"Why'd you tell her about Kim?" Jess asked once they were alone again. "Isn't that going to make the poor girl's situation worse?"
"Not really. I didn't tell her Kim's name. And she would have found out eventually. I just needed to see her reaction. She's definitely hiding something."
Jess eyed Sally curiously. "How can you tell?"
Smiling slightly, Sally started heading back to Kim's room. "Well, she was all excitement up until I told her about the coincidence. Then, instantly, she was acting bored and impatient. She was surprised and tried to hide it."
"Might've just been jealousy," Jess pointed out. "She thought she was special. Turns out she's not. Typical narcissist."
Sally took out her phone and started typing. "Or she knows something that would explain the coincidence and doesn't want us to see it. She was especially eager to get her phone back. I wonder who she wanted to call." Stopping, she showed Jess her phone. "That said, look at this."
Jess recognized the database on Nymphs. Sally pointed at the list of known cases. There, at the very bottom, was an update listing Kim's case. While it left out her name for privacy, it did show the date of her diagnosis. "Wow, that's fast. When did they add that?"
"Just this morning. It's not surprising considering how historically significant this case is. But here's the thing. If Lisa had done her reading on the way here, she'd have known about this already, but she clearly didn't."
"So, the must've done her reading beforehand," Jess said, catching on. "She was preparing even before her diagnosis. I can see her knowing she had the virus, but how could she guess what incredibly rare monster she was becoming?"
"How, indeed." Sally sighed. "Keep in mind, none of this proves anything. She could just be a really lucky liar. The only thing that put her on our radar is that we're predisposed not to like her based on Kim's testimony. A case like this wouldn't hold up in court."
"Well, I don't care," Jess grumbled. "If she did all those things to Kim, she's on my bad list. So, I'm keeping my eye on her anyway. Just for myself."
"I won't stop you," Sally agreed. "Whatever the truth is, that girl needs to be watched. For her good as well as everyone else's. But we really need to keep this to ourselves. Don't get Kim or the others involved."
Jess grinned. "It'll be our little project. Let's call it Operation: Bratwurst. Next, we need a secret handshake." Flapping her hand around in a random pattern, she ended it by presenting a fist.
"Spare me," Sally groaned, but after a second of awkward waiting, rolled her eyes and completed the fist bump.