Private 8 - Revelation Read Online Free PDF Page B

could prove that Ivy was the murderer, that she had been working to destroy me for months, at least I might actually be able to sleep at night. Then I could concentrate on earning Noelle's forgiveness for what I'd done, getting back into Billings, and maybe even winning Josh back too. I could concentrate on reclaiming my life.

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    ***

    "Thank you so much for fixing my computer last night," Jillian said as she and Ivy walked out of their room on Monday morning. I listened from the other side of my door, my breath coming quick and shallow. "I thought the thing was fritzed, and I totally forgot to back up my world civ paper."

    "Not a problem," Ivy replied. They were in the hallway now, passing just outside my door. "But how many times have I told you, always back up everything? "

    "I know, I know, Bill Gates," Jillian said with a laugh. "I promise I will never again question your computer geek ways."

    "I prefer computer diva," Ivy joked.

    I closed my eyes as a wave of realization came over me. Ivy, a computer geek? No wonder she'd been able to rig Cheyenne's e-mail to keep sending me that suicide note over and over and over again. No wonder she'd been able to get through to my accounts no matter how I

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    tried to block her or how many times I changed my address. The more I learned about the girl, the more certain I was that she was my tormentor. I made a mental note to add this new bit of info to my suspect list. The moment I heard the elevator ping and Ivy and Jillian's laughter fade, I slipped out of my room. It was getting late, and the hallway was deserted. Taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer that Ivy and Jillian wouldn't double back for anything, I grasped the cold bronze doorknob and pushed. Ten million times I had cursed the powers that be for deciding we didn't need locks on our dorm room doors. For once, I couldn't have been more grateful.

    Ivy and Jillian's room was about twice the size of mine, and they had made it cozy by draping colorful scarves across the ceiling to hide the ugly stucco. The walls were papered with full-size posters, magazine tear sheets, and framed photographs; not an inch of graying white paint peeked through anywhere. Their beds, pushed against opposite walls, were littered with throw pillows, and their desks stood back-to-back in front of the window so that they could both see out when they were studying. And so that they couldn't see each other and get distracted. Not a bad little system. I'd have to remember that if I ever had a roommate again.

    Okay. What was I doing? This was not an episode of Pimp My Dorm. I was here for information.

    Glancing around, I identified Ivy's side of the room by a square frame holding a photo of her and Josh, clearly taken out on the quad. They were smiling and hugging.

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    Gag, heave, gag.

    Part of me wanted to smash it, burn it, tear it to shreds, but instead I quickly sifted through a short stack of papers next to her computer. It was all college brochures and copies of the applications she'd sent: Harvard, Dartmouth, Tufts, Wesleyan, Boston College. Clearly the girl wanted to stay close to home. I yanked open the first drawer of her desk. Nothing but pens, pencils, pads, and printer ink. The second drawer was all old notebooks, which I paged through quickly, finding nothing interesting other than a couple of doodled hearts with Ivy's and Gage's names in them. Ew. Why hadn't those two just stayed together? They were so perversely well-suited for each other.

    The bottom drawer of her desk was filled with snack food and feminine products. A weird combination, but I had a hunch it wouldn't be of interest to Detective Hauer or Josh.

    I stood up and looked around. Only the dresser and closet were left, and I was getting tenser with each passing second. There had to be something here. Something...

    And that was when my eyes found the photo. Hanging on the wall above Ivy's bed was a full-color, eight-by-ten picture of four girls with