Frenzy

by V. J. Chambers

  What was I doing? I’d be better off taking off for my dorm.

  No. Levi knew where I lived. He could get me there.

  I needed to hide. I needed to hide, and then I needed to call my dad and—

  Shit.

  My phone was in my purse. My purse was still in Levi’s car. I hadn’t thought to take it with me when I took off.

  I checked my pockets, panicking. All I had was my ID card.

  No.

  Wait.

  I squinted, panting, hesitating at the doorway.

  That wasn’t my ID card. It was Jill’s.

  No wonder she didn’t have it to let herself in. I had it. I must have grabbed it by mistake.

  Oh, thank Jesus Christ in heaven. One thing was going right tonight. One tiny thing.

  I slid Jill’s ID into the keycard slot by the door.

  Levi barged around the corner of the building, only feet away. “Molly.” He was out of breath. “Let me explain.”

  The door opened.

  I pulled it open and hurried inside.

  It was dark in here, the only light blue and dim moonlight filtering in through the windows.

  I started to run.

  I heard the door shut after me.

  “Molly!”

  His voice. It was close.

  I turned.

  He’d gotten in after me.

  Fuck.

  I barreled down the shadowy hallway, fast as I could.

  But it was no good, because my shoes clattered against the floors, echoing through the silent building.

  I kicked them off—now only in my socks.

  I careened down the hallway, sliding on the polished floors.

  Shoes in one hand, one hand trailing against the wall to know where I was going in the darkness, I moved silently and quickly.

  I turned a corner. This building was laid out like a maze—some kind of crazy design plan from the 1970s, all angles and twists. The wall fell away.

  I moved forward blindly, blinking hard as my eyes adjusted.

  Finally, I could barely make out that I was in the lobby area where Jill did her work study. I could see the shadowy, hulking image of the desk she usually sat behind.

  I dove for the desk and crouched down behind it.

  Now I wasn’t moving, but I was still breathing fast and hard.

  My breath was so loud. It seemed to me like it was echoing off of every solid surface in the whole building.

  I forced myself to breathe more quietly, swallowing air.

  My heart was pounding. My pulse beat against my temples. The muscles in my legs twitched from running so fast.

  And then I heard him.

  He was tearing through the hallway. He didn’t even stop to look for me.

  He just kept on running.

  I waited, my heart in my throat.

  Had it been long enough?

  Had he gone far enough?

  I wasn’t sure.

  But I didn’t like being behind this desk. I felt too exposed. I needed someplace else…

  The dark rooms!

  I remembered that when I was with Jill the one day, she’d shown me those dark rooms that they used as storage. They were just down the hallway—the opposite direction that Levi had gone.

  As carefully as I could, I got to my feet.

  I crept out from behind the desk, checking for any sign of him.

  Everything was quiet.

  I moved down the hallway, gripping Jill’s keycard in one hand.

  I felt along the walls for the door. There should be an old dark room here. Any step I was going to find it.

  But there was nothing but smooth, painted concrete under my fingers.

  Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure if they were on this side of the hallway or not. I thought I remembered them being on either side, doors across from each other. But maybe I should try the other side of the hallway?

  I felt like I was way too far down the hall. I thought the first door had been closer…

  I pressed forward, still feeling along the wall.

  There. A door.

  I sighed in relief. There was one here.

  I inserted Jill’s keycard into the slot.

  I pulled it out.

  The little light on the door flashed red.

  I tried the handle.

  Still locked.

  Shit. That was right. Jill said she always had to do this twice.

  I inserted and removed the keycard again.

  The light flashed green.

  I tugged the door open. It creaked.

  I threw myself inside. I pulled the door closed.

  The sound of it clicking shut echoed through the hallway.

  Damn it.

  Did he know where I was now?

  I rested against the door.

  Well, it didn’t matter if he did, because he couldn’t get into this room. I was safe.

  I slid down the door, sitting down on the ground. I slid my shoes back onto my feet.

  Fuck.

  I sat there for a long time, doing nothing but listening to the sound of my blood thrumming in my veins, my breath steadying and evening out.

  It was pitch black in the room, and the air was stuffy. But I was locked in here, and no one could find me.

  I was going to be okay.

  Well…

  Actually, now that I thought about it, this was a stupid plan. I couldn’t hide in the dark room forever, could I?

  Levi was a cop.

  Oh, Jesus, Levi was a cop.

  That was why he had a gun. That was why he wouldn’t tell me what it was for. That was why he was twenty-five, posing as a college student.

  I couldn’t believe I’d bought that stupid revenge story about his brother. I was an idiot.

  How could I not have seen this?

  All the signs were there. He didn’t do drugs, but he was a drug dealer.

  Wait a second. Were cops allowed to sell drugs?

  That seemed weird to me. As far as I knew, cops generally went undercover because they were trying to bust dealers, so they generally posed as buyers, not dealers. What kind of people could Levi bust posing as a smalltime ecstasy dealer? A bunch of college kids buying a few pills at parties? It hardly seemed worth the effort.

  But then, what was Levi obsessed with?

  Meeting Professor X.

  That was what this had all been about. He was trying to take down Professor X. He’d been using Cori to try to get to him, and when Cori died, then he’d used me.

  Hell, he’d even admitted it.

  So, did it have anything to do with my family?

  Maybe he hadn’t known who I was.

  And once he found out, he hadn’t tried to arrest me or anything, had he?

  Maybe he wasn’t going to try.

  But he was still a danger to me. He knew too much about me.

  I took a deep breath.

  Okay, okay. Levi was a cop, and he was after Professor X. Was there any good reason to stay locked up in this dark room? If Levi was going to arrest me, he knew where I lived. Hiding here only meant that I was cut off from the world.

  The best thing I could do would be to get out of this place and get back to my room, where I could use the dorm phone to call my dad. My dad would know what to do.

  Okay.

  I stood up.

  When I did, I must have hit the light switch with my back, because the room was suddenly bathed in brilliant light.

  It startled me, and I let out a little scream.

  Shit.

  If Levi didn’t know where I was before, he probably would now.

  My gaze swept the interior of the room. It wasn’t the same one that Jill had put cameras in. This room was jam packed full of…

  Suitcases?

  Huh.

  There were two suitcases stacked on top of each other. And a microwave. And… was that a mini-fridge? There were also a bunch of boxes, hastily taped closed.

  One was bulging open
, the tape nearly giving way. I could see the top of a picture frame sticking out of it.

  This was really strange. It was as if someone had packed up a dorm room and stuck it inside the dark room. Who would do that? Why would someone do that?

  On impulse, I pulled aside the tape on the box, freeing the picture frame.

  And then I dropped it.

  It clattered against the floor.

  The picture was of Cori and Jill, their arms around each other, both grinning at the camera.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Why was there a picture of Cori in these boxes?

  I tore open another box. It was full of notebooks.

  I opened one.

  Time Out, a play one act by Cori Donovan, it read.

  I paged through the notebook. There were lines and scene directions, all written out in careful handwriting. Handwriting that matched the writing on the envelopes.

  I pulled out another notebook.

  Chemistry notes.

  I swallowed.

  This was Cori’s stuff. She hadn’t taken it with her after all. Instead, she’d stashed it in the art building, in one of the dark rooms.

  Why would she do that?

  How did she do that? She didn’t have access to these rooms, unless she took Jill’s keycard, like I did.

  But if she did that, then how did she get the keycard back to Jill? Did she do that before she was murdered? She went back to the dorm, gave Jill back the keycard—

  No, Jill said she didn’t see Cori after the fight, so that must have meant that Cori was there alone.

  But why would Cori put her stuff here?

  Because if she gave the keycard back, then she couldn’t get at it again. So…

  It went through me like a shudder.

  I backed up, my hand going to my mouth.

  I scrambled behind me for the door handle.

  I couldn’t stand to be in that room anymore.

  The door gave way behind me, and I burst out into the hallway, my mind racing.

  “Molly.”

  I turned.

  Levi stood in the hallway, illuminated by the light from the dark room. He started for me.

  I held up my hands. “No. Stay back.”

  He halted. “Why did you run from me?”

  I was reeling. It suddenly felt as if the events of the evening were miles away, as if they didn’t even matter anymore. I tried to concentrate. What was he saying?

  “What’s going on?” said Levi.

  “You’re… you lied to me,” I said. “You’re a cop.”

  “Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But you told me you hated cops, and I just couldn’t… The whole thing between us is so complicated.”

  I shook my head. “Is it? Aren’t you using me, like you said?”

  “No,” he said. “I swear, I’m not.”

  “So, you aren’t trying to use me to infiltrate Professor X’s operation?”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “You always knew I was doing that.”

  “Not to arrest him.”

  He looked down at the ground.

  “I can’t believe I fell for that sob story about your brother.”

  “Hey,” said Levi. “That was true. Dwayne’s the reason I went to work in law enforcement. It’s only that I’m not after his killers. They were taken care of a long time ago by some very brave men, who went undercover to find them and stop them. The guys who killed my brother are rotting away in jail. And now what I do is that same thing for other people who’ve lost someone. I take out the bad guys.”

  “Aren’t I one of the bad guys, Levi?”

  “No, this isn’t about you.”

  “It’s not. You aren’t going to arrest me?”

  “Why would I do that? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Haven’t I? Hell, how many times have you seen me rolling? You sold me drugs. You and I were rolling together.”

  His shoulders sagged. “That was… it was hardly my choice.”

  “Fuck you,” I said. “Whatever you are, you’re a liar. And I could never trust you. I hate you.” And then I turned and ran again, careening down the hallway as fast as I could.

  “Molly.” His voice was agonized. “Molly, please, wait.”

  I didn’t.

  * * *

  I pushed open the door to the art building and into the frozen air.

  I wasn’t sure exactly where I was headed. The world had turned upside down, and I was still trying to find my center of balance.

  Levi wasn’t going to arrest me.

  But…

  My room. I couldn’t…

  A shadowy figure stepped into my path. He was wearing a hood that obscured his features. “There you are. I thought you’d tried to back out of our deal.”

  Shit. I’d almost forgotten why I was here in the first place. I swallowed. “The money. It’s in the car.” I turned around in a circle, disoriented.

  There was the building. There was the parking lot. So Levi’s car…

  I spied it. It was still running.

  “There.” I pointed.

  “In the car, huh?”

  I started for it. “Unless he took it or something. Then it’s in there.”

  The door to the building opened, and Levi ran out, his eyes wild.

  I took off running for the car.

  When I made it there, I yanked open the door and fished out my purse. I unzipped it, going through it.

  The envelopes were there.

  I let out a breath.

  I turned back. Levi was standing next to the man in the hood. The two were speaking.

  “No!” I cried. “Don’t talk to him. You can’t trust him.”

  The hooded man’s head snapped up.

  “Motherfucker, Molly,” said Levi.

  I hurried back to the two of them. I slammed the envelopes into the hooded man’s hand. “Get out of here. Get out of here now. It’s not safe for you.”

  The man looked back and forth between Levi and me, seeming wary. Then he shoved the money into the pocket of his hoodie and jogged away without another word.

  Levi folded his arms over his chest. “You gotta sabotage this too?”

  “You kidding?” I said. “I’m going to tell everyone what you are. You won’t have any more contacts on this campus once everyone finds out you’re a narc.”

  His upper lip twisted. “You’re that angry with me.”

  “You gonna stop me? You going to arrest me?”

  His nostrils flared. “Don’t be ridiculous, Molly. I would never do that. Besides, I think you’ve got a lot more leverage than I do. You tell anyone at my job what kind of relationship we have, and I’m done.”

  “We don’t have a relationship, Levi.” I glared at him. “Or whatever your name is.”

  He flinched.

  I started to walk away.

  He caught me by the arm. “Molly, please.”

  I shook him off. “I thought I’d cured you of grabbing me.”

  He licked his lips. “I put everything on the line for you, do you understand that? Because it’s not only inappropriate for me to get involved with someone who’s your age. You’re also a drug user. And you’re the daughter of Patrick Colligan. So, even if you hate me, you could at least respect what I risked here. Please, if any of this meant anything to you, keep your mouth shut.”

  I started to walk away.

  “Molly,” he called after me. “I care about you. I thought you cared about me too.”

  I was going to start crying again. I could feel it.

  “Please, I would never do anything that hurt you.”

  The tears spilled out over my cheeks. “I’m not making any promises.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I shoved clothes into my backpack. I couldn’t stay in my dorm room. I knew that. I needed to get away from here. I would have liked to take all of my stuff. I didn’t trust any of it here, not exactly. But I knew that I couldn’t get it al
l fast enough, so I’d have to take what I could carry and work something out later.

  I also wasn’t sure about where I was going to go.

  Back when I’d been locked up in the dark room, calling my father had seemed like the obvious solution, but now, I wasn’t so sure.

  It wasn’t that I trusted Levi, because I didn’t. But there was something about the way his voice had sounded when he told me that he would never hurt me.

  I remembered the way it had felt when we were together in bed, the way he’d touched me.

  I didn’t want to hurt him either. And if I told my father about Levi and what he was, I was basically signing Levi’s death warrant. I knew exactly how my family dealt with problems of this nature.

  I couldn’t do that to him.

  Of course, for all I knew, he was off reporting the whole thing to some superior officer, and my family was in danger because of it.

  Still, it wasn’t as if my family had never been in danger before. My father had been to jail. He’d gotten out.

  As for the other problem, the reason that I couldn’t be in my dorm—well, I didn’t see what help my father would be with that situation. Sure, I could go home, but I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to sink back into that world—my depressed, dramatic mother and my estranged parents. No, I’d come here to be free of all of that.

  I’d find someplace else to stay. I’d find—

  There was a knock on the door. “Molly? You in there?”

  Jill. Shit. I’d hoped to be packed and gone before she got here. Too late now.

  I went over and opened the door.

  “Hey.” She grinned. “Someone let me in downstairs. I guess I’m going to have to get another ID card made. I have no idea where mine is.”

  I handed over her card. “I must have picked it up by mistake.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Great.” She peered around me. “Are you packing up?”

  I swallowed. I put my hands in my pockets. “I used your keycard to get into one of the dark rooms in the art building tonight.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Why were you in the art building?”

  “That’s not important. The important thing is that I found her stuff, Jill. I know.”

  Jill looked even more confused. “You know what?”

  “Don’t play dumb,” I said. “I know that you killed Cori.”

  Jill’s face froze.

  I walked back across the room and zipped up my backpack. “The way I figure it, what you said about getting in a fight with Cori is just a lie. Instead, you killed her. You hid her stuff in the dark room. You said that no one ever looks in those rooms except you. You’re the only one who gets things out of storage and puts them back. I don’t know if you planned to leave her stuff there forever, or if you were waiting for a chance to move it someplace else. Maybe when it was warmer or something. Maybe you’d toss it in the river too.”