Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book 1) (19 page)

                                                        Chapter Thirty-Three

Chance left Luna’s house feeling satisfied with himself. He walked around the block to his Honda Ridgeline. Since he had the Max problem contained for the moment, he had a new problem. He’d have to go visit Sarah.

She had seen him leave with her sister after all. He knew she was suspicious. He’d have to go comfort her…or threaten her. Whatever the conversation came to. He sighed and drove quickly to Susan’s house. He parked the truck in front and went inside. He stood in the doorway uncertainly.

“Knock-knock!” he said.

Sarah appeared from the kitchen suddenly. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and her eyes looked incredibly stressed. She had obviously gotten wind of her sister’s disappearance.

“Oh, hey, Chance,” she said in her gentle voice.

“I just wanted to stop by, and see how you were holding up,” he said. “I heard Susan was missing.”

Sarah stared at him for a moment.

“I’m okay; I mean I’m sure she’s alright. She’s a smart girl. And, um…weren’t you with her yesterday?”

Chance stiffened. “Yeah, we hung out at my place, but she left early saying she wanted to go home. That was the last I saw her.”

Sarah nodded and sniffled. “Right.”

Chance opened his mouth to speak, but a knock at the door interrupted him.

He answered it and on the porch stood Officer Smith and Novak.

“Good morning, Mr. Welfrey,” he glanced past Chance to Sarah. “And to you as well, Miss Cross.”

Chance dipped his head in greeting. “We’d like to ask you some more questions, this time about Susan Cross. May we come in?”

“Of course,” Sarah said quietly.

Chance stepped aside to let them in, and closed the door behind them. Right away Officer Novak led Sarah upstairs to question her, and Chance was left alone once again with Officer Smith.

“So, you again, huh?” he asked Chance as he wrote something in his notebook. He obviously had no patience for Chance.

Chance stayed silent as he watched the Officer.

“Well, we’ve got another missing teen, and no leads. However, we did notice your testimony and Miss Cross’ were significantly different. Mind explaining that?”

Chance shrugged and put on his best look of innocent. “I told you what happened, sir. I don’t know why Susan would lie.”

Officer Smith stared him down. “Right,” he said jotting something into his notebook as he shook his head.

“Well, Mr. Welfrey, do you mind telling me where you were yesterday?”

“I was hanging with Susan yesterday at my house, but she wanted to leave early to go home and hang with her sister.”

“Mm-hmm,” Officer Smith said. “Do you have a witness to back up your story?”

Chance frowned knowing Officer Smith had backed him into a corner.

“No, sir, I don’t,” he admitted.

“Things aren’t looking good for you. You’re a suspect in two closely related murders.”

“You have no proof I did anything,” Chance said shrugging.

Officer Smith narrowed his eyes at Chance, but said nothing as he wrote something down. He was trying his best to prove that Chance had something to do with the two cases. Like he did with everyone, Chance had gotten the best of him.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upstairs, Officer Novak questioned Sarah, though much gentler than Officer Smith handled Chance.

“So, when was the last time you saw your sister, Miss Cross?”

“Yesterday morning. I was in the kitchen getting breakfast, and Chance came over to see Susan, and she left with him. She was still in her nightgown too, but she never came back. I waited all day ‘cuz I know that she’d want a change of clothes, but she just didn’t come back.” Sarah’s last few words had been choked in sorrow.

“Do you know what Susan had planned for the day?”

“No.”

“What do you know about Chance Welfrey?”

“Why, is he a suspect?”

“That’s classified. Answer the question please, Miss Cross.”

“He’s the most popular guy of Shawnee High School. Susan really liked him, and he visited a lot.”

“Is that how you personally know him?”

Sarah nodded. “He wasn’t a friend of mine, I always thought he was weird, but I was nice to him because Susan wanted me to be.”

“Weird how?”

“Just the way he acts, and when he looks at you, it’s like he’s looking right through you.”

“Mm-hmm,” Officer Novak said as he jotted down her words.

“Do you think you’ll be able to find my sister?” Sarah asked quietly, part of her not wanting to hear the answer.

“I’ll be honest with you, Miss Cross. We suspect that the person responsible for Miss Red’s death may be in possession of your sister.”

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna lie in bed without moving, just staring at her alarm clock as the red letters blared through the darkness like an unwelcoming blaze. In ten minutes, it would go off, and she would have to get ready for school. In ten minutes, she would be faced with the full unpleasantness that today would present.

The night had passed, free of nightmares. Her reality was haunted with flashbacks of different images that her mind had created to explain what had happened between her and Chance. And that was the worst kind of nightmare imaginable.

Chance…the mere thought of his name sent chills up and down her spine. Today would be his first day “on the job” as her supervisor (prison guard). Luna frowned, her punishment was far worse than the one she had been given last time.

Luna was a senior in high school! Far too old for a punishment like this! With this system, she didn’t have the chance to be free of him. He would be in her face constantly in reality and haunting her dreams at night.

There was nothing she could do to stop it.

The deaths of the two cheerleaders bothered Luna deeply. She knew for sure that Chance was behind Kate’s (and suspected he was behind Susan’s as well), but she was too stubborn to admit that it could be true.

Chance was the King of the school and a follower of the dark lord. The markings on Kate had seemed to be a signature mark of his. He had been threatening Susan, and then she had “just died”.

If he was so cold that he didn’t even care that his friends were missing, (he could even joke about it) then he had to be cold enough to be able to kill them. So cold that he would manipulate them completely, then abduct them, and dump them off in the middle of the woods like garbage when he had extracted full usefulness from them.

Luna had to find out for sure where they had gone before they disappeared; it would help prove her point. She needed to be able to do it without Chance finding out. Luna reached up to touch her throat tenderly in the spot that his fingers had bruised before. He was violent, and if he found out she was going behind his back to meddle in his double life, he might not stop next time.

She had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t be
able
to stop next time.

She had to find out where those girls had disappeared from. At the moment, she didn’t have real proof that he was evil. She had satanic marks, a room full of bones, some messed up nightmares, and the words of a girl that had disappeared. If she tried to go to the police, they would do nothing.

She needed physical proof- a weapon or testimony from someone that hadn’t vanished.

She could start by asking people if they knew where Kate and Susan had been before they disappeared. She pondered where to begin. Kate and Susan ran in the same circles as Chance. If she tried to ask people in those groups, the word would get back to Chance and he would turn on her if he knew.

Luna knew that she could always try to ask Susan or Kate’s parents except she didn’t know them. If she went to their house to talk to them they might try to get back to David. She didn’t want to risk that either.

Luna frowned and let out a deep sigh of solemnity. What could she do? She had to know how dangerous Chance truly was. This was the only lead she had. Luna got an idea suddenly. The silent girl, Sarah, that had helped with her makeup on the night of the dance, she was close to Susan, they were sisters. Maddie had been close to Susan too, but she was incredibly talkative and friends with Chance. That made her an automatic no.

That quiet girl that Luna hadn’t really taken much notice of however looked as frightened at those rowdy girls as she had been. Maybe Sarah would be willing to talk to her.  Sarah was popular sure, but she was different from the rest of them. She was one of the only few that weren’t friends with Chance. If Luna could talk to her then she could get her to say what she knew about Susan, and from there she could figure out what had happened to Kate. It was perfect!

Her mind seemed to fill with sunshine at the idea. But then it darkened again as she thought about Chance. How would she get away from him long enough to get the answers that she needed?

School. He always had to leave her alone at school because they didn’t have all of their classes together. Being the “good boy” that he was in public meant he wouldn’t be prone to skipping. For once his lying would actually benefit her. That time apart would give her the perfect chance to find out what she needed to know. Luna could find Sarah at school and talk to her.

Luna could find her in the halls before the first bell even rang and hopefully get her to stop long enough to answer her questions. If it worked, then she’d be able to figure things out.

And if it didn’t…well then Chance would win again like always.

                                                                      Chapter Thirty-Four

Luna sighed and sat up in bed, determined to get the day over with. She turned off her alarm clock and stood up. She made her way to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. She was done in five minutes and dried off.
She threw on a dark blue t-shirt and baggy black pants. She looked in the mirror and heard the front door slam. Chance had arrived, bright and early…lovely. She picked up a brush and ran it through her hair to smoothen out the wet tangles.

“Luna, are you okay?” Chance’s voice rang out from the other side of the door.

“Go away,” she said feeling that usual tingle of agitation as she picked up a towel and dried at her hair.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar click of the door as it popped open. Chance stepped inside and leaned against the doorframe. She frowned and turned to look at him. Tomorrow she’d make sure to lock the door. The front one as well.

“What if I had been naked?” she asked him angrily.

His eyes flashed. “Then that would’ve been your problem.”

Luna rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention back to the mirror as she checked to see what her hair looked like one final time.

“You don’t wear makeup?” he asked her suddenly in disbelief as he watched her getting ready.

She turned to look at him feeling un-amused. “Do you?” she asked him as she thrust her damp towel into his arms.

Luna walked past him and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge as she looked for something for breakfast and pulled out an orange. She set it on the counter and turned to rummage for a knife. When she finally found one, she pulled it out and turned to look at the orange where she had left it on the counter. Chance had it in his hand and tossed it back and forth between them as he looked at her carefully.

“You should let me cut this for you,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

Luna frowned again at the sight of him. “You’re my supervisor, not my babysitter,” she said and lunged forward to grab the orange. “Give me back my breakfast.”

In a flash, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled the knife from her hand before she even had the chance to react to him. She was almost frightened by the lightning quick movement before he let her go. He clutched the knife in his hand and twirled it gently. She stared at him.

“That’s not fair,” Luna pouted folding her arms across her chest.

He smiled at her. ”Oh, well,” he said and set the orange to the table as he sliced it to pieces quickly. “There ya go,” he said.

She didn’t acknowledge him as she picked up a piece of orange off the table and chewed on it absently. She wasn’t paying much attention to it as her eyes studied the knife in his hand.

“Hurry up, and eat so we can go. I don’t want to be late,” he ordered.

She looked at him and resisted the urge to smirk. He was definitely worried about keeping that “good boy” persona in check. Good.

“Where’s your backpack?” he asked.

Luna sighed in annoyance as she pinched the orange peel between her fingers. “You need to stop this babysitter mentality, I’m not eight.”

“I know,” he said and winked at her once.

She gritted her teeth as unpleasant chills raced down her spine.

“You know you don’t have to be like this. David’s sleeping,” she said annoyed.

He shrugged. “Just getting into character.”

She frowned at him as he turned, and left the kitchen. She went to reach for another orange piece, but the sight of him leaving the room bothered her. She abandoned the orange on the table and followed him. She caught up to him when he flung open the door to her room.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Luna said to him as she stepped into his path.

He stopped and looked down at her. “What do you think I’m doing?”

“Being annoying?” she said bitterly.

“Very funny,” he said un-amused. “I’m getting your backpack for you,” he replied stepping around her to go into her room.

She growled in her throat at his attitude and watched as he picked up her red and black checkered backpack off of her bed. He slung it over his shoulder and stood for a moment surveying her room before his blue gaze fell back onto her.

“So, this is what your room looks like? It’s really feminine, that’s surprising,” he said.

Luna frowned at him. “What, were you expecting monster trucks all over the place?” She snorted.

He narrowed his eyes to slits but said nothing.

“Sorry, I don’t have bones all over,” she muttered under her breath.

His eyes opened to full capability. He kept his anger in check this time but pointed a bony finger at her. “Keep it shut, remember?”

She rolled her eyes at him and turned her back. She wouldn’t let him get to her. No matter what, she was still managing to harbor the hope that her plan would work out.

“Well, come on,” he said oblivious to her thoughts as he stepped over to her. He set his hand on her shoulder and pushed her towards the door of her room.

“Quit shoving,” Luna grumbled as she moved out of the way of his hands and turned to look at him unhappily. “And give me my backpack.”

“Then walk faster,” he replied, no emotion to his voice, just cold clipped words.

She sighed and walked ahead of him, pushing her way out the front door. On the curb outside, she recognized his black truck as it sat waiting for them to get inside. Reluctantly, she walked towards it and climbed in the passenger seat. Chance got in the driver’s seat and thrust the backpack into her lap as hard as he could.

He turned the engine on and neither of them spoke as he began to drive towards the school. Luna sighed in annoyance again. Chance glanced at her momentarily and smiled before his attention returned to the road.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he continued to drive unaware (or uncaring) about the feelings of his prisoner. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

He shrugged. “Let’s just say it’s different than what I’m used to.”

She frowned. “Just let me out here, I’ll walk the rest of the way, and we’ll both tell David you watched me all day.”

He shook his head slowly. “No way. I promised to watch you, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“Why? What makes you want to do this?”

“There are a number of reasons,” he replied simply.

Luna frowned again. “Name one.”

Chance shook his head again. “Nope.”

She sighed in frustration and pressed her cheek to the window. Arguing with Chance would earn her nothing but a headache. She needed to save her sanity for Sarah. He didn’t talk to her the rest of the way there, and she was more than glad for it.

When the car pulled to a stop in the school parking lot, she immediately pushed open the door and jumped out of her seat. She walked quickly through the parking lot and pushed her way through the kids. Part of her hoped to lose Chance while the other half was excited at the thought of talking to Sarah. But in a flash, he was at her side again.

“You weren’t trying to leave without me, were you?” he asked sweetly.

She sighed. “Of course not,” she replied bitterly knowing it would do no good to argue. “Why would I ever try to do that?”

She kept walking ahead of him. When they reached the school, he parted away from her to go to his first hour (even though they were in the same class). Sighing in satisfaction at the empty feeling his absence left, she headed to study hall, the entire time carefully scanning the people in the halls for a sign of Sarah.

In study hall she noticed Amy right away at her usual table towards the back of the room. Quietly, Luna crossed to her and sat down in the empty chair next to her.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

Amy looked up at her and smiled. “Hello.”

“How are you today?” Luna asked her.

“Good, can’t complain,” Amy said blinking at her. “And you?”

“I’m good,” Luna said simply.

“Did you hear about what happened to Susan?”

A sardonic voice in Luna’s head seemed to mock Amy’s words. How could she not? She knew things that went far beneath Susan’s superficial disappearance. A twinge in her stomach seemed to remind her that she needed to find Sarah.

Luna nodded anyways, trying to act like a normal high school student…at least for a little while. “It’s horrible, I hope she’s okay,” she managed to say though inside she already knew that Susan wasn’t.

“It’s just like Kate all over again, I can’t believe this is the second time something big is happening to our school,” Amy said in her tiny voice.

Luna nodded and tried to ignore the lump in her throat. If only she knew they weren’t a coincidence. “It is weird; I just hope they catch whoever it is that’s doing it.” At least she could say that honestly. She desperately wished that they would take Chance away in shiny silver handcuffs.

“So, what’s all this talk that you were with Chance?” Amy asked wide-eyed changing the subject.

That snapped Luna from her thoughts. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t with Chance,” she said feeling a sinking feeling in her chest. She wondered just what story had been spread around the school.

“I’m not sure, that’s why I asked you, but there are popular people that seem pretty talkative about it.”

Chance. Luna looked down at the table and felt her face go red. She didn’t know what had happened, but Chance had seemed to invent an interesting story. In the dream, when he had told her he would tell the whole school a lie about them; he wasn’t kidding. He had done it to prove to her that his word was the truth. What he said was what he did.

“Are you okay, Luna? You look tensed,” Amy said reminding her that she was still there.

Luna swallowed back the bile that had formed in her throat. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Oh...okay,” Amy’s voice peeped and then she returned her attention to her book and began reading again.

Luna looked at her for a moment before she looked around study hall. She had only five minutes to get to class before she would be late. She stood up and said goodbye to Amy before she crossed the room. When she hit the door, she almost crashed into someone. She looked up to apologize and her gaze locked with Sarah’s.