The Dead List (29 page)

Jensen stiffened behind me.

“It’s definitely a guy,” Gavin said, almost distracted as he stared at the closed blinds.

“Yeah, most murderous psychos are men.” She twisted the end of her braid between her fingers. “At least they are on TV and in movies.”

I cracked a grin at that, and then sipped my cocoa.

“Something is going on, though,” she said, dropping the edges of her hair. “He’s totally jumped out of his pattern.”

“What?” Gavin frowned.

“There was a pattern.” Heidi straightened when we all looked at her. “What? I can’t be the only person who saw this.”

“Apparently, you are,” Jensen said.

“It’s really obvious. Or, at least I think it is,” she said. “Don’t most serial killers follow a pattern? They do in the movies and in books.”

Well,
that
was some hardcore proof right there.

“Look. Vee was missing for two weeks, right? The night it marked two weeks, you were attacked. The night of Brock’s party. Then Vee’s body was found a week later, a few days after Monica went missing. And then, two weeks later, Wendy goes missing and… well, Monica was found.”

“Holy shit.” Jensen straightened a bit. “You’re right. The timeline.”

She nodded. “But, tonight threw the pattern off completely. He went after Ella, and he tried to kill Linds.”

I winced.

“Sorry,” she said softly. “But, locking someone in a car in a garage with said car running is pretty clear cut.”

“I know.” I took another drink, but it soured in my stomach. I placed it aside. “Okay. Saying there is a pattern, why would he go off it?”

She shrugged. “I’m not a crazy person, so I really don’t know.”

“Maybe he’s just done with it,” Gavin said, shifting his gaze to where I sat.

“Or he’s just getting sloppy,” Jensen commented.

“I don’t think it’s that,” he argued. “Maybe he had this grand plan, but decided to speed it up. Get it over with. Or maybe… maybe he thinks the police are close to finding out who it is.”

Jensen leaned around me, frowning. Gavin looked at him for a moment, and something seemed to pass between them. I had no idea what it was, but Gavin looked away with a shrug. “Does the pattern really matter?” he asked. “To me, it’s the why behind it all.”

The why. That was a big deal. Something Heidi said nagged at me. Two weeks. It kept replaying over and over in my head. Two weeks.

“Maybe he doesn’t like girls,” Heidi said, delicate brows knitted together. “I mean, he’s gone after only girls.”

That was pretty scary, but I didn’t think it was just that. I glanced up, my eyes meeting Gavin’s, and it clicked. I stood suddenly, unable to sit.

“What?” he said, watching me.

I paced to the middle of the room. “Two weeks, right? You know what else took two weeks?” My heart pounded in my chest as I turned to Jensen, and he shook his head. I knew he had an idea of where I was going with this. “Penn.”

“What?” said Gavin.

Heidi looked confused. She’d known about Penn, but she hadn’t lived here when all of that went down.

“No, Ella. This has nothing to do with him,” Jensen said, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.

“Why would it have to do with him?” asked Heidi.

Taking a quick breath, I filled her in on what had happened—about Brock and his friends and then what… what Jensen and I had done. “Two weeks after the party, Penn killed himself. It was exactly two weeks.”

“But that could be a coincidence.” Heidi wrapped her arms around her, looking more disturbed than she sounded.

“Could it? I mean, Penn loved cardinals.”

“Ella—”

“What?” I cut off Jensen. “It’s not impossible.”

“Penn is dead,” Gavin said, and I swore to God, I wanted to smack someone. “I know you know that, so why do you think it has anything to do with him?”

Shaking my head, I crossed the room and peeked out the blinds. I couldn’t see anything but the front porch railing and the hedges, but I knew a cruiser sat on the street. The police said they’d have a presence. Just in case.

Just in case he tried for a third time.

“Maybe someone wants revenge,” I said, turning around to face them. “Look at everyone who has been attacked or gone missing. Vee and Monica teased him in school. I know what I did.” My heart thumped heavily as I glanced at Jensen. He looked away, a muscle thrumming along his jaw. “Linds didn’t, but she was with me.”

“But, who would want revenge? His family doesn’t live around here anymore,” Gavin said. “And to be honest, I think it’s awful convenient that Brock just happened to be outside tonight and just happened to show up.”

I folded my arms across my chest, shivering. “The police really questioned him. They were suspicious, but they let him go.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not a suspect,” Gavin insisted.

Jensen rolled his shoulders as if he was trying to work out a kink. “But if this has to do with Penn—”

“You think that now?” There was no hiding the derision in my voice.

He held up his hands. “I’m not saying I do or don’t, but why would it be Brock? He was a total dick to Penn.”

“And yet, you’re still friends with him,” Gavin commented.

Jensen looked at him blandly, but didn’t respond.

“Whatever,” Gavin muttered.

I ignored the two. “Maybe he’s doing it because he feels guilty for what he’d done.”

“Well, if it does have to do with Penn, that just leaves you, Jensen, Brock… and who else?” Gavin frowned. “There’s someone else.”

“Mason,” Jensen muttered.

He nodded slowly. “He’d be in danger, too.”

“Does it matter why?” Heidi asked suddenly. She stared down at her hands as she spoke. “To me, it doesn’t. Because no matter what the reason is, it doesn’t justify what’s happening. It won’t ever change what this person is doing and I think, in a way, knowing why, cheapens the memories of those affected. As if stamping a reason on why someone is murdered somehow changes the fact they’re dead. It doesn’t.”

Heidi had a point.

Mom showed up after that. It was time for everyone to hit the road. I really didn’t like the idea of any of them leaving. I hugged Heidi goodbye.

Gavin stopped at the door and turned to me. I could feel Jensen’s eyes on us. “I know it didn’t sound like it earlier, but I think you’re on to something.”

“About Penn?” I lowered my voice.

He nodded, looking over my shoulder. “I don’t how or why, but I… I believe you.”

I closed my eyes out of relief. At least someone didn’t think I was completely crazy. “Thank you.”

Gavin started to walk away, but stopped and faced me. “I’m sorry about the way I reacted—about you and Jensen.”

The change in subject caught me off guard. “It’s okay.”

“No, it wasn’t. It was a douche move on my part. So I’m sorry,” he said again. “I’m not going to lie. It sucks thinking of you two together, but I am happy for you.”

He reached out to squeeze my hand, but I sprung forward and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I hugged him tight, a move he returned. When I pulled back, I swallowed the knot in my throat. “Be careful.”

“You, too.”

Watching him walk off the porch and down the sidewalk, he joined Heidi by the gate. He was going to take her home so she wouldn’t be alone. I don’t know how long I stood there, but when I finally turned around, Jensen was waiting.

“Your mom said I could stay.”

“Downstairs,” Mom’s voice traveled from the hallway above. “He can stay here, but downstairs.”

“Got it.” Closing the door, I turned to Jensen. He was leaning against the archway that led into the living room, hands in his pockets. I lowered my voice as I approached him. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

“I’ve always thought you were a little cray cray.”

My eyes narrowed.

He flashed a half grin. “I don’t think you’re crazy, Ella. I just don’t know what to think about all of this. I mean, Penn?” He laughed under his breath, but there wasn’t any humor to it. “It’s like we’re dealing with something that’s not flesh and blood.”

“Sometimes I wonder if we are,” I admitted quietly. “There’s something almost inhuman about him. Like there is no humanity there, behind that mask. I mean, I know it’s a living, breathing person and all, but how can someone do what he’s doing?”

“I don’t know.”

And I wondered if we’d ever know, or if we’d have a chance to find out before he picked us off, one by one.

I shuddered, knowing that was a terrible way to look at this. “I’ll get you some blankets and stuff.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Turning, I hurried up the stairs, not surprised to find my mom waiting outside of her bedroom. In her arms were blankets and a pillow. She’d been amazing through all of this, but I knew her. I knew none of this could be easy.

Hell, how could it be easy for anyone?

I slowed down as I approached her.

“I’m okay with him being here,” she said, pinning me with the ‘parent’ look Dad could never perfect. “Frankly, I’m only allowing it because I trust both of you, and I know it makes you feel better knowing he’s here, but I’m serious. He stays downstairs and you stay upstairs.”

If Mom only knew….

“Okay. We’ll behave.” I took the stack from her. “Thank you.”

She patted my shoulder. “Take this down to him and then get your butt back up here. And, tomorrow we need to talk about other arrangements.”

“Other arrangements?”

“Tomorrow.”

I hid my groan. I knew what other arrangements would be. Sending me to stay with my Dad. There was nothing I could do about that right now.

I carried an extra pillow and blankets to where Jensen waited on the couch. Dropping them on the arm, I smiled slightly. “Here you go.”

He tilted his head back. “I can sneak up once your mom goes to bed.”

“I don’t think that’s a great idea since she knows you’re here,” I pointed out.

“Boo.” He took my hand, threading his fingers through mine. “A kiss before I say goodnight?”

I let him pull me down, and when his lips pressed against mine, the swelling pressure in my chest returned. The kiss was sweet and slow, but as his hands settled on my hips and slid up, stopping below my chest, it became stronger, deeper. When he kissed me, it was easy to forget the bad stuff, to pretend.

Those kisses had the power of building their own little world, blocking out everything else, but we weren’t in our own bubble. I knew Mom was probably waiting upstairs.

“That’s a perfect kind of goodnight,” I murmured against his lips when I pulled back.

“Doesn’t make you want to say goodnight, does it?” He kissed the corner of my lip, and his breath was warm, tantalizing. “You better head up there before your mom kicks me out.”

Mom would have a coronary if she came downstairs in the morning and saw us snuggled together. Then again, considering all that had happened, I wasn’t sure if she’d be that concerned about it.

But I wasn’t willing to take that risk.

I wanted Jensen here, and not just because I felt safer knowing he was nearby, but I hoped he was safer. If we were right about whoever was behind this having gone off his own pattern, and if I was right and it did have to do with Penn, then Jensen was in as much danger as I was.

“Good night,” I said, kissing his cheek, but as I tried to stand, he held on. “What?”

“Can I ask you for a favor and you won’t get mad at me?”

“Depends.”

He leaned back against the couch. “I want you to steer clear of Gavin.”

My brows arched. “What?”

“It’s not because of jealousy or any crap like that.”

I stared at him. “If it’s not jealousy, then what is it? Wait. You don’t think he’s responsible for any of this.” I drew back, eyeing him. “We’ve known Gavin since we were kids, Jensen.”

“I know, but…. Well, you trust me, right?”

“Of course.”

“And I trust you,” he said, holding my hand and placing it against his chest. “But, I don’t trust anyone right now, because it seriously could be anyone at this point. And that scares the crap out of me—for you. Because it could be someone you trust.”

Penn squared his shoulders and smiled—smiled wide. The glassiness of his eyes faded and I let out the breath I was holding. “It really isn’t a big deal, Ella.”

He was lying. If it weren’t a big deal, his eyes wouldn’t be so shiny. Guilt was like a pool of churning acid in my stomach. I’d never really experienced that feeling before, not to this extreme. I didn’t like it.

“Can you and Jensen just forget about it?” He stood from where he was perched on his bed and picked up a large, colorful book on birds. “Because he’s apologized like ten times since Monday.”

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to squirm. “It’s because we do feel bad. And we really did plan on coming, but—”

Penn held the book to his chest and closed his eyes. “I know. You guys feel sorry. That’s all that matters. And it’s not a big deal. It’s not like someone died because you didn’t come to my party.” He laughed as he opened his eyes. The shininess was completely gone. He smiled as he gave a lopsided shrug. “Everything is okay.”

It could be anyone.

Those words haunted me over the weekend, even though I spent most of it trying to do normal things after checking in with Linds’ parents. She still hadn’t woken up and there had been no change in her status.

I didn’t know what I’d do if Linds didn’t wake up. It hurt, and it was too scary to even consider that. All I could do was tell myself that wouldn’t be the case. She would wake up, and she would be like Linds.

Luckily, Mom hadn’t discussed other ‘arrangements’ yet. Not that I was totally against staying with my dad, but I didn’t want Mom to be alone.

After checking in with his parents on Saturday morning, and then again on Sunday, Jensen had returned, and we’d spent the better part of the day curled up on the couch watching the DVDs of Supernatural he’d brought with him. But, even the Winchester brothers couldn’t distract me from the direction of my thoughts.

It could be anyone
.

Jensen was right. Over the course of the day, I mentally went over the list of suspects. I ruled out any females, even though Ms. Reed had been the one to send me to the warehouse and upstairs at the farmhouse. I’d
felt
the attacker. It was a man or an extremely masculine woman with absolutely no chest to speak of.