“Oh, and also,” Lauren added, “when I was in her email, this draft to Carson popped up—we need to figure out what to do about Jean. Anyone know a Jean at school?”

“I could ask Lane,” Ronnie said. “He has a directory listing all the parents.”

Andrea turned to Ronnie. “Did you find anything in that locked drawer?”

“Just some paperwork. A spreadsheet of numbers. I, um, grabbed it, actually. I didn’t have time to shove it back in the drawer.” She peeked at them guiltily. “That’s bad, right?”

“Who’s going to realize it’s missing?” Andrea asked. “It was Piper’s office. And it was a locked drawer. Although . . .” She considered something. “Carson kept looking at that drawer suspiciously when I was waiting to meet with Piper. He even tugged on it. Maybe to make sure it was still locked.”

“So maybe he knew Piper had something bad in there, something we might snoop for?” Lauren suggested. She looked at Ronnie. “Are you sure that paper is just numbers?”

“There were definitely no names. I can look at it when I get home.”

They passed a small picnic table, and then a stream. A jogger came at them from the left and gave the group a nod. “We didn’t do this,” Andrea insisted after he passed. “We didn’t hurt Piper. But we have to figure out who did . . . and who’s trying to blame us.”

Ronnie gave a weak nod. Lauren shrugged.

“We’ll be our own advocates. And we’ll find whoever’s fucking with our lives—and get them to stop.”

That got a little smile. Andrea stood a little straighter. They would prove someone else had been in that hall. They had to. Her story wouldn’t break. She wouldn’t lose her privacy. She and Arthur would get over this. She’d send him back to Silver Swans—or maybe she wouldn’t. But she wouldn’t lose everything. She’d still have control.

“Let’s turn around,” Lauren said.

And they did, heading back the way they came, sharing a comfortable silence that was more appropriate for lifelong friends, not for women who’d only known one another for a matter of days. There were times, Andrea supposed, when even if the details didn’t match up, you had to go on intuition. To some, Andrea probably didn’t seem so believable, either. Maybe everyone was capable of criminal acts if they were pushed hard enough. But in this case, they all had to trust one another. And maybe it was easier to bond together than try to wade through this alone.