After walking Courtney to her car, Steve returned to the medical examiner's office. He needed the official cause of death.
"So, Doc," Steve said quietly, "what killed this man?"
The medical examiner pulled down his mask.
"Well… this man was tortured. Slowly. Whoever did this first broke both of his knees. Then each finger was cut off one at a time. What finally killed him was a blow to the back of the head with something heavy."
He pointed at fresh wounds along the body.
"These marks? They were made after he died. Whoever did this hated him. Planned it. Wanted to send a message."
Steve nodded grimly.
"Thanks."
He left and headed back to the woods where Eric's body had been found by a hunter.
---
Meanwhile at school, Mark, Beth, and I walked to lunch, but none of us spoke. The truth we learned that morning hung over us like a storm cloud.
Mark gave us space until Beth finally spoke.
"If my dad really heard what he said he did… then John and Jennifer know where Arron is," Beth whispered.
"Maybe we can go ask them," I said, my voice shaky. "Maybe they'll tell us."
Mark shook his head immediately.
"John isn't going to tell you anything. You know that."
We all let out long breaths and sat down to eat, though none of us felt hungry.
---
Across town, John met Jennifer at a rundown motel. She walked up to him and kissed him.
"Well," John smirked, "I'm guessing you're happy to see me."
Jennifer laughed softly. "I can't believe our plan is going this well. Soon it'll be just you and me."
John chuckled. "Slow down. We stick to the plan first… then we get what we want. And first things first—we need to make sure Arron never makes it home."
After their meeting, John left one way and Jennifer drove back to the hospital.
She didn't know something happened to Arron while she was gone.
---
Courtney finished work and got into her car, turning on the ignition when her phone rang.
One look at the caller ID made her freeze.
Meanwhile, in a dark room miles away, Jose forced himself awake. His body shook. His wrists bled from the ropes. He didn't know where he was.
All he knew was Eric was dead.
And a woman — a girl, actually — had done it.
He didn't understand why. He didn't know anything about Arron. He didn't deserve this.
But the woman didn't seem to care.
---
Courtney pulled up to the school with shock written across her face.
Mark and I got into the car, confused, and Courtney finally breathed out:
"Arron woke up."
My heart exploded with hope — until she continued.
"He didn't know where he was. He asked the nurse for a phone so he could call me. And…"
She swallowed hard.
"He asked who brought him there."
My voice was barely a whisper. "Who?"
"Jennifer," Courtney said. "Jennifer put him there."
My stomach dropped.
Courtney continued, "Arron freaked out. He told the nurses she wasn't allowed near him anymore. Then he told them he needed to get home. That's when he found out…"
She paused.
"…he's two states away."
"How far?" Mark asked.
"We live in New York," Courtney said. "Arron's in Maine."
Two states away.
Hours and hours away.
Ripped from us.
When we pulled into the driveway that night, I turned to Courtney.
"Can we talk at dinner? There's something important I need to tell you."
Courtney nodded. "Yes. Because I have something important I need to tell both of you too."
Tomorrow was going to be the day everything changed.