Chapter Sixty Naomi

Chapter Sixty

Naomi

Wednesday, May 24, 2023, two days before her death

It’s pouring rain as I run across campus. Marta has something. The leaked emails, DuPont’s strange reaction, the payments to her afterward…It’s all connected. And everyone involved could go to prison.

At the same time, I have so many questions. What, exactly, does she have? And if DuPont knew it existed, he would have made her destroy it, right? If she’s loyal to him, why has she kept it for all these years?

Marta had always worked quietly in the corners of Sterling, frowning as she swept and dusted. It was impossible to tell whose side she was on.

—

I step out of the rain and into McCosh Hall, where Professor Williams’s office is located.

I knock on her door, and a few seconds later, she opens it a crack, peering out at me from the dimly lit space. “Naomi…I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I have a favor to ask,” I tell her. “Do you have a minute?”

I take a seat in the chair across from her desk. “It’s about someone named Lila Jones.” Amy had told me months ago that Professor Williams knew Lila, but I’d been too distracted by everything else to go to her. Now I need help, and she’s one person I know I can trust.

I watch as her face falls into a look of concern. “Be careful who you ask about that.”

“We can’t let this go on. If we don’t do something now, it’ll never end. It could happen again.”

I tell her about our plan to talk to Marta, and though I can tell she’s scared, she’s willing to help us.

On my way out, she stops me. Her hand grips my elbow tightly. “Naomi. Please be careful.”

—

It’s raining harder by the time I step out of McCosh Hall. I open my umbrella and step onto the slick sidewalk. I’m halfway to my dorm when I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Someone in a dark coat slips behind the side of a building, out of sight.

Unnerved, I walk faster.

I’m crossing the wet grass when I hear footsteps behind me, hard soles, barely perceptible over the rain. Panic floods my system.

I walk faster. The footsteps get louder, closer, until they’re right behind me.

I spin around, ready to react. But there’s no one there.