Chapter 3

A police officer crouched in front of her. Young. Kind face. She'd already told him her name three times.

"Terra, I need you to walk me through it one more time. From the beginning."

She stared at the library doors. They were propped open now, yellow tape strung across the entrance. She could see people moving inside, flashlights cutting through the dark.

"I came to meet my friend Kayleigh," she said. Her voice sounded flat. Distant. Like it belonged to someone else. "She works here. She said someone was leaving her notes."

"Kayleigh. Last name?"

"I don't know. She just started. Like me."

The officer wrote something down. "And the man who was with you?"

"Liam." Her chest tightened. "Liam Chen. He's my best friend. He drove me."

"Was."

The word hit her like a punch. "Is. He is my best friend."

The officer's expression softened. "I'm sorry. Liam Chen. He's the victim?"

Victim. The word didn't fit. Liam wasn't a victim. Liam was the guy who made bad puns and always remembered her coffee order and never let her walk home alone.

"Yes," she whispered.

"And you said the attacker was tall, wearing a hood. Did you see a face?"

"No."

"Any distinguishing features? Height? Build?"

"Tall. Broad shoulders. Moved fast."

"Anything else?"

Terra thought about the voice. Low and raspy. The words it had said. She's not who you think she is.

"It spoke," she said. "It said something about a girl. About someone not being who I think."

The officer's pen stopped. "What exactly did it say?"

"'She's not who you think she is.'"

"Did it mean Kayleigh?"

"I don't know."

He wrote for a long moment. Then he looked up. "We found something in the parking lot. A phone. Belongs to a Charlie Morrison. Does that name mean anything?"

Charlie. The name curled in her stomach like something alive. She didn't know why. She'd never heard it before.

"No."

"It was near where you found Liam. We're running prints now."

Another officer called him over. He stood, squeezed her shoulder. "Stay put. Someone will drive you home."

Terra sat alone for what felt like hours. The blanket smelled like old cigarettes. The sky was turning gray, dawn creeping in.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Liam's mom.

Terra, honey, the police just called. Please tell me he's okay.

Terra's hands shook. She typed and deleted six different replies. Finally she just called.

Mrs. Chen answered on the first ring. "Terra?"

"I'm so sorry," Terra said. And then she was crying, ugly and raw, the words spilling out. "He was protecting me. He pushed me out of the way. I didn't—I couldn't—"

Mrs. Chen was quiet for a long time. When she spoke, her voice was steady in a way that broke Terra's heart. "Where are you?"

"At the library."

"I'm coming to get you."

"The police said they'd—"

"I don't care what the police said. I'm coming."

Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Chen's minivan pulled into the parking lot. She got out, walked past the officer who tried to stop her, and wrapped Terra in a hug that smelled like lavender and grief.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go home."

Terra sat in the passenger seat, watching the library disappear in the side mirror. Mrs. Chen didn't speak until they were on the main road.

"They told me he was killed with a knife," she said. Her voice cracked. "My Liam. My boy."

"I'm sorry," Terra said again. It was all she had.

"Do you know who did it?"

Terra shook her head. "I didn't see a face. Just a hood. A voice."

"What did it say?"

"It said 'she's not who you think she is.'"

Mrs. Chen's hands tightened on the wheel. "She?"

"I thought it meant Kayleigh. But now I don't know."

"Kayleigh. The girl from work."

"She ran. She left me there."

Mrs. Chen was silent for a block. Then she said, "I want you to tell me everything. From the beginning. Every detail."

So Terra did. The notes. The deli. Kayleigh's strange behavior. The dark library. The figure. The blade. The voice.

When she finished, Mrs. Chen pulled into her driveway. The house was dark. Liam's car was still at the library.

"Wait here," Mrs. Chen said. She went inside, leaving the door open.

Terra sat in the car, staring at the house. At the window of Liam's room. The light was off.

Her phone buzzed again. A number she didn't recognize.

She answered. "Hello?"

"Terra." A voice she knew. Kayleigh. But different. Scared. "I need to tell you something."

Terra's grip tightened. "Where are you?"

"I can't say. But I know who killed Liam."

"Who?"

"Charlie Morrison. He used to work at the library. He and his friend Jojo. They've been watching me for weeks. The notes weren't from them—they were from someone trying to warn me."

"Charlie? The phone they found?"

"He dropped it. He panicked. But Jojo was there too. I saw her. She was the one who handed him the knife."

Terra's mind reeled. Jojo. Another name she didn't know. "Why?"

"Because I found out what they were doing. Stealing from the library. Selling books online. I was going to report them."

"Then why kill Liam? He didn't know anything."

"Because he was there. Because they wanted to send a message."

A message. Terra looked at Liam's dark window. "Where are you now?"

"I'm safe. But you're not. They know you saw. They know you talked to the police."

"What do I do?"

"Stay away from the library. Don't trust anyone. And Terra—"

"What?"

"The note I found. It wasn't the only one. There was another one. In my locker yesterday. It said, 'Charlie and Jojo are watching. Run.'"

The line went dead.

Terra sat in the dark car, the phone pressed to her ear, the silence heavy.

Charlie and Jojo.

She looked at Liam's house. At the light that would never turn on again.

And then she saw it. A figure at the end of the street. Tall. Hooded. Watching.

Her blood turned to ice.

The figure raised a hand. Pointed at her.

And then it was gone.

Terra dropped the phone. Her hands were shaking too hard to pick it up.

Inside the house, Mrs. Chen was still waiting.

But Terra couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

They knew where she was.

And they were coming."