Malice: Love & Murder, #2

By Suzana Thompson

Being the number one suspect in my best friend's murder sucks. Why can't the police catch the real killer?

I'm no teen sleuth, but I guess I'm going to have to compile a list of suspects myself. Too bad I keep getting distracted by the most likely one. Everyone tells me to stay away from him, but I don't believe that he's dangerous.

He can't really be the killer. Can he?

This is the exciting conclusion to Trepidation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Suzana Thompson
• Release date: Mar 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224038350

Book preview

Chapter 1

It is true.

Someone leaked it to the press, and the police department was forced to confirm it.  Vanessa Edwards, age 17, was poisoned.  Her death has been ruled a homicide.

The story of the pretty, popular cheerleader who was murdered is all over the news, and I am suddenly the prime suspect.  It’s partly because of the similar case in which a teenage girl poisoned her father with barium acetate she stole from her high school chemistry lab.  What they don’t know is that I am not that smart.  That girl was an honor student, and it’s an accomplishment for me to get a B in anything.  I’m just now taking chemistry, and I’m struggling to get a C in it.

I guess it’s poetic justice in a way, since I took the article about that case to the police when I accused Nate Cruz of murdering Vanessa.  Which brings me to the other reason I’m now a suspect.  Nate told the police that I confessed to being in love with him while he was Vanessa’s boyfriend. That supposedly gave me a motive for wanting to get her out of the way so I could have him for myself.  The problem with that theory is that they broke up months before her death.

That doesn’t matter to those who think I killed her.  The police haven’t charged me with murder though.  They are probably more cautious about that after arresting Nate and having to let him go.  It still scares me to think about going to jail.  I don’t know how Nate dealt with that, even for just one day.

My dad assures me that I have nothing to worry about, but I can’t help but obsess over it.  I made the mistake of looking up innocent people convicted of crimes and was appalled to read about people spending decades in prison and even being executed.  It made the fear of being arrested even worse, and my spike in anxiety made me click out of those articles like getting rid of them could help me escape my situation. 

I can’t, and I live in dread of the police coming to take me to jail.  I am tense and anxious all the time as I imagine them dragging me away in handcuffs and taking away the freedom I have always taken for granted.  There will be no college and no future for me as I spend my bleak existence in a cell.

I think about Nate being locked up, and I am now more keenly aware of how terrifying that must have been for him.  He didn’t know that his estranged grandparents were going to come to his defense.  As far as he knew, he was trapped there with no one to help him.  It makes me even more sympathetic to him, even though logic dictates that I should view him as a suspect.  Logic has nothing to do with my feelings for Nate though.  It never has, or I wouldn’t have been in love with him while he was with my best friend.

My dad has already convicted him in his mind.  I should have come to the same conclusion.  Since I know that I didn’t kill Vanessa, Nate is the most likely suspect.  He was her boyfriend, and she cheated on him.  Case closed.  Except they were broken up for months before she died.  Why would he wait that long to kill her?

The jealousy and anger were festering until he snapped.  That’s what my dad said when I brought forth that argument.  As far as he was concerned, Nate was guilty and a danger to me.  My protests held no sway over him as he transferred me out of going to school with Nate and forbid me to see him.

It has had the contrary effect of making me want to be with Nate even more.  I feel reckless in the face of doom and want to get as much living in as I can before it’s all taken away from me when I’m locked up in prison.  Nate is my heart’s desire, and why shouldn’t I have him before I lose everything?  What good will it do me to play it safe when my time is running out?

Thank goodness for Amber.  A friend understands your life in a way that your parents never can.  They are too far removed from the urgency of the situation and think that my feelings aren’t important in the scheme of things.  They think that I’m young and will have plenty of time to experience love with someone else. 

But Amber doesn’t dismiss how I feel about Nate.  She doesn’t think I’m foolish, and she doesn’t think he’s dangerous.  He’s worried about you, she tells me.  He wants to see you.

My heart soars at hearing that.  Everything else has been so disheartening, so hearing that Nate wants to see me is wonderful amidst the dismal state of my life.  Everything else seems to be going wrong.  I hate my new school.  It would be hard even if my concentration wasn’t crap due to my anxiety about being the main suspect in a murder case.  There is no way that I’m going to pass any of my classes, but I guess I won’t have to worry about not graduating if I get arrested and sent to prison.

Spending time with Amber has been the only bright spot in my life until seeing Nate became a possibility.  Amber is just as excited about it as I am, and she is the one who makes it happen by asking my stepmom if I can sleep over at her place.  Kara is happy for me to have fun with a friend and doesn’t suspect anything.  She is glad for anything that will take my mind off my troubles and is busy planning a big eighteenth birthday party for me, which I don’t want but don’t complain about.  I certainly don’t feel like celebrating, but I want to keep up as much of a pretense as I can that I’m okay, lest my dad decide to take away even more of my freedom in an effort to keep me safe.

Getting away from the overprotectiveness at home is great, and I truly feel free when I drive off with Amber.  I know that I’m in a gilded cage and that some people have it much worse, but I feel like I’m throwing off shackles and finally getting to make decisions for myself.  Life has possibilities again.

Maybe I’ll run off to Mexico, I declare.

Ooh, yeah! Amber agrees enthusiastically.  You could be a fugitive on the run with your man.  That sounds so sexy!  Ooh, maybe you could go hide out with Nate’s family!  Or maybe not, because that might make it too easy for the police to track you down. 

I glance at her in confusion.  Nate’s family?  They live in Mexico?

I am picturing Nate’s wealthy uncle living in a villa in Mexico and being waited on by a Mexican staff of servants.  I can’t quite picture Nate’s grandparents, since I haven’t met them, but I assume they have their own villa.  I would not be welcome at either place.

Amber blows my mind when she questions, You didn’t know that Nate’s dad is Mexican?

My gaze shoots toward her in shock but quickly returns to the road when she cries out for me to watch out.  I slam on my brakes so I don’t hit the car stopped at the stop sign in front of me.

Geez, I didn’t think that would cause you to have an accident! Amber exclaims.

Sorry.  I ease toward the stop sign as the other car drives away.

I’m still in a mental fog as I process her revelation while I’m picturing Nate’s features.  I’m trying to readjust my image of him as Heathcliff on the moors and see him as Mexican instead.  His dark brown eyes and jet-black hair fit his heritage, but he doesn’t have the brown skin I associate with Mexican people.  He is only half Mexican though, I think as I recall his blond, blue-eyed uncle.  Thinking about that awful man makes me frown.

Are you upset about his dad being Mexican? Amber demands, her suddenly loud voice jarring me out of my contemplation.

My startled gaze takes in the consternation on her face in confusion.  What?  No, I answer as the implication of her question sinks in.  Of course not.  God, Amber, why would you think that?

You didn’t look happy, she retorts, still eyeing me with an offended expression.

I was thinking about his dickwad uncle!  Geez, I’m not a racist!  I can’t believe you would think I was.

Well, your reaction wasn’t so great, she replies.  You almost got into an accident, so you didn’t exactly take it well.

I was just surprised, I tell her defensively.  You distracted me, and I wasn’t watching where I was going.

You looked like it really bothered you, she persists.

I was just working it out in my mind, I begin.

What’s there to work out?  He’s still the same person.  It shouldn’t change how you feel about him.

It doesn’t, I insist.

Amber doesn’t respond, but her tense silence tells me that she’s not convinced by my denial.  I don’t know what else I can say to persuade her that I’m sincere.  While I’m trying to come up with the right words, she drops a bombshell on me.

You know what?  I’ve been worried about telling you this, but I don’t care anymore what you’ll think about it.  I’m dating Jordan, and it’s too bad if you don’t like it.

This time I hit the brakes so I won’t crash into anyone as I turn my head to gape at her.  What?  Since when?

Halloween, she says while giving me a defiant look.

I’m stunned that she lied to me.  You said that you were taking little kids trick-or-treating.

I did, but that was over at eight o’clock.  I went to a party with Jordan after that.

You ditched me to go to a party with him? I ask in a hurt voice.

Her expression turns defensive.  You had Daisy, so you weren’t going to be alone.  Besides, she says with a pointed look, I knew that Nate was going to be there to watch out for you.

"You did know! I exclaim accusingly.  And you didn’t tell me."

You wouldn’t have gone to the party if you knew, she replies.

A horn blares loudly behind us before I can respond, and I glance in the rearview mirror as the angry driver honks the horn again.  Amber has twisted in her seat to look back, and she informs me that there is a line of cars behind us, and that I better get going.  I remove my foot from the brake as I look forward and press on the gas pedal.  Thoughts whirl in my head as I drive in silence for a few minutes.

Are you going to break up with Nate? Amber asks suddenly.

My startled glance flies toward her.  What?  No!

My vehement answer finally seems to get through to her, and her tone is approving as she comments, You didn’t even hesitate.  You do still like him.

My gaze has returned to the road, but I don’t need to look over at her to know that she has calmed down.  It makes me feel only slightly better though, since new concerns are stirring in my mind.  Yeah, I acknowledge absently before starting in on her.  So, you said you’re dating Jordan?  What does that mean?

I hear her huff out a breath.  You don’t know what dating is? she retorts, immediately getting an attitude.

I keep my eyes on the road as I carefully reply.  Uh, going out on dates and stuff.

We haven’t had sex, she snaps, if that’s what you mean by stuff.

I wasn’t saying that, I protest, although that’s my biggest concern.  It’s just that he’s...

I trail off as the word player comes to mind, but that goes right back to sex, which has already got her bristling at me.

What? she demands.  Your brother?  It’s not okay for me to date your stepbrother?  Why?  Because he went out with your sister?

He didn’t exactly go out with her, I say quietly.

My meaning hangs in the air between us as I drive without looking at her.  I know that she hasn’t forgotten that I told her Jordan slept with my sister.

Amber expels another breath.  I confronted him about that.

My gaze shoots toward her in surprise.  You did?

I did, she confirms.  He said that it was a onetime thing, and that he has nothing going on with her.

That’s true.  Harper would have told me if they were still hooking up, and she hasn’t been home from college yet anyway.  But doesn’t it bother you that he’s so casual about hooking up?

We’re not hooking up, she counters.  I told him that I don’t want that.

And he’s okay with that? I question.

Did that bother you about Jaxon? she asks.  Is that why you didn’t stay with him?

I wasn’t with him.  He only kissed me at school that one day, and he said it was a prank, I admit.

What? Amber exclaims in outrage.

Yeah, I confide.  He stole my first kiss, and my second one too, and it was all just a prank.  He said it was to mess with people because everyone was wondering which one of them I was with, so he and Jordan decided that it would be funny if one of them kissed me.

What? she exclaims again, sounding shocked.   

Yeah, I continue, realizing that I can use this to warn her away from Jordan.  They had a girl think of a number, and whoever guessed the closest to it was the one who would kiss me.  It was only by chance that it was Jaxon.  

That’s...

She trails off, and I assume she’s thinking about what a crappy thing that was to do and reconsidering her involvement with Jordan.  However, her next words surprise me.

Would you have kissed Jordan back?

Her unexpected question makes me glance at her, but I quickly return my eyes to the road.  Well, no, but...

I gather my thoughts and forge on with my campaign to dissuade her from dating him.  Doesn’t it bother you that he would do that?

Her mind is still focused on me though.  So, you’re not attracted to him?

No, I answer impatiently.  That’s not the point.  He—

Do you think he’s attracted to you? she interrupts.

I huff out an exasperated breath.  No, but you’re not getting the point I’m trying to—

She cuts me off again.  How do you know he’s not attracted to you?

I shoot her an annoyed look.  Because he calls me Sis and acts like he’s really my brother.  And there’s just no...

Chemistry? she supplies after I trail off.

Yeah, I agree.  There’s none of that between us.  He’s just Jordan.

To my dismay, I see a happy smile on her face when I glance at her again.  Did you not hear me? I demand.  He was part of this stupid prank.  Doesn’t that bother you?

You know what I think? she says.  I think that Jordan would have let Jaxon kiss you even if he didn’t guess the closest number.  Maybe that’s even what happened, and Jaxon was just lying so you wouldn’t know how much he likes you.

I snort.  He doesn’t like me!  He’s done everything he can to make my life miserable.  He talked my dad into transferring me to Branson, even though he knows how much I wanted to stay at Canyon Crest with you.  And I’m not allowed to go anywhere alone because of him.  It’s like I’m in prison!

There is an uncomfortable silence after that exclamation.  Grim thoughts of actually going to prison