Dan looked very surprised when she mentioned the name “Phil.” He paled. Then the color all came back in a rush as if he were embarrassed.
“Gee, Sharon, he was at the party with his buddies. He never left. Neither did they. They were all standing right beside you in the pool the whole time. They couldn’t have knocked the girl over the head, dragged her body to a van, and made their getaway.”
“Why did you keep telling me to watch out for Phil?”
He bit his lip. He blushed even more deeply. “I guess I was more than a little bit jealous.”
“You don’t have any idea who did it?”
Dan crushed his Coke can in his hand. “I know all right. But don’t ask me. It wouldn’t be very safe to tell you.” His lips were set in a firm, unyielding line.
She was stunned. “Is it safe for you to know?”
He gave an odd sort of chuckle. “You know, I think having the police suspect me and follow me around all the time is keeping me alive. Otherwise, the murderer would waste me quicker than you could bat an eyelash.”
“But I’ve got police following me around, too!”
He shook his head. “I’m not gonna take a chance like that. You’re already in enough danger. Believe me. I’d die before I’d let you get hurt.”
She felt a hot blush rising up her neck and spreading over her cheeks. She looked away shyly. Dan really did like her. In fact, he seemed to like her a lot more than she’d ever imagined last summer when she broke up with him for taking her for granted.
Suddenly his lips landed on her nose, slipped past it, and kissed her on the cheek. Before she quite realized what had happened, he did it again. This time his aim was better. His lips met hers straight on. He kissed her hesitantly at first as if not sure of himself. His lips barely brushed hers.
Her pulse quickened. It was hard to hear anything except her heart thundering in her ears. Without even thinking about it, she closed her eyes and tilted her head upward. Before she knew it, she was kissing him back.
A tremor went through her. Her arms slipped around his waist and clutched him. It seemed she might lose her balance.
Sharon pushed him away. “We’d better stop,” she said, catching her breath. But she felt happier than she had for a long time. Now she had someone else to share everything with. Even if she couldn’t see him very often, she’d at least know he was thinking of her just as she was always thinking of him.
They cleaned up their brown lunch bags, plastic Baggies, and paper napkins and stashed her root beer can. Just as they were getting up to go, Sharon put her hand on Dan’s arm. “Why don’t you go to the police and tell them what you know? Get yourself off the hook?”
“I don’t have enough evidence yet to persuade the police. I’ve gotta keep on investigating.”
“Be careful, Dan.”
They heard the bell for the start of fifth period. In an instant, Dan was gone.
Chapter 12
Sharon slept with her cellular phone under her pillow. It was her only fragile link to Dan.
They’d perfected the knack of communicating. Dan was always brought to school by two police officers. She came with her father or Phil. She waited until she could duck into the ladies’ room and he was at his locker.
Sometimes they’d call each other between classes when they were walking down the hall alone and not too many people were around. Their favorite time for using their flip phones was during lunch when they sat on opposite sides of the cafeteria.
But they didn’t want to talk too often for fear somebody might catch on.
Above all they didn’t want to meet in the woods too frequently.
Sharon tried again and again to persuade Dan to tell her who had committed the murders. But just as often as she asked, he remained silent. So they talked about unimportant things mostly—classes, quizzes, and teachers, just like other kids. In fact, for a few moments at a time they almost felt normal.
Then one day whenever Sharon glanced over her shoulder, Sue, Angel, Vicki, or Irene appeared to be staring at her. Then they looked away and pretended to be doing something else.
During lunch when she tried to sit alone in the cafeteria. Sue, Angel, Vicki, or Irene sat beside her. Even when she ate her food slowly and tried to linger, they, too, ate slowly and lingered. They would sit with her until the bell. Then everyone was forced to leave.
Sharon and Dan exchanged helpless glances. She didn’t have a chance to call.
Sharon decided to bring her homework with her the next day. She sat alone at an empty table, conspicuously spread out her notebook and her history book next to her, and pretended to be engrossed. She tried to take up as much space as possible so no one would feel welcome.
“Cramming for a test?” asked Irene. “At least I hope that’s the right lingo. I’m getting pretty good at it for a Brit, aren’t I?”
“Big test fifth period!” Sharon sighed and went right back to her work.
She tried hard not to let her nervousness show. Irene never seemed to have to answer for her actions. The police never asked her questions. No one trailed or made fun of her no matter how many “Best of the Best” invitations she sent out to a party where three girls were abducted and murdered, no matter how many knives she threw into pools, no matter how many times she was caught with binoculars snooping, and no matter how many suspicious sketches she left lying around for all to see.
Sharon supposed it was just the privileges of the very rich. Whatever Irene was up to was probably just a game to her. If there was one thing for certain, Irene never took anything very seriously. Her casual, breezy manner was enough to drive Sharon stark raving mad.
“I never bother to cram for tests,” said Irene. “I study the night before, but then I sleep on it. My father always told me that’s the best tactic. Don’t you agree?”
Sharon grunted in reply. But Irene didn’t appear to get the message. She went on chatting for the entire lunch period all by herself, talking enough for two people. Nor did she bother to get up until the bell rang. Then she said, “Best of luck, Sharon. I guess you’ll need it.”
“Right!” said Sharon.
Irene was so weird! She acted as if nothing had happened. She talked about the same things she would have the day they first met. Her breezy manner hadn’t changed either—except that now she was following Sharon around.
Again Sharon and Dan exchanged looks of despair. Another lunch period was wasted, another golden opportunity missed.
Right after school was another time they’d been able to call each other. Everyone was in such a mad dash to get out of the building that Sharon had found they didn’t pay too much attention to what she was doing. But just as she was standing beside her locker fishing her phone out of her purse, she heard a, “Hi! What’s up?”
Sharon leaped about a foot. Sue was standing next to her.
“Oh, nothing much I guess.” Sharon hoped Sue would disappear. Sue was worse than Irene. At first she’d made friends with Sharon and acted suspicious of Irene herself. Now she appeared to have joined the enemy’s camp—all without batting an eyelash.
“‘Bout ready to take up residence in a jail cell the last I heard. Huh?” Sue said sarcastically.
In less serious circumstances Sharon would have laughed. But she didn’t find the remark very amusing right now. “Oh, I don’t know. If the police would ever do their job instead of following me around, they might discover the murderer.”
“Or rather you might if you’d get off cloud number nine about Dan.”
Sue’s mention of Dan struck Sharon with a chill. What did she know? What had she seen? They’d been so careful.
“I used to feel sorry for him, but now I see what I see.”
“Is that right?” Sharon couldn’t help acting huffy.
“Oh, I know you have a thing for him. That’s all too obvious. But you’d better drop him like a hot potato if you know what’s good for you. If you don’t, you’re gonna see your picture on Most Wanted pos
ters pretty soon.”
“You know very well I can’t have anything to do with Dan even if I want to. The police trail both of us around constantly.”
Sue snorted and rolled her eyes as if she knew better. She left Sharon standing there.
Sharon was frozen to the spot, afraid to move, afraid to breathe. Sue must know more than she let on. She must have seen something.
She hurriedly dialed Dan’s cellular number. He picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”
“Dan, it’s real trouble!” Maybe she’d caught him just in time.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t want any. I don’t own a house. So I don’t need any cabinet refinishing.” Then he hung up.
That was their agreement. If they couldn’t talk, they were to act as if the caller was trying to sell something and hang up. The police must be escorting him home right now.
But what was she going to do? School was over for the day. She needed to speak to him now and it was too late.
Worse, Phil was waiting for her as soon as she walked out of the building. She had to put up with him all the way home. He invited himself in for a Coke, and by then she was tired. She wasn’t alone until after dinner. It was getting very late. She couldn’t keep her eyes open long enough to finish her homework. She fell asleep worrying and woke up in the middle of the night.
She didn’t know what Dan did with his phone once he went home. Maybe he stuffed it inside a drawer. Maybe he left it in his pants pocket hanging in the closet. If she called now, she might wake up the whole house.
But she knew she had to take the chance. She didn’t turn on her overhead light. She sat in the moonlight at the top of the tower and dialed.
“Hello?” Dan answered after the first ring. He sounded sleepy. “Is that you?”
He must keep his phone under his pillow the way she did. “Yes, it’s me. She kept her voice very low. “Dan, I think somebody’s seen us. Irene, Angel, Vicki, and Sue follow me around everywhere. That’s why I haven’t called you. I’m desperate.”
“Meet me tomorrow in the woods—if you can get away…. I’ve gotta go. My mother’s coming.”
Before Sharon could say another word, Dan hung up.
Just as usual the next day, Irene and Sue were everywhere. Irene even walked her to study hall. When she got a pass to go to the library, Irene did likewise. Irene told Sharon that she just had to get some studying done. The library was the only place quiet enough. Then, of course, Irene managed to sit down right next to her at the table and spread out her books. Not long after that, Sue, Angel, and Vicki showed up.
“Hi, guys!” Sue said. “Call us the Brain Trust. Maybe we should all get together and study for something, huh? How about that horrible history test on Thursday?”
Angel exchanged glances with Irene. Angel sat down and fidgeted with her chair getting it pulled in just right. Then she combed her hair. After that, she laid out her books and started shuffling papers. She never was one for studying.
Sharon couldn’t help staring at her. What was going on here?
Sharon glared at Vicki. Vicki was as rigid as a statue. She read without hardly even breathing. Then she looked up and smiled at Sharon, but the smile was forced.
Sharon couldn’t stand this anymore. Dan was in the woods waiting for her by now, impatiently wondering if she’d ever show up. But if she got up just now, somebody would follow her. These girls had her trapped.
“Gee,” she peered deep into her backpack, “I guess I forgot my history book. Be right back!” Sharon was off. She got the hall pass and in no time was off to the woods.
Dan was waiting for her.
“Oh, Dan!” Sharon ran right into his arms. “What are we gonna do? I just barely made it. Sue, Angel, Vicki, and Irene were with me the whole time. They had me cornered at a table in the library. I had to get a hall pass to pretend I was going back to my locker, so I can’t stay long. What does it mean? Why are they following me?”
Dan looked like he was far away in his own thoughts. His face had a grim cast to it. He held his chin rigid and his lips were pressed tightly together in a narrow line.
Sharon had a sinking feeling. “You know, don’t you?”
He paled. He turned away from her suddenly. Then he leaned his forehead against the tree in despair.
“It can’t be that bad, can it?” she asked. She was wringing her hands. She’d thought maybe Irene and Sue were onto them. But the way Dan was acting he made it seem worse than that. How was it possible?
There was a policeman standing not five feet away from her. She turned the other direction. There stood another policeman. She turned around the way she had come. Another policeman. She turned to the woods. Still another.
“Dan, we’re surrounded!”
“I know,” he said. “I know.”
The police dragged both her and Dan out of school that day and down to the station house. All the kids in the school peered out of the windows or even ran out of their classrooms to see the police car with its flashing blue and red lights.
The police called both sets of parents to come down to the station house immediately. It was Sharon’s lucky day. Her father happened to be in town. Her mother was able to get Phil to take over for her at the front desk, thanks to Tony.
Sharon didn’t want to face them. She even hid her face in Dan’s shoulder when they rushed in the door, her mother gushing, “What’s happened now?” Her mother’s eyes were red and puffy from crying.
Sharon’s father glared at her sternly in his three-piece business suit. His dark gray hair and sideburns with hints of silver and the bald spot in the middle of his head made him look distinguished as always.
“Dan, what are we gonna do?” Sharon whispered.
No answer. Dan seemed to be a thousand miles away.
It was bad enough that her mother kept casting glances at Sharon, bursting into tears, taking out a tissue, and blowing her nose. Then Mr. Evans showed up.
He was wearing his “Ocean High” sweatshirt that he always wore on the days when he was coaching boys’ soccer after school. His hair was very short, which emphasized his thin, angular appearance. A nice-guy smile was plastered all over his face as he greeted the officers.
But it disappeared when he spotted Dan. He tried to approach his son, but the officers told him to take a seat. There would be plenty of time for talking later.
Sharon didn’t think Dan had even seen his father enter the room.
Mrs. Evans wandered into the room next. She looked spaced-out. Still absent-mindedly clutching a bag of groceries, no doubt she’d been paged on the loudspeaker at the grocery store. Finally a policeman offered to put her bag of groceries inside the station house refrigerator, and her husband waved to her from his seat.
Sharon nudged Dan. But he’d taken out a piece of paper and was scribbling all sorts of mysterious numbers and diagrams on it. He obviously hadn’t seen his mother, either.
The police chief cleared his throat, looked pointedly at Sharon and Dan, and said, “I regret the necessity of calling you in like this. But since Dan Evans and Sharon Jones are still minors and you are the parents responsible for them, we thought we’d give you some taste of what’s going on.”
“Sir, has my son done something else?” Mrs. Evans raised her hand. “We’ve been so careful. We’ve done everything you asked. I don’t see how he could possibly—”
“Just listen, Mrs. Evans!” The police chief made ready to turn on a tape.
“Should we have our lawyer present?” Mr. Jones asked in his stern, gravelly voice.
“You’re welcome to call your lawyers afterwards,” the chief said as he flicked on the tape. “In fact, I recommend that you do.”
Sharon stared at the tape, unable to imagine what could be on it to incriminate her. But after some initial static, Sharon didn’t have long to wait before she heard. The voices sounded all too familiar:
“You don’t have any idea who did it?”
“I know all right. But
don’t ask me. It wouldn’t be very safe to tell you.”
“Is it safe for you to know?”
Chuckle. “You know, I think having the police suspect me and follow me around all the time is keeping me alive. Otherwise, the murderer would waste me…”
Sharon turned purple, hid her face in her hands, and wished she could drop through the floor. Dan should have been even more embarrassed. But he still seemed absorbed in his mysterious calculations.
Mercifully, the tape came to an end. Sharon was in tears. She didn’t dare meet her parents’ gaze. She couldn’t face them ever again.
“Your son’s out of jail on bail awaiting trial, Mr. and Mrs. Evans,” the police chief said. “Everybody’s supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, but this is a bit much. If he didn’t commit the murders himself, he claims he’s buddies with the murderer and isn’t gonna squeal…”
Sharon thought, That isn’t what Dan said at all. He said he was collecting evidence against the murderer. The police are twisting Dan’s words and putting their own spin on them.
She nudged Dan, but he didn’t move. He didn’t seem to care what anybody said. He didn’t bother to defend himself. He was too absorbed in his own calculations.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Don’t think your daughter isn’t in big trouble, too.” The police chief continued. “Sharon is Dan’s accomplice. We’ve suspected that for quite awhile, especially since the last pool party, but now we have proof. She might not know much. But she obviously helps him out. You can be convicted of murder even if you don’t wield a knife.”
Chapter 13
Sharon’s parents laid down the law. She wasn’t even allowed out of the house without her parents or Phil. Sharon passed Dan in the hallway at school from time to time. All they could do was exchange glances. They weren’t allowed to speak.
How had the police found out about her and Dan’s meeting in the woods to begin with?
Who had gotten physically close enough to her over the past few days to plant a mike on her clothes? There were her parents, of course. There was Phil. There were Irene, Sue, Vicki, and Angel.
Pool Party Page 9
