The Nines (The Nines #1) Read online

  Maybe Claire is right. Maybe I should just date Hector and lead a normal life as a college freshman. The only problem is that there’s nothing normal about me or my life. After the bombing my name was dragged through the mud right along with my brother’s. The media speculated about my involvement in the Back to School Bombing. I was investigated by the authorities even though I knew nothing about my brother’s plan or his Chechen friends.

  Here at the university I’m Roxie Bailey not the Back to School Bomber’s sister. And I want to keep it that way.

  “Miss Bailey.” My psychology professor’s voice knocks me back to reality.

  I glance up at him.

  “Would you like for me to repeat the question?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Hopefully he realizes that I don’t normally space out in class, I’ve just got a lot on my mind.

  “What is the cerebellum responsible for?”

  “Coordination, movement, motor control and sensory perception,” I reply quickly.

  At least that makes him smile. “And what about the amygdala?”

  “Emotional reactions, aggression, and memory.”

  He nods. “Good.”

  I breathe a small sigh of relief when he moves onto one of the other students in the class. I could kick myself for not paying attention and embarrassing myself. But as much as I try to stay focused all I can think about is Alexander.

  ***

  “Roxie.” I hear a male voice calling my name in the distance. I’m not very far from the dorm and consider trying to outrun the person, but that would be rude. Plus not many people know who I am, so it’s got to be either Hector or Julio.

  I stop and turn to see Julio jogging up to me.

  Before he even reaches me he asks, “Have you seen Claire? I’ve been calling and texting her, but she hasn’t responded. That’s not like her.”

  I shake my head. I don’t want to tell him I’ve been preoccupied with my obsession with the masked man, who I now know is Alexander, a victim of my brother’s terrorist activity.

  Julio runs his hand through his wavy dark hair. “I’m worried about her.”

  “Did she have an exam or something? Maybe she’s studying?”

  He shakes his head. “She doesn’t really study. She doesn’t have to. She says her classes are pretty easy and she can get B’s just by skimming the chapters in her textbook and listening in class.”

  “Did the two of you have an argument?” I throw it out there even though I know it’s probably not likely. The two of them are a perfect couple in every way.

  He shakes his head. “No, nothing like that.”

  “I haven’t seen her. Sorry.”

  That doesn’t seem to appease him. “Can I come up to your room? Just to look around?”

  “Sure.” Normally I wouldn’t just let a guy into my room, but I know Julio really cares about Claire and he seems genuinely concerned. I don’t think he needs to be though.

  He lets out the breath he was obviously holding. “Great.”

  Julio is on my heels as I make my way to my room. Once we’re inside it’s a bit awkward. It’s obvious Claire hasn’t been back and Julio has never been in our room without her.

  “Is it okay if I look around?” he asks.

  I nod.

  The first place he checks is her desk. He riffles through some papers and then removes a large card from the pile.

  He holds it up for me to see. “Do you know anything about this?”

  I take the card from his hand and read it. It’s an invitation for a secret sorority rush party. “I didn’t even know there were secret sororities,” I admit.

  “I guess those underground frats need girls to party with. It makes sense that there would be secret sororities too. But why would she have this? I didn’t think she’d be interested in something like this.”

  I shrug. Claire and I don’t have many conversations of real substance. Then I recall something she said. “Remember that girl, Wendi, who we met at the pizza place. Didn’t Claire say they went to high school together? She mentioned that Wendi wanted her to go to some party because she was afraid to go alone.”

  Julio exhales a relieved sigh and nods. “I think you’re right. Claire told me that the girl is an education major like her. They went to high school together.”

  “Maybe she went to the party so Wendi wouldn’t have to go alone. I can’t imagine Claire would want to join a sorority.”

  “I can’t imagine her in a sorority either. But going with her friend, yes. I can see that. I wonder why she didn’t tell me.”

  “I have no idea. She didn’t tell me either. Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing?”

  “Hector and I were studying for a big exam last night. She probably didn’t want to bother me.”

  “Claire is thoughtful that way,” I say.

  Julio seems to relax a bit until we both glance over at her bed at the same time. It hasn’t been slept in. I didn’t think much of her not coming home because she often spends the night with Julio. “She wasn’t with you last night, was she?” It’s not really a question and we both realize the implications.

  “And she wasn’t here either?”

  We look at each other, but don’t have to articulate what we’re thinking: Where was she last night?

  “Should I call the police?” Julio’s voice cracks when he speaks.

  My stomach knots. I generally try to think positively if I can, but I’m not sure there’s anything positive about having a missing roommate. “Maybe we should talk to the Resident Advisor first.” I try to keep my voice calm, but the whole situation feels wrong.

  Julio nods, but he looks as confused as I am.

  The hallway is quiet as we make our way to the Resident Advisor’s room. She’s a graduate student studying clinical psychology. At Freshman Orientation she told us that her door is always open if we have a problem. This is the first time I’ve had the occasion to test that assertion.

  Heather opens her door on the first knock. She’s quite tall and towers over both of us. She has her long, black hair tied in a loose ponytail and she’s wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

  When she stares at me for a brief moment and blinks it makes me wonder if I woke her up from a nap.

  Then she snaps her fingers together. “Roxie. And you’re roommates with…” She blinks a few more times and snaps her fingers again. “Claire.”

  “Good memory,” I comment.

  She nods. “I’m taking a memory enhancement class. It’s working pretty well so far.” Then she notices Julio. “We’ve never met.”

  “Julio. I’m Claire’s boyfriend.”

  His declaration seems to confuse Heather a bit. She frowns. “Why are the two of you here?”

  Julio and I give each other a quick glance before I say, “It’s about Claire. She’s disappeared.”

  Heather cocks her head to the side and the creases in her forehead grow even deeper with confusion. “What do you mean disappeared?”

  “She didn’t come back to the dorm last night and she wasn’t with Julio. We’re getting worried about her.”

  “I tried to text and call,” Julio adds. “But she hasn’t responded.”

  Even though Julio and I are clearly anxious Heather doesn’t seem the least bit fazed. Maybe she’s heard similar stories before. “Is it possible that she had a little too much to drink and decided to stay somewhere else last night?”

  Julio and I shake our heads in unison.

  “She doesn’t drink,” I say.

  At the same time Julio says, “She isn’t like that.”

  Heather gives us a tight smile. “Sometimes freshman like to experiment with behaviors that aren’t typical for them. It’s not unusual.”

  “I’m worried,” Julio interjects.

  “Me too,” I add.

  Heather takes in a deep breath and exhales before she says, “Let’s give it some time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up later today.”


  When Julio glances at me I can see he’s not happy with her suggestion. His lips are pressed into a tight, angry line. “You’re her RA,” he spits. “You’re supposed to do your job.”

  She puts her hands on her hips and glares at him. “And just what do you think my job is? To go after every freshman who has a little too much to drink and passes out somewhere? I’d never have time to do anything else.”

  Julio’s shoulders tighten and a vein in his neck begins to twitch. “I told you she doesn’t drink,” he manages to say through clenched teeth.

  Heather crosses her arms over her chest and glares at Julio. “And I told you I’m not worried about it. I think you need to take your tough guy act down a few notches.”

  If blood could actually boil Julio’s would already be steaming. I’ve never seen him this angry before. His entire body is shaking and it looks like he’s doing his best not to hit Heather. He takes in a deep breath then slowly lets it out. It looks like he wants to say more, a lot more, but instead he opts for, “We’ll be back,” before he storms down the hallway.

  I give Heather a nasty glare before I do my best to catch up with Julio.

  “Something’s not right,” he spits. “I can feel it. And the RA is obviously not going to be any help.”

  “What should we do?”

  He grabs the invitation from my hand. “Let’s start with this.”

  We both examine the card. There’s not a lot of information. They called the party THE NINES. It was by invitation only. It started at eight o’clock and the dress code was to the nines. Hence the name. The location of the party isn’t listed on the card. I guess if you’re on the invitation list you already know where to go. The only other clue is the name of the sorority: Zeta Eta Pi.

  “That’s not much to go on,” I observe.

  “There’s only one person I can think of who might be able to help us,” I state.

  There’s panic and desperation in Julio’s dark eyes. “We need to find Wendi.”

  “Do you have any idea where she lives?” Even as I ask the question I try to run through any clues I may have gotten from Claire about Wendi.

  He shakes his head. “No. Claire didn’t talk about her.” Then I see a spark of recognition on his face. “Remember that guy she was with when we ran into her at the pizza place?”

  “Vaguely.” From what I remember he looked like most of the other guys on campus. Good-looking, preppy, and privileged.

  “I’m pretty sure I had a class with him freshman year. I took several gen eds.” His brow furrows as he runs his hand through his wavy, dark hair. Then he turns his attention back to me. “It was Modern Art. He did a terrible presentation on Andy Warhol. But I remember him saying he was from Pittsburgh and that’s where the Andy Warhol Museum is located.”

  “Okay. But how does that help us find him or find Wendi?”

  After another run of his hand through his hair he says, “Didn’t you get access to the Freshman Register at Orientation?”

  I nod. I didn’t use mine and I put in a special request not to be listed because I didn’t want any of my classmates to know where I was from.

  “The Register lists where everyone lives. A lot of people like to stay in the same dorm rooms, especially if they’ve got a lot of stuff or made improvements, built lofts, stuff like that.”

  I shrug. “I guess it’s worth a shot. I don’t have any other ideas.”

  He pulls his cell phone from his pocket and pulls up the app for the Freshman Register. After a few seconds of typing he turns the phone around for me to see. His hair was a bit shaggier, but it’s definitely a photo of the guy who was with Wendi.

  “That’s him.”

  He scrolls through the information page. “He actually lives in my dorm. He’s a history/pre-law major so I’m not surprised that we’ve never run into each other. Not that it would have necessarily registered, even if I did.”

  When Julio looks at me again I can’t help but notice how lost and already defeated he looks. He’s normally so upbeat and full of energy. Now he looks like an old rag that someone has completely wrung out and then tossed away.

  “Let’s see if we can find Wendi’s boyfriend. What’s his name?”

  “Jason Wilson.”

  ***

  “Try once more,” I suggest.

  Julio frowns. “I’ve already knocked three times.”

  “Maybe he’s sleeping.”

  Julio knocks again just to appease me. We both know he’s not there, but Jason seems like our only hope right now.

  There’s nothing but silence.

  He heaves a sigh. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “I’m not sure either.”

  As we turn and head down the hallway Jason, who doesn’t seem to be paying attention to where he’s going, nearly runs into Julio. The guy is obviously distracted.

  “Sorry, Man,” he says to Julio.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Julio asks.

  Jason bites on his thumbnail. “I wish I could, dude. But I’ve gotta help my girlfriend. I’ve just got to get some of her stuff from my room.”

  Julio and I glance at each other. Then I say, “What’s going on?”

  Jason does a double take like he’s just noticing me for the first time. There’s something really wrong with this guy. He’s clearly upset and his mind is elsewhere.

  He shakes his head then gnaws on his thumb again. “I really can’t say.”

  “Jason.” I look up at him. When our eyes meet I notice his are red like maybe he’s been crying. “My roommate is missing. We think she was with your girlfriend when she disappeared.”

  He gulps then starts to blink rapidly. He looks like he’s on the verge of breaking down and I don’t think it’ll be the first time today. “I don’t want to talk about this. I can’t talk about it. I just want to get Wendi’s stuff and get it back to her.”

  “Can we talk to Wendi?” Julio asks, but it sounds like more of a demand. “Can you tell us where she lives? She could be the last person who saw Claire before…” Julio’s voice cracks and he doesn’t continue.

  Jason shakes his head. “She’s leaving in a few hours. She’s packing all of her stuff and her parents are on their way now. They’re going to pick her up.”

  “She’s leaving school?” I can’t help the surprise in my voice. It’s the middle of the term.

  “Hell, yes, she’s leaving,” Jason spits. “After what those animals did to her.” Then he shakes his head. “Forget I said that. I don’t need to get blacklisted on top of everything else.”

  “Can you just tell us where she lives?” I beg. “Please?”

  “Brickhouse. Third Floor.” He doesn’t wait for any more questions or conversation. He takes off toward his room.

  Julio is practically running down the hallway. I have to do double time just to keep up with him.

  Brickhouse is on the other side of campus. It’s a smaller dorm, used mostly for Honors students.

  “Will you slow down just a little bit?” I call after Julio.

  He turns around, but still manages to run backwards as he says, “You need to speed up.”

  I’ve never been athletic in any way so by the time we get to Brickhouse I’m gasping for breath.

  “You need to get to the gym more often.” Julio grabs my elbow and pulls me into the dorm with him.

  “You’re—right…” My lungs feel like they’re going to collapse. I’m way too young to feel like a 100-year-old chain smoker after just a quick dash across campus.

  Luckily Julio opts for the elevator instead of the stairs. I don’t think my legs could handle three flights right now. Who am I kidding? My legs could barely handle a few steps right now. I’ll be lucky to make it down the hallway when we step out of the elevator.

  “How will we know which room?” I ask when the elevator doors open.

  The question was completely unnecessary. There’s a door open at the end of the hallway and boxes and other belongings
are spilling out into the passage. It’s obvious someone is moving out.

  This time Julio doesn’t bolt away without me. He grabs my elbow and pulls me along with him. “You okay?”

  “Just trying to catch my breath.”

  “Do you need me to carry you?”

  “No,” I reply, even if the idea sounds tempting as my legs tighten.

  A petite blonde pokes her head out of the room when we approach. She’s definitely not Wendi. She looks back and forth between the two of us then frowns. “She’ll be gone in a few hours.”

  Now it’s Julio and my turn to look at each other.

  “Who do you think we are?” I ask.

  She purses her lips. “I thought…Never mind. Who are you?”

  “Look, we’re a little desperate. My roommate, Claire, disappeared…”

  The blonde gasps then quickly throws her hand over her mouth. She clutches her stomach with her other hand like she’s going to be sick. She takes in a few deep breaths before she turns her attention back to me. “Claire’s missing?”

  I nod.

  “Oh, my God.” Then she shakes her head. “I hope she’s not still there.”

  “Still where?” Julio asks.

  The blonde turns her attention to Julio. “Who are you?”

  “Claire’s boyfriend.”

  “We all went to high school together,” the blonde mutters. “Me and Wendi and Claire.”

  “Can we speak with Wendi?” I ask.

  She drops her head. “She’s in bad shape. Her parents are on their way. They want her out of here as fast as possible.”

  “What happened?”

  The blonde is now blinking back tears. “I told them not to go. But it was so important to Wendi. She wanted to be in a sorority like her mother was. That’s all she talked about. That and her boyfriend. He’s completely freaked out too. We all are.”

  “Please let us talk to Wendi.” Julio sounds desperate. “We need to find Claire.”

  The blonde nods then steps aside so we can enter her dorm room.

  Julio falters when the girl starts sobbing, but he follows me when I push past her.

  Wendi doesn’t even look like the same person we saw less than a week ago. If I didn’t know it was her I might not even recognize her. And not just because of the horrible bruise on her cheek and the black eye. Her entire demeanor has completely changed. She’s not the happy-go-lucky girl, so filled with life and promise, who we met at the pizza place. She looks like a ghost. It’s like the life has been completely sucked out of her and nothing is left but a shell of her former self.