Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) (11 page)

He held me in his arms and nothing was better. We talked about everything and after a long talk, we decided to stay in Asha. Sneaking away would cause too many complications. If we found a legal way to leave, we would. I guess for now, we’d just hang tight. Rachel couldn’t be happier. I also couldn’t bear to take Brett away when I know he didn’t want to go. I’d just stick it out for now…unless things got worse. 

Chapter 14

The next day, after school, Mr. Tams called me over to the lounge area.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hi, Sky.”

“Am I in trouble again or something?”

“No, not at all,” he said with a worried look spreading across his face. “It’s just…well, I’m a bit concerned.”

“About what?”

“Your safety, to be frank.”

“I appreciate that, but you’ve put plenty of extra security in place now. I’m sure I’m fine.”

“Are you still getting flowers and notes?” he asked.

“Yes, but not as often. The notes are just gibberish, just a bunch of off-the-wall stuff.”

“I have no idea why he’s talking about your friends in those notes.”

“Me neither.”

“Maybe he is harmless after all. Maybe he’s just some lovesick, teenage boy. I’m more worried about the strangler. We’ve determined that he has a thing for slim, pretty, teenage girls, and that describes you to a T.”

“He hasn’t killed a blonde yet,” I said.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Just…keep your eyes open, okay?”

“I always do.”

“Good.”

When Rachel walked over, Mr. Tams quickly dismissed himself and left.

She looked at me, her mouth gaping.

“What?”

“I overheard him.”

“So?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Why isn’t he concerned for
my
safety? I fit that category too.”

Suddenly, a thought struck me. “Wait…did you tell him anything about the most recent notes?”

“No.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“It may be nothing, but…well, he
knew
about them.”

“Maybe Brett said something.”

“I don’t know, but you can bet I’m gonna ask him.”

Brett came up from behind and kissed my cheek. “Ask me what?”

“Did you tell Mr. Tams about the recent notes?”

“No. Why would I? We agreed not to tell him because he’s useless, remember?”

“Well, he
knows
, Brett.”

Brett cocked a brow, pondering it.

“You know what this means?” Rachel asked. “Daryl is in the clear.
Mr. Tams
is your stalker!”

I chuckled because the thought was so outlandish. “No way.”

“He’s gotta be, Sky,” she said. “He’s so concerned about
you
, more than he is about anyone else. Clearly, he has the hots for you.”

I shook my head. “No way,” I repeated quietly, somewhat stunned.

She turned to Brett. “He’s never asked me about my safety, and I never get called to his office, even though I’m her accomplice half the time. Also, he always just gives her a slap on the wrist or lets her off the hook completely.”

“He sentenced me to three days of lockup when I shot that arrow at Carla.”

“Only because he had to put on a good show for the others…and he did let you out early.”

Brett nodded. “And he slipped up when he mentioned the notes.”

I chuckled again. “Look at you two, grasping at straws. The idea of Mr. Tams being my secret admirer is just preposterous…and a little gross.”

“I get the gross part, but preposterous?” Rachel retorted.

“I don’t know,” Brett said. “He’s always going out of his way to get you out of trouble.”

“Exactly. He never reports stuff to the authorities like he’s supposed to,” Rachel said. “Jenny Motters was kicked out and taken to the surface, and she didn’t do half of what you’ve done.”

“He covers for me because he was friends with my grandparents. He owes a lot to them, as does everyone here. I think he is just thankful for what they did for everyone.”

“I agree,” Brett said, growing a bit red in the face, “but the more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to wonder. I mean, he’s always looking at you and talking to you and—”

“Baby,” I said, “he’s just being nice, just doing his job.”

“Just his job, huh? Hmm. Then how come I don’t get his special treatment?” Rachel asked. “He doesn’t grace me with his presence at all. How’s come he’s not so
nice
to me?”

“I think he has a crush on my aunt,” I admitted. “Maybe that’s why, because he’s trying to get in her good graces.”

“I think he has a crush on
you
,” Rachel said.

I shook my head. “Actually, I suspect that Sarah might be secretly dating him.”

“Really?” she asked. “Because I kind of wondered myself.”

“Mr. Tams is recently divorced and she is pretty lonely. He does a lot to help her with the kids,” I reasoned. I tried to play it cool, but the truth was, I had often caught the guy staring at me. Still, I didn’t want to freak Brett out or make him jealous over something that might very well turn out to be nothing, so I decided to keep that to myself. I knew if I admitted to Rachel that I agreed with her even the slightest bit, she’d have us ransacking his living quarters, and that would mean big trouble for us if we got caught; I knew he wouldn’t let us off the hook as easily as Daryl had. Still, all of our suspicions about everyone were on high alert, since we had no corroborative evidence as to who the killer was—a mystery that had us all on edge.

“What if it is Mr. Tams?” Rachel asked, eyes wide. “What if he’s stalking you and killing women? Because of his position, he could easily get the keys to sneak into your room.”

I couldn’t see Mr. Tams swatting a fly, let alone brutally murdering teenage girls. “He just doesn’t seem like the type,” I told her, even though the gnawing feeling in my gut had me questioning it a bit myself.

“Do they ever seem like the type? I mean, that Ted Bundy was handsome and successful, and that Dahmer guy worked in a candy factory.”

“Mr. Tams is harmless. He’s just a yes-man.”

“Yes to killing,” she retorted.

“I don’t think it’s him.”

“Isn’t it interesting that so many serial killers go unnoticed until the day they get caught?”

“You’ve been reading again,” I said.

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t sleep last night. So many serial killers fly under the radar until the day the police arrest them. It’s gotta be someone we least suspect. That’s how it always works out.”

I sighed. “That could be anybody. Whoever it is, he makes sure not to leave too many clues behind.”

“So he’s smart. That eliminates lots of suspects.”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “And it counts Carla out, in my book,” I remarked snidely. “But what else do we have on this guy?” I pondered. “He kills his victims with their own belt, stockings, or scarf. That’s really his only calling card.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll strike again.”

“Exactly, which is why we’ve gotta find out who he is. Maybe he’ll slip up.”

“Let’s hope so, because he sure isn’t leaving a trail of bread crumbs. This guy is incredibly cunning.”

“We also know that he takes things, like tufts of hair and jewelry—or at least he took Annie’s. He keeps souvenirs,” I said.

“And then he pictures the scene in his head and revisits the crime. When he gets tired of that, he goes on the hunt again. Gosh, this guy’s sick. At least all the girls our age our under extra protection.”

“Yeah, Rachel, but this guy is clever. If he wants somebody, he’s gonna snatch ‘er, one way or another.”

Brett’s lips pressed into grim lines. “I’m afraid I’ve got some more bad news too.”

“What?”

“I ran into Daryl and his team. They said Cecilia Jones is missing. They’re sweeping the place as we speak, but no one can find her anywhere. She just…disappeared.”

“She just vanished into thin air?” I asked.

Rachel gasped. “Do you think the strangler got to her? She fits the victim description.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. If he’d done it, she wouldn’t be just missing. Our strangler likes to flaunt his atrocities.”

“She’s been running her mouth,” Brett said.

“Dante!” I said. “Our fearless leader kidnaps anybody who speaks out.”

“Which is exactly why you need to keep your mouth shut!”

“Yeah, yeah, Rachel. I know.”

“Obviously not.”

“See? That’s exactly why I hate being down here. I can get taken by our government for the slightest infraction or murdered by a strangler. What a great place to call home.”

“Stop it!” she said. “You’re doing it again. Anyway, I wonder they do with the people they snatch.”

“Well, we never hear from them again, so that’s not a good sign.”

“Sky, you’ve gotta stop,” Brett said, shushing me. 

“Why? It’s just us. It’s not like they have cameras in our rooms.”

Rachel glanced around. “Ya never know.” She then turned her attention back to me. “Cecilia didn’t have your connections.”

“My connections?”

“Like…Mr. Tams to cover for her.”

“Geesh. Please tell me you’re not back on that again.”

“You’re lucky you have him in your pocket. Otherwise, you might have been gone a long time ago.”

I shrugged. “They’ll just take me to the surface. I think I might enjoy that.”

Brett shook his head. “In prison? I don’t think so.”

“Right. I’m thinking an orange jumpsuit will clash with blonde hair,” I said.

“Please don’t joke around like that,” he said, gripping my hands. “I couldn’t live a day without you by my side.”

“Me neither,” Rachel chimed in, wearing a sad face at the thought.

“I’ll shut up for now, but only because I’m so close to getting out of this cage. Once I’m free and on the surface, though, there’s no telling what’ll happen. I’ll speak my mind up there, that’s for sure.”

Rachel looked at Brett. “They’re gonna lock her up and throw away the key.”

“We grew up here,” Brett said pleadingly. “These people, this place…they’re our home. How many hours have we spent talking about what we’ll do to make this world a better place? How can you do that if you’re just gonna get yourself locked up?”

“I wanna give this new world my everything. It’s what my mom and grandparents would’ve wanted, but I don’t like being controlled one tiny bit.”

“It’s that rebellious streak you were born with,” Rachel said.

“I won’t be manipulated by a controlling government.”

“Vita will be beautiful,” she said. “I don’t think it’s gonna be as bad as you think. We’ll all work together to rebuild it, just like we talked about. It will be civilized, a functioning society. I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as you expect it to be, Dante or no Dante.”

“
If
we ever get there.”

Brett wrapped an arm around me. “We’ll be going up top sooner or later, and when we do, everything will be different. Down here, we’re too dependent on them for everything, even the air we breathe.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “With losing my mom and being stuck down here, I just can’t help…acting out.”

“I get stir crazy too,” Rachel said, “but I don’t go jumping on a guy’s fingers because he got too touchy-feely with a friend.”

“Hey, Carl deserved that! He was all over Georgia!”

“Well, you taught him a lesson.”

“Okay, so I have anger management issues, along with hating authority, being controlled, depression, cabin fever… Oh my gosh. I guess my list of complaints is a mile long. Everyone regards me as a troublemaker. Why do you guys put up with me?”

“Because
we
love you,” she said.

Brett kissed my cheek. “Yes, we do.”

“I love you guys, too.”

Chapter 15

I decided I wanted to blow off some steam, so I decided to go for a jog on the racetrack. After a few laps, I caught a glimpse of Walter standing in the doorway. I bent over to catch my breath and managed, “H-hey there.”

“Is it a good idea to be here by yourself?” he asked.

“What? I’m not. I’ve got a small army standing outside the door.”

“Greg and Marvin? Some army.”

“Well, they’re the best I’ve got for the time being…and last time I checked, I was still alive.”

He laughed.

“What are you doing down here?” I asked.

“Dante sent me down here with a team to try to get to the bottom of the murders. I know a lot of people, since I’m always down here fixing things, and I have a good working relationship with everyone.”