Page 37 of The Writer

“Your secret is safe with me,” I say. “I take it they didn’t know about your boyfriend?”

“I’d mentioned him in passing,” she says. “But they don’t know about the breakup, and I’d like to keep the details quiet. Of course, Marley doesn’t know anything about it. I’ve made an exception by letting her join the Mystery Maidens, but she’s still my student, and I have to keep that boundary clear.”

I’m so excited she brought up Marley, I have to control my expression.

“She’s really talented, isn’t she?” I say, thinking about the first, and only, story she shared with the group.Rosebud.“Are your other students as talented?”

“Gosh, no. I mean, they all have potential. It takes some longer than others to get where they need to be, and I trust many of them will develop into talented writers, if they stick with it. Every now and then, you get a student with raw talent. That’s how Marley is, and it’s why I asked her to join us.”

I try to ignore the pang of jealousy I feel inside. I wonder, which category does Victoria believe I belong in? Am I still developing my potential, or am I one of the few that’snaturally gifted? Shaking the questions off, I try to re-center the conversation onto Marley.

“Have you had her in class before?”

“No, which is surprising. She’s not even a writing major, if you can believe it,” she says. “I think she’s one of those students that doesn’t realize her true gifts until later, but I’m hoping she’ll reconsider. It would be such a talent to waste.”

Maybe Marley’s gift isn’t just writing but taking the stories of others and putting them into practice. After my separate conversations with each of the women, I’m even more convinced Marley, the one I know the least about, is the one behind this.

“I’m surprised you haven’t met before,” she continues. “Seeing as she lives so close.”

“Really?”

Victoria points out the window. “Her apartment is just a block away from here. You know that cute little row of buildings across from The Coffee Shop?”

“I had no idea,” I say. “That is close.”

Too close. If Marley is behind the most recent string of black hearts, it would be easy for her to watch my every move.

“Much nicer than the places we had to live in when we were in college, right?”

My old college apartment appears in my mind. I try to avoid it at all costs, but Victoria knows where it is. I told her about it once, and she informed me it’s currently under renovation. Being torn down and built into something shiny and new.

If it were up to me, they’d never rebuild.

“I need to get back to campus for my office hours,” she says, pushing her plate away. Her sandwich is only half eaten, and I assume her lack of appetite is linked to the recent heartache. “I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

“Please. You’ve given me an excuse not to work,” I say. “It’s been nice talking.”

“It has.”

She doesn’t have to remind me to keep our conversation private. In fact, all the women have confided in me this week, which makes me feel valued, and only slightly guilty for snooping into each of their lives.

Victoria leaves a hefty tip before she leaves, even though I tell her she doesn’t have to. I hurry through my side work and duck out of the restaurant before Nikki can corner me. I’ll be punished for anything I haven’t completed later. Right now, I have somewhere more important to be.

I hurry down the block and find an outdoor table at The Coffee Shop. Sure enough, there’s a trendy row of apartments right across the street. I can almost guess which one belongs to Marley. Tie-dye tapestries and incense pots litter one of the balconies. I’d bet this afternoon’s wages that’s hers.

She’s not home, and there’s no telling when she will be.

That’s fine. I have nothing but time to kill.

NINETEEN

I remained at The Coffee Shop for over an hour, until the afternoon sun dipped so far behind the trees that the entire street turned gray, chilly air ushered in along with the shadows. I’d been hoping I might catch Marley arriving home after one of her classes, that I’d get the chance to spy on her in her natural environment, see how she acts when she thinks no one is watching.

Having had no luck, I returned home, to the warmth of my apartment, and decided to do some spying on the internet.

In a world where every detail of a person’s life is documented and recorded online, Marley Theroux seems to have appeared out of nowhere.

She has social media. Of course, she does. If she were impossible to find online, I’d be even more concerned, but what I am able to track down doesn’t reveal much.

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