Watching

by Blake Pierce

  “Well, that would work too, I guess,” he said.

  His laughter died down and he added, “What path you choose to take is up to you. The thing is, Aikido is as much a philosophy as a self-defense system. You could even call it a way of life—a life in which violence and aggression evaporate in your very hands, with your every breath.”

  Riley didn’t know how to reply to that.

  Finally Professor Hayman added, “Give it a try for a couple of lessons. See if it grows on you. Whether it does or not, I’m pleased to have you in my class. You’re always a pleasure to teach, Riley.”

  Riley felt herself blush a little. She remembered something Trudy had once said about her …

  “Riley likes to impress Professor Hayman. She’s got a thing for him.”

  As she stood looking at her handsome teacher, Riley wondered …

  Do I have a “thing” for him?

  If so, she figured she’d better keep it to herself. Professor Hayman didn’t seem like the kind of professor who’d get romantically involved with a female student. And if he were that kind of professor, Riley knew she ought to steer clear of him.

  She said goodbye and headed out of the gym.

  She found someone waiting for her in the hallway—the guy who had been her sparring partner during the class.

  He grinned at her shyly and said, “I don’t think we’ve really been introduced. I’m Leon Heffernan.”

  “I’m Riley Sweeney,” she said, offering him her hand to shake. “Are you a student here at Lanton?”

  “Yeah, I’m a philosophy major. And you?”

  “Psychology.”

  Leon shuffled his feet nervously, then said, “Listen, I hope you don’t mind my asking … but would you like to go somewhere for coffee or something?”

  Riley realized she would very much like to do that, but unfortunately, Gina had agreed to pick her up in her car right now. They had errands to run for their housemates.

  “Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t,” she said.

  But then something occurred to her.

  She said, “My housemates and I are planning a big party for tonight. Pretty much anybody and everybody is invited. Would you like to come? If you’re not too busy, I mean?”

  Leon’s eyes twinkled.

  “Thanks, that sounds great,” he said.

  Riley wrote down the address on a slip of paper and handed it to him. Then she heard a car horn honk outside the building.

  “That’s my ride, so I’ve got to go,” she said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  She hurried out the door and got into Gina’s car.

  Gina grumbled, “I thought you weren’t ever coming out.”

  “Sorry, I got kind of detained,” Riley said.

  She added to herself …

  By two handsome men, one of whom I have a date with.

  It was almost enough to make her forget how badly things had ended with Ryan.

  “We’d better get a move on,” Gina said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to buy for the party, and not a lot of time.”

  As Gina started driving, Riley suddenly felt a weird chill.

  It was a palpable feeling of the killer’s presence, as if he were watching her right now.

  She was startled. She hadn’t felt anything like this lately. She’d been doing whatever she could to put the murders out of her mind. She hadn’t even talked to Agent Crivaro for the last couple of days. The last time they’d spoken, he’d assured her that he and his team were staying in Lanton for a while longer.

  Riley was glad of that.

  She was also glad she was learning something about self-defense.

  Deep down in her gut, she felt sure she was going to need it—perhaps sometime very soon.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  Riley felt trapped and isolated.

  The house that she shared with four other girls always felt pretty crowded …

  But not like tonight, Riley thought.

  She looked around at the partiers jam-packed into the downstairs living-dining area and wondered …

  Am I having fun yet?

  She really didn’t think so.

  A big blowout before finals week had certainly seemed like a good idea when she and her housemates planned it. Riley herself was plenty ready for exams. Last-minute studying was never her style. And a party should be a good way for Lanton students to let off some of the anxiety still hanging over the campus after two murders.

  It seemed to be working for just about everybody except Riley.

  The music was deafening.

  Beer was flowing freely from the two kegs she and Gina had brought home with the other party supplies, and there was a strong scent of pot in the air. A lot of dancing and chattering and making out was going on, and Riley’s four housemates were mingling among the guests.

  By contrast, Riley stood alone in a corner drinking beer from a plastic cup. She wasn’t feeling any kind of a buzz in spite of consuming quite a lot of beer. Pot normally wasn’t her thing, but she thought maybe she’d give it a try soon if she didn’t feel herself loosening up a little.

  Meanwhile, she really wasn’t crazy about this party—and after several days in this house, she wasn’t all that happy about her new living arrangement.

  She and Gina and Cassie got along just fine, just like they had back at the dorm. But as far as Riley was concerned, Aurora was a shallow twit who talked endlessly about things that bored her to death, and Stephanie certainly lived up to what Gina had said about her over the phone …

  “She’s kind of a tyrant, if you want to know the truth.”

  Stephanie was a stickler for rules and organization, and she’d posted lists of chores and obligations all over the place. And right now, she was even going around telling guests what to do …

  Like she’s directing a movie or something.

  Riley reminded herself that this was temporary. Exams began next week and graduation would come soon after that.

  At the moment, she couldn’t help wondering—would everything seem better if Ryan Paige walked through the door? She hadn’t been in touch with him since she left his apartment, and she felt the loss more than she’d expected.

  She knew that law school graduation was earlier than it was for undergraduates. So maybe he wasn’t even in school anymore. Maybe he’d already finished up and left.

  Would she ever see him again?

  The idea really saddened her.

  Then all of a sudden, a familiar song blared over the stereo.

  It was “Whiskey in the Jar” by Metallica—the same song she’d heard at the Centaur’s Den the night of Rhea’s murder.

  Riley shuddered deep inside, trying to fight down a flood of horrifying memories.

  Should she go over to the stereo and change songs?

  No, everyone else seemed to be enjoying the music, so it would be a rude thing to do.

  Maybe I should just get out of here, Riley thought with a sigh.

  She was trying to decide where else she might go when the front door opened and someone she recognized came in.

  She smiled. It was Leon Heffernan, the guy who had been her sparring partner in the Aikido class.

  Riley had almost forgotten that she’d invited him, but here he was—and at the moment, he was looking as out of place as Riley felt.

  Riley pushed her way among the partiers toward him.

  When she got within earshot, she spoke loudly over the music, “Hey, Leon! Glad you could make it!”

  He smiled, looking relieved to see a familiar face.

  “I’m glad too,” he said loudly back.

  “Come on, let’s get you some beer,” Riley said.

  She tugged him by the hand toward the kegs, where he poured himself a plastic cup of beer and Riley refilled her own. Then they retreated to the corner where Riley had been standing before.

  Riley held up her cup and said, “Here’s to finals.”

  He tapped his cup against hers and said, “Yeah, to f
inals.”

  They both sipped their beers.

  Then Leon looked around and said, “Some party, huh?”

  Riley smiled at the clumsy remark.

  “You could say that,” she replied unenthusiastically.

  Then they were both silent for a few moments. The awkwardness between them didn’t surprise Riley—she and Leon barely knew each other, after all. Still, one of them needed to say something instead of just standing there.

  What did he say his major was?

  Then she remembered.

  She said, “So. Philosophy.”

  Leon nodded and said, “Yeah.”

  “Sounds like pretty deep stuff,” Riley said.

  Leon’s eyes seemed to light up a little.

  “Not so deep,” he said. “And actually, there’s a lot of overlap between philosophy and your major—psychology, right?”

  “Right.”

  Leon said, “I mean, think about colors. What are they, really?”

  Riley felt an odd flash of déjà vu.

  Have I had this conversation before? she wondered.

  “I give up,” she said. “What are colors?”

  Leon shrugged and said, “Well, scientifically, there’s no such thing as color. There are only varying wavelengths of light. And yet … we experience color all the time. Red, green, blue—all the colors of the rainbow seem plenty real to us. But how do we experience something that doesn’t exist in the real world? And what are colors, really?”

  Riley throat caught a little as she remembered …

  Trudy used to talk about this same topic sometimes when she’d had a few too many drinks. She’d been fascinated by the nature of color and how people experienced it.

  Leon took another sip of his beer and added, “So it sure seems to me that whole question of color has to do with both psychology and philosophy.”

  Riley thought back to how she and her friends used to tease Trudy whenever she started talking like that.

  Now she really wished they hadn’t.

  In fact, it suddenly seemed like a really interesting topic, and she wished Trudy were here to join in the conversation.

  The thought of Trudy made her sad.

  Leon said loudly, “Don’t you think it’s kind of hard having a conversation with so much noise?”

  Riley nodded in agreement.

  Leon added, “Why don’t we go somewhere more quiet?”

  Riley studied his face for a moment.

  Is that a pickup line? she wondered.

  If so, was that a good thing or a bad thing?

  She looked Leon over and observed again how good-looking he was—tall and muscular with a handsome face. But he didn’t seem the least bit vain.

  And smart too, she thought.

  Maybe what she needed tonight was a little excitement.

  She smiled at him and said, “Come on, let’s go to my room. It’ll be quieter there.”

  She led Leon by the hand up the stairs to the second floor, then up the narrower flight of stairs into her attic room. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed by how modest her room was. The ceiling was slanted on either side, so there wasn’t much space for a tall guy like Leon to even walk around. Even with the window open, it was also stuffy.

  There was also hardly any furniture—just a couple of chairs and a table and a fold-out futon.

  At least the noise from downstairs was more muffled here.

  Riley said, “I’m sorry this place is so …”

  Before she could get out an apology, Leon grabbed her and pulled her against him and kissed her.

  Riley was startled—but not displeased.

  She felt a raw heat rising up inside her—feelings that she’d been repressing lately out of anxiety and fear.

  She reminded herself …

  You don’t really know him.

  But somehow, she couldn’t make herself care. It was almost like being a reckless teenager again.

  And she liked that feeling.

  As the kiss continued, Leon started to maneuver Riley over to the futon.

  She started to get uneasy.

  Things are moving awfully fast, she thought.

  Vague, wordless worries started to crowd into her mind.

  Riley struggled to put her thoughts together …

  A good-looking guy …

  … interesting conversation …

  So good-looking and interesting, in fact, that she’d felt OK inviting him into her room.

  Then with a shock she remembered imagining how the killer had made his way into the dorm room with Trudy—all charm and fascinating talk.

  It’s him! she thought with horror.

  She tried to pull herself away from him, but he held her fast.

  And he was a lot stronger than she was.

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  Riley struggled to pull free, but Leon was much bigger and stronger than she was. She could feel buttons tearing loose as he yanked at her blouse. Then he was clawing at her bra.

  “Stop it!” she yelled breathlessly. “Stop!”

  But instead of stopping, he wrapped Riley in a bear hug that pinned her arms at her sides. The harder she struggled, the tighter he held her. It was almost like one of those Chinese finger traps that tightened the harder one tried to pull one’s fingers apart.

  He tried to kiss her again, but she twisted her head away.

  Gasping for air now, she yelled as loudly as she could …

  “Somebody help!”

  But the music from the party below vibrated through the whole house. She knew that nobody down there could hear her voice.

  Maneuvers she’d learned in the class today flashed through her mind. But they had been dancelike, graceful on the part of the defender and even of the attacker. She hadn’t yet learned how those smooth actions could help her now.

  There was nothing graceful about what was going on. It was clumsy, ugly, and dangerous.

  And it was about to get worse.

  She could feel Leon trying to lift her off her feet. If he threw her onto the futon, she would be truly helpless.

  A harsh voice seemed to ring in her head …

  “Sheer aggression is the key thing.”

  Her father had told her to fight aggression with aggression—with Krav Maga. She had to be more aggressive than her attacker.

  Now she clearly remembered what he had taught her about fighting off a hold from the front.

  First, make myself heavier …

  She let herself go limp at the knees, using her weight to pull both of them downward a little. That made a slight separation between their two bodies, but her upper arms were still held tight.

  She turned both hands into fists and slammed them together into his groin.

  Leon let out a loud gasp of pain.

  But Riley knew she wasn’t through yet. He was still holding her, still determined to take her down. And she knew that hurting him could make him more dangerous.

  She brought her right knee up to his groin twice, producing a sharp groan each time, then slammed the side of her foot into his instep.

  This made him stagger and almost fall, but not quite.

  She heard her dad’s voice again …

  “It’s just plain down-and-dirty street fighting.”

  Go dirty, she told herself.

  She bit violently into the side of her attacker’s neck.

  Leon let out a yelp of shock and pain and backed away from her.

  He touched his neck and realized she’d drawn blood.

  “You fucking bit me, bitch!” he growled.

  As he reared up to lunge at her again, Riley was feeling around for the nearest physical object—a lamp on the top of a dresser. As Leon charged, she swung the lamp in his face. The cheap plastic shade crumpled and fell off, and the light bulb shattered against his face.

  He was gripping his bleeding face now, staggering.

  With a yell of rage, Riley rushed at him and kicked his shin as hard as she could. He
collapsed to his knees, and she kicked him again in the chest. He fell backward, flat on his back.

  Now Riley literally could taste Leon’s blood on her tongue from when she bit him.

  It tasted good.

  She remembered something else her father had said …

  “If someone really wants to kill you, you’d better kill him first and get it done with.

  “It’s not a game.”

  She felt a cruel grin form on her face.

  Killing him seemed like a fine idea.

  She crouched over him and planted her knee on his chest. Then she raised her fist, planning to use it to crush his windpipe. He would suffocate to death in terrible agony.

  But a familiar voice stopped her.

  Riley looked up and saw that Gina was standing at the top of the attic stairs, with several partiers crowded behind her.

  Riley reluctantly removed her knee from Leon’s chest and stood up. He stayed on the ground.

  Gina and the others were staring at her, and at her torn blouse.

  “He attacked me,” she gasped. “Call the police.”

  Gina headed back down the stairs. Three guys rushed to grab Leon and hold him down on the floor.

  Leon looked at the guys as if appealing for sympathy.

  “This crazy chick just tried to kill me!” he said.

  The guys only laughed.

  “I guess you got off lucky,” one said.

  Leon’s bleeding face flashed with anger, and for a moment he looked like he might try to jump up and start the fight again. But then his face softened as he seemed to think better of it. There was no way he could successfully take on all of the three big guys holding him.

  Riley stood with her arms crossed, not trying to hide a smile of deep satisfaction.

  But then she noticed a glimpse of something shiny poking out of his pants pocket. She stepped toward him and reached for it.

  Leon yelled in a shrill voice, “Don’t touch me, bitch!”

  “Relax,” Riley said in a mock-kindly voice. “This won’t hurt a bit.”

  She pulled the shiny thing out of his pocket.

  She gasped when she saw what it was.

  A large, folded pocketknife.

  Her hands started shaking so much that she almost dropped it.

  This is it, she thought.

  This is the knife he used to kill Rhea and Trudy.