“I thought you came here because you were worried about me. Now you need a favor? Which one is it?” Molly crossed her arms.
Teddy could no longer see the world the way she had at the poker table. She used to know everyone’s cards and would make her move accordingly. She’d raise when she would win the pot, fold when she would lose. Each decision calculated to her benefit. Being at Whitfield had changed that. Clint, Molly, Jillian, Pyro, even Nick had changed that. She wanted to be the person they told her she could be—someone who did the right thing, played well on a team, never left a teammate behind. But maybe she was better off alone.
She needed to leave this room with the USB drive Molly had used on Halloween. She would watch the surveillance video. If Yates were innocent, she would send the file to his lawyer. He would hold up his end of the bargain. She would find her mother and she would expose how Whitfield had been compromised. If Yates was telling the truth about that, then everyone around her was in danger. They would see that her actions had been in their interest, too.
“It’s both. I know it sounds bad, but—you’re the only one who can help me.”
“Teddy, I can barely manage my own course load.”
Teddy didn’t want to have to pressure Molly. That was how she rationalized this. Pressure. Not blackmail. “You owe me. Especially after the exam.”
Molly rubbed her wrists, as if easing an old hurt.
“Molly, I need a USB drive. The one you used in the lab on Halloween that allows you to access someone’s computer. And then I need to duplicate a hard drive.”
Molly bit her lip. “Teddy, I can’t. If you get caught, they’ll know it was me in the lab. You can’t just clone a hard drive without—”
Teddy swallowed, steeling herself for what she would do next. It definitely wasn’t a good-friend move. “I know you’ve been skipping your sessions with Professor Dunn. So whatever line of horseshit you’ve been peddling about feeling better because of his exercises is a lie. I also know that you left school because you attacked someone last year. Just like you attacked me.” Molly’s eyes watered, and Teddy knew she understood that what Teddy had said was meant as a threat; if Molly wanted Teddy to keep her secrets, she had to turn over the USB drive. Teddy tried to keep her voice even. She didn’t want to be moved by Molly’s display. “I know it’s not your fault, Molly. You’re going through stuff. But so am I.”
“You’re blackmailing me?” Molly said.
“I’m giving you the chance to help. And in return, I’m going to help you.”
Molly’s chin began to quiver. “Teddy, I can’t.”
“I’ll probably need to borrow your computer, too,” Teddy said. “Just for a day or so.”
Molly stood up, silent. For a second, Teddy wasn’t sure if she would hand it over. After what felt like an eternity, Molly opened a drawer in her nightstand. Her voice was quiet but clear. “I’m assuming you don’t know what you’re looking for. So you’ll need at least five minutes to copy the hard drive onto the disk.” She handed both the laptop and the USB drive to Teddy.
“I’ll give everything back when I’m done.” She’d blackmailed a friend. Was she supposed to feel different now? Jeremy’s words from that Empathy 101 class long ago echoed in her ear: Sometimes the end justifies the means. Teddy swallowed. What she was doing was right. It had to be. “I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”
“Yeah, sure. That’s what friends are for.” Molly walked to her desk, scrawled down a note, and handed it to Teddy. “Here’s the password.”
Teddy took it, then turned and made her way out the door. As she was leaving, Molly spoke: “You think you’re the one acting noble. But the truth is you just do whatever you want, Teddy. You don’t take anyone else into consideration. You don’t even look behind to see who you’ve left in your wake.”
Teddy didn’t turn around. “I’ll explain it later if I can,” she said. She didn’t say she was sorry because—deep down—she wasn’t.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
IF SHE WAITED EVEN A day, Teddy wasn’t sure she’d be able to go through with what had to happen next. Armed with Molly’s USB drive, she walked around the corner of Harris Hall and headed between campus buildings in the direction of faculty housing. She’d first considered sneaking into Nick’s room when he wasn’t there, grabbing his computer, and putting Molly’s USB drive to quick use. But Nick nearly always kept his laptop in the canvas messenger bag he carried with him to class, so that plan wouldn’t work. Nor did she have enough skill—or, frankly, nerve—to sneak into his room while he slept.
She practiced her script as she walked along the coastal path toward the small cluster of buildings where the faculty lived. I know it’s late. But I want to finish up my paperwork for the McDonald case. I can’t find the forensics report, and I was wondering if you had a copy.
She repeated it again and again, the words falling into rhythm with her steps. Not many professors lived on campus, but for those who did, there were converted barracks from Angel Island’s days as a military base. Teddy scanned each door for Nick’s name.
His was the last on the row. “I know it’s late,” she said under her breath. She could hear the faint sound of the television within, the shuffle of socked feet. She knocked.
Nick swung open his door, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Teddy?” He looked beyond her, perhaps to see if she had come alone. “What’s wrong?”
Her mind went blank. The words she’d been practicing were suddenly gone.
“What
