by Milda Harris
"Everyone knows it wasn't, though," Suzie said. "So, what do you think Kait?"
"I'll check Seth Wilcox out. For sure. Thanks, Logan," I said, lingering on his name.
Logan nodded, "You're welcome. I hope you catch the guy."
"Me too," I said.
Logan waved to Suzie and walked down the hallway toward his next class. Suzie and I both watched him walk away. When Logan turned the corner, I felt like I had suddenly been set free from an enchantment and I turned to Suzie, eyes wide.
"Okay, you have to tell me. How in the world do you know Logan Collins? And, why did you keep that a secret?" I asked.
Suzie smiled, "I met him through Madison in junior high and he's been nice to me ever since. He used to be such a geek, with pimples and braces and stuff. So, he was just as shy as me. Then his mom took him to the dermatologist and the orthodontist. There were probably some genetics in there too once he hit puberty. Then bam! Logan became popular because one school year he showed up after summer vacation as super hot and all of the girls fell in love with him. Still, when I saw him, Logan would talk to me. He was cool. So, we stayed school friends. We never hung out or anything...or dated or anything."
I glanced into Chemistry class to see if Kyle had witnessed Suzie, Logan and me talking. He was already inside and looking in our direction. It was too far away to tell if he was worried that Logan was going to steal Suzie away from him. My guess is that Kyle was totally flipping out with thoughts that Suzie was running off with the most popular guy in school and that his brief moment of true love happiness was gone.
I looked at Suzie and gestured to Kyle, "Well, I'd tell Kyle that you were just school friends because I wouldn't blame him for feeling just a little bit threatened."
Suzie looked horrified at the thought and went inside to console Kyle. I looked down the hallway to where Logan had disappeared. It was totally surreal that I actually managed to form words in front of him. Then I followed Suzie into Chemistry class.
I ran to my locker after the final school bell rang to get out the last of the books I needed to finish up my make-up homework. I groaned inwardly as I realized it was still going to take me a couple more days. There was a lot left to do. I had just shut my locker door when Ethan walked up. It was nice having him meet me at my locker, almost as if we were really and truly going out. It still wasn't official after all. Neither of us had said it yet. Okay, I had kind of said it to Casey when I was playacting, but that wasn't the same. I mean, Ethan hadn't said it to me yet. I guess technically we were just hanging out and making out and it was totally great, except... I ignored my brain. I wasn't saying anything first.
"Ready for the Pep Club?" I feigned my best Valley girl accent.
"Totally," Ethan mimicked my Valley girl accent back, as best as a guy could.
I grinned at him and we walked down the hallway toward the library, which was where the Pep Club was meeting. I was so focused on thinking about what might happen at this meeting and wondering if attending two meetings was definitely enough to legitimately and truthfully put this club on my college applications, that I almost didn't notice right away that Ethan had grabbed my hand. We were actually walking hand in hand toward the library, not to mention down the halls of the high school, on a school day. Even if it was after school and there weren't as many people around.
I forced myself not to look at Ethan or stop walking or give any sign that I had noticed. My stomach did an excited flip. It was really nice holding his hand. I felt myself start to smile. I looked down so Ethan wouldn't notice. I had to breathe. I was cool. I was totally cool. Oh no, now I wanted to smile even bigger.
We got to the library doors and Ethan pushed open the main door without letting go of my hand. I felt like we were a united front about to enter a war zone. It was sort of disconcerting, being that we were just entering the library and going to an after school club meeting.
The librarian directed us to a meeting room just off the main section of the library. It looked like a majority of the Pep Club members had turned up for the meeting. It was super packed. I noticed that Ariel was across the room, mostly because I heard Ariel shriek in surprise at seeing Ethan and I walk into the club meeting together. In her mind I knew we had just moved up a notch as a couple. Now, we were the couple that joined clubs together. If I thought about that, it did sound pretty serious, actually, almost as if we were boyfriend and girlfriend. Then again, I had to remind myself that we were only at the Pep Club meeting to see if we could discover any more murder clues and see what about the Pep Club presidency was potentially deadly.
Ethan and I sat down on the floor near the front corner of the room. There were no seats left on chairs. The meeting was about to spill out into the main part of the library if any more people showed up. There was a general murmur of people talking and waiting for the meeting to start. Ethan and I held hands and listened. I tried to eavesdrop, but quickly got bored hearing people complain about teachers and classes or gush on about crushes. It almost seemed like people didn't want to talk about the murder on purpose. Maybe that was true, but I was pretty sure that's why the emergency Pep Club meeting had been called in the first place.
I glanced around the room and saw that I knew a few other people besides Ariel in Pep Club. There were a couple of random people from my classes, but nobody I really talked to, as well as Ariel's friends' Sarah and Megan. I also finally laid eyes on Sebastian Zane, Madison's date to the dance, who was trying to catch a nap in the corner. I'd have to try and talk to him before the meeting let out, even if he was probably in the clear.
It was a few minutes after three-thirty, which was when the meeting was supposed to start. That was when Mrs. Davis, the faculty member in charge of Pep Club, cleared her throat, cut straight through the crap, and said, "Welcome everyone. As you know tragedy has struck our club and we have lost two of our esteemed members in the last few days. Let us have a moment of silence and remember them."
As the group went silent, I looked around the room. Most people had their heads down and were looking at the floor. I glanced around for anyone who might feel the slightest bit guilty and be showing it in this moment. My eyes flicked to Sebastian, but he just looked startled at having been woken up. I moved on. Ariel's eyes met mine across the room. We both looked away quickly and the moment of silence was over.
Mrs. Davis continued, "What brings us here today for this emergency meeting is two fold. First, we need to elect a new Pep Club president. Then we need to talk about the football game on Saturday, make some posters, and show that school spirit is most important in times of tragedy. It binds us together as a school and the support will help us move on."
I felt like Mrs. Davis was being a little cheesy, although I agreed with the overall sentiment. Madison, and even Julia, deserved a tribute of school spirit. They did both love the Pep Club, even if they pretty much hated each other. Or, well, I knew it was technically more complicated than that.
"Since there is no successor, we need nominations from the junior or senior class for Pep Club President," Mrs. Davis said.
"Jenny Kendall!" a guy in the back yelled out.
I looked around to see who that might be, since I didn't know her and saw a girl with long black hair and skinny jeans wave to those who turned to look at her. Her friends were wildly pointing to her and cheering. I noticed a familiar looking girl with flaming red hair in a pixie cut, as one of the people cheering Jenny on. Wait a minute. I tried to place her, the girl with the pixie cut. I looked between Jenny and her friend. Then I remembered. I had seen them talking about Julia the other day. Now, I had one of their names. Interesting development.
"Sebastian Zane!" a girl called out and I saw Sebastian grin and throw up his hands in a Nixon-esque salute.
I glanced at Ethan, he looked back at me, eyebrows raised.
"Ariel Walker!" Sarah yelled.
I felt my brain freeze as I registered Ariel's glee at being nominated for Pep Club President. Ariel looked ar
ound the room like she owned the place and just smiled. I knew from that smile that she was going to get her way and I was terrified.
Ten minutes later, I was proved right and Ariel was officially Pep Club president. She was practically glowing with pride the rest of the meeting. Why did Ariel of all people have to be the one to get elected president? I tried to not pay attention to her, so I wouldn't worry even more. Besides, Ethan and I had a poster to worry about and investigation work to do. Ethan and I grabbed our markers and blank poster board. Then I casually led Ethan over toward Sebastian, to position ourselves within talking distance of him.
Ethan and I looked at our poster board blankly. We needed to come up with something creative for cheering the football team on to victory. I know I didn't want to hold up or put up a poster that looked like a second grader drew it. I looked over toward Sebastian who was studying his blank poster board with some scrutiny. Maybe this was a way in.
"What are you going to draw?" I asked.
Sebastian looked up at me, "Probably just the mascot and the old standby: Go Palos Grizzlies!"
"That sounds simple," I said.
Sebastian nodded. We lapsed into silence. I was rapidly losing my chance to get information out of him.
"Hey, didn't you go to the dance with Madison Brown?" Ethan asked.
I looked at Ethan in relief. Somehow it sounded better coming from a popular guy to another popular guy.
"Yeah, I did," Sebastian said.
Ethan whispered, "And the cops don't consider you a suspect?"
Sebastian frowned, "Why would they? I'm not a girl, I was nowhere near the girl's bathroom, and I have friends who would back me up on that, since I was talking to them while Madison was gone."
It sounded like a pretty airtight alibi if Sebastian had a few people willing to vouch for him. Still, they might lie in order to protect a friend. It wasn't unheard of. I decided to play a morbid curiosity seeker. Hey, it fit my reputation.
"Who do you think would want to kill her?" I asked. "I mean, did she fight with anyone at the dance?"
"No, we were having a great time, actually," Sebastian said. "And, as to who might kill her...I have no idea. She was a great girl, although, we only went out a couple of times. Still, maybe someone like Julia Morgan would have had a reason. Then again she's dead too."
"Did you know her too?" I asked, trying to sound impressed by Sebastian knowing both of the dead girls.
"Some," Sebastian admitted, "Julia tried to hit on all the guys."
"I wonder who'd want both of them dead," Ethan said.
Sebastian laughed and said, "Jenny Kendall. She wanted to be Pep Club president just as much as either of them. Too bad Ariel took it from her today."
"But you were in the running too," I said.
"I'd do it if they elected me," Sebastian said, "But I don't really care. It's just a college transcript booster for me, but those girls were all at each other to be president like it was the holy grail of high school club status."
I looked over at Jenny Kendall. She was busy using glitter to decorate her poster. Could someone who used glitter be a murderer? She was working on the poster pretty ferociously, though. Ethan and I had barely started ours and Jenny was already snazzing hers up. Maybe she was venting her frustrations on losing the presidency into her art.
Sebastian must have seen me looking over at Jenny because he said, "She looks pretty innocent, though, right? Yeah, if it wasn't her, you might check out Madison's ex-boyfriend, Ray Newton. He and Julia had a thing too. Big love triangle."
Sebastian's friend, a big burly guy who totally didn't look like he'd belong in Pep Club, distracted him with a question about something normal, like a fantasy league of some kind. I wasn't into sports or fake sports or the like, so I quickly tuned out. I know. I was in Pep Club, which cheered sports teams on, but it was more about gawking at hot guys, getting a club on your college applications, and in this case, investigating some murders.
Ethan and I exchanged a glance. Another couple of names added to the suspect list and we still had to finish our Pep Club poster. We both looked down at it, since Sebastian had started talking to his friend.
"What do you want to draw?" Ethan asked, noticing my gaze.
"Anything to get us out of here," I said, looking down at the blank white poster board.
"Yeah," Ethan sighed.
I looked over toward Jenny Kendall. I wanted to talk to her too before Pep Club ended. I wouldn't have a more opportune moment. She wasn't in her spot, though. I looked around the room. Jenny wasn't in sight. She was already gone, poster done. She must have been upset about losing the presidency. Maybe she had stayed to keep up appearances and then booked out as soon as nobody was looking. I'd have to make it a point to catch up to her later.
Ethan and I walked out of Pep Club an hour later with marker stains on our hands from making posters for the game on Saturday. It was a lot of work, making a quality poster. At least, I hoped it hadn't looked like a kindergartner made it, since one of us was probably going to be holding it at the game, in front of the entire school. We were both silent. My mind for the last hour had been warring between how I might convince Ariel to denounce her Pep Club presidency and the idea that maybe Ariel could keep her new post because there was a different reason for the murders. I didn't want Ariel to take the chance. At this point, the odds weren't good.
"You okay?" Ethan asked as we walked to his car. He had driven to school in anticipation of going to the Pep Club meeting.
I shrugged, "Just worrying about Ariel. I know that's weird."
Ethan frowned, "It's not weird. You guys were best friends for forever."
I nodded, "Yeah. I guess I still care about her. You know, that she stays alive."
"You're only human," Ethan said, sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Thanks," I punched him playfully on the arm.
He used the opportunity to try and tickle me. I ran. He chased me all the way to the car where he kissed me. Ariel became a distant memory for a few minutes.
We broke apart and I looked up at Ethan, "We have to figure out what's going on before Saturday."
"Why?" Ethan asked.
"I would bet anything that the next murder will take place then," I said simply.
"How do you know that?" Ethan asked. "The second murder happened on a random Tuesday."
"Yeah," I said, thinking, "Right before a Pep Club bake sale and the first one took place at the Homecoming Dance that the Pep Club helped decorate. Regardless, the game is sure a great place to kill someone and make a scene and I'm starting to think this killer gets off on ruining school events. They totally don't seem to have school spirit."
"Do you think that's the motive then?" Ethan asked. "Ruining school functions?"
"I think that's kind of a lame motive," I said, "I think it's more of a bonus. You know? Like they get off on the scandal and they're the only ones who know that they did it and got away with it...so far."
Ethan nodded, "That kind of makes sense. You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you kind of have a knack for this."
I felt a glow of pleasure at the compliment, "Thanks."
"So, any idea where to start?" Ethan asked.
Being that the list of potential suspects only seemed to be growing wasn't a good thing. I had lots of ideas, but no real solid leads. If we were going to figure things out by Saturday, we needed more connections between the dots.
My glow of pleasure disappeared, "None."
Chapter 14: Police Chatting
It was Ethan's idea to visit Detective Dixon at the Palos Police Station. I wished I had some advance notice. I would have bought the Detective a reusable coffee mug. It was on my list. The Styrofoam cup thing he had going on was seriously bothering me. I didn't have too much time to think about it, though, because surprise, surprise we were ushered into his office way more quickly than that last time.
"What are you two doing here?" Detective Dixon asked gruffly.
I noticed that the Styrofoam cups in his office seemed to have multiplied. I really shouldn't have procrastinated on buying that travel mug. Actually, Detective Dixon's office really would have benefited from a cleaning service too, and of course, a recycling bin.
"We're here to talk about the murders of Madison Brown and Julia Morgan," I said.
Detective Dixon sighed, "Look, Kait and Ethan, like I've said before, leave this to the police. Enjoy high school."
"How can we? People are being murdered. And, we helped you last time," I said, already regretting and second guessing Ethan's instinct at coming to the police station.
"We have some good information," Ethan said. "Maybe we could do a trade."
Detective Dixon's frown turned into a smirk, "The police don't work like that."
"We do have some leads," I said.
Detective Dixon looked at me, "Are you trying to end up in the hospital again?"
"No," I said. "Of course not."
"Are you sure? Do I need to put you on suicide watch?" Detective Dixon asked.
He was being sarcastic. I frowned at him, "No. "I'm just trying to find out what really happened to Madison and Julia."
Detective Dixon sighed, "Fine. What do you guys have?"
We told him our list of suspects and the reasons behind them from Noah Robertson to Sebastian Zane to Seth Wilcox to Jenny Kendall to Ray Newton. I secretly wondered how many more suspects might be in the woodwork.
"Oh, and Ariel Walker, despite having been in the bathroom with Madison right before she died, didn't do it," I said finally. "She told me all about it and I believe her."
I had to make that clear to the detective. I was pretty positive that Ariel had nothing to do with the murders of Madison and Julia. Well, ninety-nine percent sure and that was pretty sure. Plus, I didn't want the police spending time suspecting Ariel, when she might turn out to be the next victim.
"We talked to Ariel," Detective Dixon said, but didn't say anything else.
A kernel of fear popped up in my stomach. Was Ariel a suspect then? Why didn't Detective Dixon say anything else? She couldn't be. Seriously, what if Ariel was the one in danger?
