Player (18 page)

“Yeah. I called every single girl that Lily had programmed into her cell phone. I think they thought I was nuts, calling them about a stupid earring when my sister died a week ago. But none of them knew anything about it.”

“So there’s a good chance that the earring really did come from the killer,” Josh said thoughtfully.

“I’m afraid to get my hopes up,” Bryan admitted. He pulled up a chair next to Josh. “If it turns out to be nothing, we’ll be back at square one.”

“Did I miss something? When did we get off square one?”

“No one ever said this was going to be easy.” Bryan shrugged. “I don’t suppose you noticed any of our suspects at the mall last night? That would just be too convenient.”

“No, I didn’t,” Josh began, and then darted forward in his seat. “Wait a minute . . . Kevin!”

Josh hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Jasmine long enough to get back into detective mode. But Kevin had been at the mall, and he’d been acting strange lately. Always bitter and angry for reasons Josh couldn’t fathom. Could he have been at the mall stalking Jasmine? Was he lurking in the parking lot, waiting for her?

“Kevin was there?” Bryan repeated. “What was he doing?”

“I guess he was shopping, just like everyone else at the mall.” Josh suddenly felt defensive. He couldn’t believe he suspected one of his oldest friends of murder. It was ridiculous and he felt like it was Bryan’s fault for putting crazy notions into his head.

“I know this is hard for you,” Bryan sympathized. “Just because Kevin was at the mall doesn’t make him the killer. It could be a coincidence. Besides, I don’t think that butterfly is really Kevin’s style.”

“No, it isn’t.” Josh chuckled despite himself, but then he had a thought that wiped the amusement off his face. “Bryan, what if the earring was planted? What if it was Kevin, and he dropped the earring in the car to make us think it was one of the girls?”

“I never thought of that. Damn, do you really think the killer is that smart?”

“They were smart enough to get away with murder,” Josh reminded him. “The person we’re dealing with is obviously crazy, and crazy people are usually smart. They’re dropping clues all over the place, but nothing we can use. They’re playing with us. This is all a game to them.”

“They may have made their first mistake,” Bryan observed. “I can’t imagine they intended to keep Jazz alive. They must have thought she was dead when they left her there. If only she would wake up! We could learn so much from her.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I hope to God that she does wake up, even if she doesn’t remember a thing.” Outside, Josh heard stomping feet in the hall, indicating that classes were changing. “Come on. We already missed homeroom.”

Bryan nodded his agreement. They both stood from their chairs and walked out into the hallway. Kevin was strolling by the door just as they stepped out, and greeted with them with his usual charm. He looked at Bryan with undisguised contempt.

“Man, what are you doing with this drunk? Don’t you know a total loser when you see one?”

“I think you should shut your mouth, Kevin!” Josh told him. “Before someone shuts it for you.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bryan’s muscles tensing and knew he was ready for a fight.

“I was only joking around,” Kevin said, but his voice was lacking even the slightest hint of sincerity. “Me and Grant here are old pals. Aren’t we pals, Grant?”

“Oh yeah,” Bryan replied sarcastically. “We’re best buddies.”

“See, what did I tell you?” Kevin slapped Bryan’s back just a little too hard. “We’re all great friends.”

Bryan looked about ready to explode, but he somehow managed to maintain his composure. “I’ve got to get to class,” he said through clenched teeth. “Josh, we’ll talk later.”

Once Bryan was out of earshot, Josh turned to Kevin and tried to sound civil in the hopes of getting some information. “Sorry I blew you off at the mall last night. I was in a hurry to get back before my dad found out I snuck out with his car. So what were you doing there anyway?”

Josh was sure his voice sounded strained, but Kevin didn’t seem to notice. He shrugged nonchalantly. “I was just picking up some stuff. Listen, I should get going. I’ll see you at lunch. Okay?”

“Sure.” Despite his reluctant agreement, he watched Kevin disappear around the corner with growing suspicion. Kevin hadn’t been carrying any bags when he ran into him. So what was he “picking up” at the mall?

When the bell rang and Josh realized he was late for his first class, he decided to skip it all together. Instead, he went back into the yearbook room. Cropping the photos of the cheerleaders seemed like a better idea than listening to some boring lecture on the Civil War. He switched on his computer and waited for it to buzz to life.

When he pulled up the cheerleading file, Elena’s face was the first to pop up on the screen, greeting him with a huge smile and pompoms waving. As he studied the photo more closely, Josh did a double take and nearly fell out of his chair. At first, he thought it was his imagination. He magnified the photos three times just to be sure. The evidence was unmistakable. The butterfly earrings definitely belonged to Elena.

Josh tapped his pencil nervously against his desktop as he sat in English class and stared at Elena. He cared even less about the discussion on Pride and Prejudice than he would have under normal circumstances. All he could think about were Elena and her butterfly earrings. She was mean, conceited, and a gossip, but it was hard to believe she was capable of murder.

Josh was studying Elena so intently that he accidently snapped his pencil in half. He shook his head as he tossed the broken pieces onto his desk in frustration. He was so sick of suspecting everyone he knew of murder. He hated that people had been hurt and he was helpless to stop it. He especially hated that his entire world had turned upside down. This was his senior year. It was supposed to be one of the best years of his life. Now everything was falling apart, and it all came back to the fact that he was a player.

“Joshua Hanover, please report to the principal’s office.”

The loud speaker crackled to life as the principle’s secretary issued the summons, interrupting Josh’s thoughts. He couldn’t imagine why he would be called to the office in the middle of the afternoon. Even if they realized he had cut a few classes that morning, his punishment could have waited until the end of the day.

Josh picked up his books, stood from his seat, and moved toward the door in a daze. An idiot in the back of the class started everyone singing a butchered rendition of “Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye”. The teacher was still trying to restore order when Josh turned the corner.

It didn’t take long for Josh to reach the main office. The secretary who had paged him barely looked up from her keyboard when Josh walked into the room. She gestured toward the back office. Mr. Graves, the principal, was sitting in the chair normally reserved for the school troublemakers. He looked worried, and that made Josh worry. The older man kept running his hands nervously through his thinning hair. He hadn’t even noticed Josh was standing there.

“Mr. Graves,” Josh said softly. “Did you want to see me?”

“Joshua!” the principal replied, just a little too loudly. He cracked each one of his fingers as he spoke. “I’m so glad that you were able to get here so quickly. Why don’t you just go right ahead and step into my office?”

Josh took a few tentative steps, but stopped when he noticed Mr. Graves wasn’t following him. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“No, no, no,” Mr. Graves said. He was so nervous, he was practically stuttering. Josh had never seen him that way before. He was usually so strict and unwavering, an almost foreboding presence to the students. “You go ahead without me. There’s someone waiting inside to talk to you.”

Josh was starting to feel just as uncomfortable as Mr. Graves looked. He inched his way over to the door and slowly turned the handle. The door creaked as it swung open, revealing an immaculate office. There was a desk, a few bookshelves, and diplomas hanging on the wall. There were pictures of the principal’s wife and children lined up next to his computer, and behind the desk was a high-backed swivel chair. In that chair was a rather large man wearing a gray suit, minus the jacket. Even though his back was turned to him, Josh immediately knew who it was.

“Hello, Detective Gibula.”

“Hello yourself, Mr. Hanover.” The detective spun around to face him. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine,” Josh replied politely. “How about you?”

“To be honest, I’m pretty damn tired,” he admitted with an exaggerated yawn. “I was up all night investigating a certain incident at the Williamstown Mall. Have you heard anything about it?”

Before Josh could respond, the door flew open again, banging loudly against the wall. Josh’s father stormed into the room, beat-red and furious. “You don’t have to say a word, Josh. Not without an attorney.”

Josh felt like he was going to sink into the floor. “I don’t need an attorney, Dad. I have nothing to hide!”

“Good.” Detective Gibula smirked, revealing his coffee stained teeth. “After all, this is just a friendly conversation. So, the girl who was attacked, did you know her? Preston, her name is.”

Josh’s father looked ready to burst a blood vessel, but he stayed silent. “I was dating her for a little while. I guess you could say we’re friends.”

“Ah, yes. You were dating that other girl too, weren’t you. The one who committed suicide? Cavalier, right? It’s funny how all your girlfriends are turning up either dead or close to it.”

Josh didn’t think it was funny at all and he didn’t like the accusing tone of his voice. “I tried to warn you about this from the beginning, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“Yes, I remember our previous conversation.” He pulled out a cigarette from his pack before he realized he wasn’t in his own office. He still put the end of it into his mouth, even though it wasn’t lit. “I remember it quite well. I’ve thought about it a lot since I found out this other girl was also a friend of yours. Jessica? Is that her name?”

“Jasmine.”

“Yes, Jasmine. Well, as I was saying, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said the day you came in to see me. And I think you might have been on to something with your suspicions about Lily Cavalier. Maybe there was some foul play involved there.”

It hardly took a brain surgeon to figure that out. “That’s very perceptive of you, sir.”

“I’m actually fairly certain that there’s a connection between Lily and Janine, I mean . . .  Jasmine,” Detective Gibula continued. He leaned back into the swivel chair, and Josh wondered how it was able to handle his bulk. “In fact, there’s little doubt in my mind.” He was silent for a minute. Josh wasn’t sure if he expected some kind of response or perhaps a round of applause.

“Are we finished here?” Josh’s father asked.

“Not quite.” Detective Gibula’s phony smile couldn’t have looked more strained. “I was talking with Miss Preston’s co-workers this morning. Several of them said they saw you at the mall last night. They said the two of you were having a pretty intense conversation. You even grabbed her by the shoulders at one point. Then later, she went off with you during her break and seemed disturbed, maybe a little frightened, when she returned. Would you mind if I asked what you were talking about?”

Josh tried to ignore his father’s burning stare and concentrated on his conversation with the policeman. “Nothing much,” Josh replied. “It’s kind of personal.”

“Can you tell me specifically what you were talking about?”

“I’d rather not.”

The detective was losing his patience, and with it his insincere smile. “I’d like it very much if you would.” He wasn’t exactly threatening, but it was obvious he wanted an answer.

“If you insist. I told her she needed to be careful.”

“Were you threatening her?” he interrupted.

“Josh, you don’t have to answer these questions,” his father told him.

“He’s right, Josh,” Detective Gibula said smoothly. “You do have the right to remain silent.”

“No. It’s fine. Dad, I know what I’m doing,” Josh exclaimed. “I wasn’t threatening her. I was warning her. I told her that Bryan and I thought Lily was murdered, and I told her she might be in danger too.”

“Did she believe you?” He had taken out a notepad from his jacket pocket, and was writing something down. Josh didn’t like that.

“No, she didn’t take me seriously.”

“Why not? If you were friends, shouldn’t she have trusted you?”

“I don’t know why she didn’t believe me. I guess she thought I was playing a trick on her.”

“Hmmm. Why did you think she was in danger in the first place?”

“Because I was poisoned and one of my girlfriends was murdered!” It was really difficult to keep from adding “duh” at the end of the sentence.

“Was that the only reason? That doesn’t explain why you were so worried about Miss Preston that you felt the need to call her cell phone five times in a row and then drive all the way to the mall to bother her at work.”

So they had already checked Jasmine’s phone records. It only made sense. It was probably a standard procedure. Besides, Josh had a good enough explanation. “I got another one of those notes, like the other ones I gave you.”