Touch of Death (10 page)

Melodie was in a daze and not paying much attention to anything. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was only doing twenty-five miles an hour in a fifty zone. I left her to her thoughts, letting her deal with Dr. Alvarez’s death in her own way.

I stared out the window, watching the scenery crawl past. We came to an intersection, and the light turned red. Melodie didn’t seem to notice. Traffic was coming from both sides of us. “Mel, the light!” I yelled. She slammed her foot on the brake, tires screeching as the car came to a stop inches from a white pickup truck. It had come so close to barreling into us. My hands were pushing against the glove compartment. It was a knee-jerk reaction to our almost collision. One of those stupid things you do even though you know it won’t help. All it did was hurt my cut-up fingers.

Melodie leaned her head back on the seat and cried. “I’m so sorry. I was completely zoned out. I didn’t even see the light change.”

I doubted she’d seen the light at all. “It’s okay. No one was hurt. And after the day we’ve had, it’s a miracle we’re both still sane.”

The light turned green, but Melodie didn’t move. “Hey, would you mind driving? I’m not feeling all that great.”

Cars honked behind us. They were not going to be happy about us getting out and switching seats, but I didn’t think Melodie should drive anymore. “Sure. No problem.” We changed seats to the sound of more honks and a few choice words from the SUV behind us. I smiled and waved at the driver. Mom always said nothing annoys a jerk more than you being nice to him. Apparently, it was true. He started yelling comments that didn’t make much sense at all. I guessed I’d confused him with my reaction.

I put the car in drive and got through the light just before it turned red again. The driver of the SUV waved his fist out the window at us. Even with everything going on, I was able to find some humor in that. I drove down Fifth Street and decided to take the back roads the rest of the way home. I was halfway down Willow Drive when I saw the deer. My deer. Or at least the one I’d hit. No doubt about it. It looked… well, dead. I pulled over and jumped out of the car.

“Jodi!” Melodie yelled, lowering her window as I ran to her side of the car. “What are you doing?”

“The deer. The one I hit. It’s right there.” I pointed to the trees. The deer stood still, watching me.

“So? What are you going to do, ask it to hop in the car so we can take it to the vet?” Melodie squinted at it. “Ugh, that thing is nasty. What’s wrong with it?”

“It was hit by a car, remember?”

“Yeah, but look at it. Its skin is practically falling off.” She leaned out the window and threw up all over the side of the road. I turned away. I never could stomach the sight of someone else puking.

The deer stepped closer to me, and I saw that Melodie was right. Its skin was sagging, and its fur was falling out in clumps. I didn’t know much about rabies, but I had a feeling this deer’s problem made rabies look like a jog in the park.

Melodie moaned and pulled her head back through the window. “Can we please go?”

“Yeah.” I headed back to the car, keeping my eyes on the deer. It watched me, creeping closer with every step I took toward the car. “Sorry, buddy, but I already have a stalker, and one’s all I can take right now.” I got in the car and slammed the door shut. The deer kept coming.

“Go!” Melodie screamed.

I threw the car into drive and floored the gas. In the rearview mirror, I saw the deer dash into the road and stand there, staring after us. “Now, that was really creepy.”

“Don’t talk about it. I have to get the image of that thing out of my head before I throw up again.”

I sped the rest of the way home. I didn’t even care if I got pulled over. I wanted to get away from the deer. I wished I could get away from all the awful stuff that was happening in my life, but for right now I’d settle for losing the deer. I pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. I leaned forward, resting my head on the steering wheel. Melodie wasn’t in any shape to drive home, so we just sat.

The silence was interrupted by the buzzing of my cell phone in my pocket. I pulled it out. A text from Matt read, “Be by at five to pick you up.” It was three-fifteen already. I wasn’t sure how that had happened.

“Is that Matt?” Melodie asked, her eyes still closed.

“Yeah. We’re supposed to go out tonight. He said he’d pick me up at five.”

Melodie leaned forward and opened her eyes. “Are you really going out with him after everything that’s happened today?”

She had a point, but my other option was to sit at home and think about all the awful things I’d been through today. “I need to clear my head. Forget about… everything.”

“And what better way than by making out with the boy you like?” Melodie said, sounding more like herself.

I laughed, and it felt really good. “Yeah, that would cheer me up.”

We laughed until our stomachs hurt. Not because what I’d said was funny, but because we needed to laugh. When I finally stopped, I flipped open my phone. “I should call him and tell him I’m running a little late.” Melodie continued to giggle in her seat.

“Hey,” Matt answered. “I wasn’t expecting a call back. I thought you might still be doing your community service gig.”

Did everyone but me remember I’d signed up for that? “No, we got out early. It’s kind of a long story.”

“Well, then you’re in luck. It takes surprisingly little time for me to look amazing.”

I laughed. “Is that so?”

“Yup. Good genes I guess. So, tell me what happened.”

I sighed, not sure if Melodie could handle listening to me recount the events of the day. “Um—”

“Oh just tell him.” Melodie sighed. “If you don’t, he’ll ask me, and I can’t handle talking about it.”

“There was an incident at the community center. A squirrel got in the building, and it kind of freaked out. Someone yelled to watch out, and I thought I was about to get clobbered with a board or something, so I dropped my hammer and covered my head.”

“Seems like a smart thing to do,” he said. “Unless you dropped the hammer on your foot.”

“No, not on my foot. On the squirrel.”

“Ouch, that had to hurt it.”

“You could say that. We all thought it was dead, but then it attacked a guy.”

“Attacked him? Like starting clawing at him?”

“More like ripping his neck to shreds with its teeth.” My stomach churned, and I was grateful I’d missed lunch. I wasn’t eating much at all these days.

“Are you pranking me?”

“I wish. The thing went ballistic. But we trapped the squirrel, and the vet came and… put it to sleep.”

“Sounds like an exciting day.”

“That was just the morning.” I told him about my finger and Dr. Alvarez and the deer. I blurted it all out, barely pausing to breathe.

He was completely silent on the other end. My eyes darted back and forth. Had he hung up? I wouldn’t blame him if he thought I was crazy or a magnet for trouble. It certainly seemed that way. Finally, he spoke. “I’m coming over now. We don’t have to go out. We’ll stay in and talk until you feel better.”

“No, I’m okay. Really. Besides, Melodie is with me. She’ll keep me company until our date.”

“Are you sure you still want to go out? Because we don’t have to. I’ll completely understand if you want to cancel.”

“Actually, I think I need to go out. And I really want to see you.”

“Good.” He paused. It was one of those awkward moments at the start of the relationship where neither person knows what to say and worries about freaking the other one out. “I, uh, want to see you, too.”

“Good. Then five?”

“Five. See you then.” He hung up.

“Want to come inside?” I asked Mel.

“Depends. You got anything that will erase my memory? Just for the past six hours or so?”

“If I do, you’ll have to fight me for it.”

We went inside. Mom would be home soon, and I had to get ready for my date, but there was still time for some cookie dough ice cream to numb the pain of the day. Without a word, we headed straight for the kitchen. Melodie got the spoons, while I grabbed two pints from the freezer. Mel was strictly a chocolate girl. I put them on the table, and Mel stuck the spoons right in. Times like this called for eating right out the container—no need to be bothered with bowls. I scooped a big spoonful and put it in my mouth, letting it dissolve on my tongue.

“Much better,” Melodie said, with her mouth full.

We made it through half our containers before Mom walked in on us. “Girls, girls, girls,” she scolded, grabbing a spoon from the drawer. “Don’t you know ice cream can’t solve your problems?” She took the rainbow sprinkles from the cabinet and dumped them right into the containers. “Ice cream and sprinkles, on the other hand, can solve just about anything.” She took a heaping spoonful of chocolate—like Melodie, she wasn’t a fan of cookie dough. She’d been taking a lot of heat from her boss. Apparently, his boss was on
his
case, and he was taking it out on Mom. I hated that. She worked so hard for the little money she made. I knew she only kept the job for the medical benefits. There was no way she’d put up with her boss’ idiotic behavior if she didn’t have to take care of me. The thought brought another big helping of cookie dough to my lips.

We had almost finished the ice cream when we heard a noise upstairs. “What was that?” Melodie asked, looking at the ceiling. “Did you guys get a cat or something?”

“No,” Mom said. “Jodi, did you leave any windows open?” Even in the dead of winter, I liked fresh air. I was about to say no when I realized what had made the noise.

“Um, you know, I think I did. I bet the wind knocked my stuff off my desk again. I’ll go close it.”

Mom and Melodie got back to the ice cream while I headed upstairs. I went slowly, making sure I didn’t make any noise on the stairs. I didn’t want to let Alex know I was coming. I had to catch him off guard, see what he was looking for in my room and whether he’d left me any more presents.

I hesitated when I got to the door. I’d left it open, but it was shut now. Apparently, Alex needed privacy for whatever it was he was doing in there. I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob, being careful not to let it jiggle at all. I held my breath and silently counted to three before swinging the door wide open.

Alex threw himself down on the other side of the bed. I was a little disappointed. For a stalker, he wasn’t very stealthy.

“Looking for something? Or are you planting another dead rat in my room?”

He stood up and brushed off his shirt. “Sorry about the rat, but I had to make sure I was right about you. You wouldn’t talk to me, so I had to resort to other methods of confirming my suspicions.”

“Confirming your suspicions?
You’re
the one who’s sneaking around and acting all suspicious.”

“I’m doing what I have to. If you would’ve talked to me in the first place, you could’ve saved us both a lot of trouble.”

“I could’ve saved us a lot of trouble?” I lowered my voice, realizing I was talking way too loud. If Mom or Melodie heard me, they’d come upstairs to see who I was talking to. I couldn’t exactly explain having Alex in my room. “You’re the one causing all the trouble here. And how did you get in my room? Do you pick locks?”

“You’re wasting time with all these questions.”

I looked at the clock on my nightstand. “You’re right about that. I have a date to get ready for.”

Alex’s face turned cold. “You can’t go out with Matt.”

“Is that what this is about? Because Matt and I
are
dating, and you don’t really get a say in the matter. So, if you’ve got some kind of bizarre crush on me, you’re going to have to get over it.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Jodi.” He turned toward the window and gazed out it. “Like I’ve been trying to tell you, we need to talk.”

“Then, talk.” I held my arms out at my sides. “We’re alone. You got your way. So, talk.”

“Do you know what’s been happening to you? The things with the animals?” He turned back around and faced me.

“What do you know about that?”

“The deer you hit. It died. Until you bled on it and brought it back to life.”

“Brought—”

“And the rat I left in your room. It was dead, Jodi. Until you bled on it. Just like the squirrel.”

“Stop!” My voice was getting loud again.

“And then Dr. Alvarez. You weren’t expecting that one, I’m sure. The cut on your finger infected him. Your blood poisoned him, turned his own blood toxic and killed him.”

“Stop! didn’t kill anyone!”

“Jodi!” Mom yelled. I heard her feet on the stairs. “Are you okay?”

I whipped my head toward the door and then back at Alex. Mom couldn’t find him here. I rushed over to him and grabbed his arm, shoving him toward my closet. “Get in, don’t move, and stay quiet.” I shut the door, not sure what was happening to me. I mean, what kind of girl hides her stalker in her closet?

Chapter 10

“Jodi?” Mom walked into the room and looked around. “Who were you talking to?”

I reached into my back pocket and took out my phone, trying to act like it had been in my hand this whole time. “Some guy from school. He keeps asking me out, and he can’t take a hint. He’s really getting on Matt’s nerves.”