INSTALOVE

Chapter 37: The Interview

The social worker lady seems to read my thoughts. "You're not in any trouble, Ellie. Dr. Tanaka is talking to every student in the program."

"Shouldn't my parents be here?"

"That's why Dr. Carlyle and I are here," she responds. She has a folder on the desk in front of her, and she opens it to show me. I see my name on a form, with my mother's signature at the bottom. "Your parents authorized Winthrop Academy to act in loco parentis for the duration of the program."

My eyes go to each one of them in turn. Dr. Carlyle looks grave, but Ms. Peterson casts me a maternal smile. "Go ahead, dear. It's all right."

I force a deep breath. I don't know why I'm so nervous. I haven't done anything wrong. I had nothing whatsoever to do with the Eleanor's fall. The fact is, I never even had a conversation with the girl. For the past four weeks, she made a point never to direct a single word in my direction. Only sullen glares and high-handed disdain.

Dr. Tanaka picks up a pen and clears his throat. "When was the last time you saw the deceased?"

"Friday, in the main Assembly Hall." I glance toward Dr. Carlyle. "It was just after you came to look over our progress. Eleanor and Reese showed up together, right after you left."

The medical examiner's pen glints in the lamp light as he jots down notes on a yellow legal pad. "How would you describe Ms. Winthrop's mood?"

I blow out my cheeks, picturing Eleanor's face as she stood there glaring at us from the hall's double doors. Her mood? Not happy. That's for sure. "I guess she seemed...annoyed."

"Did she say what she was annoyed about?"

"Maddox could tell you better. Or Reese. I honestly didn't know her very well."

"Yes." Dr. Tanaka doesn't look up from his page. "We've already spoken with Mr. Cruz and Ms. Kemp at some length."

I don't know why those words make my fingers clench beneath my thighs. Maddox wouldn't say anything bad about me, I don't think...but Reese is a different story. How much did she tell them?

Distance = -1...

You did it on purpose. Didn't you?...

You wanted her out of the way? Well, you got your wish...

I didn't know how to defend myself against those texted accusations, but it occurs to me now that I have do have an answer. Of course! I sit up straighter' forcing my clenched fingers to unfurl. That distance parameter couldn't have anything to do with Eleanor's fall. My hazard alert program had to be downloaded and installed on a user's visor before it would do anything. Maddox and I were planning to push an update to everyone in the program before the Maker Fair demo, but so far it had only been installed on one visor. Not Eleanor's. Mine.

The medical examiner stops jotting notes. He leans forward to retrieve something from the briefcase that sits on the floor at his feet. A clear plastic envelope thunks down on the desk between us.

EVIDENCE

My stomach twists at the sight of it.

"Do you recognize this item?" he asks.

I nod in confirmation, staring at the back of his legal pad. He has it propped up so that I can't see what he's writing, but it occurs to me that my relief may have been premature. Something about the way he asked that makes my breath catch in my throat.

"It's an Insight Visor," I say softly.

"This was found by police divers near the location of the decedent's body. Do you have any idea how it got there?"