires.

Elliot's tries exiting the page but is too slow. Michelle has already seen.

"Yeah, we were just wondering what she's up to," I reply, lamely. "D'ya remember her?"

Michelle nods. "We were friends."

"Do you guys still speak?" I ask.

"Yeah, we text occasionally. But things changed after what happened."

Huh?

"What happened?" questions Elliot, fully turned in his chair.

"You don't know?" asks Michelle, eyebrows raised. "I guess that makes sense. The police banned any publication of the video due to her being a minor."

"What video?" I press, growing increasingly desperate.

"The sex tape."

"Lucy has a sex tape?" asks Elliot, almost spluttering.

Michelle nods. "She knew nothing about it until it showed up online. Someone filmed her without her consent."

"The guy?"

"Apparently not. Lucy always thought it was Sienna Michaels."

I fumble for a chair, suddenly in need of a seat. "Why did she think that?"

Michelle shrugs. "Not sure. She seemed pretty adamant though. Skipped town shortly after. Her parents insisted on a fresh start."

Elliot and I remain silent, desperately trying to process everything. The facts. The assumptions. Everything. All this time, we thought Sienna's secret was her affair with Principle Wilson but what if we got it wrong? What if this was the secret.

"Ended up in Ohio of all places," continues Michelle.

Wait, what?

"Ohio?" asks Elliot, instantly looking to me.

He's thinking exactly what I'm thinking. The police traced the text messages to someone in Ohio. Is that someone Lucy, in search of revenge? Payback?

"Yeah. I feel sorry for her. She was a wreck when it happened. I suppose if Sienna did do it, karma caught up with her."

Or, maybe it wasn't karma at all. Maybe Lucy planned for this to happen.

Maybe Lucy killed Sienna?

****

"Let's not jump to conclusions," advises Elliot, walking me home. "Lucy being the killer doesn't make sense when you add into account that Tom, Principle Wilson and Zoe are also involved.

"Because we haven't looked into it yet. What if the other three had something to do with that sex tape getting leaked. Surely that's incentive enough for her to ruin their lives? After all, they ruined hers?"

"Potentially," he counters.

"God, you're such a cop."

"And you're such a lawyer!"

I smile.

"Look, I agree something is up with a Lucy," he says. "I just don't think we should fixate on it too much. How can she be the killer if she's all the way in Ohio?"

Hmm.

"What's the plan, then?" I ask.

He seems to think about this for a moment. "We message her. Lucy."

"Elliot!"

"What?"

"We have a strong suspect here and you want to slide into her DMs?"

"Obviously not as ourselves," he replies. "We'll message her as S_D_S. If she's him, we'll know for sure.

"And if not?" I ask.

"Then there's a strong possibility she's being blackmailed, just like Safa."

I pull on his gloved hand, stopping him from advancing. "Elliot Evens, you goddamn genius!"

He responds with a smug smirk.

"I'll create an account as soon as I can and message her. D'ya wanna come in?" I ask, pointing towards my front door.

"Better not. Shaun might be home."

I shove on his arm and roll my eyes. "You make it sound like I'm ashamed of you. We could go in there right now, tackle him together?"

"Well, I promised Celia I'd hang with her tonight, so maybe we can leave tacking Shaun for another time?" he suggests, smirk in tow.

It's probably for the best. I still haven't had the chance to talk to him about Jasmine's news yet and he'll likely be feeling a little down about everything, despite being happy for her. The last thing he needs right now is another bombshell.

"Okay. Text me when you get home."

"I will."

"And take this," I instruct, handing him Mom's rape alarm.

He pockets it instantly. "You looking out for me, Gallagher?"

"Always!"

With a gorgeous smile, he turns his back and heads towards his home on Westbrook. I watch him until he's no longer in sight and slowly make my way up the garden path, rest assured that with Mom's rape alarm, he'll be safe.

I grab our mail on the way and find Shaun in the kitchen, halfway through a turkey sandwich. His eyes are miles away, focused on nothing in particular. Speculating. Planning.

"Hey."

He jumps at the sound of my voice.

"Hi."

"She tell you?"

He nods.

"And?"

"And, I'm so fucking proud of her."

"I told her you would be."

He smiles.

"Obviously I'm gutted but this is good for her. NYU is good for her."

"So good," I reiterate, stealing a bite from his sandwich. "And it's near Penn..."

He grins.

"If I get in-"

"When you get in," he chastises, taking his sandwich back. "I'll visit all the time. Not that Jas being near you makes a difference. I would've come either way."

I can't help but smile. "And I suppose I can spare a few weekends to visit Cali. Sunny beaches, Hollywood and...oh yeah...my brother."

He grabs hold of a tea towel and wafts my legs, showing no sign of mercy. In the end, I have no option but to find another and fight back, the two of us whipping each other as we run around like headless chickens. Mom enters from the studio and laughs at our antics, not at all surprised. In fact, she joins in.

Two minutes in and war has officially been declared, seeing me squat behind the arm of the sofa, keen to take cover. Mom and Shaun gang up on me, joining forces to take me down, which they manage to do in roughly three seconds. I collapse into a heap on the floor, the pair of them following shortly after, our laugher mixing together as one.

"I love you kids. You keep me young," pants Mom, tired from her attack.

Shaun chuckles. I wince.

"I think you guys might've broke a rib."

"Don't be so dramatic," replies Shaun, patting my head. "It'll just be bruised."

I hobble out of our pile and slowly make my way towards the stairs, intending on making it to my bedroom in once piece. I have a fake Instagram account to create and it certainly won't get done if I insist on having tea towel fights with my family.

"How's the investigation going, Lena?" asks Shaun, just before I start my ascend.

I turn to him and flash him my biggest smile, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment. "Good. I'm getting closer. I can feel it."

****

Alrighty... so they suspect Lucy.

Question is; did she do it?

Did she kill Sienna?

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