aterovis_bm_reapthewhirlwind.p65

by Arlene Chance

  As I took her coat, she leaned in and whispered into my ear. “Can I talk to you after the meeting?”

  “Yeah, sure. Is anything wrong?”

  “We’ll talk later.”

  I was still trying to figure that out when Laura and Gabe arrived. I couldn’t help but notice that Gabe looked an awful lot like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.

  He couldn’t hide a smug smirk and I wondered what it was that was going on. Laura looked a little cross, so whatever it was he knew, I was willing to bet he hadn’t shared it with her yet. I hoped that whatever news he had would be good and that it would help untangle some of the mysteries we were left with after our meeting with Keisha.

  Since I was the one who had called the emergency meeting, I started things off. “I asked you all to come here tonight because Aidan and I talked to Keisha yesterday and I thought it raised more questions than we got answered. We thought it was significant enough that we all needed to talk about it together.”

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  With Aidan’s help, we gave them a detailed rundown of what we had learned from Keisha.

  “So was it a suicide or not? That’s the question, right?”

  Gabe asked when we’d finished.

  “That and if it wasn’t a suicide and it was murder, why did the police want Keisha to think it was a suicide? Wouldn’t it be better to have the campus warned if a killer was running around?” I added.

  Killian sat forward. “The police may not want to panic the campus.”

  “I think it’s obvious that she killed herself,” Caitlin said. “Her roommate even said that she was acting strange, as if she wasn’t looking forward to something.

  She was probably planning her suicide.”

  “Then why wasn’t there a note?” I asked.

  “Not every suicide leaves a note,” Laura said.

  “Laura’s right,” Aidan agreed. “We learned that in our psychology class. They don’t always even show any outward signs that they are depressed or suicidal.”

  “So what’s the consensus?” Killian asked. “Did she commit suicide or was she murdered like Joey?”

  “Do we even know for sure that Joey was murdered?”

  Caitlin asked before anyone could speak. “I mean, it looks like this Blake chick wasn’t exactly wrapped real tight. Maybe she found the necklace and made the rest up.”

  “What did she have to gain?” Aidan argued. “Besides, she didn’t strike me as bright enough to come up with all this on her own. No, I think she either knew something or someone thought she knew something and she was taken out of the picture.”

  “I agree with Aidan. It was murder,” I said.

  “I think it was a suicide, but I don’t think that neces-299

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  sarily means Joey wasn’t murdered,” Gabe said. “If Blake was murdered, then we’re no longer dealing with someone who acts in the heat of the moment, as it appeared happened with Joey. They’ve moved into carefully planned and carried out, premeditated murder.”

  “So do you really think Blake killed herself, or would you just prefer that to dealing with a cold-blooded killer?” Killian asked.

  Gabe grimaced. “Maybe a little of both,” he admitted.

  “Well, I have to agree that, while I hate coincidences, it sounds an awful lot like a suicide to me,” Laura said.

  “I know I originally said it was too convenient to not be a murder, but why would the police lie?”

  “We know that Caitlin thinks it was a suicide.” Caitlin nodded. “So that makes it three to two, in favor of suicide,” Killian said as if he was announcing the score to a game. “I’m afraid I’m going to tie things up. I have to side with Aidan and Will. I think it was murder. Just because the first murder was unplanned doesn’t mean the killer couldn’t feel trapped and think he had to kill again to protect himself.”

  “So we’re split evenly,” Laura said. “Where do we go from here? How do we proceed?”

  “Well,” Gabe said dramatically, his self-satisfied expression from earlier returning, “I have some information that isn’t affected by whether or not Blake committed suicide. And it definitely gives us a direction to head in.”That got everyone’s full attention.

  “What information do you have?” Killian asked.

  “I know who Blake’s mystery man is.”

  Everyone began talking at once.

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  “Wait, wait, wait,” he called, grinning the whole time.

  It was obvious he was enjoying the attention. “One at a time.”

  “Who is it?” we all yelled at once.

  “His name is Robbie Meade,” Gabe said, chuckling.

  “He doesn’t go to Pemberton; he’s from the tech school, but apparently he came with a friend who does go.”

  “How did you find this out?” I asked.

  “And why didn’t you tell me?” Laura demanded.

  “I wanted it to be a surprise when I told everyone at once,” he explained, answering Laura’s question first.

  “I just found out today. I just happened to mention that I was trying to find this guy to someone in one of my classes. Someone else overheard and said that it sounded like his friend, Robbie. He wanted to know why I was looking for him. I asked him what his last name was and he told me. Then he asked me again why I was looking for him. I told him someone had seen him with my girlfriend, and the guy just laughed and said it sounded like Robbie to him. When I asked for his phone number though, the guy clammed up. Said he wasn’t about to get his friend in trouble.”

  “Well, at least we have a name, now,” Killian said.

  “That’s a lot more than we had before. Now all we have to do is find this guy and that should just be a matter of checking the phone book. If that doesn’t work one of us can call the office at the tech school and weasel it out of someone there.”

  “Should we do it now?” I asked. I was ready for this to be over and it seemed like Robbie Meade was our last chance.

  “I can’t,” Laura said quickly. “I have to go.”

  “You do?” Gabe asked in surprise.

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  “Yes, I have a project due and I have to get home and get started.”

  Gabe looked a little put out. “Well it’s a good thing we drove separately,” he sulked.

  “Is the meeting over?” Laura asked.

  Killian looked as surprised by Laura’s sudden rush as I felt. “Will called it. Are we done, Will?”

  “I guess,” I said, wondering what Laura was up to.

  “Great,” she said, bouncing to her feet. “Then I’ll see everyone Friday night at Will and Aidan’s surprise—

  whatever the hell it is. Oh, and I think we should all wait to call Robbie until we can do it together. Okay?”

  She shrugged on her coat and started for the door.

  Gabe grabbed his jacket and rushed after her with a shrug and a wave to the rest of us.

  “That was a bit odd,” Aidan said with a frown.

  “If you ask me, she’s a bit odd.” Caitlin sniffed. “Can we talk now?” she asked me.

  “Sure,” I answered.

  “In private?”

  “Oh, right. We’ll go in my bedroom.”

  As we left the room, I could feel Aidan and Killian’s curious stares on my back.

  “What’s up?” I asked once we were in my room.

  “I need to talk to you about something,” she said. I couldn’t read her voice and her expression was guarded.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “You tell me,” she shot back.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve been thinking about this whole thing with you and Aidan dating. I don’t know that I’m comfortable with it.”

  “What?” I gasped. “You mean you aren’t comfort-302

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  able with me being gay? But you knew that from the beginning.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with you being gay. I just can’t help but wonder where this leaves me and the baby now that
you’re with him.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “How does this affect our arrangement about the baby?”

  “It doesn’t affect it at all. Why would it? I told you I’ve talked to a lawyer and she’s working on the paperwork now. She’ll probably have it ready for us to sign in a couple days. Once that’s done, it’ll all be final.”

  “How does Aidan feel about all this?”

  “He supports me one-hundred percent.”

  “Does he? Maybe I’ll feel better once the papers are signed and it’s all official. You have to understand that this baby means more to me than anything else in the world. When I decided to have this baby, I decided that I was going to do this right. I want what’s best for him and that means I have to do whatever it takes to protect him. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt my baby. And that includes you, Will.”

  I felt a chill run up my spine at her words. Was she threatening me or just trying to make me understand how much the baby meant to her?

  “The baby means a lot to me, too, Caitlin,” I assured her. “I want what’s best for him or her too. If that’s what this is all about, then understand that I’m not going anywhere. I want to be a part of this child’s life and I’m certainly not going to do anything to intentionally hurt it.”She smiled. “Thank you, Will. I feel better now.” She patted me on the cheek and slipped past me back into 303

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  the hall. I got her coat for her and I let her out.

  Killian and Aidan were still in the living room. They sat close together on the sofa with their heads bent toward each other, speaking in soft voices. They stopped talking abruptly as I approached.

  “What were you guys talking about?” I asked as I sat down on the other side of Aidan.

  “Nothing,” Aidan said, slipping his arm around me.

  “If you were talking about nothing, then why’d you stop when I came over?”

  They exchanged glances.

  “What’s going on?” I pressed.

  “Maybe we should try calling this Robbie person,”

  Killian suggested.

  His attempt to change the subject wasn’t even subtle.

  But I suspected my chances of getting anything out of either of them was slim to none, so with a sigh to let them know I knew what was going on, I gave in, “Okay, but what about Laura? She wanted us to wait.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to wait,” Killian said.

  “What if the same thing happens to him that happened to Blake? Then we would never get the chance to talk to him and we’d never know what, if anything, he saw that night.”

  “Good point,” I agreed. I slid out from underneath Aidan’s arm and went to find the phone book. When I came back, I wiggled my way in-between the two cousins so we could all look at the pages.

  We quickly discovered that we didn’t know which spelling Robbie used on his last name. There were two Robert Mead’s, one Rob Mead, three Robert Meade’s, one R Meade, and no guarantee that any of them was the Robbie we were looking for. We decided that there 304

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  was no way of finding out except to just call them all until we found the right one. We took turns calling, striking out on the first five tries. Although all the Robert’s were perfectly nice, they weren’t the guy we were looking for. I dialed the next number.

  “Are you Robbie Meade?” I asked. By now this was our standard question.

  “Yeah,” said a male voice cautiously.

  “Do you go to the tech school here in town?”

  A pause, then, “Yeah.”

  For a second I didn’t know what to say. I’d gotten used to all of us receiving negative answers to that question, after which we’d politely tell whomever we were talking to that we had the wrong number. I felt my pulse quicken. “Were you at the party the night Joey Taylor died?”

  The line was perfectly quiet. For a panic-stricken moment I was afraid he’d hung up. “Hello?” I said.

  “I’m still here,” Robbie said quietly. “Who are you and what do you want?”

  “My name is Will Keegan; I was there too. Joey was my best friend. Please don’t hang up.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I don’t think it was an accident. I think someone was with Joey right before he died and I think they killed him.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “We talked to Blake,” I said and I heard a sharp in-take of breath.

  “Look, I’m sorry about your friend but there’s nothing I can do to help you,” he said with finality.

  “Wait!” I called. “Please, just answer a few questions.

  Please! What can it hurt?”

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  “Ask Blake that question, why don’t you? Oh wait, you can’t. She’s dead. And that’s what I’ll be if I get involved.”

  “You’re already involved. You were in the pool house with Blake that night. What you know could help catch a killer.”

  “I don’t know anything. I’m telling you, I can’t help you. I’ve been hiding in my apartment ever since Blake wound up dead in her dorm room. Then a friend of mine called and said some guy was asking around about me at the school he goes to. I’m not dumb; I can see what’s going on. I’m next on this homicidal maniac’s hit list. I’m leaving town tomorrow for good. I’m moving to Maine to live with my dad.”

  “If you’re leaving, then it can’t hurt to tell us what you saw.”

  “You’re not listening to me. I didn’t see anything.”

  “Then you heard something. Blake told us you said you heard voices. What did you hear?”

  “For God’s sake, why can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “Because I need to know.”

  “Shit! If I tell you what I do know will you leave me alone?”

  “Yes, I promise,” I said.

  He sighed heavily into the receiver. “I heard something—well, someone—talking to the guy who ended up dead. At least, I assume it was the same guy. I wasn’t paying attention at first, except to hope they stayed out of the pool house until we were done. Then they got louder, like they were mad or upset.”

  “Did you recognize the voices?”

  He let out a short burst of nervous laughter. “Hell, no. That’s why this is all so fucking messed up. I don’t 306

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  even know anybody at Pemberton except my friend.

  He’s the one that invited me that night. Damn, I wish I’d never gone. Look, all I know is that they sounded like they were arguing. The guy sounded—I don’t know, pissed off. He was loud, sounded kinda drunk.

  The girl was quieter, but if I had to say, she sounded more upset than he did.”

  “A girl?” I latched onto the word.

  “Yeah.”

  My heart was pounding. “What were they saying?

  Could you hear anything they were saying?”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t listening and I was kinda busy, you know?”

  “But you’re positive it was a girl?”

  “Look, I’m not sure of anything. It coulda been a couple of fags for all I know. Okay? Now I’ve told you all I know. I gotta go; I have another call beeping in.”

  “Wait—” I tried, but I heard the click of the phone as he hung up and then the line went dead.

  I hit the end button on the phone and then stood staring dumbly at it for several seconds.

  “It was a girl?” Aidan asked.

  “That’s what he said. He said they sounded like they were arguing, but he didn’t hear what they were saying because he wasn’t paying attention.”

  “A girl ” Killian said thoughtfully.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked him.

  “Nothing,” he said, but he exchanged a meaningful look at Aidan, who nodded ever so slightly.

  “Okay, that’s it. What the hell is going on? What were you guys talking about earlier and what was that just all about?”

  “Calm down,” Aidan soothed.

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  “Not until you tell me what is going on.” />
  He sighed. “Killian and I were talking while you were in the back with Caitlin. He pointed out that the way things have been happening with this case it almost seemed like the killer knew what we were doing every step of the way.”

  “Well, we’ve not been very secretive,” I pointed out.

  “Still, it does seem to be just a little too coincidental.”

  “So what are you suggesting? You think the killer is one of us?”

  “Not just any of us,” Killian pointed out. “According to Robbie, it was a girl.”

  “There are only two girls in our group,” I said. “And I know it isn’t Laura or Caitlin.”

  “How do you know?” Aidan asked gently.

  “What? You can’t be serious! I’ve known Laura forever. Just because you two haven’t hit it off doesn’t make her a murderer. And Caitlin was with me when Joey was killed, so it couldn’t have been her. Besides, what did she have to gain with Joey dead?”

  They exchanged another look.

  “Will you stop that!” I yelled.

  “Will, think about it,” Aidan tried again. “You’d known Joey forever too, but his behavior took you completely by surprise. So much so, in fact, that you didn’t even believe me when I first told you about it. You had to see it for yourself. You have to admit that Laura’s been acting strangely; the way she left here so suddenly tonight, as soon as Gabe told us Robbie’s name?”

  “That’s why I thought it was important that we call him right away,” Killian explained.

  “And you remember she stayed in the hallway the day we talked to Blake after we left. Maybe she went 308

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  back in there as soon as we were gone. There’s just too much that doesn’t fit.”

  “So you’re convinced that Laura is the killer?”

  “No, not convinced. It’s just a possibility that we have to look at. To be honest, Caitlin is just as good a suspect except that she was with you. She didn’t have to have anything to gain from Joey’s death. We’ve already decided that it was a crime of passion, committed in the heat of the moment, not planned out like Blake’s murder.”

  “Well I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it was either one of them. Caitlin just isn’t a killer and, for all we know, there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for the way Laura’s been acting.”