The Last Name on the List

9

Juniper sat stiffly in the passenger seat of Nielson's car, her fingers twisting the hem of her pastel rainbow shirt. The rhythmic hum of the engine filled the heavy silence between them. Streetlights flickered past, casting brief flashes of light over the detective's tired face, but Juniper barely noticed. Her mind was racing.

Someone had been watching them.

She could still feel it—the prickling sensation of eyes on her, the way the hairs on her arms had stood on end. And then the figure had vanished before either of them could get a good look. That wasn't just some random passerby. That was someone with something to hide.

"You're quiet," Nielson said, his voice breaking through her thoughts.

Juniper swallowed, keeping her gaze fixed on the darkened streets outside. "Just thinking."

Nielson let out a slow breath, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. "You did good back there."

She let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Did I? Because I don't feel like I did."

"You noticed the loose floorboard. You found the journal, the razor, the pills. And you caught on to that shadow before I did." He shot her a sideways glance. "That's not nothing."

Juniper hugged her arms around herself. "Someone was there, Nielson. Watching us. And they got away."

"They won't stay hidden forever," he reassured her.

Juniper wished she could believe that.

Nielson reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small notebook. "Listen, before all the chaos, I wanted to talk to you about something. Something in Violet's journal."

Juniper straightened in her seat. "What is it?"

He flipped through a few pages before handing her a folded note. "Found this tucked in the back. Read it."

Juniper carefully unfolded the paper, her heart pounding as she scanned the uneven handwriting.

"I don't know who to trust anymore. Even my closest friends are hiding things from me. I hear whispers behind my back, and I swear someone has been in my room when I'm not home. If something happens to me... start with them."

A chill crawled down her spine.

She stared at the note for a long moment before looking at Nielson. "Them?" she whispered.

Nielson exhaled, rubbing his temple. "That's the problem. She doesn't name anyone. Just them."

Juniper pressed her lips together, gripping the note tightly. "That doesn't make sense. Violet named people in her journal before. She wouldn't suddenly get vague unless she was scared of writing it down."

Nielson nodded. "Exactly. Which means whoever she was afraid of... she knew them well."

Juniper's stomach twisted.

Someone Violet knew. Someone close to her.

And then, like a snap of lightning in her mind, a realization hit her so hard it made her dizzy.

Joseph.

Her throat tightened as the memories flooded in—Joseph and Violet had been friends. Joseph had been acting defensive. And then there was the way he had looked at her when Nielson asked to speak with him earlier.

Joseph had been hiding something.

"Juniper?" Nielson's voice pulled her back to reality.

She blinked, forcing herself to look at him. "We need to figure out who them is," she said, voice steady.

Nielson nodded. "And we start with the people closest to her."

Juniper inhaled sharply. "Her friends. Her family."

Her brother.

Her fingers curled into a fist, her nails digging into her palm.

If Joseph had anything to do with this—if he knew something—then she was going to find out.

And she wasn't going to let him hide anymore.