by Diane Hoh
When she had filled him in on her terrifying encounter in the infirmary storeroom, she fell silent. She found herself watching him for the tiniest hint that he wasn’t surprised. But he looked stunned, and thoroughly shaken.
His windburned cheeks flushed a deeper red with anger. “He wrapped you up like a mummy? That’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“It’s because of my face.” Jo absentmindedly fingered a loose piece of tape. “The draped mirrors, the veiled hat, the tube of cover-up…all of those things were warnings that I shouldn’t appear in public with my bare face hanging out. When I ignored the warnings, he decided to punish me.”
“Oh, come on, Jo,” Evan said in disbelief, “your face isn’t that bad. A few cuts, a bruise or two…that’s not enough to make someone try to kill you!”
Jo shrugged. “I think it is. There’s more, Evan. He did kill Sharon Westover. The girl who was in that bad car crash last fall? Dr. Trent told me she’d been disfigured. And while he was turning me into a mummy, he admitted that he’d warned Sharon, too, and that she’d ignored him just like I did. So he said he shut her up permanently. His exact words were ‘Unfortunately, it’s too late for Sharon to tell you anything.’ That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?”
“Did you tell the police that?”
“Of course.”
Evan thought for a minute. “Did you get a look at this weirdo?”
“No. Not really. He was dressed all in black, just like Tina at Cath’s party. He even had a black ski mask on, just like she did. Maybe that’s where he got the idea. Anyway, I couldn’t begin to tell the police what he looked like. I don’t even remember how tall he was, I was so scared.”
Evan made a sound low in his throat, and put an arm around her. “Look, forget about eating. If we get hungry, we’ll go down to the cafe and get something. But I’m not leaving you here alone. I’ll stay, at least until Kelly gets back, okay?”
Jo nodded. Definitely okay.
“I never should have let you go to the infirmary alone,” he said then, his mouth set in a grim, straight line. “I wasn’t thinking….”
“It’s okay. I thought I was perfectly safe. Not your fault.”
“If anything had happened to you….” Flushing guiltily, Evan put his head in his hands, his eyes on the floor.
“Evan.” Jo reached over and gently dislodged his hands, turning his face toward her. “I’m okay. I’m fine, really.” Then, because he didn’t look convinced, she bent forward impulsively and kissed him. A strong, healthy, I’m-not-a-victim kiss.
“Now do you believe me?” she asked.
He relaxed then. She could see some of the tension ease out of his face. “I’m not sure,” he said in a slow, thoughtful voice. “I don’t think I’m quite convinced yet.”
Jo laughed.
When Evan was finally convinced that she really was okay, they talked about the puzzle at length. They agreed that Jo’s tormentor was someone she knew. But she could know him only casually. They wondered if he was watching her all the time, or only occasionally.
And, most important, just how crazy was he? Because they both agreed that someone who would harm two people who had already been victims had to be totally, completely insane.
“You don’t remember anything about him?” Evan persisted. “Think, Jo! It’s important. Right now, we don’t have any way of knowing who it is. So how can you feel safe anywhere, any time? If you don’t think of something, you’re going to have to stay locked in your room until the cops come up with something. Can’t you give them anything to go on?”
She was still thinking when Nan and Kelly, Carl and Reed showed up at the door. Kelly was carrying two white paper sacks and Carl was balancing two drinks. The heavenly aroma coming from the paper sacks revived Jo’s appetite. She accepted gratefully, feeling a twinge of guilt because as grateful as she was, she really hoped they wouldn’t stay. She didn’t want to have to tell her story again and, more than that, she wanted to be alone with Evan.
Kelly picked up on that right away and announced that Saturday night or not, she had some heavy-duty studying to do at the library. The other three took the hint, each giving a different, and barely believable, reason why they had to leave.
But before they left, Evan insisted on paying them for the hamburgers and drinks. No one argued. Burgers Etc. was a great place to hang out, but the food wasn’t cheap.
When Evan pulled a bill from his wallet, a slip of bright pink paper fell out and sailed to the floor.
Jo recognized it for what it was. She’d had dozens of those bright pink slips herself.
They were receipts from the beauty supply shop in town.
What was Evan doing with a receipt from a beauty supply shop?
Jo sucked in her breath. Now don’t start thinking terrible things, she warned herself, don’t go crazy here. There’s an explanation…
When the others had gone, Evan stooped to retrieve the slip on the floor and stuffed it back into his wallet.
“Been buying beauty supplies, have you?” Jo asked lightly as she busied her shaking fingers with the white paper bag.
“Suntan lotion,” he answered. “I figured I didn’t want to repeat Tina’s mistake. But I’m allergic to the stuff. Have to take it back, so I’m glad I kept the slip. Efficient of me, don’t you think? Normally, I toss stuff like that the minute I get home.”
Normally, normally, normally, Jo singsonged in her head…what was normal and what wasn’t? Why had he done something this time that he didn’t normally do? Why had he kept the slip?
If only she’d seen the date on it. If the date was before Tina got that sunburn….
No. It wouldn’t be. Evan was telling the truth. He was.
“Anything wrong?” he asked as they bit into their hamburgers. “I mean, I know there’s plenty wrong, but…you’re not disappointed that the rest of the crew took off, are you? I’m getting the feeling you’d rather not be alone with me. And I’m wondering where that feeling is coming from.”
Jo couldn’t answer him. Telling him that her face was itching like poison ivy, she excused herself and went into the bathroom to apply fresh gauze and tape.
As she pulled the box of gauze pads from the medicine cabinet, she thought sadly that she couldn’t fool Evan. He knew something was very wrong.
She should simply ask him if she could see the pink receipt. He’d understand, wouldn’t he? After all, she’d almost lost her life. This was no time to ignore something as important as that slip of pink paper could be.
She had to do something, because her suspicion about Evan was making her sick.
Jo faced the mirror to begin working on her face.
Where was Sharon? Where had she been hidden? The maniac in the ski mask had said she was where no one would ever find her. Had he hidden her somewhere on campus, or had he taken her far away where no one would think to look for her?
Insane…he was insane.
Jo shivered, suddenly chilled to the bone. He was insane…and it was her he was after now.
Still, there was a difference. Sharon had been alone. She apparently hadn’t told anyone what was going on in her life. Because if she had, they would have told the police about it when Sharon first disappeared.
The police hadn’t heard about it, Jo was sure of that. She could tell by the way they had exchanged surprised looks when she’d filled them in on her own warning “messages.”
Sharon had had to go through all of that by herself. But, Jo thought, bending her head over the sink to measure and cut a properly sized piece of tape, I’m not alone. The police know what’s happening, and so do my friends.
The problem is…I’m suddenly having trouble knowing who to trust. That’s what this nut has done to me, and I hate him for that almost as much as I do for everything else he’s done.
Suddenly not trusting good friends was almost as bad as being physically threatened.
Sighing heavily, Jo cut the piece of tape and lifted her head
to the medicine cabinet mirror to help her position the tape correctly.
But as her eyes met the glass, her mouth dropped open and a sound that was half gasp, half muffled scream filled the small, silent, white-tiled room.
Her face was not the only reflection in the mirror. There was another.
Someone was standing directly behind her left shoulder.
Someone wearing a black ski mask.
Chapter 21
“HI, THERE, JOHANNA,” A voice whispered in Jo’s ear as she stared into the mirror, with disbelieving eyes. “Fancy meeting you here. What’s new?”
She whirled then, prepared to run, but a strong arm grabbed her and spun her back against the sink. “You’re not going anywhere,” the voice hissed. “Not until I say so. And don’t even think about screaming. It will be the last sound you ever make.”
The eyes in the ski mask were blue. Deep, bright blue.
Like Evan’s….
No! Not Evan. It couldn’t be Evan.
But…no one else had been in her room. Only Evan.
Desperate to erase the terrible thought, Jo strained to remember if she had heard anything after she left the room. Even the slightest sound could have been someone else joining Evan.
But she knew she had heard nothing.
He spun her around again, so that she was facing the mirror. One hand came from behind her to shove her head down, forcing her to stare into the sink, while another hand shoved a scratchy black object into her hands.
The ski mask.
“Put this on,” came the whispered demand. “Backwards. I’ll be leading the way, so you don’t need to see.” And then, cruelly, “And I certainly don’t want to see your face. Cover it up!”
He had taken off the mask. It was in her hands. If she whipped her head around before he could stop her, she would finally know the identity of her attacker.
Guessing what she had in mind, both hands reached out from behind her, grabbed the mask, and before she could move, thrust the scratchy wool down over her head, over her face. Backwards.
She could see nothing.
“We’re going to take a little walk. And I hate to sound like a bad television show, but if you try anything, Johanna, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” A crazy cackle and then, “Of course, if you’re in a hurry to die, I’d be glad to oblige. It’s your choice.”
“No,” she said, moving away from the sink, “no….”
“Then go!” He pushed her roughly, through the doorway and out into the room.
Only minutes earlier, she had been sitting there, talking and laughing with Evan as they ate their hamburgers.
She hadn’t heard anyone else come in….
He didn’t like old houses because they weren’t new and perfect. Did he feel the same way about damaged faces? He said he hadn’t found her at the infirmary.
Was he lying?
He had said the pink receipt from the beauty supply shop was for sunscreen. Because of Tina’s blistered lips. He didn’t want the same thing to happen to him, he’d said. But the day she’d thought he was going into the sporting-goods store, the day that he’d probably gone into the beauty supply shop instead, was the day they’d rented the costumes. That was before they’d gone skiing. He wouldn’t have been worried about sunburn then. If only she’d caught a glimpse of the date on that receipt. Then she’d know for sure.
Reed had pointed out, early on, that she didn’t know Evan all that well. She’d been irritated with Reed. She should have paid closer attention to what he was saying.
But whether or not her captor was Evan, he had killed Sharon Westover, and had promised to do the same to her. Now, he was here to carry out his promise.
A tiny ray of hope warmed her as he shoved her across the room, in the direction of the door. He wasn’t going to kill her here and now. He was going to take her out of the room. They could meet someone in the hallway, or on the stairs or in the elevator. The minute she heard another person’s voice, she would run. He wasn’t wearing a mask now. If it really was Evan, he was well known on campus. Without a mask, he’d be recognized. So he wouldn’t dare do anything to her in front of someone.
She’d be safe.
If they ran into anyone.
They didn’t.
Her heart sank when she realized that he was taking her down the fire stairs. Most people on the fourth floor used the elevator. They weren’t likely to run into anyone on the stairs. He knew that, of course, just as she did.
But she refused to give up hope. Someone could be on the stairs. They would never let a person wearing a backwards ski mask pass by without a comment. The very second she heard a voice, she’d take off like a rocket. She’d rip the mask off her head, race to a telephone, and call the police.
Only one person, just one…that was all she needed.
But no one was using the fire stairs that Saturday night.
No one.
She hadn’t been counting the floors as they descended, but when she heard the creak of a door opening and cold wind against her face, she knew they were leaving the building. They had to be in the basement. No more stairs…no more hope of running into someone to save her.
A small sob caught in Jo’s throat.
Frigid air slapped her in the face as the door to the outside swung open and she was pushed through it.
She gasped as cold stung her face, her arms, her ears. “I need a jacket,” she complained, hardly aware of what she was saying.
The evil chuckle came again. “You’ve got to be kidding!” The door slammed shut behind them. He pushed her forward. Toward the parking lot, she thought. “You’re worried about catching a cold?” Another laugh. “Well, of course you are. You wouldn’t want to get pneumonia, Jo. Why, that could kill you!”
A flash of anger washed over Jo. She had danced with Evan, told him things she hadn’t told anyone else, kissed him. She had…yes, she had thought she might be falling in love…crazy, crazy.
No! She wasn’t the crazy one. He was.
If it was him….
More than she’d ever wanted anything, she wanted it not to be Evan.
Another door opening…she was being pushed, into a…car? Yes, a car. Her elbow bumped against the steering wheel. She was being shoved in on the driver’s side, and pushed across the seat to the passenger’s side, leaving her no time in the car alone to escape.
And the last of her hope disappeared as she realized with a sinking heart that it was Evan’s car. She smelled the lingering odors of his leather jacket, his spicy after-shave, his cinnamon gum. Unmistakable. When her right elbow bumped against the familiar nick in the arm rest on the passenger’s door, she sagged against it, every trace of denial gone. She had scratched her elbow on that nick more than once.
Bitter tears stung Jo’s eyelids.
Evan….
Where was he taking her?
“Don’t take that mask off,” the chilling whisper warned as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Bad enough your face is a mess. You don’t want a broken arm, too, do you? Leave the mask on.”
“Evan, please,” she said softly as the car started with a roar. “I don’t know why you’re doing this.”
“Because you’re ugly,” came the answer. “I was hoping it was temporary, that that stupid doctor knew what she was talking about. But now, I don’t think so.” The car jerked out of the parking space and raced out of the lot. “It doesn’t look to me like that’s healing well at all. I’ve been patient long enough. Maybe too long.”
“Why don’t you stop whispering?” Jo said coldly. “I know who you are.” It seemed useless to pretend she hadn’t guessed his identity. He was going to kill her, anyway. And then he was going to put her wherever he’d put Sharon…where “no one would ever find her,” he’d said. She, too, would be missing, and no one would know where she was.
And no one would suspect Evan. Never. No one would guess he was a killer. He’d make up some story about why he’d left her in her room alon
e…maybe he’d say they’d had an argument…and then he’d somehow establish an alibi. He was clever. Very, very clever.
She had liked that about him…his cleverness. But that was before she knew how twisted he was.
Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop. Jo sat up straight. They’d only been driving a minute or so. They had to still be on campus. He wasn’t taking her somewhere far away?
“Turn and face the window,” the whisper ordered.
Jo hesitated. Was he going to hit her on the back of the head? Choke her? Was he going to kill her now?
The thought that turning away from him might lead to her last moment alive, made it impossible for Jo to move. She sat frozen, her hands in her lap, too terrified to even tremble. She had been afraid all along…but she’d thought she had time. As long as they were walking, as long as they were driving, she had been able to resist the idea of…death.
She did not want to die. There were so many things she hadn’t done yet…she wanted more time. Lots more time.
“I said, turn and face the window. I’m not going to kill you here, if that’s what you’re worried about. That would be stupid, and you should know by now, Johanna, I’m anything but stupid.”
Relief turned her legs to water. She believed him. She had more time. She wasn’t going to die here, in Evan’s car.
He didn’t want to leave any clues in his own car.
She turned and faced the window.
“Don’t turn around,” she was warned. And in the next second, the black ski mask was ripped off her face and head.
She could see.
She didn’t want to see Evan’s face. Didn’t want to come face-to-face with a harsh reality that she couldn’t bear. Knowing the truth was one thing. Staring at it in the face was another.
You’re still pretending, she scolded herself. You’re still being stupid. Look at him! Make him see what’s in your eyes. Give yourself that much satisfaction, before it’s too late.
But when she swiveled her head around to look at him, it was too late. The ski mask was already on his head, covering everything but his eyes and mouth.
