Page 21 of Half Truths (Secret Society 1)
“Well, who do they think is responsible?” I pressed. “You can’t give me all of this information and then withhold the important parts.”
“Thing is, it’s just an idea. We could be way off base.”
“Tell me anyway.” I got closer. We stopped walking.
“I think the secret societies are using them as sacrifices.”
My jaw dropped. I let out a laugh. “Yeah right.”
“There’s a secret society that formed after the first girl went missing, back in 1910. It is said that every year they conduct their own investigation and try to look for the missing.”
“How do you know this, if it’s a secret?”
“The girls who are found talk. They say it was a group of people in cloaks who helped them to safety, but they won’t say anything beyond that. Gratitude buys their silence.”
“So they’re not sacrificing them.”
“Not all of them return.” He shot me a look.
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“Like I said, it’s a theory.” He shrugs.
“So what’s your theory on Lana?”
“I don’t have a theory on her. I just hope she doesn’t end up being one of the disappeared girls.” He shot me a grave look. “The ones that are gone longer than a year, never come back.”
Jesus. I let out a breath. In an effort to calm down, I unclipped the camera cover and brought it up to my face, taking photos of the trees and flowers around us to test it out and make sure I’d be ready to shoot whoever Max was interviewing next. When I lowered it and looked around again, I caught sight of Logan and his friends. They seriously looked like greasers from Grease, not because of the way they were dressed, but because it was the vibe they gave out. I nudged Max.
“Do you think those guys are part of a secret society?”
“There’s no telling.”
“A friend of mine told me they were in a secret society.”
“I don’t think they’d have the time for everything that goes into it.” He glanced over at the group again. “They’re definitely popular though. Big men on campus. Fitz especially. He has this cult following that started in high school. All of his fans show up at the games, do a big racket. It’s kind of fun to witness.”
“Fitz meaning Logan?”
“Well, yeah.” He chuckled. “Not sure he’d answer to anything other than Fitz though.”
“Interesting.” I looked at Max.
“You must have experienced the Fitz craze firsthand when your brother played here.”
“I can’t say that I have.” I smiled. “I only went to a game when he was a freshman and I was still living at home. Logan wouldn’t have been here then.”
“Well, I guess you’ll be experiencing it soon enough. Season starts soon.”
I looked over again and found Logan staring at me.
“What’s his deal anyway?” I asked Max. “If he’s so coveted, why does he look so lonely?”
“You’re probably the first person to ever say that,” he said. “Fitz is never alone and is definitely far from lonely.”
I looked back at Logan with that thought in mind. He was still staring at me. I didn’t care how many people he had around him, he definitely looked lonely. I knew the look because it was the same one I’d walked around wearing for as long as I could remember and I was definitely never alone. Max walked in their direction.
“Hey, guys, mind doing a quick interview for the paper?”
“Sure, but only if your pretty friend asks the questions.” One of them broke away from the group and walked over to us.
It was the one who looked like Thor, but with dark hair. He had defined features that made him looked like a rugged Viking, even without a beard. Another followed with a chuckle. He also had hair down to his shoulders, but he was dirty blond. They both looked like perfect California surfers. I remembered seeing them in my parent’s backyard, both wearing dark suits, looking like they were guarding secrets as they stood in the shadows. I should have gone up to them then, but Travis made it impossible.
“I wouldn’t know what to ask.” I waved the camera. “But I’ll take your picture.”
“That’s a start.” He grinned, putting a hand out for me to shake. “I’m Nolan.”
“Amelia, but you can call me Mae.”
“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
“Thanks.” I dropped my hand.
“Sure you don’t want to get one question in?”
“About hockey?”
His gaze darkened. “About anything.”
“Dude.” Logan stepped forward, putting a hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “Let them do their job so we can go.”
My eyes jumped between the two of them. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask them, starting with my brother’s accident, but that wouldn’t have been appropriate for this setting.
“About hockey,” Nolan said, shrugging Logan’s hand off his shoulder.
“Well, I don’t know a lick about hockey and whatever question I ask would sound ridiculous.”
“Maybe you should check out our games.”
