Secret Admirer Read online

  “No! Never mind!” Selena cried. “Danny is here. He’s hurt. We have to get help!”

  “Huh?” Katy uttered a startled cry. She switched on an overhead light.

  Selena blinked at the sudden brightness. She saw that Katy was wearing her black stagehand’s outfit. She carried a heavy metal flashlight.

  “Danny’s really hurt!” Selena told Katy. “We’ve got to untie him and get help!”

  Katy’s face twisted in confusion. “Why is he up here?”

  “The Sun,” Selena explained. Now that she could see the ropes it was easier to get them untied. “The Sun tried to kill him. I think he’s still here somewhere. Come on, Katy, help me untie him!”

  “Why?” Katy asked. “If he’s tied up, he can’t cause trouble.”

  “Don’t you get it?” Selena cried impatiently. “Danny isn’t The Sun! I found another note. The Sun said he was going to kill someone close to me. He meant Danny—but I thought he meant you!”

  “No, he didn’t mean me,” Katy replied softly, calmly.

  “Katy, help me!” Selena cried. “Danny needs a doctor.”

  “Don’t worry about Danny,” Katy soothed her. “He won’t cause you any more trouble now.”

  “Selena,” Danny moaned.

  Selena tugged at the ropes around his arms.

  “I said forget Danny!” Katy screamed. She crossed the room in two steps.

  Raised her arm.

  And brought the flashlight down hard on Danny’s head.

  His eyes rolled up. His head slumped onto his chest.

  “Katy!” Selena gasped in horror. “Why—?”

  Katy pushed a pile of costumes to the floor and settled herself on one of the shelves, facing Selena. “I want to talk about you and me, Selena,” Katy explained, her eyes burning into Selena’s. “I want to talk about our friendship.”

  Selena felt a shiver roll down her back. “We can talk about anything you want,” she answered carefully. “But let’s do it down on the ground.”

  “I’m very comfortable up here,” Katy replied coldly. “Aren’t you? You should be. We’re together again, the way we used to be.”

  Something buzzed at the back of Selena’s mind. She pushed it away, tried to think clearly. “What do you mean?” Selena asked.

  “It’s like the old days, just you and me. Best friends. Katy and Selena, doing everything together.”

  Selena sank onto the floor next to Danny. Stared at his unconscious form. Katy had done that. Katy had hit him. “We’re still best friends—”

  “Not the way we used to be,” Katy insisted. “You used to put me first, Selena. The way I always did with you.”

  “Katy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Selena watched in dismay as Katy reached into her pocket. She pulled out a shiny piece of paper and held it up for Selena to see.

  Selena gasped. “No. Ohh … no.”

  Katy held a sheet of stickers.

  Stickers of the sun.

  29

  “Where—where did you get those?” Selena whispered.

  “They’re mine,” Katy replied. “Though I did give a few of them away. But you already know that.”

  “I don’t understand,” Selena said. “Katy, you—”

  Katy nodded. “Yes, it was Katy. Good old Katy. But I knew you’d never suspect me. I knew you’d think it was some guy who was madly in love with you.”

  Selena felt too shocked to speak. Katy was her best friend. She couldn’t possibly be The Sun. “Those notes—they were written by a guy!” she protested.

  Katy sneered at her. “You’re so easy to fool. I made them sound as if a guy was writing them. I knew you’d never question it. Every guy has to fall for you, right?”

  “But, Katy—”

  “You’re so conceited, Selena. It was so easy to convince you that a stalker was following you around. Even when there was an accident, I could make you believe some crazy guy did it! I mean, a ladder falls down and you think you have a stalker! All I had to do was put a sticker on it! It’s obvious all you care about is having guys fall at your feet.”

  “That’s not true!” Selena cried.

  “Yeah, right,” Katy sneered. “Do you have any idea how I’ve felt for the past two years, Selena? Do you know how it feels to have your best friend treat you like a servant?”

  “I never did that!” Selena protested. “You’re still my best friend. We were in the drama club together and—”

  “Of course we were in the drama club together,” Katy yelled. “Like I had a choice! If I didn’t join, I wouldn’t have a friend at all!”

  “Katy,” Selena started carefully. “I never meant to hurt you. I always thought you were happy that I was doing so well!”

  “Why should I be happy for you?” Katy snapped. “When we were younger, we cared about each other. As equals. But then you got so thin and so popular. Why should that make me happy?”

  “Be-because you were my friend,” Selena choked out. “I never knew you felt this way.”

  “That’s the whole point,” Katy insisted angrily. “If you were a good friend, you would have known. You would have cared. But you don’t care about anything except being a star and getting everyone’s attention!”

  Selena glanced quickly at Danny. He hadn’t moved. He couldn’t help her. She had to calm Katy down by herself.

  “And then you wanted to leave!” Katy ranted. “You never even told me you wanted to go away to college! You thought you could just get a scholarship and take off! I bet you didn’t even think about what would happen to me!”

  Selena stared hard at her friend, realizing how disturbed Katy was. And as Katy met Selena’s gaze, she seemed to deflate. Her eyes lost their fire. Her whole body slumped.

  “I thought I could stop you,” Katy murmured. “I thought if I could scare you enough, you’d drop out of the play, and we could go back to being friends.”

  “Oh, Katy,” Selena began, reaching to hug her friend.

  “But it didn’t work!” Katy yelled, pushing Selena away. “You kept on acting! And you kept on seeing all your new friends and boyfriends. You didn’t even care if people got hurt! You just wanted your precious scholarship.”

  Selena’s fear dissolved, replaced by anger. “Are you saying you hurt Alison?” she demanded. “On purpose?”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Katy replied. “I thought you would be sitting there. I wanted to scare you. But it didn’t work.” She sighed. “I tried everything, Selena.”

  Selena swallowed hard. “What about Jake?” Selena asked in a whisper, a horrible suspicion growing in her mind. “You didn’t—”

  “Jake was too nosy,” Katy said calmly, coldly. “You should never have told him about the stalker, Selena. It made him start poking around. Then he found the stickers in my locker.”

  “In your locker!”

  “You found them in Jake’s locker because he took them out of mine! He shouldn’t have done that. He made a big mistake. But it made things easy for me.”

  “What do you mean?” Selena whispered.

  Katy sneered. “I persuaded Jake to come up here. Nobody is as comfortable up here as I am. He didn’t have a chance.”

  “You … you pushed him?”

  “I couldn’t let him tell you what he found out about me!” Katy replied. “Afterward, I felt sad. I mean, Jake had been a good friend of ours all those years. But things change, Selena.” Katy rose quickly to her feet.

  Selena stared at her in horror. A killer, Selena thought numbly. I’m trapped up here with a killer.

  “Katy, please believe me,” she begged, pressing her back against the cabinet. “Please believe how sorry I am.”

  “I do believe you,” Katy replied. “But it’s too late.”

  Selena pressed herself against the cabinet, trying to make herself disappear. “Katy, no—”

  “I’m grateful to you for making it so easy,” Katy
said without any emotion at all. “I wasn’t expecting you tonight. I thought only Danny would show up. But this makes it so much better.”

  “Were you the one who asked Danny to come here?”

  “I’m a good actress too, Selena,” Katy sneered. “I disguised my voice. I told him I was you. It was simple.”

  “Katy, let’s go down to the stage. We can talk about everything. We can get you the help you need. I’m sure there’s a way to work things out.”

  “No way!” Katy cried. “I’ve already got things worked out. It will look as if you and Danny came up here and had an accident. Everyone will think you died together. Just like the real Romeo and Juliet.”

  Katy lifted her heavy flashlight in the air.

  She moved quickly across the small room to Selena.

  30

  With a low cry, Selena hurtled forward. She threw herself over Danny and scrambled to the door on the far side of the prop room.

  “Please don’t hurt me, Katy,” she pleaded.

  “Forget it,” Katy replied. “There’s nowhere for you to go.”

  She swung the flashlight.

  Selena cried out as the heavy metal connected with her arm. She felt a sharp, numbing pain.

  As Katy raised the flashlight to strike again, Selena jumped back. Grabbed for the doorknob.

  She swung the door open.

  And froze in fear.

  She had forgotten where the second door led. It opened directly onto the catwalk. So high above the stage. The narrow metal walkway stretched before Selena like a tightrope.

  Dizziness swept over her. She started to turn back, but Katy blocked her way.

  “What’s the matter, Selena?” Katy taunted. “Change your mind?”

  “Katy, let me back in—”

  Katy laughed. “You’ve always been afraid of heights, ever since we were little.”

  “Yes,” Selena sobbed. “You know I am.”

  “That makes it perfect,” Katy declared. “You got scared and fell off the catwalk. No one will be surprised.”

  “Katy, no—”

  Katy swung the flashlight.

  Selena dodged away. Took a step back.

  Katy pulled back her arm and swung the flashlight.

  Selena had no choice.

  She stepped out. Onto the catwalk.

  Slipped. Went over the railing.

  Felt herself falling.

  And realized she was plunging to her death.

  31

  “Noooooo!”

  Uttering a desperate wail of horror, she shot up her arms. Grabbed the thin rod of a railing.

  Caught it with her right hand. Held on.

  Held on. Held on despite the searing pain shooting down her arm.

  Held on until she could grasp the railing with her left hand, too.

  Then she hoisted herself back onto the narrow walkway.

  Gasping for breath, her whole body shuddering and shaking, Selena took a step back. Then another.

  Katy followed, the flashlight raised in front of her.

  Selena took another step. Another. Backing up on trembling legs. Backing up. Trying not to look down. Staring at the raised flashlight in Katy’s hand.

  “Oh!” Selena gasped as she felt something cold against her back. She turned—and saw that she had reached the end of the catwalk. There was nowhere to go now.

  Nowhere but down.

  Selena’s eyes were drawn to the stage below. She gasped. It was so far down. Another wave of dizziness swept over her, and she had to press her hands against the wall to keep from tumbling over.

  “Scared you’re going to fall?” Katy asked nastily. “You should be.”

  She took one more step toward Selena.

  Then she swung the flashlight at Selena’s head.

  Selena screamed and ducked.

  She lost her balance on the narrow catwalk.

  And fell again.

  And landed hard on her stomach, straddling the catwalk, her arms hugging it tightly.

  Katy laughed.

  “Please stop! Please stop! Please!” Selena begged.

  “Okay,” Katy agreed. “I’ll stop.”

  Selena stared up in surprise.

  Katy set down the flashlight and knelt beside Selena. She began to pull on Selena’s arms, prying them away from the catwalk.

  “No!” Selena pleaded.

  “Let go!” Katy ordered. She pulled harder.

  Harder.

  Selena closed her eyes and held on, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around the metal surface.

  “You’re stronger than I thought,” Katy muttered. “But you won’t be able to hold on if you’re unconscious.”

  She picked up the flashlight again and raised it over her head.

  Selena shut her eyes as Katy brought the flashlight down.

  32

  Selena waited for the pain. For the flashlight to come crashing down on her head.

  She shut her eyes and waited.

  Waited.

  When she opened her eyes, Katy knelt over her, the flashlight raised. But now Katy was staring at the other end of the catwalk.

  Selena turned her head to see Eddy at the top of the ladder.

  “Put down the flashlight!” he told Katy softly.

  “Go away!” Katy snarled. “This has nothing to do with you!”

  “Let her go,” Eddy said gently. He began to inch out on the catwalk toward the girls.

  “Leave us alone!” Katy cried. She rose to her feet. “I’ll take care of you, too,” she muttered.

  “Don’t be stupid, Katy,” Eddy called. “You don’t want to kill three people. You know you don’t want to kill Selena and me.”

  “You don’t know what I want!” Katy replied in an angry, trembling voice. She stood up and took a step toward Eddy.

  “Then why don’t you explain?” Eddy called to her.

  “I will,” Katy sneered. “If you’ll come closer.”

  Eddy took another step toward her. Now they were only a few feet apart.

  Selena felt too afraid to move. Horrified, she watched as Katy and Eddy faced each other. Katy was so intent on Eddy that she seemed to have forgotten Selena.

  “Put down the flashlight, Katy,” Eddy instructed her gently. “Let’s go down to the stage.”

  “You’d like that,” Katy shot back. “That way you’d be in control. But up here, I’m in control.”

  Without warning, she swung the flashlight at Eddy’s head.

  Selena shrieked—and Eddy ducked. He thrust his hands out and windmilled his arms. He hit the railing on the catwalk. Looked like he was about to topple over it. He teetered on the edge.

  It’s all over, Selena thought. Katy is going to kill us all.

  Then she saw Eddy regain his balance. He grabbed for the flashlight. Missed, as Katy stepped away.

  With an angry grunt, she swung the flashlight again.

  This time Eddy slipped. He went down with a yell, landing on the beam.

  Katy swung the flashlight again.

  Selena’s scream drowned put the loud thunk as the metal flashlight found its target.

  Eddy ducked back, losing his balance. He slipped off the beam. Now hanging onto it by his fingertips. His body swaying above the stage.

  Katy began to chop at Eddy’s hands with the flashlight. He cried out, but still held on.

  He’s going to die! Selena realized. Unless I help him!

  But could she do it?

  She took a deep breath, then began to crawl toward Katy.

  Katy whacked at Eddy’s fingers again and again.

  Selena heard Eddy’s cries of pain. She knew he couldn’t hold on much longer.

  She couldn’t be careful anymore. She had to get there fast. She forced herself to stand. Without looking down, she dove toward Katy.

  Katy’s flashlight was raised high in the air, ready to come down again on Eddy’s hands.

  Selena grabbed it.

  “Let go!” Katy screeched. Sh
e tried to pull away from Selena’s grasp—and lost her balance.

  Selena yanked on the flashlight with all her strength. It flew out of Katy’s hands and clattered onto the stage far below.

  Katy grasped Selena’s arms with both hands. And for a moment the two girls wrestled, teetering on the narrow walk.

  Selena couldn’t balance. She knew that in another moment both she and Katy would fall off, fall onto the hard stage.

  And then she was falling, falling backward, Katy on top of her. She ‘seemed to fall forever. Waiting for the stage to smash into her. Waiting for blackness.

  “Huh?” Selena felt the catwalk under her back. A crushing weight on her stomach.

  She gazed up. Katy was sprawled on top of her.

  “Whooooa!” Eddy cried out as he landed on top of both of them, pinning them to the safety of the catwalk.

  Selena couldn’t breathe.

  “Let me go!” Katy cried, struggling furiously. “Let me go!”

  “Hold on, Selena,” Eddy cried. He climbed to his feet and, pulling Katy roughly up, dragged her along the catwalk. They disappeared into the prop room.

  Selena stared after them, her body numb with shock. After a moment, she climbed shakily to her feet. Without Katy, the catwalk seemed safe. Walking on it seemed easy.

  Slowly, she made her way to the prop room. Eddy had pulled off Danny’s ropes and was using them to tie up Katy.

  “How did you know I was here?” Selena asked Eddy.

  “You sounded so upset on the phone, I took a guess you might come here.”

  “Lucky guess!” Selena cried. With a burst of emotion, she ran over and wrapped her arms around Eddy. She kissed him.

  He held her close. When he pulled back, she saw the startled expression on his face. “You’re not acting now—are you?” he demanded.

  Selena pressed her face against his. “No. I’m not acting,” she replied. “Thank goodness, this show is over!”

  “Hey, don’t say that,” Eddy protested. He slid his arm around her. “This may only be Act One!”

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