One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)

by Karen M. McManus

“I’m getting this monitor off, and soon. We both know it. And if you think I’ve forgotten about what you did to me, if you think I forgive you for that? You thought wrong. We have a score to settle. Get used to living life looking over your shoulder, because one of these days, I’m going to be there.”

Does he mean her cheating? He doesn’t think they settled that already? Or does he think her dying really is justified because she cheated? Or does he mean that he went to jail? It so that’s more his fault than hers because he was doing illegal shit.

“Yeah, but I thought you might think differently if you saw the original,” Maeve says, enlarging her screen. “Plus you were drugged, so…” “I know what I saw, though. Or what I dreamed, and it wasn’t that.”

It would be really nice and convenient if it was Jake but I don’t think he’s that stupid turn off to break his restraining order and do more illegal shit when he is on the verge of going through another trial.

I’ve been doing my own surveillance on Owen this week, trying to creep on his browser history—which is useless, because he clears it every time, and I’m not nearly tech-savvy enough to figure out a work-around.

You really just need to talk to your friends about that my god

She rolls her eyes. “You know who. A bunch of women complained that they don’t feel safe with Jake at the club. Also, a few of them said he threatened you.”

Nice to know that the whole town isn’t just ignoring what he did, and letting him act as if everything’s normal

“Although maybe it’s for the best, now that Conrad and Olsen is getting so much bad press.” “They are? How come?” “Because they manage the Clarendon Street billboard. You know, the one that got hacked?”

I’m sorry I talked shit about your sex life in the cafeteria after Cooper was outed.” Vanessa blinks, startled. “Are you apologizing for standing up for Cooper?” she asks. “Because I was out of line that day.” “I’m apologizing for how I did it. I shouldn’t have gone there.”

Damn, I guess I should’ve already read the other two books before going into this one because I remember the general synopsis of those two but like I do not remember all these details that were happening because that was two years ago for me so

I’m not as relieved, though; not after what my father said about his keys. He’s right—whoever took them could have free and clear access to every part of Bayview High. “Dad, what else is locked up around here?” I ask. “Huh? Everything,” he says. “Yeah, but…if somebody wanted to, I don’t know, keep playing a game, what kind of location do you think they’d choose?”

“Security cameras are out,” he manages to say. “Out?” Bronwyn echoes. “What do you mean?” “Their lights aren’t on,” he says, straightening. “The little red lights that mean they’re recording. I noticed it for the one on the back door and thought it was a fluke, but the hallway cameras aren’t working either. I took a quick look in the gym—nobody there, by the way—and it’s the same thing.”

It’s Reggie. He’s gagged and blindfolded, tied to a plastic classroom chair that’s overturned on the floor. There’s a gaping cut on his forehead, a puddle of blood around his head, and more spatters on the corner of the wall between the shower and locker areas. His skin is grayish, his body stiff. There’s a word scrawled across his right arm, in the exact same block letters someone used to write on Phoebe. Makes

Damn is he dead?

Luis shoots her a look that’s half admiration, half alarm. “Sometimes I don’t know whether to be turned on or terrified by you,” he says. Maeve smiles serenely. “Both is fine.”

I hear murmured voices and footsteps, and then Nate returns with Vanessa in tow. She’s dressed for a much more exciting night than this one, in a short, sparkly dress and strappy heels.

Damn I kinda feel bad for her now. She was invited and they forgot about her and she was told it’s a party when it’s actually not.

“Your mother is an incredible woman,” Dad said. With his sunglasses on, it was impossible for Jake to read his expression. “She’s also very driven, which is something I didn’t realize about her when we first met.” “Is that a bad thing?” Jake asked cautiously. “Of course not,” Dad said. Jake couldn’t read his tone either. “If it’s what you want. Some couples enjoy having competitive careers. Others might prefer a more complementary relationship. I know you better than you know yourself, Jake, and I have a feeling that you’d be happier with the second scenario. The kind of sweet, supportive girl who knows that your successes are her successes too.”

Ew

Last night, Crystal told all the roommates that Reggie hadn’t been wearing his signature leather-cord necklace when he died, and his parents had asked about it. I guess it was a gift from his mom, so we tore the damn house apart looking for that thing. No luck, though. I felt like shit afterward, because it was the first time I’d considered Reggie as anything other than a giant pain in the ass.

It doesn’t matter how many times she smiles at me like that; I still forget how to breathe for at least a few seconds.

Chase Alton was easy to track down. He’s the ultimate cliché—a wannabe actor waiting tables in Los Angeles, hoping for his big break. That’s what he told Tami Lee, anyway.” Bronwyn props herself up on one elbow, frowning. “I thought you retired Tami Lee?” “She’s retired on Toq,” Maeve says

“Christopher, on the other hand, is a total void,” Maeve says. “Zero social media accounts. No word about him since his high school graduation notice.” “Well, that’s suspicious,” Kris mutters.

“How does a person drive around with their license plate so covered with mud that it’s impossible to read and not get pulled over?” he mutters as the red car shifts lanes. “Oh, you know,” Knox says. “The Bayview Police can’t be bothered with stuff like that. They have their hands full with not solving murders.”

“Okay, well, this isn’t how I envisioned having this conversation, but…listen, why don’t you come inside?” His eyes flick away from me, scanning Cooper, Kris, and Knox in turn. “We’re going to want to talk to all of you, because Jake Riordan has disappeared.”

I don’t want to know. I’m positive, with every fiber of my being, that I don’t want to know what my sister found in Owen’s backpack. But she pulls it out anyway and holds it up. “Phoebe, does this…I mean, did this belong to Reggie Crawley?” My heart rockets into my throat as I take the familiar necklace from her.

She kept saying, over and over, I loved him. I loved him so much. We were going to build a life together. He was supposed to be my ticket out.” “Out of where?” I ask. “Bayview?” “I asked the same thing,” Vanessa says. “And she said, My marriage.”

Ashton’s the only one who ever saw through him, but we wouldn’t listen.” I can’t bring myself to say the rest: And when I say we, I mean you, Mom, because how was I supposed to know? I was just a kid.

“A hundred thousand what?” I ask Maeve. She mimes zipping her lips. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, so you have to act surprised when Nate does, okay?” She flips open her laptop as she sprawls beside me on my bed, grabbing an extra pillow to put between her and the headrest. “It just slipped out. I’m so freaking excited for him. What a game changer, huh?”

See, I’m really excited for him. I think this would be really great for him but I’m also suspicious because it seems like every time something good happens to them. It gets ripped away and so like until it actually happens. I don’t believe it’s going to you now.

Her voice drops to a low whisper. “It’s always the husband.” I lift my head so I can stare at her. “You’ve literally never said that.” Maeve huffs in annoyance. “Okay, well, I don’t have to, because every true crime podcast ever has said it for me,” she says.

killed Alexander Alton?” Maeve finishes. “It’s a possibility, right? He had motive, and if he’s anything like Jake—” “He is.” I gulp. “In lots of ways, but…would Ms. Riordan still live with him after something like that?” “Maybe,” Maeve says. “If she didn’t know. Or if she was afraid of what he might do to Jake, or to her, if she left.”

“Hang on. I have to screenshot this before it disappears, because it probably will soon. Check out the first comment on this picture,” Maeve says, handing me her laptop. It’s a comment posted by a girl with the user name @sophiehh13, whose avatar photo…looks a lot like Chelsea Alton. The comment reads, Stop stealing my pics you psycho!!!

OMG, so Chelsea could be in the Bayview area and most likely is because those are not her pictures!

Maeve returns to Chelsea’s page, where Sophie’s comment has already been deleted. “Chelsea jumped all over that notification, but it’s too late,” she says. “We already know she’s lying, so all we need to know now is—” “Where is she?” I finish, staring at the screen.

So I can understand why Chelsea would have beef with Jake because you know his mom had an affair with her dad and then her dad died probably as a result of that affair, but I was wondering why she would practice on Reggie and Phoebe and then it hit me she thinks they’re Jake apologists I mean we know that Reggie vouched for him in some article, saying how he was always a nice guy right and Phoebe. We know she was on an Instagram post of somebody who is keeping track of Jake’s sightings. We found her shoes and they were like right now and pink, which would be pretty easy to identify her from plus if Chelsea was stocking, shakes, she would’ve seen, him change Phoebe‘s car tire so she probably pick both of them because they seem to like they supported him like they were friends of his. Do you know what I’m gonna go? Guest Evie is Chelsea. I think that could be wrong but the way she snapped at Phoebe makes me a little suspicious of her.

“Ad agencies don’t pay like law firms,” Jake said. He sounded almost forlorn as he added, “My mom doesn’t get it. If it weren’t for my dad, we’d be living like this too.”

Omg the absolute horror

“Owen,” I say, carefully folding the necklace into my palm. “This necklace belonged to Reggie Crawley. It went missing when he did, and his parents have been looking for it.” Owen blinks. “Reggie? But that’s…I don’t get it.”

If ever really is Chelsea and she did kill Reggie then Owen is a perfect person to slip the necklace to since he’s always at cafe contigo and she is constantly working there.

“Sana?” I ask, blinking in surprise. “Yeah. She was like, ‘Oh, some stuff fell out of your bag; I put it back in,’ ” Owen says. “Then she zipped up the front and handed it to me.”

I can’t see her being involved though so I don’t get why she’d plant the necklace on him. I feel like this is a coincidence. Plus the person who’s doing this is fairly smart they would know not to get caught holding the backpack because it could draw suspicion. The only way I could see sana being involved is if she’s friends with chelsea because I’m pretty set on Chelsea being the one behind all this.

“I need to ask you something,” I say, brushing past her to enter the apartment. I definitely don’t want to have this conversation in the hallway. “I’m kind of in the middle of something,” Evie says.

Uh oh is she in the middle of dealing with Jake?

A small kitchen is to my right, and there’s another room to my left that… “Oh my God.” The words slip out of me before I realize I’ve said them, as I stare at the green vine-patterned wallpaper that’s been haunting my dreams ever since the night I was kidnapped.

I enlarge it and see a yearbook page full of smiling high school kids. Chelsea E. Alton, the first caption reads, and it’s…holy shit, it’s a years-younger version of that girl Evie from Café Contigo.

Damn I’m good!

He’s heavier now than he used to be, but I still would’ve recognized him even without the caption beneath his name: Gavin P. Barrett.

Ok maybe not that good cuz I didn’t see that one

For a second, Jake and I just stare at one another. My emotions are churning, fear being taken over by shock and…God, is that pity? Buried somewhere deep inside me, coming out because no matter what he’s done, he’s another human being and this is terrifying and— “You bitch,” Jake snarls. My blossoming pity dissolves like ash in my stomach as Chelsea positions herself beside me.

“Of course. I think about Jake every day.” “What? Why?” Dad demanded. His tone grew harsh when Alexander didn’t reply. “Why the hell are you looking at me like that?” “Katherine said that she…I thought you knew,” Alexander said.

Omg is Alex James dad?

Chelsea shakes her head. “I didn’t know him. I met him once, the summer my father died, when he was cutting through my backyard. And he didn’t tell me anything back then. I got a letter with all the details a few months ago.”

Oh my God, Simon plans, his death with Jake and wants to frame Addie for it, and then they were going to release a message to you later after her life it already been ruined to prove that he killed himself and then another year later he sends a pre-made letter to Chelsea so that he can take Jake down as well. Oh my gosh what the hell.

And then, the body twitched. Simon nearly fell off the trellis, certain his imagination had gotten the better of him until he saw Jake recoil in shock. Neither of them was seeing things—Alexander’s hand moved, and then his head. Faint, but definite.

Oh no, so Jake really was the one that killed him. How fucked is that? He killed his own dad fuck

Before Simon could wonder for too long, though, Jake grabbed a towel that was draped over the oven door and folded it in two. He knelt beside Alexander Alton and then, as Simon watched through the window, pressed the towel over Alexander’s face. Even as Alexander struggled weakly, Jake held it there. After a few minutes that passed with agonizing slowness, there was no movement at all.

Damn, so he’s always been a killer damn

My pulse takes a giant leap as Gavin crosses to the window and peers outside. “Who drives a black Subaru?” he asks. “A what?” Chelsea asks just as I cry out, “Cooper!” Then I want to clap my hand over my mouth and swallow the name, but it’s too late.

Godamn idiot

“I don’t have a ring or anything, because I know we still have a ways to go before that makes sense, and also, you don’t like diamonds—” “They’re not sustainable,” she says breathlessly.

“I’m going to marry you, Bronwyn Rojas. Just so you know.” She puts her hands on either side of my face and pulls me close enough to kiss. But first, she says, “Oh, I know.”