Chapter 4

The officers didn't budge.

"Whether or not it was stolen, you can sort that out at the station. The victim is clear that she never gave you permission, and the value of the item meets the threshold for a criminal case. You're coming with us."

After that, the police put me in the car too and drove over to Marco's.

When the cruiser pulled up in front of the restaurant and the officers walked in to demand Ruby turn over the stolen property and cooperate with the investigation, every last trace of that woman's usual bravado vanished from her face.

"I… I didn't know it was stolen! That college kid shoved it on me and said it was some kind of compensation for emotional distress!"

Her legs nearly gave out under her. She scrambled into the kitchen and came stumbling back with the designer bag clutched to her chest, shoving it at the officers like it was burning her hands.

"Officer, I swear I had nothing to do with this! I'm a victim here too! I barely even know her!"

So much for Paige's beloved, warm-hearted, salt-of-the-earth working woman. The second she was staring down actual consequences, she threw Paige under the bus faster than she could flip a menu.

At the station, our student advisor, Mr. Ross Harmon, showed up in the mediation room, sweating through his collar. Tessa and Nina had obviously called the school.

The moment he walked in, he defaulted to smoothing things over.

"Now, now, Gemma. This is all just a misunderstanding. Roommates borrow things from each other all the time.

"Paige is a model student and an outstanding member of the student council. You're blowing this way out of proportion. If this actually goes on her record, her entire future is ruined.

"Show a little grace here. Just let her apologize, and we can all move on. Please, take my advice and drop the charges."

I sat in my chair and looked calmly at Mr. Harmon, who was mopping his forehead like his life depended on it, then glanced over at Paige, who was a sobbing wreck.

"Mr. Harmon," I began, slowly. "First, this isn't borrowing. It's theft. Second, the thing that's going to ruin her future isn't me calling the police. It's the fact that she put her hands on someone else's property.

"And third, if you think a three-thousand-dollar theft is no big deal, I'm happy to call the district superintendent's office right now and ask whether it's standard practice at Riverton for student advisors to cover for criminals."

Mr. Harmon went pale and didn't say another word.

The investigating officer walked back in with the appraisal report and fixed Paige and Ruby with a hard look.

"The purchase receipt for the bag checks out. The verified value is 3,100 dollars. Under state law, that qualifies as grand theft, carrying a sentence of three to ten years."

He turned to Ruby. "And you, if you knowingly accepted stolen property, you're looking at criminal charges of your own."

Paige dropped to her knees right in front of me. She grabbed at my hands, mascara running down her face in black streaks, her voice raw and desperate.

"Gemma, I'm sorry! I was wrong! I was so wrong! Please forgive me. Please, I'm begging you, just tell them to drop the charges!

"I can't go to prison. My family is counting on me to graduate and support them. Please, just let me off this once. I'll do anything you want—anything!"

Ruby shrank into the corner, nodding frantically. "She's right! She's absolutely right. You're clearly the bigger person here. You've got your bag back. Just have a heart, please!"

I looked down at the bag in my hands. Because it had been shoved into a greasy kitchen, the delicate leather was smeared with oil stains, and there was a visible scratch running across the surface.

Three thousand dollars meant nothing to me. But if someone like Paige only got a slap on the wrist and a lecture, she would never learn. Worse, she'd walk away thinking I was an easy target.

What I wanted was to strip away every last shred of that righteous, holier-than-thou mask she wore and grind it into the floor.

"You want me to drop the charges?"

I looked down at Paige. "Fine."

A spark of hope flashed in Mr. Harmon's eyes and in Paige's too.

"But I have three conditions."