Kelly Hill (24 page)

Phillips Academy

Charleston, West Virginia

June 15th, 2010

Rachel

Lunch went by without so much as an incident and Rachel felt alright going to see Grear. After all, Grear had to know that Melody was dead because she was arrogant enough to think they could control Jefferson. Grear had to be aware that she was partially to blame for this whole fiasco.

Not everyone had the luxury of being a victim.

Rachel looked at Kelly then and tried to remind herself that he didn’t see himself that way. He would never agree that he was a hapless victim, someone who had no control or choice over the whole of events, but that’s how Rachel saw it.

Anna was dead because of it. Caleb was dead because of it and now, so was Melody.

Kelly just happened to be at the very eye of the storm every time, seeing all of it and not being able to do a thing about it. That’s why Rachel had left in the end. She was trying to protect him. Trying to shield him from what was to come.

No one would believe her when she told them what the Williams family was truly capable of and there was nothing she could do herself to stop them. Jefferson was almost invincible and so Rachel had let it all go.

Now she was back. Obligations set aside, if Rachel was being honest with herself, this was where she had wanted to be all along. Not because she loved Phillips, but because she wanted to see them fail. She wanted to cause Jefferson to stumble and fall.

Her terrified persona had fled from her soul the moment she spoke to Jefferson and she felt more than ready to take on what he was going to throw at her.

Mind games were nothing to a Gunn and Rachel had learned everything about emotional warfare from her family members. She could steel herself to whatever Jefferson was willing to deal out because she knew this was the only way she could protect Kelly.

She couldn’t keep him safe from afar, so the only logical conclusion was destroying the threat head on.

Razrusheniye.

They walked up to the office and Rachel turned to look at her companions. They had offered to be with her during this, but this was something she had to do on her own.

Grear was nothing more than a pawn, but before Rachel could kill the king, she must first take out a couple stepping stones.

She walked down the familiar hallway and caught her reflection in the glass of a picture hanging on the wall. Reflections had always caused her body to pause and turn. Not because she was vain, but because sometimes she didn’t recognize herself.

She did everything to please everyone else, now she was doing something for herself. Or for Kelly, not that he would ever ask. But now, when she caught herself in the glass she was more than sure that the person looking back out at her was Rachel Gunn.

Rachel knocked and waited for Grear to call out to her, to tell her to come in. She was ready for the conversation, her resolve never wavering, not until she stepped inside and saw that Grear wasn’t alone.

It was as if they had never left the office, the way they stood on either side of the headmistress. They were just as chilling and sobering as before and this time, Rachel could see the guns on their person, as if they weren’t sure she had gotten the message before.

Rachel took a deep breath in and stepped into the office, her bravado fleeing from her the moment she remembered that there was so much more at play than just Jefferson Williams.

“
Have a seat, Rachel.” Grear was smiling, forced and just as nervous as she was. No one wanted to deal with these people but it was a problem that had been growing since the nineties, or at least, that was what Rachel had read before she thought people were watching her.

Rachel did as she was told and took a deep breath in, feeling as if she was about to relive the entire shameful experience all over again.

“You look well.” Grear was trying to make this seem as normal as possible. “I trust you’ve been able to find a life that suits you?”

Grear was asking whether or not Rachel was happy with what she had been given. If she was happy being the scapegoat or if she was going to make trouble for more people while she was in town. She was the scapegoat and the wildcard. An interesting place to be.

“I haven’t really decided on a career path, yet.” Rachel answered honestly, knowing that it held two separate meanings. From surface value, it was true, she hadn’t decided on a career path, the deeper meaning was one that she hoped Grear would pick up on.

It was a dangerous game Rachel was playing and she knew that at any moment it would end poorly for her. But she had to protect Kelly. Had to save him and still make it look like she didn’t have a box full of evidence in the van waiting to damn everyone.

“I’m sorry that we have to meet on such poor circumstances.” Grear looked down at her desk. “It’s really unfortunate what happened to Melody.”

Rachel gave Grear a sad smile, one that let her know she shared the sentiments. She was always sure that Melody was the safest out of all of them. Melody was vapid and shallow and didn’t really care about international drug trade. She would have never asked questions. Unless she had taken Rachel’s stupid advice to ask about Senator Bronen’s son. Unless she had really put the death of Caleb Bronen under the microscope.

Rachel could almost kick herself now for sending that file away to the Charleston authorities. It was a stupid move and everyone knew it. Somewhere out there was a Detective Rhett Samuels with the information to get everyone killed, including himself.

Finding Melody’s body was just a confirmation that they had gotten Rachel’s message.

“I’m surprised you didn’t know she wasn’t missing.” Grear said, keeping the conversation going.

“
Well, we didn’t talk much after I stabbed her boyfriend in the shoulder with a pen.” Rachel replied looking at the silent others in the office. What could she say to make them think she wasn’t a threat to what they were trying to build? She needed them to believe they owned her, their plan had worked and that she wasn’t going to cause any more trouble. Rachel was no good to Kelly if she was dead.

Grear raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Also an unfortunate accident.”

Rachel had to hand it to Grear; she was a smarter woman than most people gave her credit for. Her expression spoke more words than her mouth allowed and she had given Rachel her out.

“
The most unfortunate.” Rachel tried to look as remorseful as possible. “However, Jefferson and I have been able to patch things up as of late. It seems this tragedy has brought us closer together.”

“
That’s wonderful, dear!” Grear’s fake enthusiasm was painful to watch. “I knew your fighting was just silly teenager stuff.”

“
I guess so.” Rachel tried to laugh, “When I heard the news it really put a lot of things into perspective.”

“
Well, I’m just so glad you’ll be speaking at her memorial tomorrow afternoon. A lot of people are coming to see it.” Grear was hinting at something. Not martyrdom, Rachel hoped. She wasn’t going to put her life on the line just yet. Not for this. Not like this.

“
I’m planning a really nice speech.” Rachel said, finding herself remembering Ophelia’s flower speech from Hamlet. She wished she could be as clever and as honest as Ophelia… but then again. Ophelia died and was never mentioned again. So maybe, Rachel was right where she needed to be.

“
You’re such a wonderful soul, Rachel.” Grear said, standing, getting ready to excuse her from the office. “I look forward to hearing your words.”

“
Thank you, Headmistress.” Rachel stood with her and started towards the door. “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

Rachel allowed herself one more look back at the two people standing there, watching her and saying nothing all the while. She hoped she had them convinced, but it would be tomorrow where the real acting would begin, just like last time.

She was just as determined as before, but this time around she knew that she didn’t have the luxury of running away. No matter what, Kelly would be her first priority. She owed him too much to let him die.

As Rachel left the office she saw that Kelly, Ethan and Logan were waiting in the hallway for her. They looked more serious than before and Rachel wondered if they understood just a little bit more of what was happening.

Rachel took a deep breath in and exhaled. She smiled at the three men, “Let’s go to the van, there’s something in there I forgot.”

She knew she couldn’t say it at Phillips at all, she could never mention the secrets that she was keeping locked up tight where the wrong people might hear her, but they had to know what they were up against.

It was time for Rachel to tell them everything.

Chapter Twenty

Phillips Academy

Charleston, West Virginia

October 29th, 2008

Rachel

Rachel had always possessed an unruly desire to discover. Information, secrets. They all meant the same thing to her at their core. They were knowledge and the one thing her heart yearned for more than anything else was power over that knowledge.

There were secrets here at Phillips Academy and the blind eye that Rachel had tried to turn was now wide open and she could see everything. Kelly had tried to warn her, Jefferson had tried to control her, Ryan had tried placating her, and now she was going to find out for herself just what had happened to Anna Hill.

Rachel went to the public library downtown because she just couldn’t justify using Phillips resources for her work. On that night it was all but deserted and Rachel was glad for it, she didn’t need anyone looking over her shoulder.

Day had turned into night, but still, Rachel obsessed over the information pooling before her. The deeper she dug the more she didn’t like what she saw but the less she could even think of looking away.

In the articles that Rachel found, the bits and pieces, scraps of things that couldn’t be fully eradicated by whoever was trying to hide the truth, Rachel found out that sometimes Anna wasn’t Anna. She was a new creature named Alice. No last name, just Alice.

Apparently, Alice had been an enigma to the underground world. She was beautiful and vivacious, but she was terrifying all at the same time.

She had been very successful as smuggling drugs across international waters and selling them to the upper class of America, the wealthy, the powerful but then all of the sudden she dropped off the radar. Like a ghost. Except… a few months later someone had taken a photograph of her at a nightclub.

A rather innocent photo as it was, she was just a blurry face in the background, but the cheek that she was kissing was of a man who was in full focus.

Rachel stared at the photo and tried to see its secrets; taken just days before Anna Hill’s body was discovered in a residency owned by the Williams, it was the last clue to solving the puzzle.

“
So you found Casimir.” Kelly said quietly, coming up to Rachel’s table, putting his hand on the print out of the photograph.

“
Who is he?” Rachel asked without looking up, their last conversation wasn’t all that pleasant and she wasn’t ready to relive it.

“
He was,” Kelly gritted his teeth together and his lips became a thin line before he answered, “He was my brother-in-law, I guess.”

Rachel flicked her eyes up to Kelly’s, wondering if that was something that he would lie about. “Alice was married?”

Kelly’s jaw tightened. “Anna.” He corrected her, “Anna was married.”

Rachel felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment and she looked back down at the photo, “I’m sorry, I got so used to looking for the different name.”

They were both silent for a little while longer before Rachel found her next question, “But if Anna was married to this Casimir, than why was she with Jefferson?”

“
That’s the question, isn’t it?” Kelly found a chair and pulled it up to the table. He laughed quietly. A cynical laugh, one that made Rachel uneasy about the company she was sharing.

“
Anna was not a person to be proud of.” Kelly nodded his head, “But she was my sister and that counted for something, so I tried to understand why this man, who was twice her age wanted a child bride and I didn’t really like what I found out.”

“
Kelly, these people.” Rachel’s hands touched the papers in front of her, “They’re not good people.”

“
You don’t even know the half of it.” Kelly shook his head. He rubbed his tired face and Rachel could see the sorrow in his eyes. “I tried to protect you.”

“
But you knew what I was walking into.” Rachel’s voice never changed. She wasn’t angry, but she wasn’t okay with what was happening either.

Kelly shook his head again, his eyes never leaving the photo of Anna and Casimir. “Yeah, I knew.”

“And there’s more to tell me.” Rachel pushed.

“
There’s always going to be more, Rachel.” Kelly looked up at her finally, “There will always be more to this story than you could ever find out with public records.” His face had twisted into a frown. “And the only truth you will ever know is that it’s unstoppable.”

Rachel shook her head, “No, I don’t believe it, nothing is unstoppable.”

“This is, Rachel.” Kelly’s words were darkened by the ominous look on his face and Rachel tried to swallow her fear.

“
I can’t accept that.” Rachel stood her ground. “They’re people; they have to play by the rules just like everyone else.”

“
Rachel. They’re not playing by the rules. They have their own set and the closer we get to them, the more we have to accustom to that set.” Kelly was determined to get her to turn back.

“
Okay, fine. What are they then?” Rachel was feeling bull headed and stubborn and she knew she sounded the part, but she couldn’t just walk away from this.

“
If I tell you this, they’ll kill you.” Kelly’s face was stone. “And I can’t live with another death on my hands.”

“
Then tell me, why it involves the Williams, the Prescotts, the Bronens and your sister.” Rachel was angry now, “Tell me why every time I find something one of those four names comes up and it all seems to disappear after that.”

“
Because, Rachel.” Kelly was angry with her as well, “That’s how these things go. There are major parts and there are minor parts and then there are parts that just wind up getting cut.”

“
Then why are you still alive?” Rachel was still hoping he would tell her the truth. The absolute truth.

“
Because they still need me.” Kelly’s face fell and his shoulders sagged,

Because I’m family, I guess.”

“Bull.” Rachel shook her head. “There’s more and you’re just not telling me.”

Rachel started to shove all her papers together and put them in a folder. Kelly reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her, “Please, Rachel, you’ve got to believe me. Walk away from this. Walk away from it and never look back. They’re going to hurt you. They don’t care about you.”

“No one does, Kelly.” Rachel wrenched her wrist out his grasp and slung her bag over her shoulder. “It’s not news to me.”

He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving. “That’s not true, Rachel.”

He dropped her wrist and cupped Rachel’s tiny face in his hands, “I care about you.” His lips pressed firmly against hers and his arm pulled her waist closer to him. When he released her from his grasp Rachel felt weaker than before.

“
I will always care,” he half-whispered, his green eyes searching hers for some kind of validation.

Rachel shook her head back and forth. “Kelly.”

Kelly smirked and stepped back, giving her room to pass, “It’s alright, Rachel. I get it.”

Rachel bit her lip but couldn’t find the words to express herself. She never could. It was the curse of the too knowledgeable; they knew everything except what they needed. She looked down at the ground and took a deep breath in, pushing passed Kelly.

Rachel walked out of the library as fast as she could, hoping that he wouldn’t follow her. Wishing that he would.