“And then you got all lovey-dovey with Matt and really forgot about it,” Megan teases.
“Yeah, but it makes sense,” I say, ignoring her comment about Matt. “What if Nora did see me, and she told someone? What if God relocated her and her family so she’d keep quiet?”
“That’s a little far-fetched, but for the sake of argument, why would they agree to be relocated?” Megan asks.
“Maybe they didn’t,” I say. “Maybe God threatened them.”
“Or paid them off,” Megan says excitedly. “Maybe he gave them millions of dollars in hush money.”
“Maybe,” I say, genuinely considering it. “Except you’re forgetting the file.”
“That you claim to have seen at three in the morning after you had a sweeps-week moment with the guy you like, and that mysteriously disappeared after you saw it.”
“Are you saying that I imagined the file?” I ask seriously.
“Or dreamed it,” Megan says, matching my tone.
“It was there,” I say flatly, annoyed that she’s challenging me on this.
“Okay, I believe you,” she says, too quickly, which is even more annoying.
“If you’re going to cave so easily, why argue in the first place?” I ask, rolling my eyes at her. She doesn’t answer, so I continue. “Anyway, the file for Case Twenty-two says that the subject was Revived. As in dead and brought back to life.”
“Even if the file’s real, that entry could be fake, to cover up the money.”
“Or it could be real,” I say.
Megan shakes her head at me. “So, let me get this straight in my Wade-sized brain,” she says. “You’re saying that Nora saw you in that mall and told somebody, threatening to expose the program. And you’re saying that God found out about it and actually killed Nora so that he could Revive her and relocate her, all to make sure she didn’t talk?” Megan lifts her perfectly manicured eyebrows expectantly. “That’s your theory?”
“Yes,” I say decisively. “That’s my theory.”
Megan’s quiet for a few moments, considering. She squints her eyes at the ceiling and bites her pinkie nail. Then finally, she speaks: “I guess it could work.”
“You’re totally annoying,” I say.
“But you love me.”
“I do.”
“What should we do now?” Megan asks. “I mean, if your theory is true and God’s killing anyone who knows about the project…”
I suck in my breath so hard I think my lungs might explode. It makes Megan jump.
“What?” she asks, wide-eyed.
“Do you think Matt could be in danger?” I say, realizing what I might have done to the guy I like.
“No,” Megan says reflexively to reassure me. But the concerned look on her face tells me otherwise. “And the difference is that if this is true, Nora was threatening to out the program. No one knows that Matt knows, and he won’t tell anyone.” She pauses. “Right?”
“No,” I say uneasily. “At least I thought he wouldn’t.”
“He won’t,” Megan says quietly, as if she knows him. “You have good instincts with people. I’m sure you can still trust him, even if he’s being a child right now.”
“I hope so,” I say, worried anyway. “But oh my god, what about Nora? If it’s true, seeing me in that mall ruined her life.”
“You can’t take all the credit,” Megan says. “People make their own decisions. Maybe she saw you. But she could have minded her own business and stayed right there in Michigan. And besides, I’m not even one hundred percent convinced.”