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Pri accident

Secondary Cause of Death: Sepultura

I read her status again,NON MORTUUS, DECEASED What did it mean? Non Mortuus translated to "Not Dead" But if she wasn’t dead, ould they list it, and ould she have two causes of death, the second of which translated to "Burial," each on different dates and in different years?

I turned the page Suddenly I was face-to-face with Head sketched in charcoal, and showed her standing in the woods, at the head of a deep hole The Board of Monitors stood sole the limp body of Cassandra Millet in his ares were darkened with the night sky In the corner, the sketch was signed: Minnie Roberts I shuddered Even in pencil, the scene was haunting

Finally I opened Benjaht: 165 lbs

Hair Color: Brown

Date of Birth: Septein: Pennsylvania

Parents: Karen Gallow, school teacher; Bruce Gallow, dentist; MARRIED

Siblings: None

Status: PLEBEIAN, DECEASED

Date of Death: May 12, 2009

Cause of Death: Basium Mortis

I had to read the last line once, twice, before I could figure out what it said Basiuue like a curse "Death Kiss," I translated from the Latin Or maybe it was "Kiss of Death" My mind raced with possible explanations as to why such a cryptic phrase was on an official school docu: or es that followed: his transcripts, information about his parents and friends, until finally I found the hospital’s death certificate It was dated May 12, 2009 Approximate Time of Death:

7:12 pm Cause of Death: Heart Attack Which was definitely not the same as Basium Mortis Behind it was an envelope marked GALLOW, held closed with a paper clip My heart beat faster as I opened it

Inside was a collection of photographs, all taken at different angles of the same subject Benjamin Gallow’s body, dead and pale, splayed out in the woods The first was a distant shot, the lighting so dark I could barely see anything except for the startling whiteness of his skin and the yellow caution tape wrapped around the trees in the background I flipped to the next, and then the next, each closer and more detailed than the one before, until I could finally see his body in detail

My heart beat faster as I stared down at a surprisingly familiar scene Benjamin was still in dress code, his red tie unknotted, one end hanging loose across his shoulder, the other stuffed violently in his mouth I knehere I had seen this before His skin looked old and soht, knavish face that everyone had described tothe te beneath The e blurred until I was looking at my parents, dead in the woods, white cloth stuffed in their

IT’S FUNNY HOW THE THINGS YOU WANT SOMETIMES turn out to be things you wish you had never laid eyes on I had barely ruesome details of my parents’ deaths out of ed ingh to go to class I walked briskly to Horace Hall, stopping by the library on the here I hid the files between two oversized books on the third floor, glad to be rid of the, it was this: both Benjamin and Cassandra had been murdered, and their deaths were somehow connected to the ht back to what Eleanor had said about Gottfried the first day we met The secrets that aren’t found out are buried well And probably for a reason The only problem was that this secret now had to do with me

Plus, I had to worry about Mrs Lynch I didn’t dare risk keeping the files init That would only give Lynch further evidence that I was to bla down the titles Toads of New England and A with their Dewey deci to do with it," I told Nathaniel, pulling him aside before lunch

"And what drew you to this conclusion? Wait, let uess: you snuck into his room and found Eleanor’s body"

"Actually, that’s not far off Coed hi frantically for finals I led Nathaniel up three flights of stairs and through the maze of bookshelves until I found the oversized book section, which, to my relief, was empty, probably because it was dark and