Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? (7 page)

“No!” Throwing her hands off, Jeremy leaped to his feet. His eyes were wild. “I can't sit here and wait! I have to do
something!”

Eva reached for him, but Jeremy brushed past her and sprinted down the steps.

“Jeremy!” Eva chased after him, worried. He's hysterical, she realized. He's totally out of his mind. Who knows what he might do?

“Jeremy!” she called again. She leaped from the steps onto the grass and began running across the football field.

The rain came harder now, soaking her hair and her sweater and mixing with the tears on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Keith's little sister heading for the bleachers.

“Where's Keith?” Mandy demanded. “What's going on?”

“Get back in the van and wait!” Eva shouted sharply. “Don't move an inch until Keith comes to get you!”

Mandy's eyes grew wide in surprise at Eva's tone of voice. She turned and quickly sprinted away.

Eva kept running, trying to catch up to Jeremy.
But his long legs had already carried him across the football field. Eva saw him dart behind the bleachers on the other side and disappear from sight.

Panting, she splashed across the soggy grass and up a little incline. She suddenly heard the wail of sirens.

Eva stopped. The ambulance and the police, she thought. I have to go back. I have to be there when they take Tania away.

Wiping her eyes again, Eva turned and started back across the football field. As she did, she spotted Keith and Sandy hurrying toward the bleachers from the parking lot at the back of the school.

She glanced over her shoulder. Jeremy trudged slowly toward her from behind the far bleachers. He must have heard the sirens, too, Eva realized.

Jeremy kept his head down and his hands jammed in his jeans pockets. Rain dripped from his hair and soaked his sweatshirt. But he didn't seem to notice.

Eva stopped and waited for him. Together, they crossed the field and began climbing the steps. As they reached the aisle where Tania had fallen, Eva stared in shock.

Empty.

“Her body—” Eva stammered. “It's
gone!”

chapter 13
 

“H
uh? That's impossible!” Jeremy choked out. “Where—where is she?”

Keith shook his head, but didn't speak. Sandy didn't speak either. He gaped at the spot where Tania had been lying, a shocked expression on his face.

Feeling dizzy, Eva closed her eyes. This
is
impossible, she thought. Somebody must have moved Tania. But who?

“Where is Tania's body?” Jeremy repeated.

“I … I don't know,” Keith stuttered. “I … she was lying there when I left. I just got back! How should I know what happened?”

Hearing footsteps behind her, Eva opened her eyes and turned around.

Two police officers strode toward them, tense expressions on their faces. “We got a call about an accidental death,” the policewoman said grimly. “The ambulance is on its way.”

She peered around. “You want to show us the body?”

Eva swallowed. “We can't,” she murmured, her voice shaking. “It's … I mean,
she's
not here.”

The second officer frowned. “Maybe you better explain that,” he told her.

“We can't,” Eva repeated.

The policeman's frown deepened. “Is this some kind of prank?”

“No!” Eva exclaimed. “How can you say that? Tania is dead!” She pointed. “We set her down. Right there. Then Keith went to call you, and Sandy went with him. Jeremy ran off, and I …”

“Whoa, slow down,” the woman officer said. Turning to her partner, she told him to call off the ambulance, then go have a look around.

The officer began climbing down from the bleachers, using a cellular phone to make the call.

Sandy and Jeremy followed him. Down on the field, the three of them went in different directions, searching for Tania's body.

The first officer turned back to Eva and Keith. “Tell me what happened,” she ordered. “But start at the beginning.”

Keith cleared his throat and began to talk about the video. Eva barely listened. Tears kept flooding her eyes as she remembered how pale Tania looked.
How her blond hair flew back and forth when Jeremy shook her.

She's dead, Eva told herself. And now her body's gone. We left her lying here alone and now she's disappeared!

Eva took a deep breath and wiped her face. As she did, she glanced up.

Leslie stood at the top of the bleachers, gazing down. The wind swept her long hair back from her face, and Eva could clearly see her expression.

Leslie was smiling.

A chill ran up Eva's spine. The chill she always felt when she sensed that something was wrong.

Does Leslie know something? she wondered.

“Look!” Eva cried, interrupting Keith's story. She pointed up at Leslie. “If you want to know what happened to Tania, try asking her!”

As the policewoman glanced up, Leslie began to edge down the row of seats.

“Hey!” the officer called.

Leslie spun and ran toward the end of the bleachers, her shoes slapping loudly on the concrete.

“Stop her!” the officer shouted.

chapter 14
 

T
he officer ran off, leaping to the ground and sprinting around behind the bleachers. Eva could hear her calling to her partner as she ran.

“What's Leslie doing up there?” Keith asked. “Do you think she—”

“I don't know
what
I think.” Eva felt herself shaking so hard her teeth chattered. She stumbled toward the bleachers and sat down. “Leslie had a look on her face. Such a weird smile.”

The police officers returned. Leslie walked between them, looking very frightened. Jeremy came up behind them, a confused expression on his face.

“We need you to tell us what you saw,” the policewoman said to Leslie.

“I didn't see
any
thing!” Leslie declared.

“Then why did you run?” the policeman asked.

“Because I was scared,” Leslie explained. “I mean, I'm just standing up there, right? Then all of a sudden Eva is pointing at me. And two cops start chasing me like I'm some kind of criminal!”

“What were you doing up there?” Eva asked.

“I wanted to see how the video was going. Okay?” Leslie's face flushed. “I couldn't help it. I know I'm not in it, but I couldn't stay away.” She shrugged. “When I got here, all I saw was a bunch of people running around in a panic.”

“Do you know what happened to Tania's body?” the policewoman asked.

“I told you, I …” Leslie broke off, her eyes wide in surprise. “What?” she gasped. “Tania's
body?
What are you
talking
about?”

“Tania is dead,” Eva told her. Her voice breaking, she described what had occurred. “Are you sure you didn't see what happened to her, Leslie?”

Stunned, Leslie shook her head. “I told you, I saw everybody running around. I never saw Tania.”

Is Leslie telling the truth? Eva wondered. She seems totally shocked about Tania. But after all, she
does
want to be an actress.

As the police began asking more questions, Eva started to shiver. The rain had picked up and so had the wind.

But it's not the weather, Eva thought.

Something's wrong, I can feel it.

She glanced around at the group. Leslie still
seemed shocked. So did Keith. Jeremy stared at the ground, a dazed expression on his face.

Everybody's having the right reaction, Eva thought.

But someone is faking.

Someone here is lying.

Eva shivered again. Her weird feelings usually just told her when something wasn't right.

This time, it told her that someone was lying.

But who? she wondered, glancing around again. Who is it? And what are they lying about?

Footsteps pounded loudly on the concrete. Sandy suddenly appeared. Rain plastered his light-brown hair to his head, and he gasped for breath.

“Where have
you
been?” Jeremy demanded.

“Looking …” Sandy bent over and gulped in some air. “Looking for Tania.” He took some more deep breaths, then straightened up and slicked the rain out of his hair. “I thought she'd be waiting in my car, but …”

Jeremy's head snapped up. “What did you say?”

“How could she be waiting in your car?” Keith asked. “She's dead, remember?”

Sandy glanced away, looking uncomfortable.

Jeremy stepped toward him. “You know something, Sandy! What is it? What are you hiding?”

“If you know something, you'd better tell us,” the policewoman warned. “I don't need to tell you this is serious. You could get in a lot of trouble if you don't tell us everything.”

“Okay, okay, I'll tell you!” Sandy wiped rainwater
from his hair again. “Look, this wasn't supposed to happen, okay?”

“What
wasn't?” Jeremy demanded. “What are you talking about?”

“It started out as a joke. Tania and I cooked it up,” Sandy explained. “The idea was, I'd strangle her for the movie. She'd pretend to be dead, and I'd go along with it. We just wanted to shake everyone up. For fun.”

“Huh?” Eva let out a shocked cry.

“You and Tania decided to play games with my movie?” Keith cried.

“Yeah, for fun,” Sandy repeated.

Eva gaped at him. “That's a terrible joke,” she declared. “How could you and Tania do something so awful?”

“Never mind that. Where is she?” Jeremy asked. “Where is Tania?”

“That's the problem,” Sandy told him. “See, after everybody got all crazy, Tania was supposed to jump up and yell ‘surprise!'”

“But she didn't,” Eva reminded him. “And besides, Jeremy ran down and grabbed her. He would have known if she was faking!”

Jeremy shook his head. “I was too freaked to really check her,” he said. “She was so still!”

“Right—and that was part of the plan,” Sandy explained. “I figured she was really into the joke, you know? I mean, she wasn't going to jump up until everybody started running around like crazy anyway.”

Jeremy glared at him. “So when did you decide this wasn't such a great joke?”

“When Tania disappeared. That wasn't part of the plan.” Sandy gazed around as if he were looking for Tania to suddenly reappear. “But she really is gone! I don't know where she is!”

Eva stared at Sandy. Is
he
lying? I can't tell. He looks confused and worried, but so does everybody else. Someone is faking, but who?

And what happened to Tania? Did she really die?

“Go back a couple of steps,” the policewoman told Sandy. “This strangling scene for the video—you and Tania both decided to
pretend
you'd really killed her?”

Sandy nodded. “She'd act dead. Then I'd check her and start screaming. We just wanted to freak everyone out. But—”

“Okay, so you checked her,” the officer said. “Was she breathing then?”

“Yes.” Sandy paused, frowning. “Well …”

“Well, what?” Jeremy demanded. “Was she breathing or not?”

“I
think
she was,” Sandy replied shakily.

“How could you not know?” Jeremy wailed.

“Because I was only pretending and I didn't check very carefully.” Sandy closed his eyes. “I thought she was breathing, but … but now I'm not sure.”

“You did it!” Jeremy accused.

Sandy's eyes snapped open.

“You did it!” Jeremy repeated. “You strangled her! You killed my sister!”

Stunned, Sandy backed away.

Jeremy leaped at him, pounding him with his fists. “You killed Tania!” he screamed in a fury. “You strangled her! Then your
other
girlfriend came and got rid of the body, right?”

“My other …” Sandy started to say.

But the words choked in his throat as Jeremy's hands clamped tightly around his neck and began to strangle him.