Investigating Julius Drake Read online

  “He’s not.” Julius used that weird certainty he could turn on at will. “Hal didn’t say a word about you. We made an assumption based on a picture, and we were wrong. There were plenty of other girls on his phone. He probably just forgot to delete the shot with you in it.”

  Zoe took a few deep breaths, and honestly, I felt bad for scaring her.

  “Sorry we brought it up, okay?” I wasn’t sure that my adding that helped, but she shrugged.

  “Yeah. Okay. Whatever.” She turned to join her friends.

  I jostled Julius to get him moving, and hissed in his ear. “Could you have been more subtle?”

  “I doubt it.” Julius climbed the bleachers first, sweeping his jacket out of the way as he walked. “Trying to ingratiate ourselves to her social group would have been a waste of time. At least now we know that she had nothing to do with it.”

  “You think she was telling the truth?”

  “Yes. Her inflection, the speed of her speech, her eye contact—all consistent with honesty.”

  Bethany was sitting with the girls on the bleachers. She smiled when Julius and I approached. “Hey, guys.” Gesturing to the others, Bethany said, “This is Caroline, Ava, and Maude.”

  The last one looked familiar.

  “What were you doing talking to my sister?” Maude asked, and it was then that I realized she had the same nose as Zoe Ward. While on Zoe it was pert and cute, on Maude the upturn at the tip was puggish.

  “We were asking about a boy.” Julius lowered himself gracefully onto the seat and sprawled out with legs askew. Most freshmen couldn’t pull off that kind of cocky display, but Ava gave him an approving once-over as if she thought that he was cute.

  “Zoe probably dated him,” Maude sighed. “Right before she dated his best friend, and then that guy’s best friend too.”

  Julius’s eyebrows quirked; I knew he wanted to ask more questions, but Maude pushed out of her seat. “Well, it was cool meeting you, Bethany. See you around.”

  I kept quiet as they left, then followed Julius and Bethany off the bleachers.

  “So, what do you think?” I asked. “Zoe seemed like she was telling the truth, but . . .”

  “It sounds like Zoe is not very nice.” Bethany pulled off her glasses to clean them on the hem of her T-shirt.

  As we left the field, the school cast a shadow and the temperature dropped. I shivered.

  “She might not mean to be malicious.” Julius put his hands in his coat pockets. “But if she forges emotional bonds with multiple people, the various parties may not know where they stand. Jealousy could ensue.”

  “Yeah. She definitely led boys on.” Bethany frowned. “But what does that have to do with Hal?”

  “Maybe another guy was jealous of him?” I asked. “Some guy could have been threatening Hal, I guess. Though I’d think they’d both be mad at Zoe. She’s the one sending out mixed signals.”

  Bethany’s and Julius’s eyes met, then slid away fast.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” Bethany pursed her lips.

  I gave Julius a sharp glance. “What?”

  He waved his hand. “Don’t worry your pretty head over it, Henry.”

  Bethany snorted a laugh.

  Whatever. I didn’t know what they were talking about.

  I blinked at the clock, which read past noon. “Oh.” Groggily, I stretched my arms over my head.

  “Looks like someone finally woke up,” Mom said from the kitchen.

  I smelled my mother’s Sanka, and my stomach growled. Closing my eyes again, I burrowed under the blankets. On weekends, I never could seem to get enough sleep to catch up from the week. Not even if I slept until midafternoon. “Yeah. Good morning.”

  “Want some?” She came over with two mugs in her hands and settled on the foot of my bed. Her expression was pinched. “I put in cream and sugar.”

  A jolt of worry rushed through me. “Thanks.” I perched on my elbow.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s nothing serious. It’s just that your father got sent on a mission, and he won’t be at the base for a while. They said a week to ten days, but you know how it is.”

  “Ah. Yeah, okay.” Sometimes Dad would message sooner than expected, but often it was much later. I always wished they wouldn’t give Mom a time frame, because maybe then she wouldn’t obsess about worst-case scenarios.

  “He wanted to say good-bye to you, but you were so busy this week. I talked to him yesterday, but I didn’t feel right asking you to rush home.”

  “You could have texted.” On Friday, Julius, Bethany, and I had compared the swim-team members’ friends lists in Facebook and Instagram, but I would have come home if my mom had asked.

  “I know. I didn’t want to bother you.” She looked at her coffee cup.

  Frowning, I shrugged. “It’s fine.” Cupping my own coffee, I tried to pretend that being left out didn’t hurt.

  The edges of her mouth lifted in a small smile. “It sounds like they’ll have a spot for me three days a week at UW Medical Center next month.”

  My mood brightened. “That’s awesome.” Mom needed to start making friends in Seattle. A new job would be a good place to meet people.

  “It is, but the shifts are . . . Well, they’d be rotating. I’ll be out some nights. Coming in at odd hours. You’d be on your own a lot.”

  I understood her concern. Back in Killeen, we’d had neighbors we’d known for years. Plus, Mom had cousins close by.

  “It’s fine. I can make food. Or ride my bike to Madison Park for pizza.” I could hang out at Julius’s house if necessary. Julius might act prickly about it, but Mrs. Hundstead would be cool.

  “That’s the problem, Henry. You’ll be running loose on the streets. You’re already out until all hours with friends. I’m not sure this move has been for the best.”

  “It’s been fine,” I answered honestly. Sure, Roberto had pegged me as a budding juvenile delinquent, but I had friends, and things to do. Heck, I’d even gotten a spot in the rock-climbing group without Mom having to pay.

  “I worry about you. And now that you have a girlfriend—”

  “I do not have a girlfriend!” I shoved myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom. “Why does everything have to be about that?”

  When I came out, my mother tipped her head to the side, studying me. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing. Geez.” I almost cursed for real, but held my tongue. There was plenty of stuff I wanted to do with my time, and none of it involved going on another date with Thea.

  “So you broke up?”

  “We were never together.”

  “Then who have you been hanging around with?”

  I didn’t know what to tell her. If I said Bethany, she would assume that Bethany and I were dating. If I said Julius, she would think I spent all my time with . . . Julius. And my friendship with Julius occupied a place in my mind that was confused and sensitive. I wasn’t ready to expose that relationship to my mom’s inspection. “Friends.”

  “The friends I’ve met? Or other friends?”

  “The ones you met. I told you that one guy lived in our neighborhood.”

  “Yes, what was his name again?”

  “Julius, okay?”

  “And where does he live?”

  “Up on the hill. Across from Broadmoor.”

  “So why don’t you have him over sometime?”

  Maybe if Mom weren’t around, I’d invite Julius over. Sometime when I was sure he wouldn’t recoil. “Maybe.”

  “Good.” She sat cross-legged. “And I can meet his mother too.”

  “I guess.” I kept my face hidden as I stood to go to my dresser. It wasn’t like I knew Julius’s parents or anything, but I had a sense about them. They’d probably look at my mom the way Natasha looked at me. “I’ve gotta shower.”

  “Henry?” My mother patted my bed, like she wished I hadn�
��t left it. “I know there’s something up with you. I’m trusting that whatever it is, you won’t do anything dangerous.”

  What was she picking up on? Had she noticed my distraction as I tried to dissect Hal’s life? Or was it the other stuff—the stuff about Julius and Thea?

  “I’m not getting into trouble, Mom.” I tried to sound offhand. “Now I’ve got to get dressed. I’m seeing some people this afternoon to study.”

  “Studying” came in the form of a meeting at Julius’s house. When I knocked on the back door a couple of hours later, Mrs. Hundstead answered.

  “Hello, Henry.” She wore a checkered apron older and rattier than anything else in the Drake household. Somehow it made me feel like I belonged. “Julius told me you were coming, but you and he will have to stay upstairs and out of the way.”

  I stepped through the door and found that a half dozen caterers were scurrying around. Pans of food lined the counters, and the whole place smelled like garlic. From the back door, a guy just a few years older than me was unloading boxes of alcohol.

  “Where’s Julius?” I peered out the window to where tables and lights were being arranged in the backyard. Apparently, Julius’s parents were having a party.

  “He’s upstairs with your friend Beth.”

  “Oh.” Bethany was there already? Winding through caterers, I passed a bar tucked neatly into a wall. The living room was mostly untouched, but even cleaner than usual. I jogged upstairs to Julius’s room, which, to my surprise, was open. So was the door to Natasha’s room.

  “I asked you a simple question. I don’t see why you have to be difficult,” Julius called into the hall.

  “Because you are asking me to spy on my friends.” Natasha lounged across her bed. There was an iPad in front of her, and she swiped across it.

  “Hey, Natasha.” I waved.

  “Jules, can you keep your loser friends in your room?” She didn’t look up from her tablet, but shooed me away with a flick of her hand.

  “Only if you keep your feminine hygiene products out of the bathroom.”

  I snickered, because I never would have expected Julius to stoop to such a low of sibling squabbles.

  Walking through Julius’s door, I could see why he was questioning Natasha. He and Bethany were working on our chart of the swim-team members, their friends, girlfriends, ex-girlfriends, and any possible connection to Zoe Ward.

  Julius turned his desk chair halfway around. “It appears that Todd Terwillager has broken up with his girlfriend.” He raised his voice. “But someone won’t confirm or deny this fact.”

  “If you’re so keen to know, have your lackeys check Todd’s Facebook relationship status,” Natasha snapped.

  “Todd hasn’t accepted my friend request yet, but let me see if he’s made his relationship status public.” I had my phone on me and opened the app.

  “Oh, he accepted my request.” Bethany smiled like she’d won a point. “Let me check.” She pulled a laptop out of her bag. After a few seconds of typing, she smiled. “Yeah. Says here he’s single. Let’s check out his ex-girlfriend. Who was that again?” She studied the whiteboard. “Stephanie Groebel.” Clicking around on her computer, her eyes lit up. “Ooh. She’s newly single too. And she’s posted a string of hysterical, passive-aggressive posts about ‘losing trust in someone she loved.’”

  “I take it she means Todd?” Julius asked.

  “Of course she means Todd, you idiot,” came Natasha’s voice.

  “I thought you said you refused to help,” Julius called.

  “I’m not helping. I’m just telling you you’re stupid.”

  Bethany and I shared a commiserating glance. She asked, “So Todd has broken up with his girlfriend because . . .?”

  “Maybe he didn’t text her enough?” I suggested.

  “Jesus Christ. Are you children touched? He cheated. Gah.”

  “Did Hal cheat on you?” I asked, probably because I had a death wish.

  “What did you say, mongrel?” Her bed creaked. When she appeared in the doorway to Julius’s room, her glare could cut glass. “No one cheats on me.”

  “But was Hal seeing someone?” I pushed.

  “He claimed to have a girlfriend from another school.” Natasha held her nails in front of her face as if checking whether her polish had dried. “But like I said, we weren’t seeing each other. That was just for appearances.”

  “Was it this girl?” Julius clicked on his computer, showing a picture of Zoe Ward taken from the yearbook.

  Natasha glanced. “Yeah, maybe. She’s not even pretty.”

  “Really.” Julius’s eyes became calculating. He clicked on other pictures from Hal’s phone. “Check these other shots. Familiar?”

  “I might have come across her on Instagram or Snapchat,” Natasha said. “I thought it was a bullshit account though. I think her username is The Other Woman.” Natasha wrinkled her nose dismissively. “It sounds like she runs a porn site.”

  “Hmm. So maybe Zoe Ward lied,” Julius said. He clicked off the picture, then loaded more, these taken from Roy’s party. “Do you have any idea who Roy is texting in this shot?”

  “How did you get those?” Natasha’s mouth dropped open. “If any of them make me look fat, I’ll have you murdered.”

  “You weren’t at the party when we were there,” Julius said. “What happened? Was there an emergency at the salad bar?”

  Natasha scowled. “Roy and Katherine have been on the outs for a while now. I wouldn’t be surprised if they break up by the end of the week.”

  “Do you know why?” Julius turned his desk chair to look up at his sister.

  “Do you think I’m a gossip-mongering busybody?”

  “No.” Julius cocked his eyebrows. “But neither are you the type who’d fail to notice why one of the hottest and most eligible bachelors at school is about to come back on the market.”

  Natasha’s jaw slid slowly to the side. “Fine. Yes, there’s been some insinuation that Roy cheated, but Katherine’s main complaint is she isn’t getting enough attention. Not surprising, given that she’s completely self-obsessed.”

  “But do you think he’s cheating?” Bethany got off the bed.

  Natasha pursed her well-glossed lips. “Yes. I do think he’s involved with someone else.” She tapped her chin. “But nobody at our school.”

  “The Other Woman, then. She’s the key.” Julius picked up his notepad. “The trick is to find out whether Zoe’s behind this, or someone else using her face.”

  “The Nathan Hale homecoming.” Julius dropped into the seat next to me in the lunchroom.

  “What?” I stopped chewing my roast beef sandwich and set it down on the table.

  “That’s where we can see Zoe Ward. She’s a cheerleader. I’m sure she’ll be at the dance. We’ll have all evening to observe her.” Julius’s lunch was in a brown paper bag, and though he set it on the table, he didn’t open it.

  “Are you going to eat?” No matter how much Julius and I hung out together outside school, he never sat with me at lunch. I always wished he would, but felt awkward asking.

  “At this table?” Julius glanced at the cafeteria line, where Bethany, Thea, and Kevin were. “Aren’t they going to sit here?”

  “Yeah, but you’re friends with Bethany.” If Julius didn’t want to sit with me, I shouldn’t have cared. But the lunchroom was where people showed their alliances.

  “I have some work to do while I eat.” His jaw was tight.

  “That’s fine.”

  Bethany and Thea were coming toward us, and I was shot through with awkwardness to have the two sides of my world come together. Bethany might have been friends with Julius, but Thea and Julius never spoke a word. Then there was the fact that Thea thought she was my girlfriend, and Julius was my . . . something else.

  “So,” I rocked back in my chair, hoping to wrap up my and Julius’s conversation. “This Friday?”

  Unfortunately, Bethany must have had supernatural
hearing, because she caught what I said. “What’s going on Friday?”

  Julius lifted his chin. “Henry and I were thinking about crashing the Nathan Hale homecoming dance this weekend.” His lips twisted into a slow smile. “Would you two ladies like to come along as our dates?”

  Bethany’s eyes bugged out, and she glanced between Julius and me. “Er . . . why?”

  Thea broke into a grin. “That sounds so fun. You think we can get in?”

  “Oh, I’m sure Henry and I can manage something,” Julius said smoothly. He gave Thea an appraising glance, then surveyed Bethany from head to toe. “If you ladies wear something nice and we’re polite, I don’t see how we’d raise any suspicion.”

  Bethany’s face pinkened under her glasses.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s stupid.” I shuffled my food.

  Thea sat on the other side from me. “Oh, come on. Even if we don’t get in, it would be cool to try.” She popped a straw into her juice and sipped, eyes shining and excited.

  “It’s a date.” Julius unpacked his lunch with a flourish. With a snarky grin, he said, “I think I will sit with you, Henry.”

  All through lunch, I simmered in annoyance. My sandwich tasted dry, and when the rest of the people left, I touched Julius’s arm, murmuring under my breath, “Hold on a sec.”

  He picked up his backpack, but hung out by me until I was ready to walk with him to study hall.

  “Are we using the buddy system now?” he asked.

  “No.” I ground my teeth together. “Is that why you pulled that prank about the Nathan Hale dance? To have more buddies?”

  “Are you jealous?” Julius asked it with no heat, like it was an everyday question. He walked with me into the hallway.

  “No,” I spat like a bratty kid. “You can date whoever you want. It’s got nothing to do with me.”

  I couldn’t see Julius’s eyes because his hair had fallen in his face. His lips paled into a hard line. “I know it doesn’t.”