Very Bad Things by Susan McBride Read Free Book Online Page B

them.”
    “Mark,” his dad said, like he didn’t buy it.
    “I swear,” Mark said, but he was sweating.
    “Then why was a Barnard police officer just in my office asking about someone named Rose Tatum who apparently went to a party at my house last Saturday night?”
    “I didn’t even know the girls’ names,” Mark said, wondering if she was the one in the photograph. “Did she stealsomething from the house?” He asked the first thing that came to mind. Had she stolen his medallion?
    “No, that’s not why Captain Franks was here.” His dad took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked afraid, Mark thought, really freaked out. “Rose Tatum’s roommate reported her missing. She hasn’t been seen since Saturday evening.”
    “What?” Mark shook his head, hardly able to swallow. The girl was gone? His dad couldn’t possibly think he had something to do with it. “Look, I barely saw the girls,” Mark said, and met his dad’s eye. “Talk to Steve. He must know them. He brought them onto campus. I figured he took them home.”
    “I’m told you were the last to see her.”
    “Me?” Mark blinked, completely caught off guard. “Did Steve say that?”
    “It’s what the girl’s roommate told the police,” his father explained. “She said that when she left, Rose was ‘getting busy’ with the headmaster’s son.”
    “But I didn’t—” Mark started to deny the accusation, only to have his father’s stare shut him up fast.
    “I’ve seen the photo of you and the girl, courtesy of Mr. Getty. How drunk were you that night, Son?”
    Mark’s chest filled with red-hot anger. “I wasn’t drunk! Steve handed me a beer before I passed out. He must’ve slipped something in my cup. There’s no other explanation.” Mark paused at the disappointed look on his father’s face. “I’m telling the truth.”
    His dad’s eyes narrowed on him. “You were drugged by your teammate?”
    “Yes.” Mark was sure of it.
    “So you have proof?”
    “No.”
    His father sighed. “I see.”
    But Mark could tell that he didn’t. That knot in the pit of Mark’s stomach kept growing. “You believe me, don’t you?”
    “It’s not that.” His dad pinched the bridge of his nose again, something he did when he was nervous and trying hard not to show it. “It’s keeping everything from blowing up. You have to think harder about that night. You have to try—”
    “I’ve tried! Steve must have spiked my beer with roofies, Special K … hell, I don’t know,
something
,” he insisted, because it was the only thing that made sense. “He’s out for blood, Dad. I mean, it’s never been good between us, not since his first day on campus. But I didn’t know he was so hard-core. Yeah, he wants to be starting forward, not second line, so he’ll get the attention of recruiters and scouts. But it’s more than that. It’s like he wants to take everything I have away from me.”
    “You can’t remember anything?”
    “I was talking to Charlie.” Mark stood up, too frustrated to stay put. “I felt like I was about to throw up. I wanted some air. The next thing I know, it’s morning, and I’m in Annalisa’s room with my clothes off.” He fell back into the chair, exhaling loudly. “If I’d cheated on Katie, Iwouldn’t forget it. I’d own up to it, you know I would. But I didn’t.”
    “So the picture’s a fake?” his dad said.
    Mark shrugged. He didn’t know how to answer. “I didn’t participate willingly. I know that for sure.”
    For a long moment, his father looked at him, saying nothing. The phone started ringing, but he ignored it. When it stopped and rang again, he muttered, “Where the hell is Naomi?” But he didn’t answer it. He loosened his tie and the button at his collar. “We’ll figure this out,” he said, but his dark eyes were grim. “It’ll be okay.”
    “Yeah?” Mark wanted so badly to believe him.
    “Maybe Rose Tatum will turn up and it’ll all