The Peregrine Passage

Chapter Eighteen: Hazel

 I'm so confused. One look at Adam tells me that he feels the same.

"Wait, if you were planning to rescue us, why didn't you just open the door to the crypt?" I'm grateful that Adam's asking because I can't seem to form any coherent sentences right now.

"Jason had the key, there was nothing I could do about that. I figured you would both be smart enough to find your way out through the passageway. I was planning to come down and rescue you if it took you any longer, though, don't worry about that."

"You knew how to get us out, and you still didn't help?"

"I had to convince Jason that I left something here, and to tell him to go on home without me,"

Home? Do they live together, or was it just a slip of the tongue? Why doesn't she want us dead?

"Look, I'm guessing you two have a lot of questions. I can explain everything."

"Please do."

She gestures at the large mahogany table in the center of the library, and we each take a seat.

"How did Rowan die?" The bluntness of Adam's question catches me slightly off guard, but I guess that now's the time for asking upfront questions. Audrey pauses, selecting her words carefully.

"I was less involved with that. I didn't know that the Order was selling to minors at the time, and I didn't really put together that we had done it until a few weeks after it had happened. I noticed how stressed Jason was getting when the police started to question the death, and I put two and two together. Some of the members are younger, and they'd been putting the Order's drugs through the local colleges. I assume Rowan got the drugs through them, and that the ones he took were laced."

A minute passes, and Adam stares into space. I can't read his facial expression. Desperate to change the line of conversation, I finally pluck up enough courage to ask a question that I don't want to know the answer to.

"How was my mom involved in the Order?" Ms. Merriam's eyes fall to the table.

"That's a tough one, honey. Are you sure you really want to know?"

"Yes, I'm sure." I don't hesitate, but I'm starting to think that I should have.

"Your mom was suspicious that your father and I were seeing each other. She knew I used to have feelings for him, and didn't like the amount of time we'd spent alone together. It caused her to take a bit of a turn for the worse,"

"How so?" I try to cut the edge of defensiveness in my tone, but the words still come out like I'm a kid who just lost a petty argument.

"She started to follow him around, and that lead her to discover the Order. Pretty soon, she realized the only way of prohibiting me from spending any time alone with him, would be for her to join. But, where your dad and I didn't know what we were getting into, your mom did. She was fully aware of the drugs, and the meaning behind the organization. She thought that the way to win your father's affection back was to prove herself to everyone. So, she dove into it a lot more than me and your dad did. She also started to take some drugs along the way. It was never enough to make other people notice, but it was a slippery slope for her. Your dad was planning on leaving long before he died, he was just scared your mom would fully go off the rails if he did. When he died, she focused on the Order as a way of grieving, I think. She was never quite the same after that."

I think carefully before posing my next question.

"Did she know that Fuller was trying to frame me?"

"I don't think so, no. A lot about the Order is being given instructions and carrying them out. A lot of times, you don't know why. You just do what you're told."