Lola left the Hall quickly. Emmy could tell she was exhausted. She hadn’t stopped running around all night.
“I’m going to turn in,” Sam said with a yawn.
They said goodnight to him, and Jack dropped into a chair next to Emmy. “I think my hosting duties are finally done.” People were drinking the last of their champagne and filing out the doors.
“How did Oliver do?” Emmy couldn’t imagine him having to talk to all these strangers.
“Not bad,” Jack said. “He’s a really good kid, you know. He’s just nervous about fitting in.”
Emmy smiled wryly. “Kind of like you were when you first started here?”
Jack elbowed her in the ribs. “Hey, you weren’t even here then!”
“It’s not like it’s a secret. I know you had a rough time.”
“Yeah. I don’t want him to go through that.”
“You really care about him, don’t you?”
Jack looked down at his hands. “He’s my brother. He’s not like Malcolm and Vincent. They’ve always had that swagger, like they know they belong in every room they walk into. But Oli… He’s more…”
“Like you?”
“Yeah. I just want him to be okay, you know?”
Emmy smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
Jack pushed his chair away from the table. “Anyway, I’m beat. I’m going to grab my stuff and get out of here.”
“Me too.”
They grabbed their jackets from the student conference room, along with their planning binders and any other things they’d needed for the night. Emmy had liked working on the event, but she was glad it was done. Soccer season was starting soon, and she didn’t need anything extra on her plate.
It was a huge relief to get back to Audrey House and into bed. Emmy’s feet were killing her. That was the last time she’d borrow shoes from Jaya. She fell asleep almost instantly and didn’t wake up until she heard shouting from the common room the next morning.
Emmy rolled out of bed and plodded down the stairs. Lola and Brynn were facing each other, and Lola looked like she was ready to explode. Brynn seemed as relaxed as ever.
“Obviously you didn’t look hard enough!” Lola yelled.
Brynn shrugged. “Come take a look for yourself. Your mum and I searched every drawer and cupboard. The money box isn’t there.”
* * *
One hour later, the entire fund-raising committee was sitting in the student conference room. Emmy, Jack, and Lola were all fidgeting nonstop, while Oliver and Sam just looked confused. They hadn’t been in the common room that morning. Oliver kept chewing his lip and looking at his brother, as if Jack could reveal the meeting’s secret meaning. The only person who looked totally at ease was Brynn. In fact, he looked downright smug.
“So…does anybody know why Boyd and Larraby hauled us in here?” Sam asked.
“It would appear,” Brynn said slowly, “that somebody here is a thief.”
Sam and Oliver both shifted in their chairs, but Emmy kept staring at Brynn. She knew exactly who that “somebody” was.
The conference room door opened and Boyd and Larraby walked in. Ms. Blakely, the new head of security, was with them, along with someone Emmy had rarely seen in a whole year at Wellsworth—Headmaster Haverham. He was short with close-cropped hair, and every time Emmy saw him, he was wearing a perfectly tailored suit. This morning was no exception. He put his briefcase on the table and pulled out a leather binder.
“Good morning,” Headmaster Haverham said.
The room chorused “Good morning” back to him.
He cleared his throat. “Good morning, sir.”
Everyone mumbled “Good morning, sir,” even Lola, who must have been too nervous to remember how much she hated being corrected.
“Who was working the silent auction last night?” Haverham asked.
“Sam and I were,” Emmy said, her voice cracking a bit.
Haverham looked at her. “What’s your name?”
“Emmeline Willick,” she responded. This seemed like one of those times that she should use her full name.
“And who is Sam?”
Sam raised his hand. “Sam Corby, sir.”
Haverham looked at Sam. “How was the money collected for each item, Mr. Corby?”
“Lola collected all the money and put it in the money box,” Sam said.
“Lola Boyd?” the headmaster said quickly, glancing over to where Lola sat.
Sam nodded.
“And how did most people pay?” he asked Lola.
“Most people paid with checks,” she said. “A few of the smaller items were cash, though. And a lot of the ticket money was cash.”
The headmaster made more notes in his binder, and Emmy bit her lip. It didn’t sound like they’d found the money yet.
“And what happened to that box at the end of the night?” he asked.
“I didn’t know who Brynn had arranged to take the money.” Lola glared at him. “He completely bailed on us last night.”
“I wasn’t feeling well,” Brynn said.
“That’s total rubbish,” Lola snapped. “You were fine yesterday morning, and you’re fine now!”
“Maybe it was something I ate,” Brynn said casually. “In any case, I went to get the money this morning, and it was gone.”
“That’s convenient.” Lola folded her arms across her chest. “How do we know you didn’t take all that cash and tell us you couldn’t find it?”
“Because your mum was with me,” Brynn sneered.
Everyone looked at Madam Boyd.
“I was in the office this morning,” Boyd said. “Mr. Stratton asked me to open the student conference room, as his code had already been deactivated. We both searched the room, but there was no money box.”
Brynn leaned back in his chair and smirked at Lola. “How do we know you didn’t take all that cash and tell us you locked it up? Besides, I’ve got plenty of pocket money; I don’t need to steal. You, on the other hand…”
Lola shoved her chair back and sprang to her feet. “If your granddad hadn’t cut Mum off, we’d be rolling in it, too!”
“Lola!” her mother barked.
Emmy and Jack yanked Lola back into her chair. The less ammunition she gave Brynn, the better.