16. Vivian

16

VIVIAN

JANUARY 1, 1:50 A.M.

The Pierrot is almost four blocks behind us when Milford finally shows up.

"Hey!" He jogs over, a Lagniappe Land tote bag on his shoulder, and I actually laugh. Does the cult give out party favors? He also looks pissed, and it's really hard to take a man seriously when he's holding a tote bag.

But then I remember the kind of men we just saw in there, and I don't feel like laughing anymore.

"Where have y'all been?" Milford demands, catching up to us. "You can't just disappear like that in there. I was—"

"Is that our stuff?" Piper cuts him off, nodding at the bag.

He frowns. "You didn't answer my—"

"Hand it over," she snaps. "We need to go now. "

Milford doesn't argue, probably still afraid Piper's going to whip out another glass of water. He hands us our street clothes and, thank god, our phones.

"Those dresses have to go back. Like, ASAP," he says. "I'll get shit from them if they're missing."

I laugh again.

"What?" Milford scowls.

I don't know how to explain it. Lily was there. She knew about the Pierrot, and she never told me. She might have been in danger, and she never asked for my help, and now she's missing, and all Milford cares about is getting the ball gowns back. And now I can't keep it in anymore.

"What the hell was that?" I explode.

Milford stiffens. "I tried to tell y'all."

"Bullshit."

"I know what it looks like, okay?" he argues. "I didn't want to go back there. Y'all are the ones who made me. But those guys aren't bad. They're just—I don't know. Having some fun. My dad says most of them have arrangements with their wives, or whatever. But it's just a stupid Mardi Gras thing. A bunch of old guys playing King for a day, like in Deus. Like Les Masques."

"Les Masques is not the same thing," Piper argues. "It's a decades-old tradition about celebrating women. It's not… whatever that was."

April scoffs, so quiet I almost didn't hear it. But clearly, Piper did.

She turns on April, arms crossed. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Y'all," I step in. "We need to go."

Because the Jester's still on our tail. I'm not the only one who's thinking it. Piper's already fishing her keys out of the tote bag, and April's scanning the street, anxious.

"Thanks again, Milford," I spit. "Really, you were a great escort."

I turn and lead us away.

"Wait," he says, suddenly urgent, and for a second, I think he's going to apologize. It wouldn't help, not really, but I still want to hear it.

But what he says is "Y'all won't tell anyone, will you? Because I'll deny it. They will, too."

Yeah, I think, shooting him a glare. I bet they will.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I tell him through gritted teeth.

We turn and go, leaving him there on the street.

When we make it back to the car, the street is empty. I let out a shaky breath.

And then I realize April is crying. Not hard, just one tear slipping down her pale cheek. She wipes it away, but she doesn't look sad. She looks angry as hell.

Piper's noticed, too, and she's watching April like a cat who wants to befriend a small duck but is sort of worried she might accidentally eat it.

"Hey," I say softly. "You okay?"

April shakes her head. I take a step toward her, but then I remember I don't know her that well, don't know how to comfort her yet.

She wipes another tear. "They knew her. These two guys I saw on the balcony. They knew Margot."

Piper straightens. "How do you know?"

"They said I was too young to be there, like the ‘other girl.' And when I asked them if they meant Margot—"

"Wait, you asked them? We didn't agree to talk to any of the members. They could have recognized you, or—"

"Let her finish," I tell Piper.

It looks like it takes literally biting her tongue to stop herself, but Piper nods.

"When I said her name, they looked all freaked out," April continues. "Then they told me I had to leave."

There's a new look on April's face now. Not just anger, but like she finally understands.

"This all comes back to Margot," April says. "Lily's disappearance, the Jester—everything. That girl in the bathroom said Lily was at the Pierrot asking about Margot. And Lily wanted to talk to us about her that morning at the Den. She was trying to tell us something before she disappeared. Like maybe… maybe there's more to what happened to Margot than everyone thinks."

A chill creeps from my neck to the bottom of my spine. "You mean, like…?"

"Like they did something to her," April says. "Those men at the Pierrot."

There's this look in her eyes now, like she's never been more sure of anything. But Piper shakes her head.

"That's not possible."

"How do you know?" April snaps.

"Because she overdosed. It's not like they could have faked that." Piper pauses, like maybe she's realized how harsh that sounds. "Look, I know that place was bad, but some kind of conspiracy feels like a step too far."

"You didn't know Margot," April says. "I did. And she had stuff she was dealing with, sure, but I never saw her do hard drugs, ever. That was the thing. She liked to be a little dangerous, not reckless. She walked right up to the line but never crossed it. Not until—" She stops. "I just… I saw the look in that man's eyes on the balcony. He knew her. And y'all saw what it was like in there. It's, like, the most powerful men in the city all in one room. If they did something to her, they'd be able to cover it up, no question."

I don't like it, how true that feels.

"Well, that's still theoretical," Piper says. "We don't have proof."

"It's not a crazy idea, though," I step in. "If Lily was asking about Margot, and she found something out, like…" I hesitate before saying it out loud, making it real. "Let's say someone did something to Margot, and Lily knew about it. If it was this Jester guy, that's a pretty good reason for him to be after her."

"Maybe Lily is on the run from him," April says. "Or maybe…"

It isn't until now that it really hits me. Or maybe he caught her. And if the Jester or any of these Pierrot people are covering up a murder, then there's no telling what they'd do to stop it from getting out. Including making another Queen disappear.

I hug my ribs, feeling suddenly nauseous.

"Okay." Piper steeples her fingers like a therapist, probably something she's copied from her dad. "Okay, so maybe it's not a crazy idea. Clearly, this place is another link between Margot and Lily. But correlation does not imply murder. We need to keep looking."

She's right, but it doesn't make April's theory feel any less real. It eats away at me, shutting up any part that's been able to convince myself that this is all some big misunderstanding and Lily will be home in no time.

"We should also probably tell Marty," Piper adds.

"No," April says quickly.

"Need I remind you that we literally just got chased by a masked man?" Piper asks. "We could kind of use a detective here."

"Marty's in Deus," April argues. "Milford said the Pierrot is a Deus thing. And for all we know, everyone in the Krewe is a part of it."

"No." Piper shakes her head. "No way. I don't know about y'all, but there's no chance my dad is a part of that. Do you seriously think yours are?"

"Obviously not," I jump in, creeped out at the idea that my dad would ever set foot in that place. "But April's right. We shouldn't trust anyone, at least until we know what's going on."

Piper juts her chin, like she's thinking of her next snappy comeback, but then she sighs. "Fine. It does seem like we'd get in huge trouble if anyone knew we were there tonight."

A firework sizzles a few streets over. Then, deep laughter. We all turn toward the noise, but it's just a group of drunk guys walking by.

"We should go," I say. "It's late."

Piper nods. "But tomorrow, we should make a game plan. Decide what to do next."

I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that we're a "we" now, but to be honest, as horrible as tonight has been, it feels good to be taking action to find Lily. To not be doing it alone.

As Piper climbs into the driver's seat, I turn to April.

"Hey," I start, "if you ever want to talk about Margot… I guess I don't know what it's been like for you, not all the way, but I'm here. You know, if you need a friend."

She blinks, and something flickers on her face. Not quite a smile, but a sort of relief.

"Yeah," she says. "Thanks."

Piper's door swings open. "Y'all, get in. Now."

At first I think she's just being typical impatient Piper, but then I catch the fear in her voice.

And then I see the envelope tucked against the windshield.

"Shit," I breathe, scrambling to get in as April climbs into the back seat.

Piper snatches the envelope and slides back into her seat, shutting the door behind her. She hits the lock button, and the click feels louder than it should.

"It must have been here this whole time," she says, tearing it open. "I don't know when he got here. I don't know how he—"

"What does it say?" I ask.

Even before Piper slides out the invitation, I know exactly what it will look like: the same fancy paper as the one in the darkroom, the sad clown logo. The same looping script.

" My Dearest Maids, " Piper reads. " I thought we could be civilized, but it looks like you just can't help getting your hands dirty. So let me make myself clear: stop digging, or I'll show everyone just what you've been hiding behind those pretty masks of yours. "

Dread rushes up in me as Piper reads the sign-off.

"Yours, the Jester."