by Diane Hoh
Just for that little while, I stopped being afraid of the mummy-thing.
We sat there for a long time, me with my head on Eli’s shoulder. We were so grateful to be alive. We didn’t talk. We just kept gulping in huge mouthfuls of air that felt wonderful to our aching lungs.
After a long while, Eli finally broached the subject of telling the police what had happened to us.
“We can’t go to the police, Eli,” I argued in my new smoke-induced croak. “How can we? The first thing they’d want to know is what we were doing out here. No one’s supposed to be in the park. We can’t very well tell them we were looking for your key chain, can we? And even if we got past that, they’d ask us next what our attacker looked like. Do you really want to tell the police that we fell into a trap set for us by a … a mummy?”
“Well, first of all,” Eli argued, “it’s not a mummy. There’s no such thing.”
“I just don’t think there’s any way we can go to the police about today without being questioned about Friday night,” I said.
“You’re probably right,” he finally agreed. “Look, I think we’d better get back to campus. But we can’t go back looking like this.”
My turn to agree, I didn’t have a mirror, but if I looked one-tenth as bad as he did, with soot and dirt coating his skin and hair, I didn’t want anyone to see me. It wasn’t just vanity. The way we looked would raise a lot of questions.
We were getting up, slowly, painfully, when Eli exclaimed, “I don’t believe it!” and began laughing.
I couldn’t imagine what he could possibly find funny. But when I looked up, he was holding the key chain in his hand. And he was still laughing.
“Where …?”
“Right there,” he said, pointing to a spot covered with fire debris. “I bumped that burned log when I was getting up, and it moved a hair. The key chain was underneath it, untouched.”
Then I laughed, too. We had found what we’d come for, after all, in spite of everything. But what a price we’d paid for a key chain that had originally cost less than four dollars.
We made our way back to the river, found a shallow pool at the edge of the riverbank and did the best we could at cleaning up, splashing our faces, arms, and hair with the chilly water.
“It’s got something to do with the fire, and Hoop,” Eli said as, damp but somewhat cleaner, we walked back to campus along the riverbank. “The way it’s all bandaged up like a mummy, the gauze trail … all of that is meant to remind us of Hoop. So someone knows we were there Friday night. May even know we started the fire.”
“Not necessarily,” I said. “If it’s a friend of Hoop’s, they could just be guessing that we lied about the park and that we were with Hoop all the time. That we somehow got out of the park, and he didn’t. And so they’re blaming us for that.”
“It’s like being convicted without a trial,” Eli said, “Verdict: guilty.”
“Well, we are,” I couldn’t refrain from saying.
That closed us both down, and we didn’t talk the rest of the way to campus.
Nat was sitting on her bed when I came in, reading the school newspaper. Her eyes widened when she saw me. “What on earth happened to you? And where have you been? Bay’s been calling. So has Mindy. The Sigma Chi thing is tonight, and Mindy’s frantic that we’re not going to go. She says she needs our support.”
I’d forgotten all about that stupid thing at the Sigma Chi house. Mindy was in the running for Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, and her competition was stiff. Two other cheerleaders, and the girl who had been Homecoming Queen in October, Shannon Wyoming. I’d known about this party for weeks. The thought made me sick. But it meant so much to Mindy, and we had all promised faithfully that we’d be there to support her.
How could we possibly go now? How could we show up at Sigma Chi all dressed up and ready to party after everything that had happened?
I knew I should tell Nat how close to death Eli and I had come that afternoon. She still didn’t even know about the mummy-thing. If that thing really was angry about Hoop and the fire, it was angry with all five of us, and it could come after Nat at any time. In fact … maybe it already had and she was keeping it to herself, just as I was. Lately there was so much distance between us. It was difficult to talk.
I sat down on my bed. “Nat,” I asked, cautiously, “you haven’t been … no one’s threatened you or anything lately, have they?”
“Threatened me?” She looked so blank that right away I knew I’d been off-base. Maybe it just hadn’t had time to get to her yet, it had been so busy with me. And Eli. “What do you mean?”
“Never mind. I just thought maybe some of Hoop’s other friends guessed that we were lying and might have been giving you a hard time.”
“Oh. No, no one’s even hinted that they know the truth. So far, anyway. Listen, are you going tonight or not? We promised.”
“I can’t believe they’re still giving that party, with one of their own lying near death in a hospital bed.”
Nat shrugged. “Life goes on,” she said almost callously. “The party’s been planned for weeks. Too late to cancel it now. Bay says the thinking is, they all need a party at that house, to take some of the gloom away. And I saw Boomer today. He’s a Sigma, and he said they felt they owed it to Hoop. That he’d want them to have the party.”
Well, that sounded pretty stupid. Still, I decided to go anyway. Because the Sigma Chi guys were, besides us, Hoop’s closest friends. And if we were being attacked by someone who was trying to avenge what had happened to Hoop, it could very well be a Sigma member. Being in that house might give Eli and me some idea of who it might be, and we’d be safe enough with a crowd around.
I would have to talk Eli into going. I wasn’t sure why it was important that he be there, or why I didn’t think of Bay first, but that was how I felt. I wanted Eli there.
“Please!” I begged into the lobby telephone. I didn’t want Nat to hear me, so I’d told her I was going downstairs for a cold drink. I’d have to remember to bring one back upstairs with me. “Please, Eli. I need you to be there, too. Anyway, you promised Mindy.”
“That was before.”
“Before.” What a lovely word! If only it were still “before.”
He finally gave in. “Bay’s going to be really ticked if you and I spend all our time together trying to figure out which Sigma Chi is Most Likely to Be a Killer. You know his temper.”
“That’s Hoop,” I reminded Eli, “not Bay.”
Eli laughed. “Haven’t had a real argument with Bay yet, have you, Tory?”
“Yes, I have. And he didn’t lose his temper.” Well, not really. Not ranting or raving or throwing or breaking things.
“Well, he has one,” Eli cautioned. “I’ve known him longer than you have. So if you see someone you think seems suspicious, just give me a sign and I’ll meet you out on the terrace. And if I were you, I’d make sure Bay didn’t see you leave.”
Ridiculous. Bay knew Eli and I were friends. Why would he care if I met Eli on the terrace? I was going to tell Bay everything that had happened, anyway.
Telling Eli I’d see him at the Sigma Chi house, I went upstairs to shower and dress for the party.
Chapter 16
MINDY LOOKED BEAUTIFUL. SHE was wearing a strapless red dress that contrasted perfectly with her pale blonde hair, which she had piled high on her head and fastened with a pearled comb.
Nat looked perfect, too, in a black sheath and heels. Me, I couldn’t have cared less. It was all I could do to throw on a skirt and sweater.
“You’re a cinch to win,” Nat said as Mindy climbed into her car. Bay and Eli were meeting us at the Sigma Chi house. “You look fantastic!”
“It’s just not going to be the same without Hoop there,” Mindy said mournfully from the backseat. “What kind of Sigma Chi Sweetheart shows up at a party without a date?”
I couldn’t tell if she was mourning the loss of Hoop or simply the loss of a date. Deciding
I was being too judgmental, I said consolingly, “Everyone knows why you don’t have a date, Mindy. Actually, you’d lose more votes if you did show up with someone else.”
That cheered her up, at least until Nat asked her if she’d called the hospital recently to see how Hoop was.
“He’s just the same,” Mindy answered. “No change at all. But at least he’s still alive. I talked to that Nurse Lovett person. I don’t think she likes me.” She sounded really hurt at the thought of someone not liking her. That was something that didn’t happen to Mindy very often. Maybe never. “She made some nasty crack about me not calling very often. But you know, I don’t like to bother them. I know how busy they are in ICU.”
“She doesn’t have a really terrific bedside manner,” Nat agreed. “Still, you found out what you needed to know, right? That Hoop is … okay?”
I glanced over at Nat, thinking, “Okay?” I would hardly call Hoop’s condition “okay,” and I was positive Nurse Lovett wouldn’t, either. Maybe Nat was just trying to keep Mindy’s spirits up.
Nat turned her attention to me. “You never told me why you were such a mess when you came back to the room today. We were so busy getting ready. I forgot about it. But you looked awful. Like you’d just climbed up the incinerator. How come?”
I thought fast. I should tell Nat and Mindy everything that had happened. We were all in this together, which meant they had a right to know.
The problem was, I didn’t feel like we were in it together. Mindy was all caught up in this Sweetheart business, and I was still annoyed that Bay and Nat had been discussing me at breakfast. I couldn’t get over the fact that they’d thought I might fink on everyone. My telephone conversation with Bay about the party had been brief and curt. He had wanted to know where I’d been all afternoon, and I’d just said, “Out.” When he persisted, I’d added, “Down by the river.” That was pretty close to the truth. Sort of.
The only person I felt close to at that point was Eli.
Still, Nat and Mindy had a right to know about the mummy-thing. True, it hadn’t come near them yet. But it might. If it was angry about Hoop, it wouldn’t be targeting only Eli and me. The others had been in the park that night, too. Everyone knew we did practically everything together. Nat and Mindy should be warned.
Right. But after the party would be soon enough. I’d let Mindy have this night, and then I’d tell them.
“I was down by the river, and I slipped on the riverbank and fell,” I said in answer to Nat’s question.
“Did the fire reach that far?”
“No, why?”
“Because you looked all sooty. Not muddy. Sooty. And you smelled of smoke.”
“That whole area smells of smoke, Nat. And there was a lot of ash by the riverbank. The wind must have blown it for miles.”
As we got out of the car, I said, “Listen, if anyone inside says or does anything weird, tell me, okay?”
They both looked at me. “Weird?” Mindy said.
“Well, I mean …” This was impossible. I shouldn’t have brought it up since I wasn’t ready to tell them the whole story. “I just meant, some of those people inside think we’re lying about not being with Hoop the night of the fire. If anyone gets nasty about it, just tell me, okay?”
They shrugged and nodded, but I could tell they didn’t understand.
Well, why should they? I didn’t understand what was happening myself, and I had a lot more information than they did.
Sigma house was a mob scene, and the noise was deafening. Conversation with Eli was going to be just about impossible.
He was waiting just inside the door. He looked very nice, in slacks and a navy blue blazer, an outfit I’d only seen him wearing once before. Usually, he looked a bit awkward, in baggy jeans and T-shirts. Bay was definitely better-looking than Eli. So why was I so glad to see Eli standing there, and why didn’t I notice that Bay was right behind him until several seconds later?
To make up for my screwed-up feelings, I gave Bay a big hug and told him I was glad to see him.
But my eyes, over Bay’s shoulder, were on Eli. He caught my gaze and nodded. He hadn’t forgotten what we’d talked about earlier, and I knew he’d be keeping his eyes open for anything suspicious.
Bay and I headed into the living room to dance. I felt as if I was walking straight into enemy territory, and judging by the looks we were getting, it wasn’t my imagination.
“They don’t believe us,” I whispered as we began dancing. “They don’t believe we weren’t with Hoop in the park. Some of them don’t, anyway. I can tell by the way they’re looking at us. They know we lied.”
“They don’t know we lied,” he argued. “They can’t know that for sure. They’re just guessing. And as long as they’re just guessing, we’re okay.”
I didn’t feel okay. I didn’t feel the tiniest bit okay.
And although Mindy “sparkled” the way she was expected to, every once in a while I caught a glimpse of her as she danced by me. She was laughing up at the guy she was dancing with, but she wasn’t laughing with her eyes. Mindy wasn’t okay, either, not really. I wondered what effect the suspicions about us would have on her chances of being picked Sweetheart of Sigma Chi. Everyone liked Mindy. But if some of the Sigmas suspected that we’d been with Hoop the night of the fire and were lying about it, wouldn’t they suspect Mindy even more? Hoop sometimes went places without Eli, Nat, Bay, and me. But he never went anywhere without Mindy, except maybe out on the basketball court. Even then, she was on the sidelines in her cheerleading uniform.
Mindy was certainly doing her best to stay cheerful. I had to hand it to her. Her only bad moments came when people asked her about Hoop. She got shaky then, and was finally brought to tears by a particularly sympathetic comment from a girl in a white dress.
Bay was being a royal pain, grilling me about where I’d been that afternoon, who I’d been with, and what I’d been doing.
It finally hit me why. He was afraid I might have gone to the police and ’fessed up. I couldn’t believe it. What did I have to do, take a blood oath to prove to him and to Nat that I wasn’t a fink? Didn’t they know me better than that?
“I don’t have to tell you where I was this afternoon,” I said coldly, pulling out of his arms on the dance floor. “But I’ll tell you this much. I did not, at any time today, go near the Twin Falls police station or the campus security office. Satisfied?” And I turned on my heel and stalked off the dance floor.
I went looking for Eli. I found him out on the terrace, standing at the stone railing overlooking a huge back lawn. The air was a little too chilly and windy to suit most people, so he had the covered patio to himself.
“Anything?” I asked, coming up behind him.
“Nope, not a thing.” He didn’t turn around. “You?”
I shook my head. “There are people acting weird,” I said, moving up to stand beside him, “but no more than usual. But I’ve been thinking, Eli.”
“Shouldn’t do that,” he joked. “Dangerous. Could get to be a habit.”
I didn’t laugh. “Hoop was burned in a fire. Then I was burned in the tanning capsule. Not like Hoop, of course, but still … then I was burned by the steam from my car. And then you and I were almost burned to death in that burrow. I don’t think for a second that all of that is coincidental. Someone is determined to make us suffer exactly in the same way that Hoop’s suffering. To show us what that feels like.”
“Or worse,” Eli said grimly, nodding. “I agree. The question is, who?” He gestured over his shoulder. “Could be anyone in that house. Any friend of Hoop’s. Got any ideas?”
“No. I don’t know Hoop’s other friends that well. Mindy does, though. Maybe I’ll sound her out. I haven’t asked her so far because I didn’t want to tell her what was going on. Not until after the party. If I can’t ask her questions without giving anything away, then I’ll just have to tell her the whole story now, instead of waiting until later. I hate to do that. I think i
t’s really hard for her, being in this house without Hoop, but I may have no choice. I can’t just stand around here waiting for something terrible to happen.”
“Where is she?”
“Fixing her makeup.”
Eli groaned. “She’ll be gone for hours. You know how she is. Maybe you ought to ask Bay instead. He knows a lot of Hoop’s friends.”
“I don’t want to ask Bay,” I said sharply.
Eli looked at me then. “Don’t say something like that and get my hopes up if you’re going to go right back in there and make nice with him.”
“I’m not.” That surprised me. But Bay should have trusted me, no matter what the circumstances were. He should have known, better than anyone else, that I could never rat on my friends, no matter how guilty I felt. He should have known, better than anyone, that if the time came when I couldn’t keep our horrible secret another second, I’d have gone to them first, and told them.
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to forgive him for thinking otherwise.
So, when Eli pulled me to his chest and bent his head and kissed me, I kissed him back.
And that was something I didn’t feel guilty about. Not at all.
“I’ve wanted to do that ever since this afternoon,” he said when, smiling, I moved away from him. Then he added quickly, “No, that’s a lie. I’ve wanted to do it ever since I met you, and I’ve been kicking myself ever since for introducing you to Bay. Dumb move on my part.”
Then he reached for me again, but I shook my head. “Eli, I—we—can’t start this right now. Not with all the other stuff that’s going on. I have to find Mindy, and if she can’t help me, then I guess I’ll have to talk to Bay.”
Eli’s thin face clouded. “To Bay?”
“Oh, not to make nice,” I amended quickly. “I mean, about Hoop’s friends. We have to find out who’s after us. So, can we just put us on hold for right now?”
“As long as it’s temporary,” Eli said. “I know you’re right. Bad timing, story of my life.”
I leaned over and gave him another quick kiss.