Guilty Secrets (Campus Love and Murder Sorority Eyes Romance Book 1) (13 page)

"I'm just... exhausted. I have to go."

"OK, Robyn. Speak to you soon."

I hung up.

I should have been grateful for the knowledge that now I was truly alone. But my heart ached.

With only myself to trust I could focus on the task in hand. While Mai was out of the house, it was time to discover the secrets she kept.

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Mai's bedroom was a combination of simplicity and luxury. A smooth oak floor covered in deep cashmere woven rugs surrounded a four poster bed of Egyptian cotton sheets. To one side was a door that led to a bathroom with a wet room. On the other side a door led to a walk-in closet bigger than my previous apartment.

It was there I started the search for any secrets that Mai was keeping.

I was on my knees, deeply engrossed in her extensive shoe collection when I felt a shadow pass over me.

I whipped around and saw a young woman in a maid uniform. She bowed and stared at her feet.

"Are you the maid?"

She nodded, but refused to look up.

"Hi, I'm Robyn and you are..."

She whispered something, but I couldn't catch it.

I glanced at the six inch heeled shoe in my hand and replaced it with the dozens of other shoes.

"I guess you're wondering what I'm doing in Mai's closet?"

She shook her head.

"I'm..." My eyes alighted on a hair dryer. I grabbed it fast. "Just looking for this."

She bowed silently as I gently brushed by her.

"Nice to meet you, um... never mind.”

I ran back to my room. A few minutes later I heard Mai enter the apartment. I wandered into the kitchen and found her going through the mail.

She smiled and held up a party invite. "It's for the both of us."

"Who's party?"

Her smile slipped. "The Wilson sisters."

"Oh. I can't figure out if they like me or hate me."

"Definitely."

"Which is it?"

"Both, I'm afraid. So you want to risk it?"

"Where is it held?"

"At their Sorority house."

This could be my chance to find the Wilson's secrets.

"If you're coming then sure."

She nodded. "Beware they may try to poach you."

"Poach me?"

"Initiate you into their Sorority. I'm sure that's why they agreed to help you out the other day. Just watch out."

"For what exactly?"

She shook her head. "You won’t see it coming, but I thought I’d give you the option of backing out."

"No way."

"So how's your day, Robyn?"

"I just met our maid. She's not exactly chatty..."

Mai laughed. "Sui Xang doesn't speak a word of English. But she's got other qualities. Pretty isn't she?"

"I guess. What qualities?"

"She's got a dozen black belts in something exotic and deadly. I forget exactly what. And she's the soul of discretion which is worth her weight in gold to my family."

That was good to know.

"Where did you find her?"

"She's a gift from my uncle."

"A gift? She's a human not a thing to give away."

"OK, maybe gift is the wrong word. But it amounts to the same thing. But you don't refuse my uncle."

"Why? Who is he?"

"You've met him, I think. Khan. Kublai Khan."

I stood in the kitchen and did my party trick of a goldfish gulping air.

"Khan is your uncle?"

"He's a real sweetie if you keep on his good side. I hear you made a big impression on him the other night. Can't say how much that means to me."

"It was my pleasure." I lied.

Mai didn't seem to be listening. "Damn."

"What?"

"I should have opened the mail the other day. The Wilson party. It's tonight."

She ran to shower as my cell phone rang.

It was Harry. My finger hovered over the reject button. But I hadn't forgotten he knew my secret and wasn't afraid to expose me.

I took a deep breath. "Hi, Harry."

"Free tonight?"

"It's the Wilson sisters’ party."

"That's two brush offs in a row, Robyn... but as luck would have it, I've also been invited."

I stifled a laugh. "Good. Because I might just need your help with something important."

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

The sorority house of the Wilson sisters, Charity and Virtue, was a three story palace set back from the main tree lined avenue on campus. I recognized a gleaming Mercedes convertible with the horrendous canyon gouged out of one side.

I pulled up Rust Bucket. Mai reminded me that discretion was the better part of valor and so I parked as far away from the Wilsons' cars as possible.

I left the car felling a light flutter of excited butterflies. Despite my better judgment I was looking forward to seeing Harry on the dance floor. My heart hammered at the thought of indulging in a slow dance with his arms around me.

I forced myself to concentrate on the matter in hand.

Flashing lights and thumping dance music greeted us, but as we stepped inside we found the place empty. In the middle of the main dance floor we stopped.

I turned to Mai. "Are we early?"

She shrugged. "Never intentionally."

"This is the right day?"

Mai glanced up at a wide netting of party balloons and something else. A large bucket that was slowly tipping over.

I screamed, "Run." I pushed Mai to one side. But too late.

A huge wave of thick, sticky gunge spilled out of the bucket and drenched me. I stood shaking and rooted to the spot.

The music stopped and a loud popping noise preceded the netting to be released with a hundred balloons and two large buckets of glittering confetti pouring down on us.

The lights dimmed to a single spotlight that settled on Charity and Virtue.

Charity held up a microphone to her lips and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the sorority initiation is over. Please welcome, our newest recruit, Robyn White."

People appeared from all corners and soon the room was filled with people clapping and laughing as they gathered in a circle around me.

I didn't bother trying to smile graciously as my entire face felt like it was set in concrete. I could barely breathe through the gunge. Green bubbles grew from my nostrils and once they were the size of my head they popped.

That's when I saw Harry walk into the house. He took one glance at me, spun on his heels and walked away.

I guess I didn't remind him of his ghost of love right at that moment.

But a moment later he reappeared carrying a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders. He then scooped me up in his arms and carried me upstairs to a vacant bathroom.

He gently lowered me into the shower.

He stared at my silk dress peeling off my body under the weight of the gunge.

"Need any help with those?"

I shook my head.

He nodded. "I'll find spare clothes."

I reached out and grabbed his hand. Thank God he couldn't see me crying under the thick mask of gunge.

"Thank you, Harry."

He shrugged.

"Need anything else?"

I nodded. "One important thing."

"Sure."

"Flirt with Charity and Virtue. Make sure they stay away from their rooms for as long as it takes me to find whatever secrets they're hiding."

He stared hard at me for a moment then blinked. "The Wilsons are on Madison's list?"

I nodded.

He took a deep breath and let it whistle out.

He nodded. "Leave it with me."

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

I had washed the first three layers of gunge off my skin and watched it swirl around the plug hole in the shower. Harry left a pair of jogger pants and a sweat top outside the shower. They were way too big for me and I had to roll up the sleeves and the legs.

By the time I had dried and dressed, the party was in full swing.

Perfect.

Harry was waiting outside the bathroom door.

"You OK?"

I nodded. "Their bedrooms?"

"Top floor. Can't miss them."

"Do whatever it takes to keep them away long enough, OK?"

He nodded.

I took the staircase to the top floor. There were two doors. The first was painted in hot pink with a brass plaque showing Virtue's name. The other bright yellow and marked Charity.

I took the first door into a fluffy pink wonderland of hot pink cushions, lace curtains on a four poster bed with a giant pink teddy bear dry humping a pink pillow. On closer inspection it was handcuffed to one of the posts.

I gave the book cases and desk drawers a once over before returning to the bed. I stared at the big fluffy pink nose of the teddy bear and casually punched it.

Then something struck me. I grabbed the bear and felt around the stitching. There was a tiny zip between the two nostrils. I unzipped its nose and a small silver metallic thumb drive fell from it.

I recognized the symbol of the Knights of Kimberley etched onto the thumb drive. I stuffed it into the pockets of the joggers and left the room. With no one around I entered Charity's room.

Her room was marginally more mature. The main wall was adorned with pictures of sports cars and ponies.

A four poster bed was tastefully adorned with white Egyptian cotton and modest cream curtains. Each of the posts had silk rope tied around them and a set of pink furry handcuffs.

Nothing came of a search of the book cases and drawers of the desk.

I opened the door to a walk-in closet. One wall was devoted to designer shoes. A mirror covered the entire height and width of a second wall. The rest of the space was dedicated to aisles of color graded clothes on racks.

At the end of the last aisle was a shelf of various sex toys. Propped up against this was a full size inflatable man doll. It's over sized and erect manhood wobbled as I twanged it. In frustration I punched it hard and wished I hadn't.

My knuckles caught something hard inside the tip of the man doll's cock. I examined it and found a Velcro pocket. I ripped off the Velcro pouch causing the tip of the rubber cock to puncture. It hissed, squealed and deflated with a whimper until it was completely flaccid.

Inside the pouch was a familiar thumb drive. I pocketed it, opened the doors of the bedroom and ran out onto the landing. Straight into Jason Drake.

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Jason stared at me through one good eye. The other was swollen tight shut. As soon as he recognized me, he took a quick step backwards and then stopped.

He smirked but his smile never reached his dead eyes.

I pointed to his swollen eye. "Brad's handy work?"

"I guess we're even."

"We'll never be even."

He shrugged. "You're right. I still owe you one."

I heard my name called out across the landing.

I glanced across to see Brad striding towards us.

He ignored me and squared up to Jason. "Jason, what did I tell you the last time? Go anywhere near Robyn ever again and I will kill you."

Jason sneered. But I detected a faint tremble in his top lip. Brad glanced at me.

"You'll be fine if you want to stay Robyn. Jason was just leaving."

Jason shot me an evil look then walked away.

"Thanks, Brad."

He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry I haven’t had a chance to speak with you since the other night."

"It's not your fault."

"In a way it is. I should have done something about Drake a long time ago. He's ruined too many people's lives."

"I think I'm gonna go back to mine. Get an early night."

"Want me to drive?"

I shook my head. "I just need some time to sort through things."

He looked as if he wanted to say something then just nodded.

"I'll walk you to your car."

I took the steps of the staircase two at a time. At the bottom of the stairs, Charity had both arms around Harry. Their lips were locked in a passionate kiss.

I fought back a wave of jealousy and brushed by them on my way to the door. As I reached the front door I heard Charity shout, "Going so soon Robyn? The party’s only just started."

I slammed their door behind me and ran to the sanctuary of Rust Bucket.

It was time to find out all their secrets.

Mai's apartment was empty when I got back. I opened my laptop and inserted Charity's thumb drive.

A video popped up on my screen.

A woman was half naked and kneeling in front of a man in an office that seemed somehow familiar. The camera zoomed in on their faces. The woman was Penny Pine. The man, J.C. Thruster.

So they were having an affair. But that led to the question, if J.C. Thruster was being blackmailed because of this video then why had he instructed me to investigate the Knights of Kimberley?

Or had he? I remembered how little technical knowledge he had the day he asked me to send a fax. And yet he had supposedly emailed me with instructions for my assignment. Unless it wasn't him?

I needed to pay Penny Pine a visit in the morning.

I inserted Virtue's thumb drive into the laptop. A video popped up on screen. The camera was filming with a green night vision filter. The scene was of woodland.

The body of a woman lay on the shore of the lake. A shadow in the moonlight fell across her. J.C. Thruster was unmistakable in the moonlight. Standing with an uncertain swaying motion, he stared at the body for a moment. He looked up abruptly and stared into the trees. Then he turned and staggered away into the darkness.

Clouds crossed the moon. The body disappeared into darkness.

Another shadow appeared. Someone with their back to the camera was walking towards the body. She knelt by the body, shook it by the shoulders, but there was no movement.

The woman then ran. A minute later a sports car reversed up to the body. The driver climbed out of the car, opened the trunk and spent a couple of minutes struggling to haul the body up into the trunk.

The camera zoomed upon the face of the dead woman. I recognized her. It was Madison.

I thought I was going to vomit, but swallowed hard.

Eventually, the woman driver successfully forced Madison's body into the trunk of the sports car. She slammed the lid and nervously glanced around.