Twisted

by Jo Gibson

  Jennifer was frowning as she headed for the stairs with Tim. The rotating table, the candles that extinguished themselves, Kelly’s voice, the pin and note on Melanie’s pillow. They hadn’t done any of that! And there didn’t seem to be anything they could say or do to convince Pete.

  When they stopped at Jennifer’s door, Tim put his arms around her. “Pete doesn’t believe us.”

  “I know. What are we going to do, Tim?”

  Tim reached out to touch her hair. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Our séance is out of control. Pete thinks we’re running the show, but we’re not. Someone else is. Do you think it’s Kelly?”

  “I don’t know.” Jennifer shook her head. “I’m only sure of one thing. We started something at the séance tonight. And now I just wish we could stop it!”

  Melanie was tired, but she couldn’t seem to get up the nerve to go to bed. She could still see the mark on her pillow where the pin had been thrust, and it made her feel creepy inside. She really wished that Kelly had picked someone else to contact.

  This wasn’t part of Jennifer and Tim’s skit. Melanie was sure of that. They’d looked just as shocked as everyone else when they’d seen the pin and the note. Kelly’s spirit had come back from the grave to tell Melanie her secret.

  Melanie’s hands were shaking as she slipped on jeans and a sweatshirt. For all she knew the person who’d murdered Kelly might be right here at the haunted lodge. If Kelly told her who it was, she could be in terrible danger. The killer could decide to murder her before she had the chance to tell the rest of the group.

  There was no way she was going to sit here and wait for the killer to appear. Melanie jumped up and headed for the door. She’d go downstairs and arm herself with the fireplace poker, and she’d stay awake until everyone else got up in the morning. If the killer came to her room, he wouldn’t find her sitting here trembling like a frightened rabbit. She’d be downstairs, ready to sound the alarm if she heard anything unusual.

  It was very quiet as Melanie grabbed her favorite snakeskin boots and slipped out of her room. She locked the door behind her and stayed close to the wall as she went down the stairs in the darkness. Everyone else was sleeping by now, everyone except the killer, and her. She wasn’t frightened now that she had a plan. Everything would work out just fine.

  The lobby was deserted, just as she had thought it would be. Melanie hurried to the fireplace, picked up the poker, and gave a sigh of relief. The poker was exactly the right weight. One swing and the killer would crumple. It was a perfect weapon for Melanie since she’d been the best hitter on the girls’ softball team, two years in a row.

  Melanie sat down on the couch, tucked her feet up under her, and listened to the sounds of the night. The lodge was old and it creaked in the wind. The rain was still falling, splattering against the windowpane, and the sound made Melanie glad that she was inside by a warm fire.

  The fire was mesmerizing and Melanie’s eyelids began to droop. The crackle of the logs and the hiss of the flames was very soothing. The leather couch was soft and it cushioned her body perfectly, cradling her like a baby in its mother’s arms.

  Rain outside, warmth inside, and soft, soft pillows. Melanie smiled a sleepy smile and stretched out, nestling her head against her arm. She’d just close her eyes for a moment to rest them. A minute or two would do her a world of good. If she took a quick little nap, she’d wake up refreshed and ready to stay alert for the remainder of the night.

  A soft sigh escaped Melanie’s lips as she slipped deeper and deeper into sleep. She didn’t hear the stealthy footsteps as they approached her, and she didn’t see the smile that spread across his face. She didn’t even hear his satisfied chuckle as he opened the front door of the lodge and stepped out into the night.

  Of course, he had to kill her. He’d known that the moment she’d appeared with the note. He didn’t believe that Kelly had written it from the grave. There was another explanation, one that made much more sense.

  Melanie’s parents lived next door to Kelly’s mother, and the two girls had been good friends. Kelly must have told Melanie her secret and now Melanie was about to reveal it. Since she was an actress, she’d decided to do it in the most dramatic way possible.

  The butterfly pin had thrown him at first. It had almost made him believe in Kelly’s ghost. But then he’d remembered that Melanie worked part-time at Hampton’s jewelry store. It would have been simple for Melanie to buy another pin, just like the one that Kelly had loved, to make her story more believable.

  Of course, Melanie couldn’t actually prove that he’d killed Kelly. She was only guessing about the murder, trying to freak him out so much that he’d confess. That was why he had to eliminate her, before she could get any more fake messages from the “other side.”

  It didn’t take long to get ready. All he needed was a heavy shovel and a pair of work gloves from the shed at the back of the lodge. He’d make it look like an accident. That way the rest of the group wouldn’t get suspicious. He walked around to the front of the lodge, by the lobby window, and knelt down in the bushes. And then he made the sound that would bring Melanie outside in the rain.

  At first she thought she was dreaming, but then she heard it again. It was a tiny, whimpering sound that she recognized immediately. There was a puppy outside the window, a poor little puppy in the cold and the rain. There was no way Melanie could stay inside by the warmth of the fire and ignore the puppy’s pitiful cries.

  “Hold on, baby. I’m coming.” Melanie got up, pulled on her boots, and headed for the door. Puppies were her very favorite animals and this poor little thing would get soaked in the rain. Young puppies were very vulnerable and this one sounded weak and sick. Puppies could catch colds and die if they were exposed to the elements and she had to do something to help. She’d find him and bring him inside. Then she’d wrap him in a towel and heat some milk for him to drink. If she kept him warm, she could save his life.

  Melanie shivered as she pushed open the door. The rain was coming down steadily and it had turned very cold. No wonder the poor little thing was crying! Who wouldn’t cry if they had to stay outside on a night like this?

  “Where are you, baby? Come on, boy.” Melanie listened and she heard another cry. The puppy sounded young and very scared. The cries were coming from the area by the side of the lodge and Melanie hurried down the path to find him.

  “Come on, puppy. Come to Melanie.” She rounded the corner and stopped to listen again. For a moment everything was silent, but then she heard a small cry that seemed to come from the woodpile that was stacked against the wall. The puppy must have crawled under the logs to try to keep dry. He could even be stuck under there.

  Melanie bent over to look, but all she saw were logs. She got down on her knees and whistled softly. “Here, boy . . . come out here so I can see you. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

  Just then there was a sound above her head and Melanie turned to look up. There was someone dressed in a rain poncho looming over her. “What are you . . . ?”

  But she never had a chance to finish her question. A huge log toppled, crashing into her head. And then the rest of the woodpile followed, crushing the life from her body and half-burying her under a jumbled mass of firewood.

  Ten

  “My name isn’t Mousie, it’s Jennifer. And I’ve got tons of self-confidence. I’ve even got chutzpah and I’m going to prove it when Tim knocks on my door!”

  Jennifer was very determined as she faced her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing her best pink sweater, the one everyone said brought out the color in her cheeks. It was true. Her cheeks were very pink, but that was probably because she was embarrassed about talking to herself in front of the mirror.

  She’d spent a long time thinking after everyone else had gone to bed. She knew that she wasn’t in love with Tommy any longer and she wasn’t sure she’d ever really been in love with him. She’d just wanted to date him because he was so handsome a
nd popular.

  Tim was another matter. Jennifer liked him a lot and she wanted to date him, but she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way about her. What could she do?

  Jennifer knew exactly what Lexie would tell her. She’d say that there was only one way to find out. Jennifer had to stop being so timid and ask Tim exactly how he felt about her. But that was easier said than done, and Jennifer just hoped that Tim would get here before she lost her courage.

  “I know he likes me. He wouldn’t have let me use his letter jacket if he didn’t like me. Lexie’s right. I’m just going to come right out and ask him. The minute he knocks on my door, I’m going to . . .”

  There was a knock on her door and she jumped. Tim was here! Chutzpah. She had to have enough chutzpah to ask him!

  Jennifer didn’t think. She just raced to the door and opened it. And then she pulled Tim inside, before she could change back into Mousie again.

  “Hey . . .” Tim grinned down at her. “I thought the guys weren’t allowed in the girls’ rooms.”

  “They’re not.” Jennifer took a deep breath, and then she motioned to the edge of her bed. “Sit down, Tim. We need to talk.”

  “About the séance?” Tim sat down.

  “No. About us. How much do you like me, Tim?”

  “How much do I like you? Oh . . . about this much!”

  Tim spread out his arms and Jennifer started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. “Cut it out, Tim . . . that’s what my dad used to do!”

  “And he was crazy about you, wasn’t he?”

  “Sure, he was . . . but . . .”

  “So am I,” Tim interrupted her. “I think about you every day, and I’m happy when I’m with you. I don’t want to date anyone else, just you, Jen. And I wish you’d hurry and get over that stupid crush you’ve got on my twin brother.”

  Jennifer felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Perhaps chutzpah wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She’d certainly gotten much more than she’d bargained for!

  “Well? What do you have to say, Jen?”

  Jennifer said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Uh . . . well . . . I’m over the crush I had on your brother.”

  “That’s a step in the right direction.” Tim started to grin again. “Now, how much do you like me?”

  Jennifer opened her mouth and then she closed it again. Her knees felt weak and now that the moment was here, she was suddenly speechless. What if she said the wrong thing?

  “What is it, Jen? Don’t you like me as much as I like you?”

  “No!” Jennifer managed to find her voice. “I mean . . . yes. I just don’t want to say the wrong thing.”

  “You can’t say the wrong thing, Jen. There isn’t any wrong thing around me, as long as you’re honest. Now, I’m not quite sure what you said. Was that a yes? Or a no?”

  “I don’t remember the question!” Jennifer started to laugh. “But I feel the same way you do, Tim. And I don’t want to date anyone else, either.”

  Tim smiled. “Great! Then you should keep the jacket, because we’re going steady, except for a technicality.”

  “What technicality?” Jennifer was puzzled.

  “We haven’t gone out on a date yet, so how could we be going steady?”

  “Oh. I see. You’ve got a point, but what can we do about it?”

  “I’m not sure. We can’t go on a date while we’re up here at the lodge. There’s nowhere to go. Do you think a kiss would count the same as a date?”

  Jennifer walked over and sat down next to him, on the edge of the bed. She felt very strange, kind of warm and quivery inside. “Yes. I think a kiss would count.”

  And then Tim was kissing her, his lips brushing lightly against hers. Jennifer sighed and snuggled closer, reaching up with her arms to clasp them around his neck. And then she said something very bold, something she’d never expected to hear herself saying in a million years. It was chutzpah, plain and simple, and Lexie would have been proud of her. “I’m not sure that one kiss counts. Let’s do it again to make sure.”

  “Jen? We really should go.”

  Jennifer sighed. And then she smiled a happy, contented smile. “Go where?”

  “Downstairs. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

  “Oh.” Jennifer looked up into Tim’s wonderfully green eyes. “What time is it, anyway?”

  “It’s almost ten.”

  “Oh, my God!” Jennifer sat up so fast, she was dizzy. Of course, she was already dizzy from Tim’s kisses, so it really didn’t matter. “We’d better go downstairs right away! They’re probably wondering where we are!”

  Tim laughed as he helped her to her feet. “I think that’s what I just said. Either that, or there’s an echo in here.”

  “You did? Oh. I’m sorry, Tim. I guess I was kissing . . . I mean . . . thinking about something else. Check the hall, will you? I don’t want anyone to know that we broke the rules.”

  Tim opened the door a crack. “All clear. Come on, Jen. Let’s go.”

  But just as they were stepping out the door, they heard someone running down the hall. It was too late to go back inside and Jennifer groaned as she saw that it was Susie. Although she didn’t really mean to gossip, Susie had the biggest mouth at Foothill High.

  But Susie didn’t seem to notice that both of them were leaving the room at the same time. She just grabbed Jennifer’s hand. “Come on. We’ve got to hurry. Did you guys have any luck?”

  “Uh . . . well . . .” Jennifer had all she could do to keep a straight face. They’d had a lot of luck! They were going steady! But somehow, she didn’t think that was what Susie was asking. Instead of answering, Jennifer turned the question around. “How about you, Susie? Did you have any luck?”

  “No. I checked the whole third floor, so you don’t have to do that. How far did you guys get?”

  Tim saw that Jennifer was about to crack up, so he took over. “Not very far.”

  “Okay. I’ll do this floor and then I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  Susie raced off, and Jennifer turned to Tim. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, but Susie seemed really freaked. I think we’d better go down to the lobby and find out.”

  The moment Jennifer and Tim walked into the lobby, Tommy rushed up to them. “Hey, Tim. Did you find her?”

  “Find who?”

  “Melanie. Didn’t you hear? No one’s seen her since last night. I thought you guys were checking the second floor.”

  Tim shook his head. “Susie’s doing it. Where do you want us to look?”

  “Everybody else is searching the lodge. Why don’t you two start outside. It stopped raining and she might have gone for a walk.”

  “Okay. We’ll report in right away if we find her.”

  Jennifer was frowning as they stepped outside. She doubted that Melanie had gone for a walk, all by herself. Tim must have been thinking the same thing because he looked worried.

  “Her car’s still here.” Tim motioned toward the red Honda in the parking lot. “At least she didn’t try to drive down the mountain.”

  “That’s a relief! I thought she might have tried to go home. She did a pretty good job of hiding it, but I know she was really freaked by that note.”

  “Jen?” Tim pointed at the row of bushes that had been planted under the lobby windows. “Do those bushes look trampled to you?”

  Jennifer moved closer. There were several broken branches right in the center of the clump, directly under the window. “It looks like someone was hiding in there.”

  “Someone . . . or something.”

  Jennifer shivered. Kelly’s spirit? But spirits didn’t trample bushes. They had no earthly substance, according to the books she’d read. That’s why they could walk through solid walls and enter locked rooms. They weren’t limited by earthly boundaries. “Do you mean . . . an animal?”

  “Possibly. But it’s unusual for a big animal like a bear or a mountain lion to come this close to humans. It was
probably a dog. And since there aren’t any prints, it must have happened before three in the morning.”

  Jennifer turned to look at Tim in surprise. “How can you tell?”

  “It rained until three, hard enough to wash away any prints. After that, it turned into a fine mist.”

  “What were you doing up that late?”

  “Thinking about you, hoping that you’d come up to knock on my door. And wishing that I had the nerve to go down and knock on yours.”

  Jennifer began to smile. She’d been blind not to notice that Tim really cared about her. She was about to suggest that he kiss her again, when she noticed another broken branch on another bush. And then another. And another. Leading right up to the corner of the lodge.

  “Whatever it was, I think it went this way.” Jennifer pointed out the trail of broken branches. “Come on, Tim.”

  As they stepped around the corner, Jennifer stopped and pointed at the woodpile. “Look at that, Tim! Somebody left their boots out here!”

  Before Jennifer could walk any closer, Tim moved in front of her, blocking her view. He looked very grim as he turned her around so she couldn’t see the woodpile.

  “Tell the guys to come out here, Jen. And stay inside until we come back.”

  Jennifer nodded. And then she hurried toward the door. At first her horrified mind had refused to believe what was right front of her eyes. But now she knew, and the frightening image was firmly implanted in her mind. Those weren’t logs at the very bottom of the woodpile. They were Melanie’s legs, wearing her favorite snakeskin boots!

  “Poor Melanie!” Lexie sighed. “She must have gone outside for more firewood and pulled out the wrong log so the woodpile collapsed.”

  “But why did she go outside for more firewood?” Tommy was puzzled. “There’s a whole stack right here, next to the fireplace.”

  Susie thought about it for a minute, and then she shrugged. “Maybe she was worried that we’d run out.”