THE GOOD THING, AND PERHAPS THE ONLY GOOD THING, about Rex Cavanaugh was that he was predictable. Olivia was well aware that she wasn’t as smart as Margot, or as sharp as Kitty, or even as ballsy as Bree. But like any great actress, she was observant.
Which is why Olivia knew that Rex would be leaving his iPhone bundled up in his Bishop DuMaine jacket, next to the chain-link fence around the tennis courts, during sixth-period gym.
He did it every day, as if he was so important he might miss a call if he left his phone in his locker for fifty minutes, and his massive ego might afford her the opportunity to nab his phone for a quick look-see.
Olivia sighed as she crouched behind a tree next to the tennis courts. If only Bree were here. She was so much better at the criminal stuff. Olivia’s role was always decoy and informant, but doing the actual theft? She wasn’t sure she had the nerve.
Rex’s sidekicks emerged from the locker room first. Kyle and Tyler scanned the yard like Secret Service agents prepping the area for the president’s arrival, then stepped aside and allowed Rex to lead them across the blacktop to the same corner court they used every day.
“Two against one,” he barked at Kyle and Tyler as he stepped onto the court. “I’m gonna kick your asses, ladies.”
Then the move she’d been waiting for. Rex peeled off his jacket, carefully wrapped it around his cell phone, and placed it in the corner of the green hard court, nestled beside the chain-link fence.
So predictable.
Now, the tricky part. With his back to her, Rex wasn’t likely to spy her sneaking out from the trees, unless she was unlucky enough to have a stray ball roll right up on top of her as she was reaching her hand through the fence. The catch was Kyle and Tyler, who had a clear view of her. The trees only came within a few feet of the fence, and as soon as she broke from behind them, she’d be fully visible. She just had to wait, and hope that Rex’s overly aggressive play would send a ball flying across the nearby courts. With all eyes following Rex’s errant shot, she might just have enough time to snag the phone.
“Dude,” Rex said, as he casually tossed a ball to Kyle. “Your serve.”
Kyle caught the ball in midair. “I suck at serving.”
“I know,” Rex said with a grin.
Pursing his lips, Kyle bounced the ball several times, then tossed it over his head and took a massive swing.
The ball bounced in front of him. Nothing but air.
“A swing and a miss!” Rex crowed.
Kyle chased down the ball and snatched it off the green court. He repeated his setup, swung again, and missed.
“Fuck!” Kyle growled.
Rex cupped the side of his mouth. “Strike two!”
Olivia could see the scowl on Kyle’s face as he kicked the ball against the fence. “Stupid ball.”
“Come on, dude,” Tyler said. “You can do this.”
His lips pressed together, Kyle tossed the ball, arched his back, and whapped it as hard as he could.
To Olivia’s amazement, it soared over the net.
Rex pounced on Kyle’s serve immediately with a swing that utilized all of his strength. The yellow ball zipped through the air, over the net, over the back of the court, over the net of the court behind them, and finally dribbled to a stop three courts away.
“Home run!” Kyle cried, and burst into laughter. “Point to me.”
Rex glowered at him. “Go get the fucking ball, will you?” Then he pointed his racket at Tyler, who was trying to contain his not-so-manly giggling. “Don’t look at me, dickhead. I’ll punch that smile off your face.”
Rex marched up to the net, arms folded across his chest, while Kyle and Tyler jogged across the courts to retrieve their ball. Suddenly, Olivia had her chance. As silently as she could, she slipped out from behind the tree, dashed to the fence, and wiggled her hand between the links. It only took her seconds to locate Rex’s phone in the folds of his jacket. She carefully extricated it and hurried back to the safety of the trees, panting.
Bree would be so proud of me.
Rex’s phone had an access code, but there was no need for one of Margot’s high-tech hacking devices. She’d seen him type it in a dozen times: 6969. So classy. His home screen popped up instantly.
She started with the texts. Conversations with Kyle, Tyler, and a half-dozen other members of the ’Maine Men posse. She skipped through those. Amber, of course. She’d check that last. She continued to scroll, looking for Ronny’s name or, more likely, a phone number without a contact entry.
Nothing unusual jumped out at her, so she scrolled back up to Amber and opened all five hundred messages in the thread.
Moving backward in time through the final days of Rex and Amber’s relationship, Olivia felt almost bad for her frenemy. Rex was truly a douche, and despite the fact that Amber had dumped him, Amber was desperate to get him back; she must have really loved him.
About fifty texts in, something caught Olivia’s eye. Rex had just called Amber a frigid bitch, which was followed by a rapid series of responses.
Oh yeah? How about I share your dirty little secret, huh?
I’m sure Kyle, Tyler, and the rest of the guys would just LOVE to know about Christopher.
Maybe you should go back to him? I’m sure you’d make a lovely couple.
Finally! So that’s what Ronny knew about Rex. Olivia recalled the emails Margot found between Christopher and Ronny. Hadn’t Christopher mentioned that he’d had a sexual encounter with someone at St. Alban’s? Could that possibly have been Rex?
His response showed just how terrified he was that Amber might follow through on her threats.
You fucking bitch.
If you breathe a word about that I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.
Don’t forget, I know where you were the night Ronny died.
You want me to point the cops toward your dad’s missing Rolex?
Olivia felt her fingertips tingling as she read the texts. The pieces were finally coming together.
She looked around the wooded area, wishing there was someone nearby with whom she could share her discovery. Usually it was Margot or Kitty or even Bree figuring out the mystery, but now Olivia was rocking her Nancy Drew-ness to the nth degree and feeling pretty badass about it. She needed to find Kitty and tell her—
In the distance, the bell blared.
Dammit! She’d totally lost track of time. See? Bree wouldn’t have done that.
Olivia canceled out of Rex’s messaging app and peeked from behind the tree. Too late. Rex jogged over to his bundle, tucked his jacket under his arm, and trotted off across the court.
This was her chance. Swift and silent, she dashed to the fence and carefully laid Rex’s phone on the blacktop, as if it had just fallen out when he picked up his jacket. She was back in the safety of the trees not a moment too soon. Rex wasn’t even off the tennis courts before he shoved his hand into the bundle, looking for his phone. He paused, unfurled his jacket, and shook it, then swung around toward the corner he’d just vacated.
He ran back to his phone at a full sprint, as if concerned that some unseen thief might nab it before he got there, and plucked it off the ground. He shoved the phone into his pocket and started back to the locker room when he paused. Rex slowly turned and stared into the wooded area. Olivia crouched even lower, her heart thundering in her chest, and waited what felt like forever before she heard the squeak of his sneakers as he retreated.
