CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

She was at his desk for more than a minute.

In fact, it was about fifteen minutes, during which both guys stood silently over her shoulder as she worked. When she finally stopped typing and turned around to face them, Finn and Reggie were staring at her like she was some kind of alien.

"What's wrong?" she asked self-consciously.

"Nothing," Reggie said.

She looked at Finn.

"I just don't know what to say," he admitted. "I was trying to follow what you were doing but I got lost what with all the databases and programs you were using. It was like watching a chef move around their kitchen."

"Yeah, well I'm actually a halfway decent cook too, so I guess it makes sense," she said, unable to hide her pride. "You want to know what I found?"

They both nodded vigorously. She turned back around and pointed at the screen.

"As far as I can tell, there are three credible suspects," she told them. "Each of them have multiple ties to Jost and two of them have known him for a couple of years at least. But in both of those cases, it looks like the relationships are casual, sharing a few classes or being in the same clubs. It's this third person I'm most interested in."

"Sherry Braid?" Finn asked, looking at the screen.

"Right," Hannah said. "Do you know her, Reggie?"

"Not really," he said. "I mean, I see her in class and I'm sure I've passed her around campus. But I don't think we've ever even talked."

"Well," Hannah said, pulling up a new tab with a photo from the school paper. "I can assure you that she's talked to Marvin Jost. In fact, I think they're secretly dating."

"How do you know?" Reggie asked.

"This photo was a candid from a fundraiser hosted by Black Student Union, which they"re members of," she noted, before pointing at the corner of the picture. "I used a facial recognition program to find it, among others. Look at them. They"re not looking at each other, but they"re extremely close. I"d call their physical positioning comfortable, maybe even intimate."

"Don't you think you're reaching just a little bit?" Finn asked skeptically.

"Maybe," Hannah conceded, "but apparently so is Marvin."

She pulled up another photo from Marvin's fraternity page. It was from a party several weeks ago. It was a crowd image, but Marvin, who was also very tall and hard to miss, had his hand on Sherry's shoulder. She was gazing up at him adoringly.

"And then there's this," she told them pulling up Sherry's Instagram. There were no photos of Marvin visible but there was something else. "Isn't Marvin's jersey number 24?"

"Yeah," Reggie said.

She then pointed to multiple instances of the number appearing in Sherry's photos, including on the whiteboard in her dorm room, and in one close-up photo, scrawled on the back of her hand in red marker.

"But I've never seen them in public together as a couple," Reggie said, clearly not wanting to believe it. "Maybe she's just a big fan."

"Maybe," Hannah conceded. "Or maybe Marvin just doesn"t want to be seen in public with a freshman, which she is. Maybe they"re keeping it quiet, and she"s just so giddy to be with him that she"d do anything for him. Or maybe I"m wrong, and they"re not together at all. It could be just a one-way crush. But that doesn"t eliminate her motive. In fact, it might give her an even stronger one. Maybe she figures that if she does something dramatic to help the guy she"s into, he"ll return the affection. Either way, I think Sherry is our most likely culprit."

"Okay," Finn said, "all that makes sense but without a smoking gun, wouldn't Reggie be doing the exact same thing as her, making an unfounded accusation?"

Hannah smiled. Part of that was because she had an answer for him. But part of it, which she kept to herself, was because she felt that old familiar rush of righteous indignation rising in her. If Sherry Braid was responsible for this, Hannah felt an obligation to make her pay. The only question was how high a price she would extract.

"Under normal circumstances, I"d agree," she said, pulling up another tab, "but not when there"s precedent. Last fall, in Sherry"s senior year of high school, three girls were busted for underage drinking at a house party. All of them were on the cheerleading team. The charges were ultimately dismissed, but the girls were kicked off the team. Guess who didn"t make the team originally but got one of the replacement spots?"

"Sherry?" Reggie said.

"That's right," Hannah said. "And conveniently, according to the police report, the call to the cops about the party came in anonymously. And several of the busted girls said that Sherry had been there too. But when the police showed up, she was gone."

"How do you have access to the police report?" Finn demanded. "Isn't that protected info, especially since they were minors?"

"Two of them were minors, but the third wasn't, which made it accessible to other law enforcement agencies. As to how I'm able to access that data, it's probably best not to ask too many questions."

Finn looked uncomfortable, but Reggie was more focused on Sherry"s potential wrongdoing.

"So you're saying Sherry has done this before," Reggie pressed, "only this time, instead of doing it for herself, she did it for a guy she was into?"

"I'm not saying anything officially," Hannha corrected. "I'm just noting that a suspiciously similar event happened involving her last year, and that she's in your class and seems to have an intense personal connection to the person who could most benefit from you getting suspended."

"Is that enough to clear me?" Reggie asked.

"It's certainly enough to go to your professor first thing tomorrow morning with your concerns," Hannah told him. "You seem like a pretty soft-spoken guy, Reggie, but this would be the time to find your voice. You might assert that this suspension is a violation of your due process rights under the school's Academic Integrity Policy and that not reviewing the classroom video right away—which will exonerate you—is indefensible. You might say that it threatens your place on the team and your scholarship, which might require legal action to remedy. You might inform him that you'll consider him personally liable if that happens. You might even tell him that your basketball game is on Saturday and unless the situation is resolved tomorrow—Friday—you'll go to the coach, the administration, the school paper, and maybe even the local news. My guess is that he'll back down pretty quickly. And if he doesn't, then I suggest that you actually do all of those things."

"Will you come with me?" he asked, sounding more like a nine-year-old little boy than a nineteen-year-old star basketball player.

"I will if you absolutely feel you need me to," she said reluctantly. "But I think it would be more powerful if it came directly from you. Personally, I think it might be enough just to have a loyal friend in the room with you for backup."

She looked over at Finn, who flashed her one of his patented grins.

"I"m happy to be your wingman if you want, Reggie."

"I'd appreciate it."

"Then it sounds like we've got a plan," Hannah said, standing up. "I recommend you spend the rest of the evening getting your ducks in a row. You don't have to bring up every detail that I just did. But demand to know if the accusation came from Sherry, point out her connections to Marvin, and assert that you'll be pursuing justice in this matter. Like I said, I think your professor will cave pretty fast. He doesn't want a scandal any more than you do."

"Thanks, Hannah," Reggie said. "Is it okay if I give you a hug?"

Even though she feared he might crush her, she nodded. He enveloped her in his enormously long arms and as he squeezed her, she felt him release a giant sigh, as if all the anxiety he'd been bottling up had left him in that moment. When he released her, she saw that his eyes were again slightly watery.

"I'm going to head out," she said.

"I'll walk you down," Finn said, then turned to Reggie," I'll talk to you soon, buddy."

He closed the door, and they walked along the insane asylum hallway without speaking. It would have been hard anyway, with the sound of Lizzo's "Truth Hurts" shaking the whole house. When they reached the stairwell, he turned to face her.

"Thanks for that," he shouted, "Reggie's a really good guy. He doesn't deserve this crap."

"Glad I could help," she yelled back.

She started to take the first step down the stairs when he coughed dramatically. She looked over and saw that his cheeks were pink

"I was wondering if I could pay you back," he said.

"That's okay," she told him. "I just want it all to work out for him."

"I'm sure it will, but I really think I owe you," he insisted, leaning close to her ear to be heard better, "and I think I may have a way to do that."

"How?" she asked, suddenly apprehensive that he was going to ruin what had been a pretty pleasant interaction so far with a crass suggestion.

"I think I should let you dance with me," he said.

She stared at him quizzically.

"Come again?"

"I said that I think I should reward you for your good deed by allowing you to join me on the dance floor."

His cheeks were now bright red, but despite that, he somehow managed to maintain that confident, affable smile. She couldn"t help but be impressed. Even if he was the epitome of the overconfident frat boy, there was an undercurrent of appealing self-effacement somewhere in there too.

"How is that a reward for me?" she wanted to know.

"You've never seen me dance," he informed her.

She had to fight off a giggle.

"I'm not really a dance party kind of gal," she told him.

"Oh, I understand now," he said, nodding with faux condescension, "you're scared."

She knew she was being teased, and yet the competitive part of her wouldn't let that crack stand. She told herself that was the only reason she was considering the offer, that it had nothing to do with Finn's charming cockiness or the playful look in his eyes. Before she could stop herself, she opened her mouth.

"You're on."