I grabbed my cell phone, heart pounding, and speed-dialed Bridgette.
She answered on the first ring. "You can't sleep either?"
"No. Listen, Bridge… I found something. We need to meet."
***
We met at our favorite greasy burger diner the next day. I arrived first and ordered us both our favorites while I sipped on coffee and waited.
Bridgette arrived late in a silver Mercedes. She kissed the driver, and he drove off as she came in, all smiles.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "So, you and Jon are getting serious?"
She nodded happily. "And he's been extra sweet since I almost died. So," she smacked her hands on the table, "what's the big mystery? I've been dying since last night you evil tease."
"I found the notes for my mother's book." As soon as I said it, I regretted it. I needed someone to confide in, to talk it all through with, and since Bridgette wasn't related to the Davenports, she was easier to talk about this with than Ash. But what if this put her in danger, too?
"Oh my God!" Bridgette leaned forward over the table, lowering her voice. "That's incredible. What did it say?"
"Oh, not much. Just that, basically, my mom was a part of an evil secret Greek club at Harvard and they helped cover up crimes for each other. I don't have names, but it looks like my dad, at least, was innocent. My mom wanted out because of him."
She sat there, stunned. "Wow. That is so not what I expected."
My ability to hide behind snark and steely resolve crumbled as I looked into the concerned eyes of my best friend. I took in a fragmented breath. "I've had her on a pedestal my whole life, and now I find this out. I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. Anger. Betrayal. More anger. Sadness. I feel like I've lost her all over again, only this time it's her fault. And she got my dad killed. She was directly responsible for what happened to them, and he was innocent." Thinking of them that night, of the look in my dad's eyes and how he willed me to walk away, to hide. He'd watched the Midnight Murderer rape and kill my mother before they murdered him. He'd suffered so much. Did he ever know why? Did she ever tell him the truth before that night?
Bridgette put a hand on mine, her brow furrowed in lines of worry. "I can't even imagine," she said. "It's probably going to take time to sort through all the emotions, but I know she loved you and Ben. She was willing to give up all the power and risk her life to walk away, right? That has to count for something in the end, even if it doesn't negate the bad she did."
"Maybe. I just don't know anymore. What makes a person bad or good? What defines them at the end of their life?"
"I remember a story from church," she said. "I know you're not religious, but we attend on holidays, and I remember hearing about Jesus hanging on the cross between two criminals. They'd done bad their whole lives, but in the end they repented and he forgave them. Even at the last moment, when you can't do anything to redeem yourself with deeds, there is still grace. I believe that. Maybe it's not through a God in the sky, but there can still be forgiveness. You have memories of your mother that aren't all bad, that are good and loving and kind and funny. That was her, too, not just the things you're reading in her research. Don't forget that part of her. It's real and shouldn't be lost in all this blood."
I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled. "Thank you. That does help, I think."
Bridgette smiled back—a soft, bittersweet smile. "At least it's over, right? The Midnight Murderer is dead, the person responsible is dead. At least you can live the life you want now. Get your happily ever after."
I frowned and took out the one page I'd brought with me, the first page. "I'm not so sure it's over." I slid the page over to her.
Bridge read it and her eyes widened in shock. "Jon's dad was up to some creepy shit," she said. "He probably went to Harvard with your mother. I bet he was in that creepy club of theirs."
"Probably, but there were others. I have to know who was involved. Maybe I can get Ash's private investigator to look into it."
"Sure. Sure." She looked down at her nails.
"You don't agree, I take it?"
She looked up sheepishly. "No, I do agree. After learning about this, I know you have to avenge your mother and find out the truth. I would expect nothing less from you. I'm just worried about you. This is a dangerous game you're playing and someone could get hurt."
I clenched my fists. "This isn't a game. Even if Lucky and Lauren were part of the Midnight Murderer plot, there were others and they need to pay."