I opened Instagram and went through Bobbi’s follower list. I couldn’t see anyone with the same surname as her, and she hadn’t tagged anyone in the family photos she’d posted at Christmas and Easter either.
“I’ve got something,” Erin said. “She has her parents linked as family members on her Facebook.”
She turned her phone screen so we could both look at it. Bobbi’s father was listed as ‘Andrew J Kesinovic’ and her mother was listed as ‘Felicia Bailey Kesinovic’.
I squinted at her mother’s profile. “Bailey could be her mom’s middle name, but it could also be her maiden name, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Wasn’t there a Bailey on the class list?”
“I think so,” Erin replied, brows scrunching together. “Do you think Bobbi might’ve enrolled under that name?”
“Maybe. Let’s see.” I pulled up the senior class ranking on my laptop again. “There,” I said triumphantly, pointing at one of the top names on the list. “Roberta Bailey. Number two in the senior class. That’s got to be her.”
“Oh my god,” Erin muttered. “She’s a literal effing genius, and she’s been hiding in plain sight this whole time.”
“Yeah. I just don’t understand why.”
“Me neither. She always acts like a total idiot,” Erin said. Her brows rose. “Maybe that’s what she wants—for people to ignore her academic achievements. Or never notice them in the first place.”
“Why, though?” I asked, rubbing my neck. “What’s the point?”
Erin’s mouth flattened. “I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out.”
I nodded and rose to my feet, heart hammering with anticipation. Erin picked up my laptop and stuffed it in my bag while I took the tiny spy camera off the sconce and put it in my pocket. Then we hurried out of the library and wandered the school halls until we found Bobbi lingering near the cafeteria entrance.
We marched over to her. She looked up at us, gray eyes wide and vacant. “Um… hi?” she said, tilting her head to one side.
“We need to talk to you,” Erin said sharply, folding her arms.
Bobbi’s lips turned up in a sweet little smile. “Oh. Sorry, I’m kind of busy. Maybe later?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Doesn’t look like you’re doing much.”
“I’m waiting for Harlow. We both have a free period next, so we’re going to watch the Real Housewives reunion,” she replied. “Do you guys watch it too? It’s crazy that Ayanna did all that stuff to Chanel, right?”
“You can drop the act, Bobbi,” I said in a low voice. “We know you’re RXorcist.”
Surprise flickered in her eyes, but she covered it quickly. “What are you talking about?” she asked, cocking her head. “Is this a joke?”
“Cut the crap,” Erin said in a tart tone. “We have proof.”
As she spoke, I pulled the spy camera out of my pocket. “We caught you posting from the library on this,” I said. “It was right behind you on the light fixture. Too bad you didn’t notice, huh?”
The change that went over Bobbi’s face was downright unnerving. The wide-eyed vacant look vanished, and a mask of eerie calm descended in its place. “Come with me, please,” she said, taking Erin by the arm.
I followed the two of them into an empty classroom. Bobbi closed the door behind us and locked it. Then she turned to face us, eyes flashing. “How did you figure it out?” she asked in an icy voice.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Have you told anyone else?”
“No. Not yet, anyway,” I said, brows rising. “By the way, why are you enrolled here under the name Roberta Bailey?”
“Roberta is my real name. Bobbi is just a nickname.”
“Yeah, we figured that much. But Bailey isn’t your real surname, is it?” I said. “So why are you enrolled under it?”