He screwed up his face. I guess thinking must have been painful for him since I saw him give himself a couple pumps of painkiller. Then his face relaxed. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘I still got her picture. My wallet’s in that drawer there.’

I opened the drawer to the table beside his bed. His wallet was indeed there, a slim black leather deal. I lifted it up and opened it. Heather’s photo was jammed between a gold American Express card and a ski lift ticket. It showed her looking extremely glam, with all her long blonde hair flowing over one shoulder, staring coquettishly into the camera. In my school pictures, I always look like somebody just yelled ‘Fire!’ I couldn’t believe this guy, who’d been dating a girl who looked like that, would bother asking a girl like me out.

‘Can I borrow this picture?’ I asked. ‘I just need it for a little while. I’ll give it right back.’ This was a lie, but I didn’t figure he’d give it to me otherwise.

‘Sure, sure,’ he said, waving a hand.

‘Thanks.’ I slipped the photo into my backpack just as a tall woman in her forties came striding in wearing a lot of gold jewellery and carrying a box of pastries.

‘Bryce, darling,’ she said. ‘Where did all your little friends go? I went all the way to the patisserie to get some snacks.’

‘Oh, they’ll be back in a minute, Mom,’ Bryce said, sleepily. ‘This is Suze. She saved my life yesterday.’

Mrs Martinson held out a smooth, tanned right hand. ‘Lovely to meet you, Susan,’ she said, giving my fingers the slightest of squeezes. ‘Can you believe what happened to poor little Bryce? His father’s furious. As if things hadn’t been going badly enough, what with that wretched girl – well, you know. And now this. I swear, it’s like that academy were cursed, or something.’

I said, ‘Yes. Well, nice to meet you. I’d better be going.’

Nobody protested against my departure – Mrs Martinson because she couldn’t have cared less, and Bryce because he’d fallen asleep.

I found Adam and Cee Cee standing outside a room across the hall. As I walked up to them, Cee Cee put a finger to her lips. ‘Listen,’ she said.

I did as she asked.

‘It simply couldn’t have come at a worse time,’ a familiar voice – male, older – was saying. ‘What with the archbishop’s visit not two weeks away—’

‘I’m so sorry, Constantine.’ Father Dominic’s voice sounded weak. ‘I know what a strain this must all be to you.’

‘And Bryce Martinson, of all people! Do you know who his father is? Only one of the best trial lawyers in Salinas!’

‘Father Dom’s getting reemed,’ Adam whispered to me. ‘Poor old guy.’

‘I wish he’d tell Monsignor Constantine to just go and jump in a lake.’ Cee Cee’s purple eyes flashed. ‘Dried up, crusty old—’

I whispered, ‘Let’s see if we can help him out. Maybe you guys could distract the monsignor. Then I’ll just see if Father Dom needs anything. You know. Just real quick before we go.’