Blur (Blur Trilogy) (27 page)

CHAPTER
FIFTY-SEVEN

“Can
yo
u open this for us, Dan?” his father said.

“What’s going on?”

Mr. Reicher answered. “We received word that there’s something in
yo
ur locker that’s not
yo
urs.”

Received wor
d—w
hat’s that supposed to mean? And wh
y
did the
y
call in
yo
ur dad?

“No.” Daniel had a sinking, unsettling feeling as he remembered Nicole finding the necklace in hers. “I didn’t take an
yt
hing from an
yo
ne.”

“Can
yo
u open
yo
ur locker, please?” his dad repeated.

Daniel flipped through the combination and swung the door to the side.

His father donned latex crime scene gloves and removed Daniel’s football equipment one item at a time, inspecting them as he did.

It didn’t take long to find the item that shouldn’t have been in his locker.

A lens.

The one from Emil
y’
s glasses.

His father held it up.

“I don’t know how that got in there.” Daniel’s voice caught as he tried to explain himself.

But he thought he did know how it’d gotten in there.

Yes.

Mr. McKinne
y.

Daniel’s e
ye
s went to the ventilation holes in the locker.

Yes, just like with Nicole’s locker. He slid it in there!

“What’s that from?” Principal Reicher asked Daniel’s father.

“We’ll have to see.”

Coach Warner looked at them quizzicall
y.
“What’s going on?”

“Someone must have dropped it in there,” Daniel exclaimed.

“I’m afraid Daniel is going to miss practice,” his dad told the coaches.

“I’m telling
yo
u,” Daniel said, “I didn’t put that in there.”

Coach Warner looked worried, which onl
y
seemed natural, given the circumstances. “Well, let us know if there’s an
yt
hing
yo
u need us to do.”

Daniel didn’t like the sound of that. It might ver
y
well mean the
y
wouldn’t let him pla
y
in tomorrow night’s game.

His dad went through the rest of the things in his locker, but found nothing else unusual.

Without a word, he replaced the items and then gestured for Daniel to follow him. From across the room, Coach Jostens’s e
ye
s followed them all the wa
y
to the door.

“You told me
yo
u didn’t find the lens,” Daniel’s dad said to him quietl
y.

“I was telling the truth. He stuck it in there. He’s tr
yi
ng to set me up.”

“Who’s tr
yi
ng to set
yo
u up?”

“Mr. McKinne
y.
”

“What are
yo
u talking about?”

Daniel was aware that his father knew Mr. McKinne
y,
but he felt like he didn’t have an
y
choice at this point other than telling the truth, even if it meant getting in trouble for sneaking into his house.

He told his dad about finding Emil
y’
s phone, but left out K
yl
e’s name.

“And how do
yo
u know it was her phone?”

Mentioning Ronnie and the charger might not be good either. “Um . . .”

“What aren’t
yo
u telling me here?”

He finall
y
realized that he needed to be as up-front as possible. “K
yl
e has it. He’s the one who found it in Mr. McKinne
y’
s bedroo
m—a
long with the phones of two other girls we think Mr. McKinne
y
killed.”

Daniel wasn’t sure if he should tell his dad about the text that’d been sent to lure Emil
y
out to Wind
y
Poin
t—t
he message that was supposedl
y
from K
yl
e.

He decided to go ahead.

His father listened in silence. Daniel thought for sure he would rip into him for going into Mr. McKinne
y’
s house, but instead he asked about the cell phones. “And
yo
u’re telling me K
yl
e has these phones?”

“Yes. He wasn’t thinking and took them from the house.”

No reaction. “Your books are in
yo
ur hall locker?”

“Did
yo
u hear what I said?”

“Yes, I heard
yo
u. Let’s have a look in
yo
ur hall locker.”

“For what?”

His didn’t answer him. “Come on.”

The
y
didn’t find an
yt
hing unusual in Daniel’s locker. His dad had him gather an
y
books he needed for homework for tomorrow and Monda
y.

“What’s going on, Dad?”

The students who were still in the halls watche
d—b
ut pretended not to watc
h—a
s the sheriff, dressed in his law enforcement uniform, led his son in the direction of the school entrance.

As the
y
walked, Daniel texted Nicole to sta
y
at school instead of going home, to sta
y
there with K
yl
e.

She didn’t repl
y.

Daniel’s dad waited until the
y
were awa
y
from the other students, then said, “On Monda
y
when we were at the lake
yo
u told me
yo
u’d gone out there for closure.”

“Yeah. From the things I’d been seeing.”

“You said K
yl
e was the one who found the cell phones in Mr. McKinne
y’
s house?”

“Yes.”

“Were
yo
u in the bedroom before he was?”

“What?”

His dad stopped walking. Daniel stood beside him.

“Did
yo
u go in there first, Dan?”

“Yeah, but just for a minute. Mainl
y
I was looking around Mr. McKinne
y’
s office.”

His father was silent.

Daniel felt a stab of concern.

Wh
y
would he even ask
yo
u that?

“Wh
y
don’t
yo
u ride with me?” his dad said, but it didn’t sound like a question. He started for the doors. “We’ll pick up
yo
ur car later.”

No, no, no.

He thinks
yo
u had something to do with this.

That’s ridiculous.

You didn’t do an
yt
hing.

But he’s right,
yo
u were in the bedroom first. You could have planted the phones.

No,
yo
u would remember.

You’ve been having these blurs. If
yo
u can go sleepwalking in the rain and don’t remember it,
yo
u could have . . .

No.

He couldn’t have.

You know details about her death that no one else seems to know. You knew about Trevor, about the glasses. You dreamt of killing her.

A terrible, terrible thought: Was that a dream or could it have been a memor
y?

A nightmare or a realit
y?

Gra
yl
and.

Caught between black and white.

Between good and evil.

That night when T
y
and his buddies tried to attack Nicole, he said he saw
yo
u at the lake. What if he wasn’t talking about Saturda
y
morning, but about the night Emil
y
died?

No.

The lens was in
yo
ur locker.

You fainted at her funeral. You keep seeing her.

Sta
y
on this. Seek the truth. Learn what happened.

Sta
y.
Seek. Learn.

No!

The headache split through him, getting worse, taking over. Bright, needle-sharp spikes invading his mind.

A blur.

Ever
yt
hing was a blur.

The barrier is gone, just like
yo
u told Stac
y.

Fantas
y
meeting realit
y,
blending, intertwining, becoming one.

There was no football game the night Emil
y
died.

You were free. You might have—

The
y
made it to the doors. “Dad, I forgot something in m
y
locker.” He tried to sound casual. “I’ll be right back. Oka
y?
”

A slight pause. “Alright. I’ll wait here.”

As Daniel passed through the hall he was in a daze.

He had to talk to K
yl
e.

When he got to his locker he made sure his father wasn’t following him, then snuck down a side hallwa
y
and out one of the school’s rear exits, and phoned his friend.

“Daniel? Where are
yo
u? I got a text from Nicole. Wh
y
did
yo
u tell her to meet up with me?”

“Is she there?”

“No, I’m with Mia. I told her to meet us. We’re still waiting for her.”

Well, at least she’s on her wa
y.

“Have
yo
u ever thought
yo
u might be capable of doing something unspeakable?” Daniel asked him.

“What are
yo
u talking about?”

“I mean,
yo
u hear about it all the time. Someone snaps and goes on a shooting spree at his school, or some dad takes an axe to his famil
y,
or a mom drives off a pier with her babies in the backseat.”

“Oka
y,
yo
u’re scaring me a little bit here, bro.”

“I’m just sa
yi
ng, did
yo
u ever wonder if
yo
u might come to the place in
yo
ur life where
yo
u could do something like that?”

“No, I haven’t. Some people are whacked out. The
y
lose it.”

Like I have.

This last week.

Blurs.

The headache didn’t ease up, just bristled and regrouped and came at him in consuming waves, each one harsher than the one before.

“But how do
yo
u know
yo
u won’t someda
y
become one of them?”

A pause. “Wh
y
are
yo
u bringing this up an
yw
a
y?
”

“I’m wondering if I might have done something terrible.”

“What?”

“I think I might have killed Emil
y
Jackson.”

CHAPTER
FIFTY-EIGHT

“Wh
y
would
yo
u even sa
y
something like that?”

“The other two girls died the nights of our awa
y
games. I would have been there, I could have . . . I can’t remember things latel
y—
l
ike digging up Akira’s grave. I could have been the one to put the flowers on those graves.”

“No, that’s not eve
n—”

“How come I seem to know more about this than an
yo
ne else?”

“We talked about it before,
yo
ur mind,
yo
u’re piecing this together,
yo
u’r
e—”

“I dreamed that I killed her.”

“Well, for the better part of a week we’ve been suspecting that somebod
y
murdered her. It’s been on
yo
ur mind.”

“What about Trevor? Or the glasses? How did I just happen to find them? M
y
prints were the onl
y
ones on them.”

K
yl
e was slow in repl
yi
ng. “Where are
yo
u? Sta
y
there. I’m coming over. We’ll sort all this out.”

“Behind the school. But I think m
y
dad suspects me. He’ll be looking for me, so don’t pick me up here. You know the woods back here? Meet me on the other side of
’e
m, on River Drive.”

It was a quiet road, not too much traffic. No one would see them.

As Daniel slipped awa
y,
he heard police sirens approaching the school.

Yeah, his dad was looking for him.

And he’d alread
y
called in backup.

CHAPTER
FIFTY-NINE

Daniel had just entered the woods when he heard his name being called, but it wasn’t his dad who was
ye
lling for him to stop.

“Daniel, wait!”

He turned and saw Stac
y
hurr
yi
ng toward him.

“Stac
y,
not now.”

“It’s important. I need to tell
yo
u something.”

His cell rang, his dad’s ringtone. He didn’t answer it. “I have to go. We can talk later.”

But she didn’t stop. She had a strange look on her face. Ma
yb
e it was fear. Ma
yb
e it was—

A thought struck him: back at the lake, Stac
y
was the one who’d pointed out where Emil
y’
s bod
y
was found. She’d used almost the same phrase Ronnie had when he was explaining his suspicions regarding Emil
y’
s death, about someone holding her under the water.

Onl
y
K
yl
e and
yo
u were there when Ronnie said that.

Daniel took a step backward.

What’s real?

What’s not?

Gra
yl
and.

A blur.

Stac
y
lives near the Jacksons’ house, out b
y
Lake Algonquin.

She’s the one who suggested
yo
u find out who was at the lake when Emil
y
died.

His phone vibrated. A text.

Stac
y
came closer.

“Hang on,” he said. “Where were
yo
u on that night when Emil
y
disappeared?”

The phone stopped vibrating.

“What?”

“Were
yo
u at the lake?”

“Listen to me, Daniel.” She was onl
y
a few feet awa
y
from him. “This is ver
y
important.”

A blur.

It’s all a blur.

Sta
y.
Seek. Learn.

He glanced at his phone and saw that the text was from Nicole: “Wolf Cave. 30 minutes.”

What?

He looked back at Stac
y.

She took another step and held out her hand. “Daniel, take it eas
y.
You have t
o—”

He reached out to push her back, and his fingers closed on nothing but thin air.

At first he thought she’d somehow pulled her arm out of the wa
y
before he could touch her, but then he realized she had not.

No.

She.

Had not.

His fingers had passed through her arm as if it didn’t exist. He reached for her again, tried to hold her wrist, came up with nothing.

He stumbled backward as she simpl
y
stood there, quietl
y
watching him.

No. It can’t be.

Thoughts raced through his mind, c
yc
ling around each other, v
yi
ng for his attention, closing in and then fading awa
y
as if the
y
were mist caught in a breeze.

She’s not real.

She’s—

Ever
y
time
yo
u talked with her
yo
u were alon
e—a
fter school, at the lake, at
yo
ur house, in
yo
ur bedroom.

She wouldn’t let
yo
u help her through the window at
yo
ur house. She didn’t want
yo
u to touch her. She knew where
yo
u live and that
yo
u were at the doctor’s on Monda
y,
even though
yo
u onl
y
told K
yl
e and Nicole.

She never answered her phone calls or texts.

Because she isn’t there.

She isn’t real.

His gaze dropped to his hands. The
y
were shaking.

“Daniel,” she said. “Look at me. It’s time to stop him. It’s not who
yo
u think it is.”

His headache splintered apart in his mind.

He lifted his head and locked e
ye
s with her.

Mia couldn’t find an
yo
ne who knew her.

Nicole was confused when
yo
u said her name.

Stac
y
had no Facebook page.

Nothing came up for her when the
y
Googled her name.

It was all an illusion. All a dream.

A blur.

The biggest one of all.

Stac
y
Clern onl
y
existed in his mind.

Or ma
yb
e she’s a ghost.

Ma
yb
e—

“The awa
y
games,” she said. “The other girls. That’s the ke
y.
Who would have been at those football games? Think of the photos, the girls. Look it up. Sta
y
on this, Daniel. Seek the truth. Learn what happened. Don’t give up.” As she spoke, she began to transform before his e
ye
s.

Her skin became mottled, her hair changed from dark brown to blond, her clothes went from dr
y
to soaking wet. Her flesh began to swell and become bluish. Clumps of lake-bottom weeds appeared in her hair, just like the
y
had when he first saw Emil
y
at the funeral.

Her face morphed from one girl to the other.

He was no longer looking at Stac
y
Clern.

But at Emil
y
Jackson.

How do people wake up from a dream? The
y
pinch
themselves.

He tried it, pinching his forearm fiercel
y,
just like he had when he first saw Emil
y
move in her casket, fingernails digging into his skin, but the image didn’t go awa
y.

You’re awake. This is reall
y
happening.

Stac
y.

Emil
y.

Sta
y.
Seek. Learn.

Stac
y
Clern.

Her name.

No, no, no, no, no!

It couldn’t be.

But it was.

And then she began to disintegrate before his e
ye
s, fading back into time and space as the memories of Stac
y
swarmed, merged, combined with his memories of Emil
y,
and the
y
all began to become an inseparable part of the moment.

The image faded awa
y
until onl
y
the outline of a girl
remained.

And then even that was gone.

Another text came through.

Also from Nicole’s phone.

As he read it, a terrible shiver shot through him: “Come alone. I have her.”

No!

Stac
y
told
yo
u the ke
y
is the photos.

The photos.

Using his phone, he quickl
y
surfed to the articles that reported the deaths of the other two girls and saw that each of the girls was wearing a necklace with a heart-shaped locket in the smiling press photos the newspaper had used to report their deaths.

He gave them each a necklace.

He gave one to Nicole.

She’s next.

Wolf Cave.

Get there.

Go!

Now!

With the sheriff’s department looking for him at the school, using his own car was out of the question.

He angled through the woods to the place where he’d agreed to meet K
yl
e.