Adventures of a Graveyard Girl (A Kait Lenox YA Chick Lit Mystery) (Funeral Crashing)

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Adventures of a Graveyard Girl (A Kait Lenox YA Chick Lit Mystery) (Funeral Crashing) Page 15

by Milda Harris


  "Hey, Troy!" I said brightly, climbing over one last person, "Can we sit here?"

  Troy looked surprised. He hadn't noticed the great chase that had just occurred, "Sure."

  I sat down in the tiny space Troy offered me next to him and pulled Ethan down beside me and almost into some guy's lap.

  "Whoa," Ethan said, almost falling onto me.

  People complained, but I pretended I didn't hear them and focused on Troy. Ethan settled in next to me.

  "Thanks, Troy!" I said. "Hey, Logan!"

  "Hey," Logan smiled. Wow, did he have a smile on him.

  Ariel shot me daggers. Wait a minute. She couldn't possibly be interested in Logan when Troy was sitting next to her, right?

  "I was just telling Ariel that Seth Wilcox is out on bail. I wonder if he'll show up here tonight," Logan said.

  "What?" I asked.

  "That's what I heard," Logan said.

  "He's not going to show up here," Ariel said, looking at me pointedly.

  It was great that she was so unconcerned, being the Pep Club president and possibly the next target. My mind was racing. We needed to keep an eye out for Seth now too, just in case, even if I was half sure it wasn't him. It would be stupid of him to show up at the game, in fact, but hey, he might be that dumb if he was willing to pull a Carrie style prank at a funeral.

  I turned to Ethan, "Text Dave and Mike to keep a lookout for Seth. I'll text Suzie."

  Ethan nodded. We both pulled out our phones. By the time I looked up, Ariel had turned her back on me and started talking to Logan. Wow, she was willing to ignore her date because of me. That was okay. I liked Troy. I was happy to talk to him.

  "So, Troy tell me more about your steampunk project," I said.

  I saw Ariel's back stiffen. She knew Troy couldn't resist the bait. Troy started talking. It was interesting hearing the intricate details of each piece he was planning to use in his project and I really was intrigued, but I had to pay attention to Ariel, the general atmosphere, and the phone in my pocket in case I got a text or a call. Oh, and I had to at least remember to pay some attention to Ethan, who I had my back to because I was talking to Troy. Still, Ethan was kind of my date to the game, even if we were playing follow your target. I reached behind me and squeezed Ethan's hand.

  Ethan's breath was in my ear, "This is awful."

  I grinned and nodded at something Troy said, "That sounds totally amazing."

  Troy kept talking to me. Ariel kept talking to Logan. Ethan kept breathing in my ear.

  "I'd much rather have spent tonight going on a date with you," Ethan whispered.

  I wanted to lean back against Ethan, as Troy droned on. I would much rather have been on a real date too, but I had to stay alert and keep focused. I had to take notice of things like that Ariel was walking down toward the concession stand and not in her seat anymore.

  Chapter 19: Murder Solving

  Wait. What? Ariel was already almost down the bleachers. How had I not seen her get up? She hadn't even bothered to tell Troy. She was probably mad at him. I felt bad for Troy. I hadn't meant to get him in trouble with his girl.

  "Uh, sorry to interrupt, Troy, but I need to go and talk to Ariel!" I said, letting go of Ethan's hand and jumping over Troy, Logan, Sebastian, and countless others in my race to keep up with Ariel.

  Troy didn't even have a chance to respond, but I did see the surprised look on his face as he realized Ariel wasn't sitting next to him anymore. I didn't even wait for Ethan to join me. He was probably just as surprised that I was sprinting off as Troy was. I ran full barrel toward Ariel. She moved fast. Ariel was already almost at the concession stand by the time I made it out of the row. I tried to keep my eyes trained on her. The game was going to start in the next few minutes and the whole area was suddenly packed with students.

  In the glow of the stadium lights and at a distance, it was hard to tell differentiate between people and it was hard keeping track of which girl was Ariel. As soon as I reached the bottom of the bleachers, I broke into a run. I couldn't afford to lose her. People swore at me and called me names and I knew I was only adding more and more to my freak reputation as I pushed past people walking toward the stands in my race to get to Ariel. It ceased to matter to me.

  I reached the concession stand. Ariel was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the lines again. There was a bustle of activity, but no Ariel. I was pretty sure she wasn't there. I scanned again. No, she was definitely not there. There were bathrooms down the way inside the school. I ran. I did not want anyone to find Ariel like they had found Madison.

  I saw Jenny Kendall in the concession line, flanked by Kyle and Suzie, who were holding hands. They seemed to be having an amazing time with each other despite the situation. At least they were actually keeping tabs on their target. They didn't notice me. They were too absorbed in themselves, with occasional glances at Jenny.

  How had they managed to keep such good tabs on Jenny with those googly eyes at each other, when I had only looked away from Ariel for an instant and she had disappeared? It wasn't fair. I wanted to be making googly eyes at Ethan instead of chasing after my ex-best friend.

  I burst into the bathroom and pushed open and looked in all of the stalls. I was definitely not making any friends tonight, I thought, as I almost opened the door on someone actually using the bathroom. Oops. Ariel was not in any of them. Where was she? I felt frantic. I couldn't believe I had lost her. I was so careful.

  I ran out of the bathroom, even more frantic. The game had just started. People were everywhere. How was I going to find Ariel in this crowd? I tried to look over at our seats, wondering if she had somehow circled around me and made it back without me seeing her. I couldn't tell. It was like distinguishing ants from a distance. I just saw a sea of school colors.

  I looked over toward the football team. Was Noah where he was supposed to be? His number was 57. I thought I saw him sitting on the bench. I hoped the others were keeping tabs on him. I had to find Ariel.

  I started back, weaving through the crowds and making more enemies in my mad rush to find Ariel. Then I saw her. She was standing near the fence at the back of the bleachers, where it was out of the way and more than a little in shadow. I could only tell it was her because of the distinctive Ariel stance I knew so well. Didn't Ariel know that you didn't go off by yourself into dark scary recesses of, well, anywhere, when there might be a killer on the loose? I had even warned her! She was probably making out or about to with Troy, which was gross, but I had to get her back into the crowd. She'd be safe in a sea of people.

  I ran toward her. Ariel was definitely talking to someone in the shadows, but I couldn't see who because the darkness was covering their face. I kept running. My eyes were focused on Ariel, but I was still trying to discern who she was talking to, in the hopes that it was only Troy. She'd be safe with Troy.

  As I got closer, I could see that the person Ariel was talking to had on jeans and red sneakers. Red. They looked like high tops. Were they Chuck Taylor's? A burst of adrenaline shot through me and I found myself running faster.

  My phone was in my hand and I was dialing Ethan.

  "Kait! Where are you?" Ethan's voice screamed into the phone.

  "Behind the bleachers. Ariel. Killer. Call the police," I gasped back without waiting for him to say anything else.

  It would be embarrassing if I was wrong, but I didn't care. I had to keep running. I was almost there. I pushed past a last crowd of people, losing sight of my target for a moment. I finally got around them and ran toward Ariel, except now she wasn't there. A chill fell over me. Where was she? I looked frantically around the spot she had been standing. They must have gone under the bleachers. I had to get to Ariel.

  I ran over to the spot where Ariel had been standing. A short fence with a gate prevented you from entering, but I could see that the gate was slightly ajar. Shafts of light fell through the bleachers into the dark recesses below them. It took my eyes a moment to adjust. I couldn't hear anything
due to the screaming and talking of the students above me. This really was the perfect place to commit a murder.

  Then my eyes adjusted and there they were. A shaft of light was hitting Ariel's big nose. Okay, it wasn't that big. I could almost see the killer's red sneakers glowing ominously, but it might have been my imagination too. I was on red alert.

  I really hoped the police were coming because I was about to do something nobody should ever do in this situation. Ever. I couldn't help myself, though, I had to try and save her. I hoped Ariel stopped gossiping about me after this or at least said nice things, if we survived the situation.

  I did my best to stealthily creep toward them, from behind the killer. I still couldn't see any defining detail about who it was from where I was standing, except for the bright red shoes.

  "Please, don't do this," Ariel said. "I won't tell. I haven't done anything to you. I'll...I'll resign from Pep Club even."

  I could finally hear them. Ariel was freaking out. I could hear the panic in her voice. I had to help her.

  "I don't care about the Pep Club," he said.

  Wait. It was a guy. It was most definitely a male voice and I recognized it. Where did I recognize it? Oh. My. Gawd. It was Logan Collins, the hottest most popular guy in school, well, next to Ethan, at least to me. He hadn't even made my list! I was the worst sleuth ever - taken in by a guy's hotness and duped into not even considering him as a suspect. It just goes to show, looks really do help you out in life and that you can't trust looks at all. His ex-best friend Seth was totally right and Seth had almost gone down for the murders, despite that.

  Now, Logan was trying to kill Ariel. If this wasn't happening right in front of my eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. Yes, it was dark, but still. Why was Logan Collins a murderer? He had everything, well, I mean, everything popularity gave you which in high school was, well, everything.

  I moved forward. I was creeping up right behind Logan. He was still focused on Ariel and she was mesmerized. It was like watching one of those videos on YouTube where an animal is poised, waiting to pounce on its prey. Neither of them had seen me yet, maybe because they were so focused on each other or maybe because the darkness was on my side.

  "Then why are you doing this?" Ariel asked. "I barely even know you! I mean, I thought maybe you like liked me or something, although I am dating Troy, but I guess not. I mean..." Logan laughed, "It doesn't matter why."

  "But at least tell me, I mean, if you're gonna kill me, why do I have to die?" Ariel was rambling.

  I could tell that Ariel was trying to stall for time, hoping that help was on the way. I hoped so too. Ethan had heard me, right? He was calling the police? They knew where we were? I couldn't worry about it now. It was too late if he hadn't. What was happening between Logan and Ariel was going to happen in minutes, maybe seconds. I was the only one that had a chance to intervene.

  Logan laughed again, "Would you believe that I have made one mistake in my whole life and that I've been paying for it ever since?"

  "A mistake? What mistake?" Ariel asked.

  As I quietly crept forward, glad for the cheers and screams above me, covering up any noise I was making, I started to wonder what on earth I was planning to do once I did come up behind Logan. Should I jump him? I was guessing he had a gun or something trained on Ariel, although I couldn't see it. What else could I do? I couldn't just let him shoot her or stab her or whatever he was planning to do. Maybe then if Ariel helped me, we could wrestle him to the ground. There wasn't much time to plan this all out, unfortunately.

  Logan kept laughing, so it almost sounded like a joke, but he was deadly serious, "I got Madison Brown pregnant in junior high."

  "What?" Ariel asked. I could tell she was completely floored from the way her voice rose an octave, "Madison had a baby? Are you serious?"

  If I hadn't been so focused on trying to save Ariel, I would have frozen in my tracks. Madison had a baby? My blood turned cold. Lana. She was the spitting image of Madison. Logan wouldn't try to kill her too, would he?

  "She had her right before freshman year. Her sister, Lana, is her daughter. Nobody knew. Except Julia. Madison told her. Told her that I was the dad. Nobody else knew who the father was, not even Madison's parents. I made Madison promise not to tell. Then, all of a sudden, Madison wanted to tell Lana the truth about everything. She wanted to tell her that she was her mother and that I was her father," Logan said. "My parents couldn't find out. The school couldn't find out. Nobody could find out. I worked so hard to get where I am. I was a pimple-faced kid with braces and glasses at the start of junior high. I was flattered Madison Brown even wanted to be more than friends. I was stupid to make the mistake I did. I've been smarter ever since, but I just keep paying for it. It had to go away, so I killed Madsion."

  I thought about little Lana, the poor girl. I hoped she never found out who her father was and I wasn't normally an advocate for that sort of thing. I mean, I think you should always have access to that sort of information. Like, if I was adopted, I'd want to know. In this case, though, that sweet little girl who just lost her sister/mom didn't deserve to know that her dad did it. It could mess a little kid up. Too bad in the real world, when this all got out, she'd probably be on CNN or some other talk show with her grandparents. I really hoped her grandparents got her out of town when it happened instead. That would really be the best thing for her.

  "Why did you kill Julia then?" Ariel asked. Her plan to stall for time was working so far.

  Logan laughed again. It was a really creepy laugh, "Well, for starters, Julia knew I killed Madison. She helped me do it. We planned it together."

  "What?" Ariel was shocked again.

  I knew it! Well, I had thought for a second at least that Julia's involvement in Madison's murder made sense. She had acted really strange the day she talked to me. Julia would have been my prime suspect, had she not been killed too. Logan had thrown me off that scent, by killing her.

  "Julia wanted Madison dead for different reasons. The whole thing was Julia's idea, actually. She'd get the Pep Club presidency and get even with Madison for taking everything she wanted away from her. Julia would get back her high school status. Madison really did a number on Julia's reputation. Maybe there was more to it. I didn't care. Once Julia suggested it to me, I was in. Like I said, I needed Madison gone too," Logan said.

  "So you both did it?" Ariel asked. She was having a hard time with the concept.

  It made a lot of sense to me, though. Popularity was worth a lot to some people. I mean, in high school, your status was everything.

  "Yeah, it was so easy. We hid in the bathroom during the Homecoming Dance and waited," Logan said.

  "But what if we hadn't gone to the bathroom?" Ariel asked. "Or even that bathroom?"

  "According to Julia, it was a sure thing. Madison had the smallest bladder and she preferred that particular bathroom because less people used it, which made it less disgusting or some OCD thing like that, so Julia said that Madison was sure to show up," Logan said. "And, it was likely to be for the most part deserted since it was out of the way."

  "But what if someone found you?" Ariel asked.

  Logan shrugged, "Then we'd pretend to be making out in the stall and try again later. Otherwise, once it was done, we'd blend into the crowd. There were hundreds of people at the dance. It was a perfect place to blend in and commit murder. So, we waited and twenty minutes in, you guys walked into the bathroom. It was fate."

  "Would you have killed me too?" Ariel wanted to know.

  I felt a chill crawl up my spine. I wouldn't have been able to save Ariel. I wouldn't have known until it was too late. I had to save her now. Should I try and wait for the police? Did I just jump him?

  Logan continued his story, "Yes, we would have killed you both, collateral damage, but you left in time. We burst out of the stall and confronted Madison. I covered the bathroom door and Julia was supposed to shoot Madison. That was the plan. Julia wanted to do it. We were going to bla
me it on someone's anti-school spirit, one of the school outcasts, like Seth. He was perfect. People like him practically dressed the part."

  "So, Seth had nothing to do with it at all?" Ariel asked.

  "No," Logan laughed. "He's perfect, though, right?"

  Poor Seth. He was all too perfect to be accused and he might have even been convicted. I couldn't help but be captivated by what Logan was saying. It was horrifying. Yet, I was also multitasking. I had about a minute or two until I would probably have to act. I didn't think the police were going to arrive before Logan tried to kill Ariel. It was up to me. I crept forward. I was almost there.

  "So what happened then?" Ariel asked instead of answering Logan's question.

  "At the last minute, Julia couldn't do it. So, I did it. I followed through. We got away with it too. Nobody even looked at us for the murder. Madison's death wasn't enough for Julia, though. She was getting the Pep Club presidency, but she wanted more. So, she threatened to expose me as the murderer. She'd claim that she was the innocent victim. Julia wanted things from me. She said I had to date her and do all of these things for her or she would tell people about my daughter, the murder, everything. Julia wanted to be even more popular than she'd been before. I finally got the impression that Julia set me up. I had been stupid. I shouldn't have trusted her. She had it all planned. If anyone found out what we had done, she would make sure that I did the time for it. Julia hadn't been scared to shoot Madison. She had been playing me for a fool. Julia didn't want to be the one to shoot the gun, so that she could point her finger at me, if we were found out. I was smarter in the end, though. We had already given the cops the idea that anti-Pep Club sentiment was the reason for the murder, so I decided to make it the reason for two murders," Logan said.

 

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