Gregory Girls Gone Wild - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

"What are you doing?" Danika asked, eyes narrowing.
"Uh, I'm headed home," Rainey said quickly.
"Isn't your apartment the other direction?"
"Is that any of your business?" Rainey shot back. "I can go where I please."
"You're being sketchy."
Fuming, Rainey couldn't come up with an adequate excuse. Danika glared at her.
"Why are you following me?" Rainey asked instead. "I thought you'd still be at the party!"
"I wanted to catch you before you left," Danika explained. "To say thanks for sticking up for me with Cordelia and the others. But then I saw you going somewhere else, so I guess I kept following you. What's up, Rainey? You ditched Fiona at the party. Are you cheating on her or something?"
"Why does your mind jump to that sort conclusion?" Rainey muttered. She was already caught in a lie; she figured she might as well be honest. "I'm helping out Loralie...the, uh, assistant from the Phoenix Kings."
To her dismay, Danika seemed to grow upset.
"The Phoenix Kings? Why the heck are you working with them?"
"I'm not," Rainey backtracked. "I'm just helping her out!"
"C'mon, Rainey," Danika scoffed. "You're sneaking around in the middle of the night, lying to your friends—for a random woman?"
"That's not—" Rainey checked her watch. It was dangerously close to midnight. "Look, I don't have time to argue. Loralie is probably waiting for me at the greenhouse."
"I don't think it's a good idea," Danika protested. "You shouldn't be contacting anyone in the Phoenix Kings."
"We can talk about this later." Rainey began walking quickly towards the greenhouse, hoping to put a quick end to the conversation. Her hopes were dashed as Danika caught up to her.
"You promised you weren't going to get involved with them anymore, Rainey. Yet you're lying...you're keeping secrets..."
Rainey spun around. "You're one to talk."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
There was a pause.
"I'm going to the greenhouse," Rainey said tiredly. "If you don't mind, I'm supposed to be alone. Loralie won't be expecting anyone but me."
"No, I'm coming along," Danika insisted. "This smells like a trap."
"Leave me alone, Dani!"
Danika looked determined. "Bite me."
Rainey made a fist. She was so frustrated that she felt like she was about to burst into flames. "I'm serious. I don't want you to come. I'm your boss and I'm ordering you: Leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone. Can you comprehend that?"
Danika mumbled something.
"What?" Rainey strained her ears.
"It's not working hours."
Unable to even argue with that kind of logic, Rainey's speech devolved into incomprehensible fragments. "You're such a stupid...freaking pain in my ass...I hope this is a trap, so someone can beat your stubborn ass and I can finally be left alone..."
As they walked towards the greenhouse, Rainey continued to direct a colorful list of insults at the sophomore. Danika seemed to take the abuse like a boulder would to fire, cheerful, unbothered, and unhurt. Her eyebrows knitted in worry, however, the closer they approached their destination.
Rainey stopped muttering when she saw the door to the greenhouse propped open. Calming herself with whatever Zen she could muster, she entered the one-story glasshouse, with Danika right behind her.
Honcho barked, wagging his tail, and Rainey shot a furious look at Danika.
Sorry, Danika mouthed.
There was an assortment of vivacious plants and fauna growing in carefully curated pots. Foliage broke through the window, leaves curling upwards to the ceiling. It was dark, except for the cold moonlight shining in between the free space. Rainey's eyes adjusted in the darkness, to find Danika's face.
Danika put her finger to her mouth, to indicate quiet. She scanned the area attentively. Suddenly, the light switched on, causing Rainey to jump. Danika grabbed her arm, in a tight, protective grip.
There was a woman in the middle of the greenhouse, and it wasn't Loralie.
****
"What are you kids doing here?" the woman asked sharply. She looked to be in her early thirties and spoke with a high, commanding tone.
"N-nothing," Rainey said, spooked by her appearance. "We were just looking for someone."
"It's our mistake," Danika added quickly.
"Uh-huh," the woman said suspiciously. She moved her hand to her side, out of eyeshot. Rainey felt Danika tense up next to her. Was this woman armed?
"Detective Norah Nguyen. I need to see some ID."
Rainey's mind began to race. What was a cop doing at her and Loralie's meeting spot?
"Don't you kids know that the greenhouse is off-limits to unauthorized students?" Detective Nguyen admonished. "Miss, raise your hands."
Danika raised her hands obediently, holding her ID, and allowed the detective to pat her down.
Honcho barked, distrustful of someone touching his new owner.
"Shh, it's okay, Honchie," Danika said, soothingly.
"There's no need to check us for anything," Rainey said nervously. "We're not even supposed to be here."
"You're right about that." This detective was a smart, no-nonsense woman. She moved on to Rainey, checking her ID thoroughly, and patting her jacket pockets.
"I should put you guys in jail for a night, just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time," the detective said strikingly.
"That's not fair!" Danika cried.
Rainey winced as the detective took out the ring—the one with the Phoenix Kings insignia from the coded letter.
"Well, what's this?"
Rainey turned around and saw that Detective Nguyen's face had darkened. Shit.
She was in so much trouble. Danika turned around to see what the commotion was all about. Her eyes widened at the ring, and she glanced at Rainey, accusatory.
To Rainey's surprise, the detective turned the ring in the light thoughtfully. She regarded Rainey in an unusual way, as if she were suddenly a person of interest rather than a pesky kid. It made her nervous.
"Who invited you here tonight?" Detective Nguyen barked. "Don't lie to me or I'll leave you in my patrol car overnight."
"Isn't that illegal?" Danika said, outraged.
Rainey's head was spinning. Danika had been right. Loralie had led her into a trap.
"Rainey Dumar," Detective Nguyen said slowly. "What brought you to this greenhouse?"
Rainey swallowed. "M-my friend, or, uh, this person I know, asked me to meet her tonight. She's in trouble."
"Her name is Loralie," Danika blurted. Rainey glared at her. Didn't she know not to give a cop any more information than necessary? "She's apart of this group called the—"
"Dani!"
"And Rainey's apart of it too...not willingly, she was forced into it, but we're in a lot of trouble," Danika continued swiftly, before another interruption. "If you can help us, or if there's any police involved, we're mostly in the dark about this thing."
Detective Nguyen looked at Danika sharply. "Are you apart of this group too?"
"No, ma'am."
"Okay." Detective Nguyen pulled out her gun. "Then I'd like you to leave while I talk to your friend in private."
"No way!" Rainey raised her hands higher, beginning to feel terrified.
"I'd rather stay with her," Danika said fiercely. "Put away your gun, Trigger Happy."
"Mouthing off to a police officer," Detective Nguyen admired. "You have to be drunk, or stupid, or both."
Stupid, Rainey thought desperately. Stupid, stupid.
There was a minute of temporary tenseness, until Detective Nguyen reluctantly placed her gun back in her holster.
"Alright, I've scared you two enough," Detective Nguyen said wryly. "But you lot seem tough. Must be this university. Grows you up, doesn't it?" Her lips twitched into a sardonic smile. "I was expecting Loralie Wilder here tonight. It looks like she ditched me and sent you instead."
"Loralie did?" Rainey said, stupefied. "Loralie's in contact with the police?"
"Yes," Detective Nguyen frowned. "We've opened a top-priority investigation into a spirit group here on campus. They've been involved in numerous car thefts, death threats, and most recently, a case of vandalism. Loralie Wilder was feeding us information from the inside."
Loralie, Rainey thought. She's been unhappy for a long time. But why did she lure me to this cop?
Danika looked confused. "Wait, so Loralie is a good person?"
"She's been a valuable informant."
"Maybe Loralie wants our help," Danika said thoughtfully, unexpectedly showing a flash of brilliance. "Maybe she wants us to work together!"
Rainey hid any signs of misgivings in front of the detective. She had been involved in the vandalism of Lambda Phi Sigma. The last thing she wanted to do was to be in close contact with law enforcement.
"Maybe," she said slowly.
"I've thought about going to the police so many times," Danika said eagerly. "But I wasn't sure if anyone would believe me. The Phoenix Kings have been threatening us, blackmailing Rainey. They even tried to kill me last semester. If you're planning on taking them down, we wouldn't be against sharing what we know."
Rainey whipped her head to Detective Nguyen. "Are you planning on taking them down?"
Detective Nguyen pursed her lips. "Right now, all we've done is speculate about their suspicious activities. Without hard evidence, there's no case. The people running this spirit group has managed to stay under the radar, in terms of getting their hands dirty."
"What kind of evidence do you need?" Rainey asked.
"For instance, eye witnesses to crimes as well as testimonials. Wire taps of the leaders of the group. Physical evidence such as the missing cars."
"Yeah, how is it possible to hide more than thirty cars?" Danika wondered. "Shouldn't the police have found them by now?"
Detective Nguyen coughed. "We've looked everywhere that can hold that number of cars. Even with satellite feed, it's been incredibly difficult to find a lead. I've been on this case for months now, and yet, nothing."
"And so Loralie has been helping you?" Rainey asked.
"Yes," Detective Nguyen said. "Now, I suspect that you two would like to be additional informants?"
"Yes," Danika said immediately.
"Uh, yes," Rainey said, not quite truthfully.
"Great," Detective Nguyen said, looking pleased. "I've gathered a few suspects and leads, but I've been looking for actual students who can immerse themselves in the group. Let's head down to the station so I can take down your names and stories."
"Oh, um—" Rainey faltered.
Detective Nguyen took out her phone. "Or perhaps it's a little too late to go to the station. If you can write your names, numbers, and addresses, I'll be in contact."
Danika happily wrote down her information, while Rainey did so reluctantly. The detective already knew their names—writing down fake information would do little to obfuscate her. The detective flipped her notepad and tucked it in her pocket. She looked excited to find willing witnesses, and left them in the greenhouse, where only the plants had heard their plans.
"You were right, Dani," Rainey said miserably, when they were alone. "It was a trap."
"Why do you say that?" Danika turned around. "The police are involved now! We don't have to deal with the Phoenix Kings by ourselves anymore!"
Rainey hung her head. How could she tell Dani that she didn't want the police to know about her involvement at the Lambda Phi Sigma house? "I-I guess."
"What's wrong?" Danika asked suspiciously. "Don't you want to leave the Phoenix Kings?"
"Of course!" Rainey put her hands up. "But working with detectives, taking them down...Dani, I just wanted the Phoenix Kings to leave me alone. I never wanted to destroy them! That's a hell of a lot of danger and no reward."
Something like fear flickered in Danika's eyes. "Where did you get that ring, Rainey?"
Rainey faltered. "I-it was in one of the notes—"
Danika let her stammer nonsensically until she ran out of words to say.
"Sometimes, I get the feeling that you'd rather stay a member of that group," Danika said, shaking her head. "Like you're attracted to the idea of not paying tuition and being apart of something like that."
"That's not true—" Rainey began.
"Then what am I supposed to think?" Danika snapped. "You literally lied to come here tonight. What else have you been doing behind my back?"
"Nothing...nothing, Dani. Please calm down..."
Danika began to pace around the greenhouse, looking simultaneously stressed and pissed off.
"Can I at least have time to think about it?" Rainey asked weakly.
Danika stopped pacing. She wore a look on her face that Rainey was unaccustomed to. "Whatever. It's your life, Rainey. I have to go anyway." She pulled on Honcho's leash. "Let's go home, buddy."
Rainey hesitated and then followed her outside, where the night sky was beginning to cloud into a swirly gray pattern and crystallize into drizzle. "Wait, Dani."
"What?" Danika turned around.
Rainey felt awkward. "I-I feel like I sort of let you down tonight."
"Yeah, you did," Danika said stonily.
"I'm sorry," Rainey said calmly. "But let's not pretend that you're not keeping secrets either."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, the hole in your bathroom wall didn't punch itself, did it?"
Danika looked so completely taken aback that Rainey almost saw a glimmer of raw pain in her eyes. It vanished quickly however.
Danika's jaw tightened. "My baggage is so insignificant compared to the hole you've dug yourself in."
"So there is baggage?"
"Don't turn this around on me," Danika spun on her heels. "All night, you've been trying to turn it around on me, like I'm the one sneaking around."
They glared at each other, almost nose-to-nose. Honcho began to whine. As Rainey stared into Danika's furious and frightened eyes, she realized that she didn't want to fight anymore. It had been an exhausting night.
"You're right. I'm sorry, okay? I should have been honest with you," she admitted, lowering her gaze. "You had my back tonight too, even though I was too stubborn to ask you to come."
"Hmph," the sophomore made an unconvinced noise at her apology.
"Are we cool?"
"Hmph," Danika said again. She began to walk towards her apartment complex. Rainey took that as a sign to tentatively follow.
"Also, do you mind not telling Fiona about tonight? I don't want her to be involved at all."
"Fiona doesn't know about any of this, huh?" For some reason, Danika looked considerably cheered at that thought. "I guess it'll just be me and you, then?"
"Yeah," Rainey said gratefully. "I don't know how I can make this up to you, Dani. You're always there, you know...when I need someone."
She had been talking to the ground, until she bumped hard into Danika, who had abruptly stopped.
"Oh, I know how you can make it up to me," Danika said, sounding pleased.
"How?" Rainey didn't like the look of victory in her eyes.
"First, we're going to work with the police. Second, you're going to treat me to Outback Steakhouse one of these nights."
"Is that all you think about," Rainey muttered, as Danika skipped happily on the sidewalk. "Food?"
She realized that Danika had let her off easy by making the deal. But Rainey was letting her off easy too. She decided not to pursue the mysterious reason for the hole in the wall, at least for tonight. She was beginning to discern that some things were better left alone, until they were ready to reveal themselves.