Pretty Please (Nightmare Hall) (12 page)

And it opened.

“Okay if I fill my thermos with water in here?” a deep, male voice asked, and then, in a totally different voice, said, “What…what the hell?”

There was a scuttling sound off to Jo’s left, then the sound of another door opening, slamming shut, and then silence.

He was gone.

D
ISSOLVING IN RELIEF, JO
fell to her knees on the floor.

“Hey, what is this?” the deep voice behind her cried. “Some dumb college stunt or something? You look like a mummy.”

“Please,” Jo begged, “please…get this off.”

She didn’t know who it was that knelt beside her, unwrapping the gauze, removing the chair, but she didn’t care. All she knew for sure was that it wasn’t
him
. He’d gone, left by a back door she hadn’t even known was there.

Gone…for now….

But he wasn’t finished with her. That was another thing she knew for sure.

When her eyes were free, she saw, kneeling beside her, a huge man in a plaid jacket, a red hardhat on his head.

No wonder her attacker had run away. What she saw before her was no small, thin nurse, easily disposed of. The man in the hardhat was the size of a truck.

“You playing some kind of game here?” the man repeated as he helped Jo to her feet. He frowned in disapproval. “Looks kind of sick to me.”

“No,” she said, sinking gratefully down into the chair he’d uprighted for her, “It wasn’t a game. That…that person who ran away when you opened the door tried to kill me. Could you please call the police?”

The police barraged her with questions. Most of them she couldn’t answer. No, she didn’t recognize him. He was wearing a ski mask. No, she didn’t recognize his voice. He had whispered.

But she did tell them what he had said about Sharon Westover.

“Well,” one police officer told another, “that’s no surprise. The girl hasn’t turned up anywhere. We knew the chances were good that we were talking homicide here, right?”

It was only later, when they’d finally escorted her back to her room and left, that Jo remembered one thing that had been whispered to her. “I thought you were smarter than that, Jo,” the voice had said.

The room was empty. Kelly and Nan and the others must have gone to eat without her.

“I thought you were smarter than that.”

So it
was
someone she knew. At least…someone who knew
her
.

How well did you need to know someone to know how smart they were?

Maybe all it meant was that he was in one of her classes…a class she did well in…English, maybe, or chem.

Maybe all it meant was, he’d heard someone
say
, “Jo Donahue is no dummy.” It could be something as simple as that, couldn’t it?

Or…Jo sat up…it could mean that he was someone she knew
well
.

How
well?

Well enough to know what room she lived in. Well enough to know she would be at Cath’s party, and what she would be wearing at that party. Okay, so he’d made a mistake and pushed Tina instead of her, but that
was
a mistake. He’d thought it was her.

As for the rest of it, he must have been following her. That’s how he knew she’d gone down to the riverbank, and over to the infirmary. He’d been watching to see if she heeded his warnings and hid in her room, the way he wanted her to.

Jo shuddered and wrapped her arms around her chest. Yes, that had to be it. Because she hadn’t
planned
to walk along the riverbank. That hike had been an afterthought, and she’d told no one ahead of time. So he couldn’t have known that. He’d simply been following her, and gone where she’d gone.

And he was still out there…waiting…for her….

Jo glanced around the room, and noticed the note on the mirror.

She got up and walked over to read it.

Starving. At Burgers Etc. We waited

forever for you.

One of us will come back to pick you

up so you can eat, too. Hope you got your bandages okay.

Kelly

The mere thought of food made Jo ill. And she didn’t think she’d ever leave the safety of her room again.

O
F ALL THE LUCK!
That stupid Neanderthal had to show up just when I was getting to the finish line with Jo. Another minute or two and she’d have been history.

Johanna will tell the police what I said about Sharon. No problem. Jo doesn’t know who I am, and neither do they. And what fun is it disposing of blights on the landscape if no one knows about it? I’m glad I told her.

Jo’s a fighter, I’ll give her that. Westover was so much easier. Anyway, I was doing her a favor. She could never, ever have been happy in this world. Not with that face.

They’ll never find her. I made sure of that.

So let Johanna tell the police anything she wants.

I’m not worried.

Worry makes frown lines.

Now, about Jo….

J
O WALKED OVER TO
the window. Darkness had fallen, and the old-fashioned pole lights on campus cast lemon-colored rays across a thin blanket of fresh new snow. The storm had ended as quickly as it began, and the navy blue sky had cleared, revealing a sliver of moon and an abundance of stars.

Such a peaceful-looking night. So deceptive….

As she turned away from the window, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the dresser mirror. She had forgotten to replace the tape that had fallen off at the pond. Two of the deeper cuts on her cheeks were laid bare.

She walked over to the mirror and calmly studied what she saw there. Not a pretty sight. The bandage under her eye, dampened by snowflakes, drooped, soggy as wet toast. Two pieces of clear tape were peeling away from her skin, and the uncovered cuts still had a rawness to them, like fresh meat.

Her face was the reason he was after her. Just as the damage done to Sharon Westover’s face in that car wreck was the reason she was no longer alive.

It made no sense. But it was true.

Jo turned away from the mirror. What good did it do her to know the reason for the attacks on her? How did that help?

She could point it out to the police. Maybe it would somehow help them find the person responsible.

A sharp rapping on the door startled her, set her heart pounding. Then she remembered Kelly’s note. Someone was supposed to come and collect Jo, take her to Burgers to join her friends.

She didn’t want to go. Not now. She wouldn’t be safe there, not even in a crowd.

“Jo? You in there?”

Evan’s voice.

On the other hand, she didn’t want to spend any more time alone, either.

She hurried to the door and let him in.

“Where have you been?” he asked. His cheeks were still red from ice-skating. “We’ve been looking all over for you. I went to the infirmary right after you left the pond, but the nurse said you’d come and gone.”

“She probably thought I had. But I…I was still there. She just didn’t know it.”

“Still there?” Evan frowned. “We all left the pond right after you. We…” Evan’s cheeks flushed, “we forgot about…well, I guess we forgot that we didn’t want you to be alone. I’m sorry, Jo. You okay?”

“You all left the pond right after I did?” They hadn’t been at the pond, still skating while she was being mummy-wrapped?

Her attacker had been someone who
knew
her….

Evan nodded and sat down in Jo’s desk chair. “Yeah. When you weren’t at the infirmary, I went back to the pond. Nan and Kelly said they needed dry gloves, anyway, so they’d check to see if you were here. Reed said he’d stay at the pond, in case you went back there, and Carl went ahead to Burgers to see if you’d decided to get there ahead of us.”

“I didn’t even know we’d decided to go there,” Jo protested.

“We thought maybe someone had mentioned it. Anyway, we all separated to hunt for you. Then we collected at Burgers. Obviously none of us had found you.”

Uneasiness flooded Jo. She had thought all of her friends had been at the pond. She had thought they were together. But they weren’t. They had separated.

Someone who knew her had tried to kill her.

It couldn’t be one of them. It couldn’t.

“There wasn’t any sign of you when we got to Burgers,” Evan continued, frowning. “I was pretty steamed at myself for letting you take off for the infirmary alone, after everything that’s happened. Couldn’t believe I’d been that dense. We were all worried about you.”

“Not as worried as
I
was,” Jo said heavily. “You’d better sit down. This may take a few minutes.”

When she had filled him in on her terrifying encounter in the infirmary storeroom, she fell silent. She found herself watching him for the tiniest hint that he wasn’t surprised. But he looked stunned, and thoroughly shaken.

His windburned cheeks flushed a deeper red with anger. “He wrapped you up like a mummy? That’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“It’s because of my face.” Jo absentmindedly fingered a loose piece of tape. “The draped mirrors, the veiled hat, the tube of cover-up…all of those things were warnings that I shouldn’t appear in public with my bare face hanging out. When I ignored the warnings, he decided to punish me.”

“Oh, come on, Jo,” Evan said in disbelief, “your face isn’t that bad. A few cuts, a bruise or two…that’s not enough to make someone try to
kill
you!”

Jo shrugged. “I think it is. There’s more, Evan. He
did
kill Sharon Westover. The girl who was in that bad car crash last fall? Dr. Trent told me she’d been disfigured. And while he was turning me into a mummy, he admitted that he’d warned Sharon, too, and that she’d ignored him just like I did. So he said he shut her up permanently. His exact words were ‘Unfortunately, it’s too late for Sharon to tell you anything.’ That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?”

“Did you tell the police that?”

“Of course.”

Evan thought for a minute. “Did you get a look at this weirdo?”

“No. Not really. He was dressed all in black, just like Tina at Cath’s party. He even had a black ski mask on, just like she did. Maybe that’s where he got the idea. Anyway, I couldn’t begin to tell the police what he looked like. I don’t even remember how tall he was, I was so scared.”

Evan made a sound low in his throat, and put an arm around her. “Look, forget about eating. If we get hungry, we’ll go down to the cafe and get something. But I’m not leaving you here alone. I’ll stay, at least until Kelly gets back, okay?”

Jo nodded. Definitely okay.

“I never should have let you go to the infirmary alone,” he said then, his mouth set in a grim, straight line. “I wasn’t thinking….”

“It’s okay. I thought I was perfectly safe. Not your fault.”

“If anything had happened to you….” Flushing guiltily, Evan put his head in his hands, his eyes on the floor.

“Evan.” Jo reached over and gently dislodged his hands, turning his face toward her. “I’m okay. I’m fine, really.” Then, because he didn’t look convinced, she bent forward impulsively and kissed him. A strong, healthy, I’m-not-a-victim kiss.

“Now do you believe me?” she asked.

He relaxed then. She could see some of the tension ease out of his face. “I’m not sure,” he said in a slow, thoughtful voice. “I don’t think I’m quite convinced yet.”

Jo laughed.

When Evan was finally convinced that she really was okay, they talked about the puzzle at length. They agreed that Jo’s tormentor was someone she knew. But she could know him only casually. They wondered if he was watching her all the time, or only occasionally.

And, most important, just how crazy
was
he? Because they both agreed that someone who would harm two people who had already been victims had to be totally, completely insane.

“You don’t remember anything about him?” Evan persisted. “Think, Jo! It’s important. Right now, we don’t have any way of knowing who it is. So how can you feel safe anywhere, any time? If you don’t think of something, you’re going to have to stay locked in your room until the cops come up with something. Can’t you give them anything to go on?”

She was still thinking when Nan and Kelly, Carl and Reed showed up at the door. Kelly was carrying two white paper sacks and Carl was balancing two drinks. The heavenly aroma coming from the paper sacks revived Jo’s appetite. She accepted gratefully, feeling a twinge of guilt because as grateful as she was, she really hoped they wouldn’t stay. She didn’t want to have to tell her story again and, more than that, she wanted to be alone with Evan.

Kelly picked up on that right away and announced that Saturday night or not, she had some heavy-duty studying to do at the library. The other three took the hint, each giving a different, and barely believable, reason why they had to leave.

But before they left, Evan insisted on paying them for the hamburgers and drinks. No one argued. Burgers Etc. was a great place to hang out, but the food wasn’t cheap.

When Evan pulled a bill from his wallet, a slip of bright pink paper fell out and sailed to the floor.

Jo recognized it for what it was. She’d had dozens of those bright pink slips herself.

They were receipts from the beauty supply shop in town.

What was Evan doing with a receipt from a beauty supply shop?

Jo sucked in her breath. Now don’t start thinking terrible things, she warned herself, don’t go crazy here. There’s an explanation…

When the others had gone, Evan stooped to retrieve the slip on the floor and stuffed it back into his wallet.

“Been buying beauty supplies, have you?” Jo asked lightly as she busied her shaking fingers with the white paper bag.

“Suntan lotion,” he answered. “I figured I didn’t want to repeat Tina’s mistake. But I’m allergic to the stuff. Have to take it back, so I’m glad I kept the slip. Efficient of me, don’t you think? Normally, I toss stuff like that the minute I get home.”

Normally, normally, normally, Jo singsonged in her head…what was normal and what wasn’t? Why had he done something this time that he didn’t normally do? Why had he kept the slip?