Twisted (15 page)

Amy reached out to touch his hand. “Don't worry, Kevin. I trust you.”

“I know you do.” Kevin nodded and put the car in gear. They rode in silence for several minutes, until they pulled up in front of the school. That was when Kevin turned to smile at her. “You make such a perfect queen, Amy. You're the only girl in the Senior class who's kind, and faithful, and true.”

A
my couldn't help being a little nervous as she walked up the sidewalk toward the school with Kevin at her side. Kevin had used an unusual combination of words to describe her, and that made Amy very uneasy. Although she hadn't received any Valentines from Cat, she remembered the poems that the other girls had found in their lockers. And one of them had been,
Roses are red, violets are blue. A queen should be kind, faithful, and true.

“Do you have the key?”

Kevin turned to look at her. His eyes were so intense that Amy almost said she'd left it at the Hungry Burger. But before she could stuff her key ring back in her pocket to hide it, Kevin reached out and took it from her hand.

“Here. I'll open the door for you, Amy.”

“Thank you, Kevin.” Amy did her best to sound perfectly normal. She was sure that she was just nervous about her test score, and that was the reason why she was so jumpy. Kevin's choice of words had to be accidental. After all, he'd been at the table when they'd read the poems that Cat had written on the Valentines. And the intense look in his eyes could be easily explained by the fact that they were going to look at their test scores. She was nervous about hers, and so was Kevin.

The school was eerie at night. The bright banks of fluorescent lights in the hall were partially turned off at night to save on electricity, and only the ones at the ends of the halls were on. That made the tall shapes of the lockers that lined the halls seem to loom up, out of the darkness, as Amy and Kevin walked past.

As they climbed the stairs to Mr. Dorman's office, Amy shivered. Their footsteps sounded very loud in the silent and deserted halls.

When they reached the principal's office, Amy turned to Kevin. “I know it sounds silly, but I promised Mr. Dorman I wouldn't let anyone else into his office. You don't mind waiting out here, do you, Kevin?”

“No. I don't mind waiting for you, Amy.” Kevin's voice was very tense. “We've waited for you for a long time.”

What did
that
mean? Amy's hands were shaking as she unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing it tightly behind her. Kevin was acting very strange tonight. And then she remembered what he'd said to Danny when they'd left the Hungry Burger.
You don't have to worry about Amy. I'll keep her right with me, forever.

Amy's knees were shaking as she turned back to look out through the pane of glass in the door. Kevin wasn't watching her. He was staring down the hall, and his lips were moving. He seemed to be talking to someone, but there was no one else here!

Was he praying? Amy frowned. It seemed useless to pray for a good grade now. It was too late. The results were already posted, and a low grade couldn't miraculously change into a higher one. Perhaps Kevin was religious and he believed in miracles. Religion didn't necessarily have to make sense.

Amy shivered as she watched Kevin in the dim light filtering down the hall. He looked very strange . . . but it was more than strange.

Kevin looked totally insane.

That was when Amy caught sight of the grade sheet that was posted by the door. One set of initials seemed to pop out at her, almost as if they were highlighted in red.

Kevin A. Thomas.

K.A.T. Kevin was Cat! Amy didn't stop to think. She just flipped the lock on the door as quietly as she could, locking herself in, and Kevin out. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she hurried to the secretary's desk. She had to call for help!

But there was no dial tone when she lifted the receiver, only a faint trace of static on a closed line. Mr. Dorman had switched off the phones when he'd left for the day, and anyone who wanted to use the line had to punch in a code to get a dial tone.

Amy put the receiver back in its cradle. The phone was useless to anyone who didn't know the code. She couldn't call for help, but she had to do something!

That was when she heard the sound of glass breaking, and she whirled to see Kevin's arm reaching through the shards of glass to unlock the door. Amy was so frightened, she said the first thing that came to her mind.

“Kevin . . . I know you're Cat. But why did you do it? I just don't understand!”

Kevin unlocked the door and came into the room, stepping carefully over the broken pieces of glass. “Careful, Amy. There's a mess here, and I don't want you to cut yourself.”

Amy could feel the room starting to spin around her. Kevin was totally insane. He was more concerned about the glass on the floor than he was about killing Tanya, and Gail, and Jessica, and Michele. “Why, Kevin? Why did you kill them?”

“I had no choice, Amy. Don't you see? I had to make sure they didn't win the contest. They weren't worthy enough to be queen.”

Amy drew a deep breath for courage. It was too late to run and there was nowhere to go. “But . . . what did they do?”

“They were cruel to Karen. They gossiped and they said things that weren't true. You tried to stop them but it didn't work.”

“You killed them because they gossiped?” Amy tried to make some sense out of what Kevin was saying.

“That's part of it, but it's not the only reason. I told you, Amy. They weren't worthy. I gave them a second chance, but they couldn't pass my test. You're the only one who's worthy enough to be queen.”

Amy took another big breath, but black spots still swirled in front of her eyes. She remembered that night at the Hungry Burger, last summer, when Tanya had been gossiping about Kevin's sister, Karen. She'd tried to stop it, but the other girls hadn't listened. And now they were dead.

“You do understand, don't you, Amy?”

Kevin was staring at her and Amy shuddered. His eyes were cold and dead, just like the girls he'd killed. Somehow, she had to get him to take her back down to the Hungry Burger, where someone could call the police.

“I'm trying to understand, Kevin. I really am. And I want you to tell me all about it on the way back down to the Hungry Burger.”

“The Hungry Burger?” Kevin frowned slightly.

“That's right. Everybody's waiting to find out how they did on the History test. You wouldn't want to disappoint your friends, would you? You know how important our grades are.”

Kevin laughed. It was a laugh totally without humor, and when Amy heard it, she knew that it was impossible to reason with him.

“Our grades aren't important, Amy. You see, we won't be here to take our finals and graduate. We're going on a journey together, a trip to a place where we'll never have to worry about anything again.”

Amy began to shake so hard, she could barely speak. “What do you mean?”

“Amy, my perfect Queen of Hearts. You were Karen's friend and I know how much you miss her. Don't you see what an honor this will be? We're going to see her.”

“But, Kevin . . .” Amy fought to keep from screaming. “Karen is dead.”

Kevin smiled a terrible smile. “Yes, Amy. I know.”

“Then how can we possibly go to see her?”

Kevin tipped her head up, and looked into her eyes. Amy's knees buckled as she realized exactly what he meant. And then she did something she'd never done before in her entire life. She fainted, dead away.

 

Colleen sounded much more relaxed, and Danny was glad. She'd asked about the queen contest, and he'd told her that Amy was in the lead, but they were all taking turns guarding her. And then she'd asked about the big History test, so he'd explained how they'd all written down their initials so Amy could go to the school to get their grades.

“You mean you put down your initials?” Colleen sounded amused. “Dumb move, big brother.”

Danny was puzzled. “Why's that?”

“Think about it. Matthew Underwood Daniels. M.U.D. Your name is mud!”

Danny laughed, even though he didn't think it was that funny. “I wouldn't talk, Colleen Olivia Daniels. Your initials spell cod”

“True.” Colleen giggled. “How about Brett? Do you know his middle name?”

“It's Lawrence. That makes him B. L. S.”

“I think that stands for bliss.” Colleen sighed deeply. “How about Neal?”

Danny did his best to remember the names on the sheet. “I think it's Ian. That's N.I.C.”

“That fits. Neal's nice.”

“How about Amy?” Danny tried to keep from seeming too eager.

There was a silence, and then Colleen laughed. “I don't think I'd better tell you. Amy'll kill me if anyone finds out her middle name.”

“Come on, sis. I already know her initials. They're A.G.H. What's her middle name?”

Colleen laughed again. “Well, actually she has two middle names, and one is Katherine, but you'll never guess the other, so don't even try.”

“Gladys?”

“No way. It's much worse than that.”

Danny tried several other names, including Gail, Glenda, and Gloria. But each time Colleen told him that he was wrong.

“Come on, Colleen.” Danny sighed deeply. “I'm going to find out. I'll just sneak a look at her driver's license. Why don't you just save me the trouble and tell me?”

There was a long silence, and then Colleen laughed. “Okay, but you can't ever tell her that I snitched on her. Is it a deal?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Gwendolyn.”

“Gwendolyn?” Danny grinned as he repeated it. “That's not so awful.”

“Amy thinks it is. She absolutely despises it. But it's not as bad as Kevin's middle name.”

“What's that?”

Colleen laughed so hard, she could barely tell him. “It's Archibald!”

“No! You're putting me on, Colleen.”

“It's the truth, honest. Mom was in the hospital having me when Kevin's mother was there with the twins, and she saw the little name cards the nurses put on their cribs. Kevin Archibald Thomas, and Karen Amelia Thomas. Mom thought it was cute, because Mrs. Thomas raised Persians and Siamese, and the babies' initials spelled—”

“Kat!” Danny's voice shook as he gasped out the word. “Oh, my God! Kevin is Cat! And Amy's with him right now!”

Danny didn't bother to hang up the phone. He just dropped it. It swung back and forth on its cord, making high-pitched, tinny sounds, as he raced back to the booth for his car keys.

“Hey, Danny. Take a look at these.” Neal held up several half-heart necklaces. “Brett used one of Kevin's pens to write down everyone's initials. And when he put it back in Kevin's backpack, he found these!”

“Amy's in danger!” Danny's voice was shaking as he grabbed his keys. “Kevin is Cat!”

Brett didn't waste any time. He slid out of the booth and grabbed his coat. “I'll go with you. You need somebody to back you up.”

“And I'll be there, just as soon as I call the sheriff.” Neal got up and raced for the phone. “I'll tell him to meet us at the school right away.”

Danny was in the lead as they raced for his car. He knew it would take the sheriff awhile to get to the school, but there was no way he could wait. The girl he loved was in danger, and it was up to him to save her.

 

At first Amy thought she was dreaming. There were glimmering lights behind her eyelids, and she almost opened her eyes. But then she remembered what had happened in Mr. Dorman's office with Kevin, and she kept her eyes closed, stalling for time. She didn't think that Kevin would kill her when she was unconscious, and she needed to think of some way to divert him.

Kevin was whispering, very near to her ear, and Amy tried not to shiver as she made out his words. But what she heard was so alarming, she almost gasped out loud. He was talking to his dead sister, Karen, telling her that they would soon be together. And he was promising to bring Amy with him, so that Karen would have a friend.

The whispering stopped, and Amy heard Kevin's footsteps receding. They got softer the farther away he walked, and she risked opening her eyes just a fraction of an inch so that she could peek out.

What she saw frightened Amy so dreadfully, she could barely keep from screaming in terror. She was in the faculty lounge, stretched out on the floor, with a circle of candles arranged all around her. It reminded her of the old horror movies she'd seen on late-night television. She was the living sacrifice, surrounded by a ring of flickering lights, waiting for her executioner to appear. And the instrument of her death was inside the circle of candles, a knife with a sharp, wickedly gleaming blade.

Amy felt faint as she saw the other item that Kevin had placed inside the ring of flames. It was Karen's picture, inside a silver frame. Amy stared at it for a moment, and then she began to understand. It was clear that Kevin was insane with grief for his dead twin sister, and he was taking revenge against the girls who had gossiped about Karen. Kevin had wanted Karen to be queen, and he'd killed any girl he'd thought was unworthy of the honor.

But now he was preparing to kill her, just like he'd killed Tanya, and Gail, and Jessica, and Michele. And she was Kevin's choice for queen. He'd even told her that he thought she'd be perfect, and that didn't make sense at all!

Amy shivered. Perhaps it did make sense to Kevin. Kevin was insane, and crazy people weren't rational. It would be useless to appeal to Kevin's sense of reason. He thought he was talking to his dead sister, and there was no way she could convince him that he wasn't.

There was only one thing in her favor. When she didn't come back with the test scores, Danny, and Brett, and Neal would come to the school to look for her. But that might be too late! She had to think of something fast, something that would stall Kevin long enough for them to break into the school to save her.

As Amy stared at Karen's picture, several memories came back. Karen had always smiled at her in the hall, and once they'd even studied together. Amy had thought that Karen Thomas was very nice. If Karen were still alive, she'd be horrified at what her twin brother was planning.