Twisted (24 page)

Just then there was a sound above her head and Melanie turned to look up. There was someone dressed in a rain poncho looming over her. “What are you . . . ?”

But she never had a chance to finish her question. A huge log toppled, crashing into her head. And then the rest of the woodpile followed, crushing the life from her body and half-burying her under a jumbled mass of firewood.

“
M
y name isn't Mousie, it's Jennifer. And I've got tons of self-confidence. I've even got chutzpah and I'm going to prove it when Tim knocks on my door!”

Jennifer was very determined as she faced her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing her best pink sweater, the one everyone said brought out the color in her cheeks. It was true. Her cheeks were very pink, but that was probably because she was embarrassed about talking to herself in front of the mirror.

She'd spent a long time thinking after everyone else had gone to bed. She knew that she wasn't in love with Tommy any longer and she wasn't sure she'd ever really been in love with him. She'd just wanted to date him because he was so handsome and popular.

Tim was another matter. Jennifer liked him a lot and she wanted to date him, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way about her. What could she do?

Jennifer knew exactly what Lexie would tell her. She'd say that there was only one way to find out. Jennifer had to stop being so timid and ask Tim exactly how he felt about her. But that was easier said than done, and Jennifer just hoped that Tim would get here before she lost her courage.

“I know he likes me. He wouldn't have let me use his letter jacket if he didn't like me. Lexie's right. I'm just going to come right out and ask him. The minute he knocks on my door, I'm going to . . .”

There was a knock on her door and she jumped. Tim was here! Chutzpah. She had to have enough chutzpah to ask him!

Jennifer didn't think. She just raced to the door and opened it. And then she pulled Tim inside, before she could change back into Mousie again.

“Hey . . .” Tim grinned down at her. “I thought the guys weren't allowed in the girls' rooms.”

“They're not.” Jennifer took a deep breath, and then she motioned to the edge of her bed. “Sit down, Tim. We need to talk.”

“About the séance?” Tim sat down.

“No. About us. How much do you like me, Tim?”

“How much do I like you? Oh . . . about this much!”

Tim spread out his arms and Jennifer started to laugh. She couldn't help it. “Cut it out, Tim . . . that's what my dad used to do!”

“And he was crazy about you, wasn't he?”

“Sure, he was . . . but . . .”

“So am I,” Tim interrupted her. “I think about you every day, and I'm happy when I'm with you. I don't want to date anyone else, just you, Jen. And I wish you'd hurry and get over that stupid crush you've got on my twin brother.”

Jennifer felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Perhaps chutzpah wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She'd certainly gotten much more than she'd bargained for!

“Well? What do you have to say, Jen?”

Jennifer said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Uh . . . well . . . I'm over the crush I had on your brother.”

“That's a step in the right direction.” Tim started to grin again. “Now, how much do you like me?”

Jennifer opened her mouth and then she closed it again. Her knees felt weak and now that the moment was here, she was suddenly speechless. What if she said the wrong thing?

“What is it, Jen? Don't you like me as much as I like you?”

“No!” Jennifer managed to find her voice. “I mean . . . yes. I just don't want to say the wrong thing.”

“You can't say the wrong thing, Jen. There isn't any wrong thing around me, as long as you're honest. Now, I'm not quite sure what you said. Was that a yes? Or a no?”

“I don't remember the question!” Jennifer started to laugh. “But I feel the same way you do, Tim. And I don't want to date anyone else, either.”

Tim smiled. “Great! Then you should keep the jacket, because we're going steady, except for a technicality.”

“What technicality?” Jennifer was puzzled.

“We haven't gone out on a date yet, so how could we be going steady?”

“Oh. I see. You've got a point, but what can we do about it?”

“I'm not sure. We can't go on a date while we're up here at the lodge. There's nowhere to go. Do you think a kiss would count the same as a date?”

Jennifer walked over and sat down next to him, on the edge of the bed. She felt very strange, kind of warm and quivery inside. “Yes. I think a kiss would count.”

And then Tim was kissing her, his lips brushing lightly against hers. Jennifer sighed and snuggled closer, reaching up with her arms to clasp them around his neck. And then she said something very bold, something she'd never expected to hear herself saying in a million years. It was chutzpah, plain and simple, and Lexie would have been proud of her. “I'm not sure that one kiss counts. Let's do it again to make sure.”

 

“Jen? We really should go.”

Jennifer sighed. And then she smiled a happy, contented smile. “Go where?”

“Downstairs. They're probably wondering where we are.”

“Oh.” Jennifer looked up into Tim's wonderfully green eyes. “What time is it, anyway?”

“It's almost ten.”

“Oh, my God!” Jennifer sat up so fast, she was dizzy. Of course, she was already dizzy from Tim's kisses, so it really didn't matter. “We'd better go downstairs right away! They're probably wondering where we are!”

Tim laughed as he helped her to her feet. “I think that's what I just said. Either that, or there's an echo in here.”

“You did? Oh. I'm sorry, Tim. I guess I was kissing . . . I mean . . . thinking about something else. Check the hall, will you? I don't want anyone to know that we broke the rules.”

Tim opened the door a crack. “All clear. Come on, Jen. Let's go.”

But just as they were stepping out the door, they heard someone running down the hall. It was too late to go back inside and Jennifer groaned as she saw that it was Susie. Although she didn't really mean to gossip, Susie had the biggest mouth at Foothill High.

But Susie didn't seem to notice that both of them were leaving the room at the same time. She just grabbed Jennifer's hand. “Come on. We've got to hurry. Did you guys have any luck?”

“Uh . . . well . . .” Jennifer had all she could do to keep a straight face. They'd had a lot of luck! They were going steady! But somehow, she didn't think that was what Susie was asking. Instead of answering, Jennifer turned the question around. “How about you, Susie? Did you have any luck?”

“No. I checked the whole third floor, so you don't have to do that. How far did you guys get?”

Tim saw that Jennifer was about to crack up, so he took over. “Not very far.”

“Okay. I'll do this floor and then I'll meet you in the lobby.”

Susie raced off, and Jennifer turned to Tim. “What's going on?”

“I don't know, but Susie seemed really freaked. I think we'd better go down to the lobby and find out.”

The moment Jennifer and Tim walked into the lobby, Tommy rushed up to them. “Hey, Tim. Did you find her?”

“Find who?”

“Melanie. Didn't you hear? No one's seen her since last night. I thought you guys were checking the second floor.”

Tim shook his head. “Susie's doing it. Where do you want us to look?”

“Everybody else is searching the lodge. Why don't you two start outside. It stopped raining and she might have gone for a walk.”

“Okay. We'll report in right away if we find her.”

Jennifer was frowning as they stepped outside. She doubted that Melanie had gone for a walk, all by herself. Tim must have been thinking the same thing because he looked worried.

“Her car's still here.” Tim motioned toward the red Honda in the parking lot. “At least she didn't try to drive down the mountain.”

“That's a relief! I thought she might have tried to go home. She did a pretty good job of hiding it, but I know she was really freaked by that note.”

“Jen?” Tim pointed at the row of bushes that had been planted under the lobby windows. “Do those bushes look trampled to you?”

Jennifer moved closer. There were several broken branches right in the center of the clump, directly under the window. “It looks like someone was hiding in there.”

“Someone . . . or something.”

Jennifer shivered. Kelly's spirit? But spirits didn't trample bushes. They had no earthly substance, according to the books she'd read. That's why they could walk through solid walls and enter locked rooms. They weren't limited by earthly boundaries. “Do you mean . . . an animal?”

“Possibly. But it's unusual for a big animal like a bear or a mountain lion to come this close to humans. It was probably a dog. And since there aren't any prints, it must have happened before three in the morning.”

Jennifer turned to look at Tim in surprise. “How can you tell?”

“It rained until three, hard enough to wash away any prints. After that, it turned into a fine mist.”

“What were you doing up that late?”

“Thinking about you, hoping that you'd come up to knock on my door. And wishing that I had the nerve to go down and knock on yours.”

Jennifer began to smile. She'd been blind not to notice that Tim really cared about her. She was about to suggest that he kiss her again, when she noticed another broken branch on another bush. And then another. And another. Leading right up to the corner of the lodge.

“Whatever it was, I think it went this way.” Jennifer pointed out the trail of broken branches. “Come on, Tim.”

As they stepped around the corner, Jennifer stopped and pointed at the woodpile. “Look at that, Tim! Somebody left their boots out here!”

Before Jennifer could walk any closer, Tim moved in front of her, blocking her view. He looked very grim as he turned her around so she couldn't see the woodpile.

“Tell the guys to come out here, Jen. And stay inside until we come back.”

Jennifer nodded. And then she hurried toward the door. At first her horrified mind had refused to believe what was right front of her eyes. But now she knew, and the frightening image was firmly implanted in her mind. Those weren't logs at the very bottom of the woodpile. They were Melanie's legs, wearing her favorite snakeskin boots!

 

“Poor Melanie!” Lexie sighed. “She must have gone outside for more firewood and pulled out the wrong log so the woodpile collapsed.”

“But why did she go outside for more firewood?” Tommy was puzzled. “There's a whole stack right here, next to the fireplace.”

Susie thought about it for a minute, and then she shrugged. “Maybe she was worried that we'd run out.”

“That doesn't explain what she was doing down here in the first place.” Cheryl spoke up. “She said good night, and I saw her go into her room.”

Susie shrugged again. “Maybe she couldn't sleep and she came downstairs to sit by the fire. She was pretty freaked about that note from Kelly.”

“I'd better try to notify her parents.” Pete stood up and headed for the reservation desk. “The phones might be working, now that the rain's over.”

They all waited anxiously, but when Pete came back he was frowning. “No luck. The line's still down.. And my cell phone still isn't working.”

“Why don't we try to drive down to the Hilltop Grocery?” Tommy suggested.

“Good idea,” Tim said. “It's only three miles and their phone could be on a different line. And even if it's not, our cell phones might work down there.”

Pete began to frown. “You'll never get through. Zada said there was a rock slide between here and there.”

“Then we'll move enough rocks to make a path.” Tommy looked very determined. “But Tim and I can't do it alone. Who's coming with us?”

“I will.” Dale stood up. “How about you, Ronnie?”

“Count me in.” Ronnie walked over to grab his jacket.

“Me, too.” Brian jumped to his feet. “Don't worry, girls. We'll be able to dig our way through. We're all big, strong guys.”

Susie began to bristle. “Why is this turning into a totally guy thing? Women are strong, too. I bet I can lift more weight than you can.”

“But you're a better cook than he is.” Ronnie laughed at his own joke. “You girls stay right here where it's nice and cozy. You can whip up a hot meal for us when we get back.”

Susie picked up a pillow and threw it at him, but he just caught it and tossed it back. Then Tommy opened the door and they all marched out, looking every bit as resolute as a small army going into battle.

“There goes the male ego.” Lexie grinned wryly. “I'm surprised they didn't ask us to knit them some socks while they were gone.”

“I wonder if they actually believe they can get through.” Susie was thoughtful.

“I think they do. They looked very determined.” Jennifer turned to Lexie. “Is there a Yiddish word for that?”

Lexie thought about it for a moment, and then she nodded. “It's called
meshuga
.”

“
Mish-you-gah
?” Cheryl repeated the word.

“That's close enough,” Lexie said. “It means
crazy
. And that's exactly what they are if they think they're going to move a ton of rocks, all by themselves.”

A
s the hours ticked by, Jennifer began to get worried. What was taking the guys so long? She knew that Pete was nervous about their prolonged absence, too. She'd seen him go to the window to look out at the road at least five times in as many minutes.

“Do you think we should go out to look for them?” Susie walked over to join Pete at the window.

“No, not yet. Give them another couple of minutes. If they're not back by three o'clock, we'll go looking for them.”

They all nodded in unison and turned at precisely the same instant to look at the grandfather clock in the lobby. Their synchronized movements reminded Jennifer of a perfectly rehearsed cheer, and she almost giggled. But this was no laughing matter. It was possible there had been another rock slide and the boys were cut off from the lodge. Even worse, they could have been caught by the falling boulders, but Jennifer didn't want to think about that.

It seemed to take forever, but at last the grandfather clock in the lobby chimed three times. It took only a few moments to get their jackets and boots, and then they were ready.

“Okay. Let's go.” Pete opened the door and they all stepped out, but Cheryl stopped so abruptly that Jennifer almost ran right into her.

“Do you hear that?” Cheryl sounded excited. “There's a car coming up the road!”

They all turned to look at the road. It was another perfectly synchronized turn, and this time Jennifer laughed out loud, she was so relieved. It was the Jeep. The guys were back!

Tommy was frowning as he pulled up in front of the lodge and they all piled out. “Sorry. We couldn't get through. There's a huge rock slide between here and the store.”

“We tried to climb over, but the rocks were too unstable.” Dale sounded disappointed.

“He's right. We almost caused another rock slide,” Tim said. “But there's good news, too. We heard a bulldozer and it sounded like it was only a couple of miles away. All we have to do is wait until the road crew digs through to us.”

Susie didn't look happy. “But when will that be? We could be stuck here until Christmas!”

“I don't think it'll take them quite that long.” Brian laughed. “Come on, Susie. Look on the bright side. If we're going to get stuck, Saddlepeak Lodge is the perfect place. We've got food, water, heat, and electricity. What more could we want?”

“Cable TV.” Tommy looked glum. “We're missing a whole day of college football.”

“I love to watch football,” Lexie said. “It's my favorite sport. I just wish I wouldn't always end up cheering for the wrong team.”

“What do you mean?” Tommy turned to look at her.

“If I like a team, they lose. That's why I didn't try out to be a cheerleader. If I cheered for Foothill High, they'd lose every game.”

Tommy looked doubtful, but Jennifer nodded. “It's true. My dad says Lexie has a real knack for picking losers.”

“Hey, Lexie . . .” Tommy was grinning as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. “What are you doing for the next eight weekends?”

Lexie shrugged. “I don't know . . . why?”

“I want you to spend them with me. How about it? Do we have a date?”

Lexie shrugged again. “That depends. What did you have in mind?”

“I want you to watch football with me. I'll tell you which teams I want to lose and you can cheer for them.”

“Okay.” Lexie laughed as Tommy hugged her. “You've got yourself a deal.”

Jennifer stared at Lexie in surprise. Her best friend had undergone an amazing transformation, right before her eyes. Lexie's cheeks were pink, her eyes were sparkling, and her smile was warm as she gazed at Tommy. Jennifer was wise enough to know the signs. Lexie was definitely interested in Tommy.

Was she jealous? Jennifer was relieved to find that she didn't feel the slightest twinge of envy. Tim was the one she wanted, not Tommy. Perhaps she hadn't really been in love with Tommy at all. She still liked him as a friend, but that was it. And Tommy seemed perfect for Lexie. But there was someone in the group who looked very jealous and it was Cheryl.

“I've got an idea.” Cheryl spoke up. “Why don't we have another rehearsal? Our skit had some rough spots last night, and it'll give us something to do while we're waiting for the bulldozer to get through.”

Jennifer almost laughed out loud. Cheryl's motive was perfectly transparent. She was in Tommy's skit and Lexie wasn't. It was a perfect way to get Tommy away from Lexie.

“That's a very good idea,” Pete agreed. “If the buses with Miss Voelker and the kids are right behind the bulldozers, we could be giving a show tonight.”

“In that case, we'd better do a full technical rehearsal,” Brian said. “I haven't even tested some of my special effects.”

“Okay.” Pete glanced at his watch. “I'll give you twenty minutes to get into your costumes and makeup. Let's go over the whole production, from start to finish.”

“Including the séance?” Susie started to frown.

“Of course.”

“Uh . . . Pete?” Susie's voice was shaking slightly. “Do you think we could do things out of order, and start with the séance?”

“That's up to Jennifer and Tim. But why?”

Susie looked embarrassed and it was clear she didn't want to answer. “Uh . . . well . . . Melanie got that note from Kelly, and now she's dead. I know it's just coincidence, but . . . I'd rather do the séance in the daylight, that's all.”

“That's okay with us, Pete.” Jennifer decided to rescue Susie from further embarrassment. “We don't mind starting with the séance. Is that all right with everyone else?”

One by one they nodded, and Jennifer noticed that several of her friends looked relieved. The séance skit was starting to scare everyone, now that Zada and Melanie were dead.

 

But nothing unexpected happened at the séance. The table didn't rock or spin around and there were no ghostly voices. When it was over, everyone including Jennifer and Tim drew a deep sigh of relief.

“That was fine.” Pete flipped his notebook shut. “But I guess the spirits don't communicate very well in the daylight.”

Ronnie laughed. “That's okay. I don't think I could have survived another spinning table. Come on, everybody. Let's get into costume and rehearse the rest of our skits.”

Jennifer and Tim had just finished putting their props away when there were shouts from the third floor. They hurried up the stairs to join the crowd that had gathered in Ronnie's room.

“The psychic duo strikes again, huh?” Ronnie grinned at them as they came in.

Tim frowned. “Do you mean us?”

“You bet I do! When I opened my suitcase, I found a note.” Ronnie held up a piece of paper. “It was wrapped in this scarf, printed with lilacs.”

“It's Kelly's scarf,” Tommy explained.

“Here, Tim.” Ronnie handed him the note. “Read it out loud.”

Tim unfolded the note. “It's written on Saddlepeak Lodge stationery, just like the other one. And it says,
Ronnie—Talk to me at the séance tonight and I'll tell you everything
.”

“Very interesting.” Ronnie was smiling as he glanced around the room. “What do you think, guys? Are Jennifer and Tim playing more tricks?”

Jennifer shook her head. “You've got it wrong, Ronnie. Tim and I didn't write that note. I swear it!”

“Of course you didn't.” Ronnie was still grinning. “Kelly wrote it . . . right, Jen?”

“I don't know who wrote it!”

“Excellent!” Pete started to clap and everyone joined in. “Good job, Jennifer. You're turning into a very convincing actress. This whole setup with the notes is great!”

Jennifer exchanged glances with Tim. Neither one of them knew quite what to say. Nobody seemed willing to believe that they hadn't written the notes.

“How about it, gang?” Pete turned to the other students. “Are you up for another séance tonight?”

“No!”

Everyone turned to look at Susie. All the color had left her face and she was trembling. “I don't think we should hold another séance, not after that note Ronnie got. What if something awful happens to him?”

“Susie, my love. I didn't know you cared.” Ronnie burst into laughter. But when he saw that Susie was close to tears, he pulled her into his arms. “Hey, Suze . . . nothing's going to happen to me. And we've got to have the séance. I can hardly wait to see what these two jokers have got planned for me.”

Tim shook his head. “You've got it all wrong, Ronnie. Jen and I don't have anything planned.”

“I knew you'd say that.” Ronnie chuckled. “You two guys are good! But I'm warning you . . . if that table starts spinning around again, I'm going to figure out exactly how you've got it rigged.”

 

The lilac-printed scarf had brought back memories of her. Kelly had been beautiful, the last time he'd seen her. She'd been dressed in a simple cotton sundress, white with tiny sprigs of purple flowers in a repeating pattern. She'd looked so fresh and innocent that he almost hadn't believed what she'd told him. Only the tears running down her cheeks had convinced him that she'd been telling the truth about their baby.

How could a night that had been so thrilling turn out to be such a disaster? He could still see her face in the light of the fire and feel the soft, satiny warmth of her skin. It should have been a happy memory for him, but it wasn't. Not now. Not after what had happened.

He leaned back against the pillow and closed his eyes. He still had ten minutes before he had to go downstairs and he needed to rest his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well lately and he was very tired.

And then he saw Kelly's face again, as her car went out of control. Her mouth was open and she was screaming, begging for someone to rescue her. The car swerved down the hill, riding the lip of the ditch, heading straight for the crossing. And then the train rounded the bend, brakes squealing and sparking as they tried in vain to halt the tons of hurtling metal.

At the last instant, she turned to look out the window. And her eyes locked with his in a steady bond that no earthly force could break. And her beautiful lips formed the words that made up the restless terror of his sleep.
Murderer! I'll get you for this!

He sat up with a jolt, sweating and feverish. It was the same dream, the same horrible message. But it was only a dream, nothing more. He hadn't been there to see the accident. Kelly had never seen him. He'd been miles away and there had been no way at all for Kelly to guess that he had killed her.

But did Kelly know the truth now, after her death? And was there some means for her to take her revenge? He shook his head in denial as he got up to pace the floor. There was no such thing as a ghost or a spirit. Dead was dead, and Kelly had ceased to exist on any plane. There was no possible way that the dead could hurt the living. But the living could hurt the living, and someone was trying to hurt him.

He frowned as he thought about Zada. He'd killed her because he'd thought she'd known Kelly's secret. But killing Zada hadn't stopped the threat. Someone else knew.

Melanie had received the note and he'd been sure that she was the one. But Melanie's death hadn't solved the problem, and now there was Ronnie. Someone knew Kelly's secret. He just wished he could figure out who it was!

Now someone was forcing him to kill again. Another note, another death. It was a horrible equation, but he had little choice. Did Ronnie know Kelly's secret? Was he the instigator and would the notes stop after his death? There was only one way to tell. He‘d just have to kill Ronnie to find out.