Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? Page 8

  A shiver ran up Eva’s back. She stared at the railing.

  Someone tried to kill me, she realized.

  And they almost succeeded.

  “Come on,” Keith’s voice sounded rough with fear. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He picked up his camcorder and started down the steps.

  Eva followed, still shaken.

  Your turn next, the voice had told her.

  First Tania. Then Sandy. Then you.

  Am I really next on the list?

  Will someone try again?

  When they reached the ground, Keith turned to her. “Are you really okay?”

  “Sure. What about you?” Eva asked. “I mean, your arms must be about five inches longer.”

  Keith smiled grimly. “I’m fine.”

  “Good. But I lied before,” Eva confessed. “I’m not okay. I’m scared.”

  “Yeah. Should we tell the police about it?”

  “I guess.” Eva sighed. “But what if they still think this whole thing is one big joke?”

  “Wait until they see that railing,” Keith declared. “That will show them. When they see that it was sawed, they’ll know this is serious. Besides, after Sandy’s murder they have to know this isn’t a joke.”

  Eva nodded, swallowing nervously. Serious is right, she thought. I almost fell and broke my neck.

  I could have died.

  I was supposed to die.

  Eva shivered. She glanced back up, to the top of the bleachers.

  Someone stood there, not far from the broken railing.

  “No! I don’t believe it!” Eva screamed. “You’re here?”

  chapter 24

  “Tania?” Eva shouted. “Tania!” The figure turned, her straight blond hair blowing in the wind.

  “It is her!” Keith yelled. “Hey, Tania!”

  Tania raised her hand in a quick wave, then started down the steps.

  Eva couldn’t wait for Tania to climb all the way down. With Keith behind her, she raced up the steps and met her friend halfway up the bleachers.

  “You’re alive!” she cried, throwing her arms around Tania. “I’m so glad to see you. I can’t believe it! You’re alive!”

  Keith put his arms around both of them. “Hey, this is really incredible!” he declared. “Everybody’s been going nuts around here. What happened to you?”

  Tania hugged them for a moment, then pulled away.

  Tears streamed from her eyes. “I … I just heard the horrible news about Sandy. So I came home.”

  “But where were you?” Eva demanded. “How could you just disappear like that without telling anybody? What happened?”

  Tania wiped her eyes. Then she crossed her arms and stared at them. “It was a joke,” she declared.

  “What?” Eva couldn’t believe it. “Are you serious?”

  Tania nodded.

  “Whoa,” Keith murmured. “Some joke, Tania. We didn’t exactly think it was funny.”

  Eva felt a surge of fury. “But how could you do something like that?” she shouted at Tania. “It’s sick! We all thought you were dead! Do you realize how awful we all felt?”

  “It wasn’t funny!” Keith repeated.

  “No, but what all of you did to me wasn’t funny, either,” Tania replied heatedly.

  “Huh?” Keith’s mouth dropped open. “What did we do?”

  “You made a fool out of me,” Tania told them. “Everybody did. All of you knew Sandy was sneaking out with Cherise.”

  Oh, no, Eva thought. Now I get it. She thought we were keeping it a secret from her.

  “You all knew,” Tania repeated. “And not one of you told me.” Her green eyes flashed at Eva. “Not even you, Eva. My best friend! I was so angry and so hurt, I decided to pay you back.”

  “But …” Eva suddenly thought of something. “Tania—you made those frightening phone calls?”

  “Yes, I did. I was so hurt. I really wanted to pay you back.” Tania stuck her hands in the pockets of her yellow windbreaker and hunched her shoulders against the wind. “I mean, you all made a fool out of me. In front of the whole school!”

  Eva glanced at Keith. He looks so uncomfortable, she thought. How long has he known about Sandy and Cherise?

  “Tania, we didn’t mean to make you feel like a fool,” Keith told her.

  “Maybe not, but that’s what happened,” Tania insisted. “Everybody knew but me. I felt like a total idiot!”

  “That’s no excuse for playing such a dirty trick,” Eva snapped. “Anyway, I planned to tell you.”

  “Well, you waited too long,” Tania declared bitterly. “When Jeremy told me about Sandy sneaking around with Cherise, I couldn’t believe it. Once I stopped crying, I got so angry. And that’s when I decided to get even.”

  “Where were you all this time?” Eva asked Tania. “I mean, were you just hiding at home?”

  Tania shook her head. “That’s what I was going to do. But Jeremy had a better idea. He cooked up the whole thing. Sandy was in on the first part—the strangling part. But he didn’t know I was going to disappear. Anyway, I went to stay with my cousins in Waynesbridge. I told Mom and Dad not to worry, and they told the police I was perfectly okay.”

  “So that’s why the cops stopped the investigation,” Keith said. “No wonder they thought the whole thing was a joke. It was.”

  “It was a horrible, sick joke, Tania!” Eva declared angrily. “How could you do that to us? How could you put us through all that just because your boyfriend was cheating on you?”

  “I couldn’t help it!” Tania cried. “I was so hurt and upset. And I wanted to hurt and upset everyone else, especially Sandy. I wanted you guys to feel like fools, just the way I did!”

  Eva glanced down, taking a deep breath. She did feel like a fool. And she still felt hurt and angry. Tania got even, all right.

  But at least she’s alive, Eva told herself.

  “How long was this joke going to last?” Keith asked Tania.

  “Just another day or two,” Tania told him. “But then, I heard about Sandy.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “It’s just horrible. I really cared about him. Even though he was a sneak,” she added.

  Eva hugged her again. As she did, the familiar cold, dark feeling surged through her. “You said this was Jeremy’s plan?” she asked.

  Tania nodded as she pulled a tissue out of her jacket pocket.

  “The whole thing?”

  Nodding again, Tania wiped her eyes.

  “Well, where is he?” Eva demanded. “Why isn’t he …” She stopped as the feeling became stronger.

  Something is wrong. Horribly wrong.

  “Eva?” Tania asked. “What’s the matter with you?”

  “Something’s going on,” Eva murmured.

  Someone is in trouble.

  As soon as the words popped into Eva’s mind, she realized they were true. It’s not just some weird feeling this time, she thought. I can tell that somebody’s in trouble.

  But who?

  Shivering, Eva glanced around, then up into the bleachers. As her gaze rested on the broken railing, she froze.

  Cherise, she thought.

  Cherise was supposed to be here an hour ago. She promised Keith.

  And Cherise wouldn’t pass up a chance to be on camera.

  Where is she?

  “Eva?” Tania repeated. “Please. What is it? Why are you looking up there?”

  Eva dragged her eyes away from the railing. “Cherise is in trouble,” she declared.

  “What do you mean?” Keith asked. “What kind of trouble?”

  “I don’t know!” Eva exclaimed. “I can feel it, though. Really strong. I can’t explain it, but I know it’s true. I just know it!” She turned and began running down the steps.

  Get to a phone, she told herself. Call Cherise.

  Hurry!

  Eva jumped over the last two steps and onto the football field. With Tania and Keith running behind her, she raced across the field towa
rd the school.

  Inside, at the pay phone near the gym, she fumbled in her bag for a quarter and slid it into the slot. Her fingers shook. The quarter fell and spun across the floor.

  Keith picked it up and stuck it into the slot.

  Eva jabbed at the numbers, gasping for breath. Her heartbeat hammered so loudly in her ears, she could hardly hear the phone ring.

  And ring.

  And ring.

  After fifteen rings, Eva slammed the phone back. “No answer.”

  “Let’s go to her house,” Keith said. “Come on. We’ll take my van.”

  The three of them raced out to the parking lot and piled into Keith’s black minivan. All the seats had been folded down except the driver’s. Eva sat with Tania on the scratchy carpeting in the back, hunched next to a pile of cardboard boxes holding cables and microphones and other video equipment.

  Keith peeled out of the lot, ignoring the speed bumps. The tires screeched as he swerved onto the street. A horn blared loudly.

  “Stop driving like a maniac!” Tania told him. “We’ll never get there if you’re pulled over for a ticket.”

  “Sorry.” Keith slowed a little and clutched the steering wheel nervously. “Eva got me spooked.”

  Eva huddled near the bouncing boxes, digging her fingernails into her palms. Hurry! she wanted to shout. Don’t worry about a ticket. Just get us there, fast!

  A few minutes later, Keith pulled the van onto Cherise’s street and barreled toward her house. The van lurched to a stop at the curb, and Eva slid the side door open.

  As she jumped down to the sidewalk, she heard a scream.

  A wild, terrified scream.

  A girl’s scream, from inside Cherise’s house.

  chapter 25

  “Oh, no!” Tania gasped, jumping down beside Eva. “Eva, you were right!”

  Keith leaped out of the van, clutching his precious camcorder in one hand.

  Another scream pierced the air.

  “Whoa,” Keith murmured, his face turning pale.

  “Hurry!” Eva cried. She took off across the lawn, the dry fall leaves crunching under her feet.

  As the three of them raced up the porch steps, the girl screamed again.

  Louder this time. More terrified.

  Keith yanked open the rattling screen door, and Eva shoved the front door open.

  “Help me!” the girl’s voice shrieked. “Somebody—please help me!”

  Cherise’s voice.

  With Keith and Tania close behind her, Eva tore down the hall and burst into the living room.

  Eva saw Jeremy race across the rug, heading for the dining room.

  The toe of his sneaker caught on the rug. He stumbled sideways, and fell to the floor.

  As he tried to scramble up, Eva could hear him gasping in fear.

  A whimpering sound made Eva turn. She bit back a scream of her own as she stared.

  Cherise crouched on the floor near the couch, her red hair tangled, her eyes wild with terror.

  In one hand, she clutched a long-bladed butcher knife.

  Eva’s mouth opened in a horrified cry.

  “He … he killed Sandy!” Cherise screamed. She rose to her knees, still clutching the knife.

  Eva’s heart stopped, then began racing, trying to pound its way out of her chest.

  “Jeremy killed Sandy!” Cherise wailed. “And he tried to stab me! But I grabbed the knife away!”

  Jeremy leaped up, panic in his face. “Get away!” he shouted at them. He leaped over a footstool and raced toward the dining room again.

  “Stop him!” Cherise shrieked. “He’s the killer! Stop him! He wants to kill all of us!”

  Eva couldn’t move.

  Keith stood frozen, his fingers nervously clutching the camcorder.

  “Jeremy!” Tania sobbed, racing after him. “Jeremy—why? Why did you do it?”

  chapter 26

  “Stay away!” Jeremy warned.

  With a cry, Tania jumped at him—and tried to grab hold of his windbreaker. Instead, she rammed into his back and knocked him off balance.

  Jeremy pitched forward, then fell straight down.

  A horrible cracking sound echoed through the room as his head slammed against the corner of a low table.

  He groaned once, then didn’t move.

  “Jeremy?” Tania gasped. She shook his shoulder and peered into his face. “He’s knocked out.”

  “Thank goodness!” Cherise cried.

  Eva helped Cherise onto the couch. Keith stood by, a stunned expression on his face. Tania stayed next to Jeremy, keeping one hand on his shoulder.

  “Cherise, what happened?” Eva asked.

  Cherise took a deep, shaky breath. She still held the knife, and stared at it in horror as she spoke. “He tried to stab me,” she told them. “He said he was going to kill me!”

  “But why?” Tania cried. “Why would Jeremy want to kill you?”

  Cherise turned and stared at her. “For you, Tania. He wanted to get revenge for you—by killing Sandy and me.”

  Tania’s eyes filled with tears.

  “He said you were the first family he ever had,” Cherise went on. “He said he couldn’t stand to see you hurt.”

  Tania blinked. The tears spilled out and rolled down her cheeks.

  Eva stared down at Jeremy.

  He told me he got into some trouble at his old school, she remembered. But he didn’t say what. He didn’t want to talk about it. He said it was all in the past.

  What kind of trouble? Eva wondered. Murder?

  Was murder in Jeremy’s past?

  No, he’d be in prison, wouldn’t he?

  Unless he got away with it somehow.

  Eva jumped as Cherise touched her arm. “He told me he was going to kill you too, Eva.”

  “Me?” Eva felt dizzy. “Why would he want to kill me? I’m Tania’s best friend. He knows that!”

  “Yeah, and he doesn’t like it one bit,” Cherise declared. “Tania spends too much time with you, he said. He’s jealous of you, Eva.”

  “But …”

  “I told you what he said about family,” Cherise reminded her. “Jeremy wanted Tania and his mom and dad all to himself. He didn’t want anybody butting in, not even you, Eva. He’s really crazy.”

  Eva shook her head, shocked.

  “And that’s why he sawed the bleacher railing,” Cherise added. “To get rid of you. Thank goodness you didn’t fall!”

  Eva couldn’t take her eyes off Jeremy. He wanted to kill me, she thought in horror. The guy I have a crush on wanted to kill me!

  This can’t be happening. It can’t be!

  Cherise clutched Eva’s arm again. “We have to call the police!”

  “No.” Tania wiped her eyes. “I mean, he’s my brother! And besides …”

  “We have to!” Cherise insisted. “Haven’t you been listening to me? He killed Sandy and he tried to kill me and Eva!”

  Tania sat back. “It just doesn’t make any sense,” she murmured, staring at Jeremy. “How can he be a killer?”

  The room felt warm, but Eva began to shiver. Cherise’s words raced through her mind. Jeremy’s crazy. Jeremy sawed the railing.

  He wanted to get rid of you.

  He’s a killer.

  Is he? Eva wondered desperately. Is it really true?

  “The sooner we call the police, the sooner we’ll all be safe,” Cherise declared. “Keith, would you …” She stopped suddenly as a low moan echoed in the room.

  Jeremy.

  He groaned a second time. His fingers twitched. One of his feet wiggled. But his eyes stayed closed.

  “Call the police!” Cherise whispered urgently. “Hurry—before he wakes up!”

  Jeremy moaned again, louder this time. His hands curled into fists and his eyelids fluttered. “Get away,” he mumbled. “Got to …”

  Cherise’s fingers dug into Eva’s arm. “Please—”

  Jeremy’s eyes snapped open. Rolling to his side, h
e raised himself on one arm and stared at Cherise.

  Cherise slid to the edge of the couch.

  “No!” Jeremy shouted suddenly.

  Cherise began to stand, but her feet got tangled with Eva’s, and she fell back onto the cushion with a gasp.

  “Stop her!” Jeremy yelled. “Don’t let her get away!”

  He scrambled up, swaying a little. Then he pointed across the room at Cherise. “She killed Sandy!”

  chapter 27

  “He’s crazy!” Cherise cried.

  “She killed Sandy,” Jeremy repeated, rubbing the side of his head. “She did it!”

  Tania stared at him in shock.

  Keith backed toward the door, carrying the camcorder.

  Eva stood up slowly. Her gaze skipped back and forth between Jeremy and Cherise.

  Cherise stayed on the couch, her face flushed.

  An angry red bruise had appeared on the side of Jeremy’s forehead. But his eyes were clear and they never left Cherise’s face.

  “He’s crazy!” Cherise repeated. Her voice shook with fear. “Don’t listen to him! He didn’t say a word to me. He just broke into my house, carrying a knife. This knife! I tried to talk to him, to ask him what he was doing, but he didn’t say anything. He just kept coming at me!”

  Jeremy started to speak, but Cherise wouldn’t let him. “He stormed in here like some kind of monster,” she said. “Then he suddenly yelled, ’This is for Tania!’ And he tried to stab me.”

  “That’s a total lie!” Jeremy shouted. “That knife isn’t mine—it’s hers!”

  “That’s not true!” Cherise screamed. “Tania, please, call the police!”

  “Go ahead, Tania,” Jeremy agreed. “Call them.”

  Tania stared at him as if he were crazy.

  “Don’t worry,” Jeremy assured her. “I’ll tell them exactly what happened. I’ll tell all of you. Don’t you want to know the truth?”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Cherise pleaded. “Please, we have to get him out of here. I’m afraid!”

  “Afraid of what?” Jeremy asked. “You have the knife.”

  “And I’m not letting go of it, either,” Cherise cried. “Not while you’re here.”

  Jeremy turned to Eva and the others. “Cherise called me and asked me to come over to her house,” he told them. “A few seconds after I got here, she saw you guys piling out of Keith’s van. And then she screamed.”