Cheerleading Can Be Murder (Horror High #1) (16 page)

Chapter

Sixty-Two

Coach Davis took a seat on the bleachers. “Get ready to start the cheers, just as we practiced, girls!”

I noticed Detective Simms standing near the exit doors. On the other side of the gym were two more officers, scouring the crowd for anything suspicious. The game was starting in one minute.

“Where’s Sydney?” I asked Coach Davis. Her eyes widened as she realized what I already had—there were only five of us. Suddenly, Ashleigh came running into the gym at a full sprint. Her quick pace put the officers on guard and they were looking our way.

“Sorry, guys!” she said, getting in line beside us. She was out of breath from running. “Sorry I’m late.” She was dressed in Genevieve’s uniform—the same uniform Sydney was supposed to be wearing tonight.

“What are you doing here, Ashleigh?” Coach Davis demanded.

“You don’t know?” Ashleigh looked from Coach Davis to us with a confused expression.

“Know what?” Coach Davis made a ‘hurry up’ motion with her hands as she looked up at the clock.

“Sydney called me an hour ago, asked me to pick up the uniform from her house,” Ashleigh explained.

“Oh my god. Please tell me she hasn’t been poisoned too!” Amanda’s eyes widened.

“No. All she said was that she couldn’t cheer tonight. She said she had to deal with a family situation. Her exact words were ‘I’m stuck and I can’t go to the game.’” Ashleigh shrugged.

“Okay, girls. We’ll discuss this later. It’s time to cheer!” Coach Davis announced just as the buzzer rang.

Chapter

Sixty-Three

I cheered my heart out during the game, loving every minute of it. For a while, I almost forgot about the sociopath. Our boys were playing beautifully, leading at half time by nearly fifteen points. We kept the crowd excited, chanting cheers as loudly, and with as much pep, as we could muster.

Ashleigh did a great job filling in for Genevieve. I was a little worried about her doing the lift at the halftime show, considering the fact that she’d never fully practiced it, but the routine went perfectly. We nailed all of our back tucks and the stunt was fantastic. At the end of the routine, our audience roared with cheers and applause. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

I loved the way my mom smiled as she watched me. I could see the pride just pouring out of her in waves. I’d hoped to see my dad tonight, but I knew that if it were possible, then he would have come.

The final score was 51 to 42, Dragons. I was excited for Andy as he raced across the floor at the sound of the last buzzer. We’d won our first game of the season!

The opposing players smacked palms respectively, and then Andy ran toward me, gathering me up in a big bear hug. Coach Davis had said no flirting during stunts, but she didn’t say no flirting on the court.

I leaned in and placed my lips on his. He was surprised, but happy, and kissed me back lovingly. The sociopath had tried his best to ruin this night, but nothing could take away from what Andy and I shared.

Chapter

Sixty-Four

After the game, my mom dropped me, Andy, and Amanda at Pete’s Pizza Palace. She said she was going home to change and feed my little brother, and then would be back to pick us up. What she was really doing was giving me some space with my friends, and I appreciated her effort.

I’m going to miss her driving me around when I get my license next year
, I realized for the second time in weeks.

We were still revved up from the game as we took a seat in a booth near the back of the pizza parlor. Dozens of our other classmates were pouring in through the doors of the restaurant.
I guess this is the after game hangout
, I realized. I saw Monika and Tally with their boyfriends sitting at a corner table. I waved.

Andy, Amanda, and I couldn’t reach an agreement on what type of pizza we wanted, so we asked if they could do it one-third cheese, one-third pepperoni, and one-third sausage. The waitress laughed and rolled her eyes, but obliged.

Amanda wandered off toward a group of arcade games. I suspected that she too was trying to give me and my boyfriend some space. Andy and I discussed some of the game’s highlights and the basketball team’s upcoming opponent, the Brownstown Bears. I was enjoying the conversation, but my mind kept drifting back to Sydney’s absence from the game.

What sort of family problems would prevent her from showing up?
I wondered. I remembered the look on her face when she was fingering that uniform at practice yesterday. She’d been so excited to fill in for Genevieve.
Why would she not show up?

“I just can’t help wondering what happened to Sydney tonight,” I said aloud, scratching my head.

“Yeah, I was wondering that too. Why did she leave before the game started?” Andy asked, taking a bite of the cheesy pizza.

“That’s the thing! She never even showed up. She told Ashleigh she was stuck doing something—something to do with a family situation.”

“Whoa! That’s strange because I got to the gym early to practice my three-point shot, and Sydney was there too. She said she wanted to practice all the cheers for tonight, to make sure they were perfect.”

My mouth fell open. “What’s going on?” I threw my hands up in frustration. “Was she wearing her uniform?”

He nodded. This whole story was becoming more and more bizarre.

I dug my iPhone out of my cheer bag and dialed Sydney’s cell phone number. It went straight to voicemail. Since that didn’t work, I called her mom and dad’s home number. Her mother, Lacey, answered on the first ring.

“Sydney, is that you?” she blurted into the phone, without even saying hello.

“No, Mrs. Hargreaves. It’s Dakota Densford. Did you drop Sydney off at the game tonight?” I tried not to sound too alarmed.

“Yes, I did. She was supposed to get a hold of me when she was ready for me to pick her up, but she still hasn’t called. Have you seen her?”

“Not yet,” I said, hanging up.

I turned to look at Andy and Amanda, who had just wandered back to the table and were looking at me strangely. “We have to go back to school. Something’s wrong. I think Sydney is in trouble.”

Chapter

Sixty-Five

Harrow High was two blocks from Pete’s Pizza Palace. I ran.

Amanda and Andy did their best to keep up with me. Something was very wrong. My spidey senses were kicking in.

When we got to the school, it was deserted. However, the front doors were still unlocked due to tonight’s game and the nighttime cleaning staff. I ran through the empty hallways, headed for the gym. Andy and Amanda followed right behind me. They didn’t ask any questions because they simply trusted my judgment. That’s why I loved them so much.

“Search the boys’ locker room,” I commanded Andy. Amanda and I headed into the girls’ locker room. We opened every locker and looked under every bench. No Sydney.

“Her locker is at the other end of school. Let’s go down there and look. Maybe she got hurt down there by her locker and she’s in some sort of trouble,” I said, thinking out loud.

“Let’s go,” Amanda said. Andy was waiting outside of the door for us.

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing besides stinky gym socks and used jock straps.” I gave him a look. This wasn’t the time for his sense of humor.

“Sorry.” He gave me a sheepish look.

We headed down the west wing hallway toward Sydney’s locker. It was dark and eerily deserted. As we got closer to our destination, I could have sworn that I heard a muffled cry.

I froze. “Did you hear that sound?” I asked Andy and Amanda.

“Yeah. But whatever it is, it’s coming from the other hallway.” Amanda pointed down a narrow hall that led in a different direction from Sydney’s locker.

“Okay. Let’s go that way then.”

A few steps later, I heard the sound again. Running toward it, I recognized the hallway. Suddenly, I knew where the sound was coming from—Ashleigh’s locker.

Chapter

Sixty-Six

There was a person inside the locker and regrettably, I knew who it was. I started banging on the locker, trying to open it. The muffled cries grew louder and louder. Whoever was in there could hear us.

“Oh my god! How are we going to get it open? We’ll get you out of there, Ashleigh, don’t worry!” Amanda screamed. Andy started kicking at the locker furiously, pushing me aside.

“We could stand here guessing combinations all night long and still never get the right one,” he said, frustrated.

I suddenly remembered something. For once, Brittani Barlow had done something positive. She’d told me about the binder in her mother’s office, the one with everyone’s locker combinations written down inside of it.

“Stay here.” I took off running down the hall. “And call Detective Simms while I’m gone!” I added over my shoulder. I reached Principal Barlow’s door within minutes. It was dark, deserted. I started beating and kicking at the door furiously.

Like most teachers’ doors, it had a narrow pane of glass on the upper section of the door. I knew what I had to do if I wanted to get that binder. I grabbed a student chair from the hall. It had metal tips on its feet. I lifted up the chair and slammed the feet against the pane as hard as I could. A small portion of the glass shattered. I used the tips of the chair to knock away loose glass shards, and then I stuck my arm through the opening, unlocking the door.

I felt around in the dark until I found a light switch. I turned it on, immediately spotting several large binders on Principal Barlow’s desk. I opened up each one wildly, throwing aside the ones that were not it. Finally, I opened a pale yellow binder and saw the combinations typed in rows. Bingo!

I knew Ashleigh’s combo would be on the bottom of the list under W’s for her last name: Westerfield.
Jackpot!

I ripped the whole sheet out and raced back down the hall. Amanda and Andy were still standing by the locker. “The police are on their way,” Andy told me.
Thank God.

Amanda was still standing, her mouth pressed against the locker door, trying to give words of encouragement. “Step aside,” I ordered. “And by the way, it’s not Ashleigh in there.”

“Huh?” Amanda stared at me, baffled.

I started turning the dial, looking down at the numbers displayed on the paper from Principal Barlow’s office. I was trying to stay calm, but my fingers were shaking uncontrollably. And that’s when I heard a new sound…heavy boots moving down an adjacent hallway. They moved slowly, confidently. Someone was coming for us!

Chapter

Sixty-Seven

“Don’t move!” I heard someone scream from down the hallway.

“Now,
that
is Ashleigh.” I turned toward the voice, fuming. I was going to kick her ass for shoving one of my best friends into a locker.

Ashleigh was standing there in the darkness, holding something in her hand. A glimmer of something silvery caused me to freeze in place. Was she going to
shoot
me if I opened the locker? Surely, she didn’t have a gun?

As she took a step forward, moving into the light, I finally saw what was really in her hand. A metal object, but not a gun. It looked like…
a crowbar?

The last thing I wanted was to get hit by a crowbar, but it wasn’t like she was holding a gun, so I turned back to the locker and started quickly turning the dial again.

“Don’t!” Ashleigh screamed, running toward me like a maniac. I heard the sound of the lock unlatching, and as I threw open the locker door, I saw Ashleigh a few feet away from me. She had the crowbar ready to swing, raised high over her head.

“Ashleigh,
don’t
!” I heard Andy and Amanda screaming.

“Go, run!” Andy nudged me.

But I didn’t run. I did something Ashleigh wasn’t expecting. I charged straight at her. This was the person who’d been making my life a living hell, and that all ended tonight. No way was I running from this maniac!

I reached for the crowbar, grasping for it desperately with both hands. My hands met cold metal, and I jerked hard, trying to wrestle the crowbar from her hand. We fell to the floor, rolling around wildly, both of us refusing to release the weapon. Amanda screamed shrilly, and then Andy was behind Ashleigh, pulling the crowbar away.

“Ashleigh Westerfield, put your hands in the air!” Detective Simms hollered, racing down the hall to my rescue. I let go of the crowbar, and so did Andy. But Ashleigh ignored the detective’s pleas, and swung the metal at my face.

That’s when Detective Simms shot her.