Twisted (27 page)

There were batteries in her room and she thought about going back to get them. But Tommy could be back any minute and she really didn't want to leave. Thank goodness there was a power source! There was an outlet on the far wall and a thick, black extension cord was rolled up neatly on the bench.

Cheryl hooked everything up and carried the CD player close to the Jacuzzi. She'd still have to climb out of the Jacuzzi to change CDs. It was too dangerous to touch the player while they were sitting in a pool of water. But she wouldn't have to walk all the way across the room to do it.

The CD player worked perfectly and Cheryl smiled as she sat down on the ledge of the Jacuzzi and took out her contact lenses. Removing them later might interrupt a very romantic moment, and she wouldn't need them tonight. Everything would be a blur, but that wouldn't matter. She didn't need to see to be sexy for Tommy. Then she climbed into the Jacuzzi and sighed in pleasure. The hot, scented water felt wonderful. She'd just leaned back and begun to relax when she heard the key in the door.

Tommy was here! Cheryl put on her sexiest expression and turned toward the door. There was a moment of wonderful anticipation that made her heart beat fast, and then the door opened.

“Hi, Tommy.” Cheryl's voice was low and husky. But Tommy didn't reply and she giggled. Seeing her like this had made him speechless.

“Come on over here and join me.” Cheryl reached out and brushed away some of the bubbles. “This Jacuzzi is just perfect for two.”

But Tommy still didn't reply and her smile began to fade. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he say something?

“Tommy? Is everything all right?”

Cheryl sat up and squinted. And then she saw a shape moving toward the Jacuzzi and she smiled again. “Come on, Tommy . . . I'm getting lonesome in here.”

Tommy still didn't say anything. He just walked closer and picked up the CD player.

“What's the matter? I put on your favorite album.” Cheryl tried to sound pleasant, but she was really getting a little angry. Tommy knew you weren't supposed to pick up a CD player when it was running. It might scratch the disk, or jam, or something equally expensive to fix.

“What are you
doing
?” Cheryl gasped as he held the CD player in one hand and raised it like a football. “Tommy! Stop it!”

And then, before she had time to scream, the CD player was hurtling forward in an arc toward the water.

“Tommy!
Nooo!
“

Cheryl barely had time to scream before the CD player hit the surface of the water. There was a spark, a loud pop, and a sizzle like a steak thrown on a red-hot grill. And almost instantaneously Cheryl was just as dead as that steak, seared to death in a pool of bubbling, scented water.

J
ennifer sat next to Lexie on one of the leather couches in the lobby. Even though she tried not to think of it, she knew she'd never forget the sight of Cheryl's dead body in the Jacuzzi. The boys had taken charge, telling Lexie and Jennifer to wait for them until they'd unplugged the CD player and taken Cheryl's body away. And Jennifer and Lexie were waiting, lost in their private thoughts and fears, staring at the fire in the huge stone fireplace.

Even though it was warm by the fire, Jennifer shivered. So many dead: Zada, Melanie, Ronnie, Susie, and now Cheryl. They'd started their Halloween weekend with twelve and only seven were left. Their number was decreasing, one by one. How many more would die before it was over?

Lexie tapped her on the shoulder and Jennifer turned. And then Lexie said something that made Jennifer shudder.

“If we don't do something, the dead will outnumber the living!”

“That's exactly what I was thinking,” Jennifer said. “But what can we do? We can't even prove their deaths weren't accidents ?”

Just then the guys trooped into the room. Pete was frowning and so were Dale and Brian. Tim was doing his best to look cheerful, but Jennifer could tell that he felt like frowning, too. And Tommy's face was so white, it was clear he was still in shock.

“Everybody grab a seat.” Pete sat down on one of the couches. “We need to talk about this.”

Tim sat down by Jennifer and put his arm around her shoulders. He gave her a little hug and Jennifer was amazed at how she immediately began to feel better. The situation was still awful. Cheryl had died. But just knowing that Tim cared about her made everything seem less frightening.

Lexie patted the seat next to her and motioned to Tommy. “Come on, Tommy. Sit by me. And quit kicking yourself for what happened. It's not your fault. You weren't even there.”

“But I should have been.” Tommy was frowning when sat down. “I knew Cheryl got that note.”

Lexie nodded. “We all knew. And you did your best to protect her, didn't you?”

“I thought so, but now I'm not so sure.” Tommy sighed deeply. “I never should have left her alone. I thought locking the door would keep her safe . . . but it didn't!”

Pete leaned forward. “You locked the door to the spa?”

“Yes. And I took the key with me when I went to my room to change.”

“Think hard, Tommy. Was the door still locked when you got back?”

“Yes. I unlocked it and went in . . . and that's when I found her.”

“Cheryl was by herself in a locked room,” Pete said abruptly. “That proves her death was an accident.”

Lexie shook her head. “Not necessarily. Spirits can go right through locked doors. And even if there's no such thing as a spirit, there was more than one key to the spa, wasn't there?”

“Yes.” Dale answered the question. “My uncle keeps a full set of keys in his safe. But they were locked up and I gave Cheryl the only key that was in his desk.”

“How about the master key?” Brian began to frown. “Wouldn't that open the spa door?”

“Sure. And I showed everyone where it was, the first time we came up here. It was hanging on a nail in the manager's office and it said
master key
right on the label.”

Jennifer shivered slightly. After she'd locked her door at night, she'd assumed she was safe. But she'd forgotten all about the master key. Anyone who'd grabbed it from the hook could have unlocked her door and walked right in. “Is the master key still there?”

“I don't know.” Dale began to frown. “I'll go check.”

They were all silent as they waited for Dale to come back. Jennifer knew they were thinking about how easy it would have been to unlock the spa door with the master key. A moment later, Dale was back and this time he was smiling. “It's still there. I guess Cheryl's death was an accident, after all.”

Jennifer nodded, right along with everyone else, but she wasn't really convinced. If the killer had taken the master key, he could have returned it.

“Okay, guys. Listen up.” Pete got to his feet and turned to face them. “I'm making a new rule. No one goes anywhere alone, not even to your rooms. We're going to bring down sleeping bags and spend the rest of the night right here by the fire. Any objections?”

One by one, they shook their heads. No one wanted to be alone after what had happened to Cheryl.

“Okay. Let's go get the sleeping bags.” Pete motioned to Brian and Dale. “You two come with me. I want the rest of you to stay right here and wait for us.”

But there was another shock when the group got back together again. When Pete had gone to his room to get his sleeping bag, he'd found a note taped to his mirror. It was in an envelope that had been fastened with a gold seal in the shape of a teddy bear.

“Kelly's seal!” Tommy stared at the envelope and his face turned white. “She ordered them from a catalogue. Kelly loved teddy bears.”

Pete shrugged. “So do a lot of other people. I'm sure Kelly wasn't the only one to use gold seals shaped like teddy bears. If she got them from a catalogue, they're probably a popular item.”

“But this seal has her initials on it.” Tommy held up the envelope so they could all see Kelly's initials on the tummy of the teddy bear. “How many other people have Kelly's initials?”

“You've got a point,” Brian agreed. “Go ahead, Pete. Open the envelope and see what's inside.”

“It's a note from Kelly.” Pete unfolded the piece of paper. “And it says,
Brian is right. My spirit is angry, but I would never hurt any of you. My killer pushed Zada down the stairs and made the woodpile fall on Melanie. He caused Ronnie's fall from the balcony and replaced Susie's prop with a real handgun. Now he has killed Cheryl and you must catch him before he strikes again. Be very careful, Pete. He will try to kill you, too, before I can tell you his name
.”

Jennifer shivered. “She's right, Pete! You have to be very careful. It's a good thing we're all down here together.”

“I guess that means we'll have to hold another séance to find out who he is.” Pete winked at Jennifer.

Jennifer's mouth dropped open. It was clear Pete thought they were responsible for the note. And he also thought they wanted to hold another séance. “No, Pete . . . we don't want to hold another séance!”

But Pete just grinned. He thought she was playing the part of a reluctant psychic. “Okay, Jennifer. We'll talk about it in the morning. It's late now and we all have to get some sleep.”

It took a while, but at last the group had settled down, all in one room. Lexie and Jennifer had the couches and the boys had arranged air mats and sleeping bags close to the big, river rock fireplace. As Jennifer dropped off to sleep, she made a promise to herself. If Pete asked her to conduct another séance in the morning, she was going to refuse. She'd never do their skit again, not even when Miss Voelker and the kids got here. Zada and four of their friends were dead and Jennifer couldn't help feeling that the séances were to blame. Perhaps Brian was right and it was dangerous to stop, but she didn't see how it could get much worse than this.

Pete was thoughtful as he stared up into the darkness. The note from Kelly was very clever. He'd been about to suggest it when Jennifer and Tim had sent it to him, all by themselves. It was the perfect way to stop the panic that was beginning to build among his students. When they saw that he'd received one of Kelly's notes and he was perfectly all right, they'd begin to relax and realize that the other deaths were entirely accidental.

Had another student teacher ever been through anything like this? Pete doubted it. He was responsible for the drama class and four of his students had died. He'd done everything he could think of to protect them, but nothing had done any good. What would Miss Voelker say when she found out what had happened? Would she blame him for not doing his job? And how about the parents of the dead students? Would they accuse him of being negligent?

There was no way he could sleep after everything that had happened. He was too worried about whether people would blame him. Pete felt like pacing the floor in frustration, but he didn't want to wake any of his sleeping students. They were safe as long as they stayed together and this was the only time he didn't have to worry about them.

Pete stood up and walked quietly to the door. He needed a break and had a bottle of brandy stashed in the hearse. He wasn't much of a drinker but he knew that a shot of brandy would help him to relax so that he could sleep.

It was cold outside and he was shivering as he slid into the driver's seat. He turned on the engine and started the heater and then switched on the sound system. The hearse hadn't been used for its original purpose in quite a while and the previous owner had put in a great sound system. Pete had brought along some of his favorite music and he went through the disks, one by one. He didn't feel like listening to jazz or rock and blues would only depress him. That left classical and he slipped a CD into the deck.

As the strains of Segovia's classical guitar filled the air, Pete began to feel much better. His girlfriend played classical guitar. She was a music major and she performed at a small club near the campus. Pete loved her and he'd decided to ask her to marry him when she graduated.

Pete opened the bottle and took a sip of brandy. Too bad he hadn't brought a glass, but the brandy was mellow and it was just what he needed. He took another sip and leaned back against the soft leather upholstery. It was good to be alone for a few minutes. He'd been on duty with his students since Friday afternoon and he was exhausted.

The heater sent out waves of comforting heat and Pete glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was two in the morning, but he didn't feel like moving a muscle just yet. He needed another few minutes of pure relaxation before he went back inside.

Another sip of brandy and his eyes began to close. The music was great and a little nap wouldn't hurt. He hadn't slept soundly since they'd arrived at Saddlepeak Lodge, and it might be a while before he got a full night's sleep. He'd doze until the music stopped playing. That would be his cue to wake up. Then he'd go back inside, check on his students, and be on call for the rest of the night.

 

He'd been awake when Pete had gone outside. The others had been sacked out completely, and they hadn't even wiggled as he'd slipped out of his sleeping bag and tiptoed to the window.

He really didn't want to kill Pete, but he had no choice. After Pete had gotten that note from Kelly, he'd promised them all that they'd have another séance tomorrow. There was no way he could let that happen. Kelly's secret might be revealed at that séance and he had to protect himself.

There was an army-type rain poncho on the rack by the door and he slipped it on. If someone woke up and glanced out the window, they wouldn't be able to recognize him in the poncho. Then he let himself out the door and stood under the overhang, trying to think of the perfect way to accomplish what he had to do.

While he waited, he thought about Kelly. If she'd only cooperated and done what he'd asked, everyone would still be alive. The killings weren't his fault. They were Kelly's. And she was still causing him trouble, even after her death!

The dome light went on in the hearse and he moved a little closer so he could see. But when he realized what was happening, he began to frown. Pete was drinking! And Pete shouldn't be drinking when he was responsible for the safety of his students.

As he watched, Pete did something even more damning. He leaned back against the seat and shut his eyes. Pete was going to sleep out here and leave his students alone. Perhaps he'd be doing them all a favor by killing Pete. In times of war, sentries were executed for sleeping on duty.

He waited another few minutes and then he moved around to the back of the hearse. He knew what to do and it wouldn't be difficult at all. There were some rags in one of the garbage cans and he stuffed them into the tailpipe of the hearse. And then he stood there and watched, imagining how the fumes would back up and send Pete into a very permanent sleep.

 

It was a good dream, a wonderful dream, all about the life he'd share with his girlfriend. Pete's eyes flickered. He could almost touch her warm skin and smell her perfume. But that wasn't perfume he was smelling. It was something else. Pete opened his eyes and reached out to open the window to get rid of the invasive smell, but he was so tired that he could barely lift his arm.

He needed a little more sleep. Then he'd gather the energy to open the window. The darkness was closing in, much darker than the night outside. As Pete slipped into unconsciousness, he had one last, fleeting thought. The odor smelled a little like exhaust fumes. The note from Kelly. The other accidents. Was he about to become the sixth victim? But Pete was just too tired to hold onto that thought as he slipped into the permanent darkness.