Bryan had to be desperate for someone to blame. There was no way Rosa could be guilty. Not after the way she had taken care of him when he was sick. If she had been the one to poison him, why would she have bothered?
Unless she thought it would throw me off track.
As soon as he thought it, Josh hated himself. How could he have even a moment’s doubt about Rosa after all she had done for him? He didn’t verbalize his thoughts to Bryan, who slammed the door of the yearbook room closed when Josh had raised his voice.
“Would you try to keep it down?” Bryan hissed. “Listen, I know how you feel, okay? I feel the same way about Elena. Rosa probably didn’t do it, but just in case, I don’t think you should mention any of this to her.”
“Too late,” Josh told him. “I already told her. And to be honest, I think we need to tell the other girls too. After all, they might be in danger.”
Bryan was unconvinced. “But if we tell them, we’ll lose an important advantage!”
“If we don’t warn them and one of them turns up dead, we’ll be just as guilty as the killer,” Josh argued.
“Dammit, you’re right,” Bryan relented. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. But I don’t want anything to interfere with the investigation either. I want justice for Lily!”
“I understand, Bryan, but keeping the other girls safe has to be our first priority.”
It seemed like he wanted to say more, but they didn’t have time to take the conversation any further. Lunch period was just about over and they had to head to class. Josh flipped off the computer screen and watched Elena’s cheerful face fade away. When they emerged from the yearbook room together, they received more than one surprised look. Everyone at school had heard about the scene in the parking lot. Now Josh and Bryan were hanging out like they were old friends. If only their classmates knew the reason for their bizarre comradeship. Maybe then the whispers and stares would transform from curiosity to fear. After all, someone was out for blood.
Chapter 16
“Elena! Elena, wait!”
Josh was on his way to wrestling practice when he noticed Elena on the other side of the hallway. He figured it was as good a time as any to tell her what was happening. When Elena glanced over her shoulder and saw who was calling her, she accelerated her pace. Josh wasn’t so easily dissuaded. He jogged after her, knowing it wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. He tapped her on the shoulder and hoped that she wouldn’t make a scene.
“Elena, I have to talk to you!” Josh insisted when she tried to shrug his hand off her shoulder. “It’s important!”
Elena stopped and turned to him with a tight-lipped frown. “What do you want, Josh?”
“We can’t talk here.” Josh looked around for a quiet spot where they wouldn’t be disturbed. He noticed that the janitor’s closet was right across the hall. “Follow me.”
Elena stared at him in disbelief. “I know what you’re up to, Joshua, and I am not standing around in the broom closet with you!”
Josh shook his head. “Elena, it’s not what you think! I just want to talk to you for a minute.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly,” Elena insisted. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot? Do you think a guy has never tried to take advantage of me before? I guess now that Jazz broke up with you, you think you can just snap your fingers and get me back! Well, you guessed wrong!” Elena’s voice was rising to a shrill shriek. Avoiding a scene was becoming impossible. People were already staring at them. “Elena Huber will not be used twice! Elena Huber is no fool! Elena Huber is. . . .”
“If Elena Huber would just shut the hell up for a minute,” Josh interrupted in a sharp whisper. “I might get a chance to tell her why I dragged her over here. Please, Elena, just give me five minutes? That’s all I’m asking.”
Maybe it was the desperation in his voice. Maybe it was the fact that he gripped her shoulder with the urgency of true fear. Whatever it was, Elena finally relented. She even led the way to the janitor’s supply room and shut the door behind them.
“Five minutes,” she agreed reluctantly. “That’s all. So you better talk fast.”
“Right,” Josh agreed, but he found himself flustered. He wasn’t sure how to begin without sounding paranoid or delusional. Plus, there were no windows in the cramped room which was stuffy and smelled like bleach. “Have you heard about Lily Cavalier? The girl from St. Mary’s who died?”
“You mean the girl who committed suicide.” Elena corrected. “Yeah, I know all about it. She was Bryan Grant’s sister, one of the girls you cheated on me with. You didn’t bring me here to cry on my shoulder about your ex-girlfriend, did you? You won’t get any sympathy from me.”
Elena put her hands her hips and waited expectantly for Josh to continue. He was slightly shocked by her coldness. She sounded so bitter and angry. She didn’t seem to care at all that someone had just died. Josh couldn’t find the candy striper that Bryan was so smitten with anywhere in this girl’s face.
“Tick tock, tick tock,” Elena prompted, and looked at her watch. “Time is running out.”
“Lily was murdered!”
Josh blurted out the words before he even took the time to consider it. Elena’s mouth fell open, and for a minute she was actually struck dumb. Josh took that brief interlude to study her face. He looked for some sign of guilt, some speck of fear that might give her away as the killer. All he saw was surprise and cold indifference. Then her surprise turned to suspicion.
“I don’t know what game you’re trying to play here, but that girl committed suicide. Everyone knows it. Why would you say she was murdered?”
“Because it’s the truth,” Josh told her. “Bryan and I both know it.”
Elena snorted. “Bryan is a drunk, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you are too.” Josh must have looked horrified by her callous attitude because she softened her tone just a little. “Look, I know you probably think that sounded harsh. I didn’t mean it to be. I’m sure this whole situation is awful for him. But Bryan does have a drinking problem. He’s been in trouble for it more than once. You know that just as well as I do. How can you take anything he says seriously?”
“I have my own reasons for believing Lily was murdered, and they have nothing to do with Bryan.” Josh wasn’t about to list those reasons. He couldn’t give away the few clues he had to a possible suspect. “I can’t explain it right now, but I had to warn you. Elena, you might be in danger.”
“In danger? Why on earth would I be in danger?”
“Because the person who killed Lily went after her because of me,” Josh explained. “And I think they might try again.”
Josh wanted to sound serious. If they had been in a movie, spooky music would have started playing behind them, verifying the possibility of a threat. But Josh had no backup, and he didn’t sound anything like the would-be hero of a thriller. He sounded like a crazy adolescent spinning wild tales to his ex-girlfriend. He sounded like he was trying to get attention, just like his father kept saying. He wasn’t surprised when Elena snorted for the second time.
“And what is the motive of this supposed murderer?”
“Well, I guess it would have to be jealousy,” Josh told her, ignoring her sarcastic tone.
“Jealousy? Of what? You?” Elena’s disbelief turned to amusement, and she couldn’t hold back a small chuckle. “And people say I’m conceited!”
“I know how this must sound—”
“No,” Elena said, finally losing her patience. “That’s enough. I’m not listening to another word of this. Your five minutes are more than up. I’m out of here.”
Josh grabbed her arm before she could push open the door. She stopped, but refused to turn around. “Wait, Elena, please. Whether you believe me or not, I don’t want to see you get hurt, especially not because of me.”
“I’ve already been hurt because of you!” Josh didn’t miss the slight tremor in her voice. Or the quick motion of her hand that suggested she might have wiped away a few tears.
“Just be careful,” Josh whispered.
“I’ll keep that under advisement.”
Josh watched her leave with mixed emotions. Guilt and suspicion vied for control as she glided down the hallway. He was so intent of his own thoughts; he didn’t even notice Andrea and Jim until he ran smack into them. Andrea looked at him, glanced at Elena’s retreating back, and then at the broom closet Josh had just emerged from with a horrified expression.
“Josh, please tell me I didn’t see you and Elena come out the broom closet together,” Andrea begged. “I thought you were through with her.”
Jim snickered beside her. “It looks to me like Josh and Elena might be getting back together.”
“I sure hope not. I was planning on snagging Elena for myself now that she’s single.” Kevin snuck up behind them, and Josh jumped at the sound at his voice. His nerves were frayed to the breaking point, but if his friends noticed his jumpiness, they didn’t mention it.
“You can have her,” Josh told him. “I swear there’s nothing whatsoever going on between me and Elena. Not anymore.”
“Sure there isn’t!” Jim kidded. “Then what were you doing in the janitor’s closet with her?”
Kevin frowned. “The closet?”
“It’s not what you think,” Josh assured them, but Kevin wasn’t appeased. In fact, his frown seemed to grow in proportions.
“I don’t care whether there’s something going on between you or not,” Kevin informed him. “I’m going to win Elena over. Prepare yourself for some serious competition, man. Maybe then you won’t be so high and mighty.”
There was an obvious bitterness in Kevin’s voice that Josh had never heard before. For a moment, Kevin seemed consumed by jealousy and even a little hatred. It faded quickly, but Josh had seen it. Did that hate go deep enough to kill? But that was crazy! Josh couldn’t start suspecting everyone he knew of murder. Kevin had been one of his closest friends since grade school. Josh was letting his imagination run away with him. Nevertheless, the tense silence that surrounded the four friends was definitely not his imagination, and it only added to Josh’s suspicions. Much to Josh’s relief, Jim broke the awkward silence with a casual reminder.
“Come on guys, we need to get to practice. We’re going to be late,” Jim said.
“I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute,” Josh replied. “I need to talk to Andy.”
“Whatever,” Jim told him. “But make sure you show up this time. You already missed two practices and they haven’t even been going on for a week yet.
“Don’t think you’re above getting kicked off the team,” Kevin added. “There are plenty of other people who would be happy to take your place as captain.”
The last thing Josh wanted was to get in any arguments. He ignored the snide remarks and turned to Andrea. The halls had thinned out since school had let out, and Josh was glad to see they were alone in the empty corridor.
“What’s Kevin’s problem?” Andrea asked once Kevin and Jim were out of earshot.
Josh shrugged. “Who knows. He probably just failed a test or something.”
Andrea crossed her arms. “Well, he has no right to take it out on you. After everything you’ve been through this week, he has a lot of nerve.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have more important things to worry about than Kevin’s mood swings.”
“I can imagine,” Andrea sympathized. “How was the funeral yesterday? Was it . . . nice?”
Nice wasn’t exactly the word Josh would use to describe a funeral. Not any funeral, let alone one for a sixteen-year-old girl whose life had ended before it even had a chance to begin. It was hard to find a word that was suitable. Death was a rough topic for high school kids. It was easy for a teenager to feel immortal. It took a tragedy, like Lily’s death, to remind them that they weren’t. No one liked those kinds of reminders. Just thinking about it made Josh realize he needed his best friend more than ever. He told Andrea exactly how the funeral was, and he didn’t stop there. He told her the whole sordid story, right up to his discussion with Elena.
“Do you think I’m completely insane, Andy? I’m starting to suspect everyone. Next thing you know, I’ll be suspecting you!”
Andrea exhaled deeply and shook her head. “I don’t think you’ve gone over the deep end just yet, but you are making me worry. If you’re right, this could get dangerous. You should leave it to the police.”
“I told you, the police don’t believe us!” Josh said in frustration. “So far, you and Rosa are the only ones who even considered it was a possibility.”
“So far? How many people do you plan on telling?” Andrea asked. “It was a big enough mistake blabbing to Elena. The whole school will probably know by tomorrow morning.”
“I have to warn Nadine and Jasmine,” Josh told her. “They could be in danger. And now that I think about it, if this person is out to hurt me, they might go after you too. Promise me you’ll be careful, Andy. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “But you need to take care of yourself, Josh. The next time someone poisons you, it might be with cyanide. And If I were you,” she added, “I wouldn’t trust Bryan completely.”
Chapter 17
Kevin avoided Josh throughout wrestling practice and Jim stuck close to his side. Josh didn’t really care. He knew they would work things out eventually. They always did. Besides, it gave him the opportunity to talk more with Bryan about their plans for the afternoon. When practice was over, Josh and Bryan left together, surprising everyone, especially Coach Kubiak, who kept waiting for them to break out in another fist fight. They had to walk to Bryan’s house since Josh’s car had been taken away. Technically, he was still grounded and was supposed to go straight home, but it was hard for Josh’s parents to enforce their punishment when they were never home themselves.
“Here we are,” Bryan said when they arrived at a ramshackle old rancher. “It’s not the hotel Ritz, but it’s home sweet home.”
Josh was surprised at the unkempt condition of Bryan’s house. There were pieces of siding missing on one side of the house and the roof looked like it might cave in at any moment. It was early fall and the grass was still growing tall, and no one had even considered raking the falling leaves. Peeking out from among the overgrown weeds was a tacky family of garden gnomes. Josh started to understand why Lily had never let him pick her up for their dates.
Bryan didn’t waste any time. He headed right for their target destination, and Josh was forced to stop sightseeing and follow him. The two-car garage was attached to the main house, but had its own rear entrance. Bryan’s hand shook as he twisted the knob and pushed open the door. He took a step back to let Josh enter first. Not out of politeness, but out of sheer panic. No one had been in the garage since they took Lily’s body away. Bryan, his face whiter than chalk, was not quite ready to face the still fresh horror that lay beyond that door.
Josh wasn’t any more comfortable than Bryan. In fact, when he first stepped through the entryway, he closed his eyes. He was afraid that when he opened them again, he would see the white outline of Lily’s body, just like in a horror movie. Then he would know just how her neck was bent and which way her arms had flailed out. It was too horrible to imagine. When he finally swallowed back the fear and glanced around the garage, there was nothing to see but a bunch of boxes overflowing with dusty knick knacks and Lily’s beat-up sedan.
Josh let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and turned to Bryan. He realized his new friend wasn’t doing nearly as well. He was trembling and leaning against the wall for support, and he was making a strange sound that was half-gasping, half-choking. Josh recognized the signs of panic, but wasn’t sure how to handle it. He had never been good in a crisis, but he made a valiant effort.
“Bryan, are you all right?” Josh put a hand on his shoulder. “You can wait outside if you want. I can handle this alone.”
&nbs
p; “No,” Bryan insisted, after he had taken a few deep breaths to steady himself. “Lily was my sister. I have to help. Besides, I live here. I’ll recognize something out of place. You might not.”
Josh didn’t think it was a good idea, but Bryan was adamant. “All right then. I don’t know exactly what we’re looking for, but let’s start looking.”
Josh and Bryan searched the garage from top to bottom trying to find something that might be a clue. They opened boxes of decorations, and moved around bicycles and gardening tools. They looked around the car and underneath of it. They rummaged for close to an hour, but still they found nothing but dust and spiders for their trouble. Finally, when Josh began to cough and sneeze from the combination of stale gas fumes and dust, he decided it was time to move on.
“We just need to search the car,” Josh said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Then we can call it a day.”
Bryan was silent as he reached for the door handle, but then he froze. For a second, Josh thought maybe the killer had already struck again. Bryan turned green, put a hand over his mouth and ran out the door. Josh heaved a heavy sigh and followed him outside. He found Bryan on his knees with his head in the bushes.
“Bryan? You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Bryan told him. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, pulled his cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one with a trembling hand. He smoked two of them back to back almost down to the filter before he finally spoke again. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just . . . for a second there I was back in that moment, you know? When I opened the car door, I almost expected Lily to fall onto the ground again.”
Josh cleared his throat. “It’s okay, man. I can only imagine how hard this is for you.”
“I remember every detail of that day so vividly,” Bryan continued. “Lily was . . . she was so pale and so still. I kept shaking her, trying to wake her up. I even tried mouth to mouth. But in my heart I knew from the second I saw her that it was never going to work. I knew that she was gone.”
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