Secret Admirer (13 page)

The Sun had said he'd be watching the dress rehearsal. So Selena decided to watch for him. Maybe he would do something to give himself away.

I should be scared,
Selena thought as she began to button the linen, high-necked blouse of her Juliet costume.
But I'm not. I'm too angry to be scared. The Sun is out there. And I'm going to figure out who he is
.

“Selena?” a familiar voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, hi, Alison.”

“How's it going?” Alison asked. “Need any help with your hair?” Alison wore the black coveralls of a stagehand, her neck brace covered with a dark scarf.

“I'm almost ready,” Selena replied. “I just need a little more hair spray.”

“Break a leg,” Alison said softly. “I know how hard this rehearsal must be for you.”

“Thanks.” Selena smiled. “But the show must go on, right?”

She finished her hair, then joined Mr. Riordan and some of the others in a corner of the backstage area.

“We have a good-size audience,” Mr. Riordan told them. “I invited some of the coaches, and most of the football team is here.”

“You're kidding!” Katy laughed.

“It seemed like a good idea,” he replied. “A good way to fill the house in the afternoon.”

Selena peeked through the curtain. Half of the seats were filled—the biggest audience they'd ever had for a dress rehearsal.

How am I going to find The Sun?
she wondered, studying the faces.

“Break a leg, Selena,” a husky voice whispered in her ear. She spun around to see Eddy grinning at her, his eyes flashing excitedly.

“Thanks,” she murmured. “Aren't you going to watch?”

“I wish I could,” he told her, his smile fading. “But I have a class this afternoon. I'm sure you'll do a great job, though.”

“I wish you could stay,” she told him sincerely. “I'm so nervous.”

“I know you still feel bad about Jake,” he said. “But you won't let that affect your performance. You're too good for that.”

Selena stared at him. She really didn't want him to leave. She needed to talk to him. She needed him to be there watching her.

“Places!” Mr. Riordan's shout interrupted.

Eddy rushed offstage. The other actors swarmed around Selena. She calmed herself by taking several slow, deep breaths.

I'm ready,
she thought.

Ready to become Juliet.

For the last time,
said a voice in her head.

Unless you find The Sun
.

“Curtain!” Mr. Riordan called.

The rehearsal went well. Once the play started, Selena forgot about The Sun and her fear. Whenever she performed, she forgot about her Selena-self, as she called it, and felt herself inhabiting the character. Her Juliet-self.

Even the fact that her Romeo was Danny Morris didn't interfere with her performance. While she was acting, she felt that she
was
Juliet, desperately in love with Romeo.

She was dimly aware of the audience, sometimes laughing, sometimes murmuring. As the curtain went down for the last time, applause filled the auditorium.

The curtain went up again.

As Selena bowed, she imagined that Jake was on the stage beside her.

He should be here,
Selena thought.
This play is for him. And I'll never quit acting. I'll dedicate all my performances to Jake. My life would have no meaning if I quit acting
.

Standing next to her, Danny took hold of her hand and squeezed. She tried to pull away, but he held on tighter.

“Cut it out!” she growled out of the side of her mouth. But he continued to grasp her hand.

As soon as the curtain dropped again, she angrily yanked her hand away from him. “Let me go!” she shouted.

“Hey, I was just staying in character,” Danny protested.

“Well, you can get out of it right now!” She stormed away.

She waved to Mr. Riordan. “Good show!” he called, looking up from his clipboard. “I'll have notes for everyone after school tomorrow.”

Selena hurried to the backstage locker room. She'd promised her mother she'd get home early and help with some chores.

She ignored the excited voices and laughter of the other drama club members. She changed her outfit. Then she searched for her backpack. The kids all tossed their backpacks against the back wall.

Selena grabbed up each one, then dropped it back to the floor.
I'm going to miss the bus,
she thought.
Where is my backpack?

“Oh!” She remembered she had left it in her locker in the front of the building.

“Hey, Selena—!”

She heard Katy calling to her. “No time!” Selena called back. She ran to the hallway and headed at full speed toward her locker all the way on the other side of the building.

Breathing hard, she fumbled with the lock. Finally pulled the locker open. What a disaster area! She'd been meaning to clean it out for weeks.

She pulled out the backpack. Frantically shoved books and papers from the locker floor inside. Slammed the locker. Locked it. And ran to the bus stop.

She didn't check the contents of the backpack until after dinner. She went up to her room, planning to do her homework. The backpack was jammed so full, she couldn't find anything she needed.

So she dumped everything out on the bed.

And saw the square white envelope. The square white envelope with the sticker of the orange sun in the corner.

Another note.

With a cry of disgust, Selena tore open the envelope and quickly scanned the ugly message:

Dear Selena,

How did you like my new surprise?

Bet you never guessed I'd kill another one. Another person close to you. In the same place, too.

You should have listened to me. But you did the play anyway. So it's not my fault. It's yours.

I told you I would be at dress rehearsal, Selena. It was the perfect time to kill someone.

I'll be at opening night, too. It will be the perfect time to kill you.

The Sun

Selena stared at the note, unable to breathe, unable to move.

Someone else killed?

Who?

24
 

K
illed someone? Killed someone?

Selena read the note again, her pulse racing, the words flashing as she squinted at them.

What on earth was The Sun talking about? He claimed he'd “killed another one.”

But no one had been killed. Or even hurt.

Selena forced her mind to focus. The Sun said he had killed someone in the auditorium. Killed someone as he had killed Jake. At dress rehearsal.

But dress rehearsal had been over for hours.

And it had gone perfectly smoothly.

No one had died. No one. No one. No one …

“Ohhh!” Selena let out a moan of horror as she realized what had happened.

The note … it had been shoved into her locker in the front hall. The stalker didn't think she'd go back to that locker.

He had left the note there for her to see tomorrow morning.

She wasn't supposed to receive this note until tomorrow.

A chill crept down Selena's spine as she understood.

She wasn't supposed to see this note until after The Sun had killed whoever he was planning to kill.

Until after tonight.

She felt sick. Someone was in terrible danger.

Tonight.
Now
.

Because of her.

I have to go back to school!
she decided.
I've got to stop him
.

And then she had an even more chilling thought. The Sun was threatening to kill someone close to her. There weren't many people left.

Katy.

No—please! I can't let him kill Katy!

Selena grabbed up the phone and punched in Katy's number. One ring. Two. Three.

“Come on, Katy. Pick it up! Pick it up!”

No one home.

Katy is probably back at school working on the lights, Selena realized. Yes. Katy must be there. She's walking into a trap.

She grabbed her jacket and started out of her room.

The phone rang. Selena grabbed it quickly.
Please be Katy,
she prayed.

“Selena? It's Eddy.”

“Eddy!” she exclaimed. Ordinarily she would have been happy to hear his voice. But not now. Not now.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. But I don't have time—”

“You sound upset,” he interrupted. “I won't keep you. I just called to say I'm sorry I couldn't watch your rehearsal this afternoon.”

“That's okay,” Selena said, scarcely listening.

“So how did it go?”

“What? Oh, the rehearsal. It went great,” she told him impatiently. “I've really got to go—”

“Fine,” he replied. “But I'd like to see you tonight. Are you busy later? It's seven now. Could I meet you at eight?”

“I—” Selena didn't know how to answer. “I don't know. There's something I have to do.”

“Can I help?”

“I wish you could,” Selena declared. “But no one can help. I have to go.”

“Okay,” Eddy replied, his voice disappointed. “But—”

“I've got to go
now,”
Selena repeated. “Bye.”

She hung up the phone, feeling guilty—and afraid.
Maybe I should have told Eddy what's going on,
she thought.
But I can't trust him. I can't trust anybody!

She shut her eyes tightly and tried to calm down.

Katy. Katy is in danger because of me. I can't let him hurt her. Whoever he is
.

She grabbed her jacket and hurried out the door.

The Shadyside High parking lot stood empty except for the custodian's van. Selena didn't see a single light shining from the building.

She pulled a pocket flashlight from her backpack and crossed the parking lot to the back of the school. The heavy double doors of the auditorium appeared dark and forbidding.

Selena glanced over her shoulder.
I'd feel better if there were cars here,
she thought.
Is The Sun already here? Is he waiting for his victim?

At least Katy's car wasn't in the student lot. Maybe
Katy isn't here, Selena hoped. Maybe the stage crew isn't working tonight.

The doors were shut, but not locked. She pulled them open. Selena stepped inside the darkened auditorium, moving as silently as she could. She switched on the flashlight and swung it around.

Empty. No one here.

No one in the seats. No one on the stage.

Was Katy up on the catwalk, working on the lights? Trying to stay calm, she called out. “Katy? Are you here?”

No answer.

And then Selena heard a sound that made her gasp and drop the flashlight.

A muffled scream. From behind the closed curtain.

“Katy?” she called again. “Katy? Katy? Is that you?”

25
 

“K
aty?”

No answer.

Selena grabbed the back of a chair. And listened.

Silence now. No scream. No cry. No sound.

Get out of here!
screamed a voice in Selena's head.
Turn around and run!

Katy is in danger because of me,
Selena reminded herself.

Did she hear someone behind the curtain? She had no choice. She had to find out.

She picked up the flashlight and slid it into her jeans pocket. Then she began to move through the blackened auditorium. It was so dark that she could barely make out the stage ahead of her. She tiptoed down the center aisle, scarcely daring to breathe, her ears alert for any sound.

Moving carefully, silently, Selena reached the stage
and climbed the steps. She peeked through the curtains, straining to see something, anything.

For a moment she considered turning on an overhead light. But she didn't want to give The Sun an advantage. Instead, she switched the little plastic flashlight back on.

“Katy?” she called softly, hearing her own voice tremble. “Katy, it's Selena!”