Adventures in Funeral Crashing (18 page)

I picked up my cell phone and stared at it. I
scrolled through the numbers and found Troy’s. I knew Ethan was
going to hate what I was about to do, but it had to be done. I
dialed Troy’s number.

It went to voicemail. Figures that he might
not want to talk to me after my “friend” punched him for making a
move on me. I didn’t blame Troy. Still, I was going to leave a
message. Troy hadn’t cut all ties when he left, after all. He had
told me to look him up after I talked to Ethan and that’s exactly
what I was doing. The beep sounded.

“Hey, Troy. It’s Kait. I’m sooo sorry about
tonight. I don’t know what came over Ethan. I’d still really like
to keep hanging out. Call me, okay?” I hung up.

I half hoped Troy wouldn’t call me back, but
I needed to talk to him. I needed to keep the communication lines
open with him and I needed to find out how things had gone badly
with Jenna Martin. Hopefully I wasn’t rekindling a dating
relationship with a serial killer, like Ethan was going to
think.

I put my phone back on my desk and stared at
my Facebook sent box. Now all I had to do was wait for Jenna to
read her email and respond and for Troy to call me back. I didn’t
know how I was going to get through the anticipation part of all
that. Everything hinged on those two conversations. I tried to take
my mind off of it. I needed to stop thinking about the entire
night, actually. I was still listening for sounds of a break in. I
put Scarlett on my bed and went to my dresser to get out my
pajamas. I was probably going to have a hard time sleeping with my
thoughts spinning in every direction, but I could definitely use
the rest.

I jumped. I heard a sound in the living room.
I dropped my pajamas on the floor. I heard the front door opening.
I grabbed for my cell phone, ready to dial Ethan and the
police.

“Kait?” My dad said from the other room.

I sighed in relief. It took me a second to
stop shaking.

“I’m in my room, Dad!” I yelled back after I
regained my voice and felt relief wash over me.

This whole detective murder mystery business
was starting to get to me. I picked up my pajamas off the floor. It
wouldn’t be good if my dad saw me in my date dress. I changed
quickly. Besides, it was definitely time for me to go to sleep.

I woke up
exhausted the next morning. I had spent the whole night tossing and
turning between nightmares. I guess that figures when you’re in the
middle of a murder investigation. I checked my Facebook before
getting ready for school, but there was no response from Jenna and
definitely no voicemails or texts from Troy. I had practically
slept with my cell phone waiting for him to call me back. Then
again, I didn’t blame him. Ethan had made a terrible enough
impression on him for the both of us.

It was going to be a long day at school. I
was so tired and the day seemed endless even as I got off the bus
at eight in the morning. Still, I was surprised to find Ariel
waiting for me at my locker. It wasn’t a good surprise by any
means, but since I needed a book for my Spanish class out of my
locker, I was going to have to face her.

“So, what’s going on with you and Ethan?”
Ariel asked before I had even reached my locker.

Hadn’t we gone through this, days ago?
“Nothing.”

“Uh-huh,” Ariel watched as I turned my locker
combination. “Is that why he practically tore that guy Troy’s head
off for making a move on you?”

I turned to look at her, incredulous, “Ariel,
if you’re suggesting that Ethan likes me, you’re nuts. You have a
way better chance with him.”

“Oh, is that why as soon as you left with
Troy and I was making my move, Ethan practically pushed me out of
the booth to run after you? I told him you were in the bathroom.
And, he assumed with Troy. Do you know that he busted into the
women’s bathroom looking for you? He scared the shit out of some
old lady peeing in a stall before he decided to check the arcade,”
Ariel was looking at me matter of factly.

That was interesting. It was kind of fun
thinking over what it might mean that Ethan was so frantic to find
me that he burst in on an old lady peeing.

“Hi, Kait!” Dave Rickerson said, walking by,
making me remember where I was.

Even Mike Finnegan, who was walking with him,
waved. That was surreal, but I waved back anyway. Ariel looked at
me incredulously.

“So, Ethan’s friends are saying hi to you for
no reason at all?” Ariel asked.

“Why are you telling me all this, Ariel?” I
asked, ignoring her question.

“Because I think you’re both idiots,” Ariel
started and I knew there was more. “And, if there’s something going
on with you and Ethan, I wondered if you might be interested in
hooking me up with Troy?”

“What?” I was incredulous. Twenty-four hours
ago she had been all about Ethan.

“What? He’s cute,” Ariel shrugged. “He’s in
college and he has super huge muscles. Hot.”

“But you don’t even like art,” I managed.

Ariel looked at me like I was an idiot, “When
you look like me, art is the last thing on any boy’s mind.”

I didn’t know what to say. As much as Ariel
had gone from being my best friend to becoming my arch enemy, I
could not in all honesty set her up with Troy at this very moment.
Troy was not clear of murder suspicion, despite what I thought of
him. And, even if he wasn’t murdering the girls himself, he most
likely had some part in all of it. I could not have my ex-bff’s
murder on my hands, arch enemy or not, so I just said, “Gotta go to
Spanish. Bye…”

Then I sprinted for my Spanish class. I took
off at a full run and everything. Otherwise, I knew Ariel would
have followed me, asking a barrage of Troy questions and annoying
me until I had to give her his number. I was only delaying it,
since I knew this wouldn’t be the end of it. Once Ariel set her
mind on someone, she would not let up, especially if that someone
was a hot guy.

I managed to avoid Ariel all morning after
our bizarre run in, so it was a good day. I hadn’t seen Ethan
either, so it wasn’t a great day (even if we were still in a
fight), but all in all, I was in an okay mood by the time I made it
to Chemistry class, fourth period.

I was one of the first ones to walk into
class, but I noticed Suzie was already at her desk reading the end
of
Pride and Prejudice.
She was so engrossed in it that she
didn’t even notice me walk in. I went to my lab table and set my
books down. That’s when my mind did a double take. I looked back at
Suzie again, who still hadn’t looked up from her book. Yes, it was
definitely
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen that she was
reading. That was an odd coincidence.

Don’t get me wrong. Jane Austen is a great
writer and I’m sure many people enjoy her books (I know I do), but
come on, this is high school. What are the odds of Suzie Whitsett
reading that book at the same time that I got a harassing email
from its long dead author? Was it a coincidence or was there more
to it? And, Suzie had admitted to also reading
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley around the time of the first murder, not to mention
that Suzie was one of the last people to see Liz O’Reilly alive at
the Palos Animal Shelter Adoption Fair in the park.

Now, I couldn’t imagine Suzie having anything
to do with the murders, but there were a lot of weird coincidences.
I also couldn’t ignore the idea that sometimes the quietest ones
could be the most deadly. I looked back at her. I knew that Suzie
had known at least two of the victims. Did she know Troy? Suzie
mentioned that Liz had talked about him, but I hadn’t asked her if
she knew him. Did Suzie have any sort of a motive to try and murder
those girls? I thought for a moment and then before I could
convince myself not to, I walked toward Suzie.

“Hey Suzie,” I said, walking up to her lab
table.

Suzie looked up from her book. “What’s
up?”

“Did you know Troy at all? Liz’s boyfriend?”
I asked.

“Wha-a-t?” Suzie stammered nervously and put
down her book.

“Did you ever meet Troy Matthews?” I asked
again.

“Once,” Suzie admitted after a moment.

“When?” I asked.

“At the animal shelter,” Suzie offered.

“What was he doing there?” I sat down next to
her.

Suzie shifted her chair a fraction of an inch
away from me. “He was there visiting Liz.”

I pressed on, “What did you think of
him?”

Suzie shrugged, “He was cute, but I know he
wouldn’t go for me or anything.”

I raised my eyebrows, “Why not?”

“Most guys don’t,” Suzie admitted, looking
sad. “I’m too quiet and shy people say, but they just usually
don’t.”

I knew how Suzie felt on that account. Guys
didn’t normally fall all over themselves for me either. At least,
not until last night, when they got into a fight over me. That was
an anomaly, though.

“I hear you,” I said, trying to think of my
next question.

Suzie seemed suddenly anxious. Was I getting
to her? I wasn’t even sure what I was getting at. Was she crazy
over Troy too? Were all girls? What was it about him? I felt like I
was in that movie
There’s Something About Mary
except Troy
was Mary. Although, even I had to admit…Troy was pretty cute.

And then Suzie suddenly blurted it out, “So,
I was talking to the girls at the Animal Shelter yesterday and
Jenna kept telling me I should just ask Kyle to Homecoming. She was
really crazy adamant about going after a guy if you liked him.
Anyway, so I thought I’d ask you since you talk to him every
day.”

Finally! I thought. I was right about her and
Kyle. But what if Suzie was a murderer? I couldn’t let Kyle date
her then. I could barely believe I was saying Suzie and murderer in
the same sentence.

And then something dawned on me, “Suzie, the
girl you work with at the animal shelter, Jenna? What’s her last
name?”

Suzie looked confused for a moment. “Jenna
Martin. Do you know her?”

Yes, I knew her, but I only had a few minutes
until the bell was going to ring or before Kyle showed up, and took
up all Suzie’s attention, “She knew Liz too?”

“Yeah,” Suzie said, wondering where I was
going.

Funny, Jenna hadn’t mentioned that. Although,
Ethan and I hadn’t thought to ask her either, mostly because we had
just assumed she didn’t.

“And she introduced you to Olivia Reynolds?”
I continued.

“Well, yeah, for the sewing class,” Suzie was
getting distracted, looking toward the doorway for Kyle. “Why?”

My brain was spinning. Jenna knew at least
three of the victims. She had been around Suzie and her books. And,
now the most important question…

“Do you know if she knew Troy Matthews?” I
had to ask.

Suzie frowned, “Liz’s boyfriend? I don’t
know. He was at the shelter that one day. Jenna might have been
there. Uh…”

Suzie thought for a moment. My mind was
racing. This was the most important detail.

Suzie nodded, “You know, now that I think
about it, Jenna didn’t meet him that day because she had a girl
emergency or something. You know, her period. I leant her a
tampon.”

I still couldn’t be sure Jenna didn’t know
Troy. Maybe she faked the emergency so she didn’t have to see him
because she did know him. I couldn’t be sure. Then again, to be
fair, even Suzie knew a fair amount of the people involved in all
of this and I really doubted she was a murderer despite the
coincidence in books. It was all so involved and confusing. Why
couldn’t investigating a murder be simple and straightforward?

Still, it sure sounded like Jenna, in
addition to Troy, knew all of the murder victims – from Liz to
Vanessa to Olivia. The only person I couldn’t be sure that Jenna
knew was Melissa Kent. Jenna knew about just as many people as Troy
did. Jenna was easily up for grabs as the murderer now. But what
was her motive? Why would she kill her sister or any of the other
girls? Was it about Troy? Was she just crazy?

Suzie was looking at me, puzzled. “Why do you
want to know about Jenna?”

I shook my head, “I just realized I know her
too.”

“Oh. Do you think she has something to do
with…” Suzie left the question open ended.

I smiled, “I don’t know, but there’s some
weird coincidences.”

Suzie thought for a moment, “Uh, well, I
don’t know if this is important, but Jenna was there that day too,
at the Animal Shelter Adoption in the park.”

I felt my blood run cold, “She was?”

Suzie nodded. That put Jenna in the right
place to have gone after Liz.

I thought for a moment and then said, “But
you said Liz left alone? And, that she was going to see Troy?”

“Yeah,” Suzie said.

“Where was Jenna at that time?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Wait, she left early. She said
she had to go home,” Suzie said and then added, “She and Liz did
talk before that, though. I saw them, but Liz seemed totally fine.
I saw them hug and Liz was smiling, so I don’t think they had a
fight or anything.”

“But Liz definitely got in her car alone?” I
asked again.

“Yes,” Suzie replied.

I thought about what I knew. Troy and Jenna
both had potential access to Liz within the hour that she died.
Troy claimed not to have seen Liz for a few days, much less the
night of her death, although if he was guilty, he was lying. Still,
what if Liz just never made it to Troy’s because Jenna killed her?
Even if they had gotten along at the park, she could have followed
Liz, forced her to pull over, and killed her. It had to be one of
them.

I saw Kyle walk into the room and head for
our lab table. Suzie saw him too. Her gaze followed his every step.
She was so innocent. There was no way that she could be the
killer.