The Bakersville Dozen

by Kristina McBride

  “Why?” I asked, my heart leaping with the hope that this whole thing was about to end, that there was some way I could ease out of this insane scavenger hunt before I ever began playing. “Did they find evidence?”

  “No.”

  “So why’s Roger Turley in trouble?” I asked.

  “Dumbass was busted for being on school grounds.”

  “After everything,” Tripp said. “The guy’s got balls.”

  “He was at the high school?” Wes asked. “Today?”

  Hannah nodded, turning to face the television just as a clip of Roger Turley flashed on the screen. The footage showed him walking from his car to the front door of his house—Emily’s house—his jaw set, his eyes dark and filled with anger.

  “He was there with Emily’s mother,” Hannah said. “Apparently they went to pick up Emily’s diploma.”

  “Didn’t the class officers plan some memorial thing at the graduation next week?” I asked. “I thought they were going to honor each of the five girls and then hand their families the diplomas.”

  “They are,” Hannah said. “But the principal told Emily’s mother that he thought it would be best if her husband wasn’t present, so now she’s not going because she wants to show the world that she supports him.”

  “So he went to the school?” Wes asked. “Today?”

  “Yeah,” Hannah said, her fingers tapping the table, the glitter in her pink nail polish sparking in the kitchen light. “Which is apparently why the police were stationed by the office. The whole thing was planned. Mindee Selby is an office aid seventh period and she overheard the whole thing. Mr. Turley had permission to stop in for the diploma, but he wasn’t supposed to wander beyond the main office. Somehow, the cops lost him when he said he had to use the restroom. Worst part? Totally creep-city, by the way—I saw him.”

  “At school?” I leaned forward until my chest hit the edge of the table. “Today?”

  “Yup.”

  “Where?” Wes asked.

  “Athletic wing. Stalking the girls’ locker room.”

  “You cannot be serious,” Wes said.

  Hannah nodded, her eyes going wide. “I went to say goodbye to Coach Stevens after the Last Day Ceremony. Might be kinda cheesy, but she totally rocks and I wanted her to be the last teacher I saw before walking out forever, you know? Anyway, the hall leading to the parking lot was crazy, people shouting and practically jumping over each other to get outside. I waited until I’d pushed through the doors to the athletic hallway to text you, B, to let you know I might be a few minutes late and that you should wait for me at the car. Since I was texting, I didn’t really look around, just kind of kept walking because no one was in my way. Until there was someone. Right there, in front of the doors leading to the girls’ locker room.”

  “And it was him?” I asked. “Roger Turley?”

  “Yeah. He grabbed my shoulders to keep me from falling. My phone dropped to the floor and after I bent down to pick it up, I was so freaked I just pushed through the locker room doors and ran toward Coach’s office. But her door was closed and there was a sign on the window that said she’d be back in ten minutes. That’s when my brain kicked in and I realized that a pair of stupid doors that said GIRLS wouldn’t keep Roger Turley from following me if he wanted to, so I raced toward the back exit.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me any of this in the car on the way home from school?” I asked.

  “At first, I didn’t want to freak you out.” Hannah bit her lip. “And then I didn’t want to ruin your moment. You were so excited about that scavenger hunt.”

  My stomach lurched at the mention of the game. “Just tell us what happened. Did he follow you in?”

  “I’ve never felt so alone in my entire life. And I was—totally alone, even with all those people just outside the athletic wing. Then, when I was about halfway to the back doors, I heard a locker slam. It scared the shit out of me, but I realized the sound had come from the direction I was heading, so it couldn’t have been Mr. Turley. Unless he turned himself invisible and flew over my head. I called out like a loser from some horror movie, Is anybody there? and sure enough, someone was.”

  “Who?” I asked. “Who was it?”

  “This is where it gets really freaky.”

  “We weren’t already at really freaky?”

  Hannah shook her head. “It was Sylvie Stalk-You-Long-Time Warner.”

  “In the girls’ locker room?”

  “By herself.”

  “Holy shit,” I said. “What if he was there to take her?”

  “Exactly what I was thinking.” Hannah sucked in a shaky breath. “She was checking on the status of the volleyball scholarship that’s being offered in Emily’s name. Something about needing current information for the speech she’s giving at graduation. Anyway, she flipped when I told her who was outside.”

  “Obviously.”

  “And then we ran out the back exit, around the outside of the gym, and straight to the parking lot.”

  “End of story?” Wes asked.

  Hannah nodded.

  “And now the guy’s all over the news,” Tripp said. “Coach Roberts found him just outside the athletic wing and called the main office. The police were already there to monitor his visit with Emily’s mom, so it wasn’t long before he was escorted off school grounds.”

  “Which I saw when I checked my phone after we got here,” Hannah said, looking at me with her eyes wide. “For the record, with the way he was stalking Sylvie, I never would have allowed you to go out in those woods alone if I didn’t know he was in custody. He’s got to be the kidnapper, right? I mean, who else would—”

  “You never know,” Wes said. “Ask me, you can’t be too careful.”

  I looked at the TV screen again. A reporter stood in front of the school reporting away while a banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

  “It looks like our little Hannah is a hero,” Tripp said, ruffling her hair.

  Hannah swatted his hand away. “Don’t touch. And I’m not a hero.”

  “You saved Sylvie Warner,” Tripp said.

  “Jesus,” Wes said from behind me. “You really think he was there to get her?”

  “What other explanation is there?” Hannah replied. “Tripp and I were about to call the cops, so I could tell them everything that happened.”

  “We were about to do the same thing,” I said, thinking of Leena, all alone, lying out there in the grass.

  “You were?” Tripp asked. “Why?”

  I shook my head, pressing my fingers to my eyes. I didn’t want to say it. The words would make Leena’s death all-the-way real. Not to mention, this day was supposed to be the start of something new. It was officially summer break, and summer equals freedom. Instead, the Bakersville Dozen had taken the destruction of my life to a whole new level.

  “It’s kind of a long story,” I said, looking at Wes.

  “If Roger Turley is the one behind everything, maybe what happened today will give the cops enough reason to arrest him or hold him for more questioning or something.” Hannah jiggled one of her feet. I could practically see the adrenaline surging through her veins.

  “Yeah, and if they keep him off the streets, maybe no one else will end up missing.” Tripp walked to the counter and grabbed the phone, stopping at the refrigerator where my mother had listed all of Bakersville’s emergency numbers years ago. The contact info for the detective leading the investigation of the Bakersville Dozen was written in bold Sharpie on a Post-It just below.

  I turned, looking over my shoulder. Wes was still there, gazing down at me, his eyebrows raised in question. When I looked back to my brother, I found him staring directly at me, the phone forgotten in his hand, hovering near his left ear.

  “Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on here,” he said, “or I swear to God, I’m gonna call Mom and Dad and tell them to ditch work and get their asses home.”

  Tripp leaned against the c
ountertop. I stood, meeting his eyes as I crossed the room, closing the space between us in a few short strides. I reached for the phone, tugging it away from his face. “We found something—someone—out in the woods.”

  A look of confusion clouded his eyes. His face went white as his fingers loosened their grip on the phone.

  I heard a deep voice reach through the line. “Detective Holly, here.”

  Tripp’s hand released the phone. I pressed it to my ear, feeling oddly detached as I spoke into the receiver, my voice clearer and more determined than I would have ever thought possible.

  “It’s Bailey Holzman. I need to report evidence in the Bakersville Dozen case.” I couldn’t say it, the part about the body. And I couldn’t say Leena’s name and the word dead in the same sentence. Not yet. The police would know soon enough. For now, I had a little more time before my freedom slipped away forever.

  CHAPTER 6

  3:57 PM

  “You guys found a dead body?” Hannah asked. “A real live dead body?”

  “Most dead bodies aren’t live, genius,” Tripp said, dropping into the chair next to her, disbelief clouding his features. It reminded me of the way he’d looked the day we found out Grandma Holzman had died.

  “Was it one of them?” Hannah looked at me, then Wes, her eyes wide. “Holy shit, it was, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But I don’t really think we should—”

  “Which one? Wait. Lemme guess.”

  “Hannah,” I said, “this is not one of your slasher shows.”

  “Duh,” she said with a weak smile. “But I’ve learned a lot from watching them. It was Emily Simms, right? Missing girl numero uno?”

  I shook my head.

  “Suze Moore, then?” Hannah’s eyebrows lifted toward the ceiling. “The very last one he took?”

  “No,” I said. “Leena Grabman. Number two.”

  “Really?” Hannah started twirling her hair around one finger. “That’s odd.”

  “You think?” Tripp asked, his words heavy with sarcasm.

  “I’m not talking about the obvious,” Hannah said. “I mean the pattern. Whoever did this is deviating from the pattern of the last five months. Instead of kidnapping a new girl, he’s leaving a body behind for the first time. Unless he’s left another body that just hasn’t been found yet, but I doubt that with all the search teams still going out. He’s switching up the order he started with. I don’t get the point.”

  “Oh, there’s a point,” Wes said. “The killer wants to play a game. With Bailey.”

  “Holy. Shit.” Hannah leaned forward, her elbows sliding across the table. “This is the scavenger hunt? Leena was the first treasure?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I guess you could look at it that way. But I was going to leave that out.”

  Wes swiveled in his seat, his knees bumping my leg. “You really think we were going to get away with just telling them the part of the story where there’s a dead body?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I’m still figuring this out. I just want to keep everyone safe.”

  “What do you mean?” Tripp asked. “You’re the one we need to keep safe.”

  “Just knowing about it puts you at risk, right?” I said.

  “A scavenger hunt to find dead bodies,” Hannah said. “Oh my God, B. That’s awful. Even if Leena was the biggest bitch at BHS.”

  “Leena is—was—not a bitch,” I said. “I told you to stop calling her that.”

  “Hey, I’m entitled to my own opinion.”

  “Hannah.” Tripp put his hand on the top of her head. “Stop. Talking.”

  “Fine.” Hannah gave a little snort and sat back in her chair. “For the record, I care, okay? These last five months have been awful and creepy and totally fucked up.”

  “I know you care,” I said. “I saw your face every time we learned a new girl went missing, even when it was Leena. I saw you there every time the girls and I went out with a search party or put up posters or stood at one of those candlelight vigils.”

  “It’s just so real,” Hannah said, her eyes tearing up. “It’s too real when I let myself think about it. Especially considering how that stupid video mixes you up in the whole thing.”

  “We need to focus,” Tripp said. “Tell us more about this hunt.”

  “I don’t want any of you involved,” I said, shaking my head. “Wes kind of stumbled into this out there by the pond—”

  “Yeah, literally,” Wes said.

  “But you guys have to keep your distance.” I looked at the three of them, knowing this was the right decision, hating it because I needed help, but not at the expense of their safety. “You should all leave before the detective gets here. Let me handle this on my own.”

  “No way,” Wes said.

  Hannah nodded her agreement. “There’s not a chance in hell we’re leaving your side, B.”

  Tripp balled his hands into tight fists on the tabletop. “Someone’s messing with my sister, they’re gonna have to go through me first. You said that detective would be here in an hour?”

  “They told me he’s dealing with a pressing matter.”

  “I bet that pressing matter has a name.” Hannah snorted. “Roger. Turley.”

  “That gives us time.” Tripp leaned forward, his chest bumping the edge of the table. “Now, spill.”

  “I can’t.” I sighed. “It’s too dangerous for you guys to be involv—”

  “The first clue said she had to find five trophies over the next four days.” Hannah said, tipping her head to one side with an I-dare-you-to-stop-me look in her eyes.

  “Five girls are missing,” I whispered. “I officially hate the number five.”

  “There are rules, too,” Hannah said. “She has to follow the directions exactly, she has to see this thorough to the end, that kind of thing.”

  “I’m not supposed to call the cops,” I added. “And if I break a rule or fail to follow a clue, I’ll face a penalty.”

  “A penalty?” Tripp asked.

  I nodded. “It pretty much said I’d be responsible for more girls going missing. And dying. But if I play along, I have the chance to save them.”

  “Incredible bait,” Tripp said. “Enough to control every move you make.”

  “I cannot believe Leena Grabman is lying out there, dead,” Hannah said, her eyes shifting from me to Wes to Tripp, her voice strengthening with every word. “And this guy is threatening Bailey? No fucking way. We have to go out there.”

  “Seriously, Hannah,” Wes said. “You don’t want to see her. Not even if she was the biggest bitch at BHS.”

  “The bitch part is a simple fact. And I’m not saying I want to see her,” Hannah said. “But it’s the best way to get more information. If we know how she died, or can get clues from her body, then—”

  “No!” I shoved my chair away from the table and stood, glaring down at all of them. “You’re not playing detective, Hannah. We are not going back out there.”

  “I don’t think we have a choice, Bailey.”

  I glanced toward the television, the footage of an angry Roger Turley walking from his car to his front door, looping again and again and again.

  “None of us are going out there,” I said, looking first at Hannah, then Tripp, and finally at Wes. “Okay?”

  Hannah nodded, but she wouldn’t look me in the eye. I knew she wasn’t going to let this go.

  “Hannah,” I said, “Leena is dead. Dead. Do you hear me? We can’t do anything now except—”

  A screeching sound ripped through the kitchen, freezing us for a moment before time felt like it raced forward again. We all swiveled toward the screen door.

  At first, all I could see was a dark shadow standing in the doorway, blocking out the sun. My skin prickled, and my entire body screamed for me to run. I thought it was him—whoever was behind the missing girls, the scavenger hunt, and Leena lying there dead. I thought he’d come to get me.

  But then I saw Jude. />
  In three steps, I’d leaped into his arms, burying my face between his shoulder and neck, drinking in his solid heat and the steady pressure of his hands folding against my back.

  CHAPTER 7

  4:14 PM

  Jude picked me up and twirled me in a circle. “You should always be this glad to see me. What’s up, B? You seem upset.”

  I couldn’t think of a thing to say. At least, nothing that I could say to Jude. As much as I wanted to tell him about what had happened, I couldn’t pull him into the mess, too. There was too much at risk.

  But Jude was looking at me, his eyes wide, waiting for an answer.

  “It’s the news,” Hannah said from behind me. “This whole thing with Roger Turley being at school.”

  “Yeah,” I said, turning to Hannah and mouthing, Thank you.

  But then I saw them—the two red envelopes with my name in bold print. Standing on my tiptoes, I bumped my nose against Jude’s, trying to block his view of the table. “I might just need some fresh air. Can we go outside?”

  “Sure,” he said, his mouth crinkling up for a moment. “But I’m not actually here to see you.”

  “Oh,” I said, confused.

  “Shit, man!” Tripp said. “I was supposed to meet you.”

  “No worries.” Jude grabbed my hand and spun me toward the door. “Follow us out?”

  I stepped through the doorway and into the blinding light of the early-June day. Jude was there, his hand gripping mine, keeping me steady without even knowing it as I moved across the deck and down the five steps that led to a shady patch of grass.

  “Been a long time, bro,” Tripp said when we were all standing together in the shade. “How are things?”

  I noticed the front of Jude’s truck peeking from the space between our house and Wes’s, and wondered why he hadn’t parked at the end of the drive, next to Hannah’s Escape.

  “Couldn’t be better.” Jude squeezed my hand. “Last day of high school. Graduation’s next week. We’ve got the whole summer ahead of us.”

  “I’m with you.” Tripp offered a half-smile. “Exams are over. I passed freshman year. I’m officially finished with dorm life.”