The room erupted in noise, everyone talking—Kelly yelling—over another. Wyatt scrambled out of his seat and put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth. Seconds later, a piercing whistle cut through the air.

"Everyone calm down," he ordered. "No one is going to find out anything."

"You can't guarantee that," Kelly argued. "From what Madison said, it sounds like we're about to be found out."

Garrett put an arm around his sister, trying to soothe her nerves. "Panic isn't going to help the situation. Madison, tell us exactly what happened."

She told them everything, leaving out the personal parts of course, and when she finished Garrett rubbed his neck and asked, "How positive are you that he's going to pursue this?"

"A hundred and ten percent."

Wyatt, who was standing off in the corner of the room, piped up. "What I want to know is how he came up with the idea for this article." He pushed himself off the wall with his foot and prowled around the table. "Seems suspicious he would suddenly write a piece about crimes when he's never done it before."

Madison felt the hair on the back of her neck raise. She didn't like his tone or the implication. "Is there a question in there, Wyatt? Or are you just talking to hear your own voice?"

He put his palms flat on the table and leaned on them, lording over her. "You seem awfully defensive."

"And you seem awfully hostile."

"I have every right to be. Inquiring minds want to know the truth, Madison," he said, narrowing his eyes. "And why weren't you in school today except for the class you had with him?"

"That was pure coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences."

"You obviously don't believe in innocent till found guilty either," she shot back. "If you're asking me if I tipped him off the answer is no. Why would I tell him when the truth could implicate me along with the rest of you?"

He stood and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you made a deal with him." He stuffed his hands in his pocket and began pacing. "We've been doing this for a year now without getting caught and the instant you join our group someone is threatening to expose our secret. That alone gives me every right to question your intentions."

Avery opened her mouth—most likely to defend her honor—but Garrett butted in. "He has a point. There are too many coincidences to ignore."

Madison's fingers curled into her palm, the nails digging into her skin. Welcoming the bite of pain, she gritted her teeth and spat, "For your information, the police have been looking into you long before I came into the picture. Instead of accusing me, you should be thanking me, because without my knowledge you would never have known what was going on."

"You still haven't explained yourself," Wyatt said, not moved by her speech.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered. Reaching down into her bag, she pulled out the heavy medal. "The reason why I came to school today for only a short period time was to steal this." She tossed the medal on the table. The sound of metal hitting wood reverberated across the room. "I haven't told anyone about this club. I don't snitch. I don't break my word. And most importantly," she looked at Wyatt straight in the eye, "I don't betray my friends."

"We're friends?"

"No," she told him bluntly, then motioned to Avery. "But she is."  

Wyatt grunted while Avery ducked her head and grinned.

"I know I'm the new girl," Madison continued, "but I don't appreciate being treated this way. If you're going to continue to attack me and my character, then I think it's best if I just go."

"No," Avery cried. "You have to stay." She shot Wyatt an icy glare. "She's right. You can't keep treating her like an outsider. If you accept her in this group then you have to do unconditionally. No more of this half-hearted crap."

Wyatt glared at Avery and soon they were locked in a standoff. Neither moved nor spoke out loud as they silently fought with their eyes. Finally, Wyatt dropped his gaze.

"Fine," he conceded. He looked at each member of the group before resting on Madison. "No more suspicions. We will choose to believe you are telling us the truth from now on."

She noticed how he framed the last sentence. He was choosing to believe, not that he actually did. However, she couldn't really be mad at him. His logic made sense. Trust came with time.

"Now what are we going to do about the amateur sleuth and his father?" Wyatt asked. He turned a chair around and straddled it with his arms resting on top of the back. "We need to have a plan."

"I don't think Madison should discourage Carson from writing the article," Kelly replied. She took off her glasses and wiped the lens with the bottom of her shirt. "In fact, I think she should plant herself in the process so she can keep an eye on what's being investigated."

"She can also misdirect him if he's starting to get too close to the truth," Avery added. 

Madison started to fidget in her seat. She didn't like the direction the conversation was heading. It was one thing to listen in and report, it was whole other thing to lie and obstruct.   

"Good idea." Wyatt drummed his thumbs against his arms as he contemplated the matter. "We should hold on from having any more study groups for awhile. Let the heat die down."

"But—" Avery started.

"No. We can't take the chance," Wyatt interrupted. When it looked like Avery would protest again, he gave her a stern look. "I mean it, Avery. No more stealing." She nodded but didn't appear happy about it.

For the rest of the meeting, everyone showed the items they took and placed them in the FEC box. Madison's was the least impressive, but she didn't care and thankfully no one else did either. Kelly's was the best—a red and purple, gold encrusted egg—and she won the key to the box.

When they were packing up to leave, Wyatt turned to Madison. "Keep us informed about Carson's article and the police investigation."

"I'll do my best." She wasn't thrilled with the job but she realized she was no longer an innocent bystander in this game. In order to ensure her own security, she needed to keep an eye on Carson. She just prayed he would never found out the truth.

They exited the room and walked down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Avery excused herself to use the bathroom. Remembering the tension earlier between Avery and Wyatt, Madison decided to wait for her and see if she wanted to talk. She lingered by the front entrance where an employee was hanging Halloween decorations. Ghosts, bats and cobwebs were streaming from the ceiling and walls. The employee gave her a friendly smile as she picked up another ghost from a cart that held all the decorations.

She was standing behind a large sculpted pumpkin when Avery emerged. She went to wave her hand but something in Avery's eye stopped her. She crouched low and peeked over the pumpkin to watch.

Ever so casually, Avery strolled past the employee and right when the woman's head was turned, Avery swiped a ghost figurine from the cart. Quickly, she pocketed the item and continued on her way as if nothing happened.

Stunned, Madison ran after her. "What was that?" she demanded to know, grabbing Avery's wrist.

Her eyes widened. "What was what?"

"Don't play dumb. I saw you take that ghost. Wyatt told you no more stealing."

"I know what he said." Avery twisted her arm out of Madison's grasp. "I can't help it though."

"Yes, you can. Just don't do it. It's not that hard of a concept." She felt angry with Avery for endangering them like that. If someone caught her, they could easily tie the other thefts back to her and in turn, all of them.

"You don't understand," she insisted, her eyes flashing a dark brown. "It's not that easy for me. I can't simply turn it off and on."

Madison recalled Avery describing it as a compulsion. "Then explain it to me. Make me understand."

Avery's mouth turned down in a frown before setting in a hard line. Shoulder's back, she looked determined and a little defiant. "I've been stealing since I was a little girl. At first, I wasn't even aware of what I was doing. It was like my hand had a mind of it's own. I would be out somewhere and suddenly an object would appear in my pocket." Her eyes became unfocused as she remembered. "It was like magic, you know? I thought maybe a fairy had given it to me."

She shook her head in a sharp movement, bringing her out of her daze. "Stupid, huh?" she asked, self-loathing coating her voice. "I finally understood the truth when I was pocketing a bar of soap from a bathroom. I looked up from the sink and saw my reflection in the mirror."