The New Year's Party

  She climbed to the fourth row of the bleachers, opened her English textbook, and heard something go clink directly beneath her. Dropped her pen.

  “Figures,” Reenie muttered. Her mom had given her the pen, a really good one with Reenie’s name engraved on it. So Reenie had to find it.

  She scrambled down to the gym floor, hurried behind the bleachers, and crawled underneath them.

  The wooden bleachers rose above her in a massive framework of supports and slats. One appeared identical to another. Where had she been sitting?

  Reenie heard footsteps, low voices. People entering the gym.

  “He’s vanished … vanished,” a girl murmured, her voice quavering. A familiar voice. Liz’s voice.

  Peering between the seats, Reenie discovered Liz and Ty. They stood beneath the basketball net.

  Ty gently stroked Liz’s hair. “Let’s drive around town and try to find out if anyone has seen him,” he suggested.

  “Thank you,” Liz replied. She hugged him.

  What is this? Reenie wondered. Could P.J. really be missing?

  It feels creepy spying on them, Reenie thought. But I need to find out the truth. If P.J. really is missing, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

  As Reenie watched, Liz gently pulled Ty’s head to hers and kissed him. A long, serious kiss.

  Whoa, Reenie thought. Liz was crying so hard a few minutes ago. And now she’s kissing Ty as if everything is wonderful. Why?

  The bell rang. Liz and Ty strolled out of the gym, holding hands. Reenie spotted her pen and grabbed it. She trotted to English class.

  She made it into her seat about ten seconds before the late bell sounded. “That’s cutting it close,” Ms. Roper warned, giving Reenie a stern look.

  “You all read the assignment in Julius Caesar,” she stated. “Now, who wants to tell us what happened?”

  No one volunteered. The teacher’s eyes scanned the room, searching for a victim. Not me, Reenie pleaded, sinking lower in her seat. Please, not me.

  Ms. Roper’s eyes fixed on someone else. “John, you tell us what’s happening in the play.”

  “Uh …” John Clayton had been at Reenie’s party. He probably hadn’t read the assignment, either.

  “You have read it, haven’t you?” Ms. Roper asked.

  “Uh … well …” John stammered.

  The door opened. Mr. Hernandez, the principal, stuck his head in.

  “Excuse me, class,” Ms. Roper said. She joined Mr. Hernandez in the hall, closing the door behind her.

  A moment later she reappeared. “Reenie, Mr. Hernandez would like to talk to you.”

  Everyone stared at Reenie.

  She rose slowly, gathering her books. She’d never been called out of class by the principal.

  It had to be serious. The principal didn’t call people out of class if it wasn’t serious.

  Reenie stepped into the hall. The police officer from her party stood beside the principal. “Sergeant Jackson has some questions for you. Please go with him,” Mr. Hernandez said. He ran his hand nervously over his thinning hair.

  Wild thoughts spun through Reenie’s brain. Is this about the prank call? Or something else? Has something really horrible happened?

  Chapter 23

  TOO FAR

  The officer led Reenie to the empty cafeteria. Greta, Artie, Sean, and Sandi sat at a long table at the back. A tall, skinny man wearing a gray suit stood behind them.

  “Sit down,” Officer Jackson ordered.

  Reenie joined her friends at the table. They exchanged worried glances.

  “This is Detective Frazier,” the police officer stated, nodding toward the other man. “He’s got some questions for you.”

  The detective sat down at one end of the long table. Reenie felt her face burn when his eyes met hers. “I understand you kids like to play tricks on each other,” Frazier declared. “That right?”

  “They’re only … only jokes,” Artie stammered. “It’s all for fun.”

  “Which one of you is Maureen Baker?” Frazier asked.

  “I am,” Reenie answered. “But everyone calls me Reenie.”

  “You held a Christmas party at your house last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you played some of these tricks on each other?”

  Reenie nodded. Why are the police questioning us? she wondered frantically. What do they think we did? Are they this upset because they think we made a prank call?

  “I want to hear from each of you.” Detective Frazier turned to Artie. “Tell me your name and what happened last night.”

  Artie told him everything. The plan to play a joke on P.J. And how they thought they had pulled it off—only to have P.J. pull an even better trick on them.

  “That is what happened?” the detective asked, gazing at Sean.

  “Yes,” Sean replied. “Exactly.”

  “We always try to scare each other,” Greta explained. “It’s a game.”

  “So P.J. appeared to be dead?” The detective glanced around the table.

  “Yes, and he scared me to death,” Sandi confessed.

  What about the rest of us? Reenie thought bitterly. Sandi didn’t have to haul P.J. down the stairs.

  “I … I didn’t think he was breathing,” Artie said.

  “Sean and I tried to do CPR,” Reenie volunteered.

  “So you carried him down to the basement? But when you checked about five minutes later, he had disappeared,” the detective said. “Is that your story?”

  Story? Why did he call it a story? Reenie wondered. Doesn’t he believe us?

  “That’s right,” Sean replied. “And we were upstairs for only about five minutes. And P.J. was gone.”

  Detective Frazier listened as each of them told the same story. He repeated the same questions to each of them.

  “Why are you asking us all this?” Sandi demanded. “We didn’t break any laws. It was a stupid joke.”

  “Afraid it isn’t a joke,” the detective replied somberly. “We found P.J.’s jacket in the Fear Street Woods, near the lake. His sister claims he didn’t come home last night.”

  Reenie felt her heart skip a beat. “He’s … he’s really missing?” she asked shrilly.

  “Yes. He’s missing,” Frazier replied. “Maybe somebody’s joke went a little too far.”

  Chapter 24

  A PROBLEM WITH MARC’S CAR

  “We’re worried about what happened to your friend,” Detective Frazier told them. “I’m giving you each my card. If you remember anything you haven’t told me—important or not—call.”

  By the time the detective finished with them, school had let out for the day. “What could have happened to P.J.?” Greta asked as they drifted over to the parking lot.

  Reenie didn’t know what to think. “Why would he have been in the Fear Street Woods after the party?”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with us,” Sandi insisted. “We played a joke, that’s all. P.J. got into trouble after he left the house.”

  “Sandi is right,” Sean agreed. “As soon as we left the basement, he probably sneaked up the stairs and out the back door. Then—”

  “Do you think maybe someone murdered him?” Artie asked. He swallowed hard.

  Reenie caught the fear in his eyes. She shuddered.

  “Hold on,” Sean urged. “Why are we assuming the worst? All we know is that someone found P.J.’s jacket in the woods. P.J. could be fine.”

  “Yeah!” Artie agreed quickly. “P.J. could be fine.”

  “The police don’t think he’s fine,” Greta pointed out.

  “And neither does Liz,” Reenie told them. “I heard her tell Ty that P.J. had vanished. Even the police said he never returned home last night. What if they never find him?”

  “P.J. has been missing for almost a week. I heard the police are planning to drag Fear Lake for the body,” Reenie said. She slammed her trig book shut and flopped back on her bed. “It’s making me crazy. All I
can think about is P.J. I’m going to flunk all my classes.”

  “I know,” Greta replied from Reenie’s desk. “I keep wishing we hadn’t played that stupid trick on him. I wish I’d taken the time to hang out with him at the party. We had some good talks, you know?”

  Reenie sighed again and stared down at the cover of her trig book. “What problem are you on?”

  “The fourth one,” Greta answered. “But I’m not working on it. I’m just trying to understand it.”

  “Yuck. That problem. I couldn’t do it, either. We need Sean.”

  Reenie tossed her book on the floor. “I wonder if we’ll ever find out what happened to P.J.”

  “Maybe not,” Greta replied. “Sometimes people disappear. That’s it. Nobody ever sees them again.”

  Reenie shivered. She hated the idea that people could vanish. Poof! As if they had been snatched away to another planet or something.

  Reenie decided she didn’t want to talk about that. “You know what you’re getting for Christmas?” she asked, determined to change the subject.

  Greta stood up and stretched. “Huh? Oh, Christmas. I haven’t thought about it. I guess I’m not in a holiday mood.”

  “Why not? Besides the obvious, I mean.”

  “I’ve decided to break up with Artie.”

  “No way!” Reenie gasped. “You’ve been a couple forever.”

  “I’m fed up with him. He’s spending all his time with Marc, and he’s going to drop out of school.”

  “I thought he had it with Marc,” Reenie protested. “I mean, after Marc ran off and left us at the party—when everybody thought P.J. was dead.”

  “That lasted about two days.” Greta rolled her eyes. “It’s as if he’s addicted to Marc or something. He can’t stay away from him.”

  “Maybe Artie’s going through a weird phase.” Reenie sat up and began French-braiding her hair. “Have you checked his horoscope?” she teased.

  Greta didn’t smile. “He wants to work at the auto plant with Marc. He wants a car like Marc’s. He claims school is a waste of time and college is for spoiled rich kids,” Greta told Reenie. “Does that sound like just a weird phase?”

  Reenie shook her head. “Sorry, Greta. When are you planning to tell Artie you’re breaking up with him?”

  “Every day I promise myself I’ll do it. Then I wimp out.”

  “What do you think he’ll say?” Reenie asked.

  “I don’t know.” Greta lowered her eyes to the floor. “It’s going to be so hard to tell him.”

  She sat down on the bed next to Reenie. “I should do it now. I’ll feel better once I get it over with. Come with me—please? We’re not getting any work done, and I need moral support.”

  “How can I help? I can’t tell him for you,” Reenie said.

  “I don’t want you to tell him for me,” Greta insisted. “But if you’re with me, I know I won’t back out of it.”

  “I don’t know. Is it fair to Artie? How is he going to feel if you break up with him in front of me?”

  “Please, Reenie. I need your help. It’s driving me crazy pretending everything is great between us. I have to tell Artie the truth.”

  “Okay,” Reenie agreed.

  “Thank you.” Greta squeezed her hand. “I really appreciate it.”

  They grabbed their coats. “Hurry,” Greta urged Reenie. “I don’t want to chicken out again.”

  They jumped into Greta’s little Civic. Greta appeared more and more nervous the closer they got to Artie’s house. She sped down Old Mill Road.

  “Stop sign!” Reenie called. “Stop sign!” Greta screeched to a halt.

  “Sorry. Didn’t see it.”

  Reenie felt relieved when they finally arrived. I think I’ll volunteer to drive on the way back, she decided. She followed Greta to Artie’s house, walking carefully on the icy walkway.

  Greta hesitated outside Artie’s door. Then she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

  Artie opened the door almost immediately. Grease streaked one side of his face.

  “Hi. Come on in. I saw you pull up. I was out in the garage with Marc. We’re working on his car.”

  Greta sucked in another deep breath. “I want to talk to you about something, Artie—but not in front of Marc, okay?”

  He frowned. “Uh, sure. Let me tell him he’s on his own for a while.”

  Reenie heard the back door open and close as Artie went back into the garage.

  “I hope I can do this, Reenie.”

  “You can,” Reenie assured her.

  I wish I knew what to say to her, Reenie thought. I know I’d be a mess if I had to break up with Sean.

  Greta started to say something. But stopped as a scream erupted from the garage. A high, ragged scream of terror.

  Reenie and Greta dashed through the kitchen and out the back door. The scream grew louder. The most horrifying sound Reenie had ever heard.

  Greta flung open the garage door. “Noooo!” she wailed.

  Reenie pushed her way into the garage. Greta and Artie stared at Marc’s car.

  Reenie felt an icy lump of fear slide down her spine.

  A body lay sprawled over the shiny red hood.

  Marc’s body.

  Blood dripped from his mouth and nose.

  And his head … his head …

  Oh, his head …

  It was twisted around on his neck …

  Completely backward.

  Chapter 25

  NO JOKE

  Reenie fell back against the garage wall. She didn’t want to look. Didn’t want to see the body sprawled over the hood. The blood. The twisted, backward head.

  But she couldn’t turn away.

  And she couldn’t stop herself from imagining what had happened. The muscle tearing. The neck bones cracking.

  Did Marc die with the first snap of his neck? Reenie wondered.

  Did he realize what was happening to him?

  Reenie gazed at Marc’s face. His mouth was still twisted into a silent scream. His eyes were wide with fear.

  He knew, she realized. He knew. Finally she turned away. She couldn’t bear the horrifying sight any longer.

  Artie slowly backed away from the car, shaking his head. “Marc—he was fine. Fine,” he insisted. “He was perfectly fine when I left him!”

  Greta uttered a low moan, her eyes locked on Marc’s mangled body.

  Reenie felt light-headed. She swayed on her feet. She had to concentrate to keep upright.

  Think, she ordered herself. Think. “We’ve got to get out of here,” Reenie blurted out. “Whoever did this to Marc could be watching us right now!”

  “He was fine,” Artie repeated. “Putting in spark plug wires. He was fine. One minute ago.”

  “We have to call the police. Let’s go!” Reenie ordered. “Don’t touch anything,” she said as she grabbed Greta by the arm and pulled her out of the garage, pushing Artie ahead of them.

  Once inside the house, they checked the locks on all doors and windows. Reenie called 911. Then she sat down on the couch with Greta and Artie.

  “It would take a lot of strength,” Artie said.

  “Huh?” Reenie asked. She felt numb. Artie’s voice seemed to be drifting to her from far away.

  “To turn someone’s head like that. Whoever did it was strong—really strong.”

  “You’re right,” Reenie agreed.

  Greta didn’t make a sound. She stared blankly at the carpet in front of her.

  “They had to be fast, too,” Artie continued. “Marc was only alone for about a minute. We didn’t even hear him scream.”

  “Yeah,” Reenie agreed.

  “It’s like our game,” Greta muttered.

  Reenie turned and stared at her. “What?”

  Greta didn’t answer. She rocked back and forth her arms wrapped around herself.

  “What did you say, Greta?” Reenie demanded.

  “Just like the tricks we play on each other,” Greta answered
in a singsong voice. “Except now someone is playing for real.”

  But who is it? Reenie wondered.

  First P.J. Now Marc.

  Who’s doing it?

  And then a frightening question pushed into her mind: Who is next?

  Chapter 26

  NOT AGAIN

  Reenie glanced in the rearview mirror. Nothing unusual. Good.

  She gripped the steering wheel of her mom’s minivan. Squeezing until her knuckles hurt.

  I wonder if I’ll ever feel safe going out alone?

  It makes sense to be nervous, Reenie told herself. It’s only been a week since Marc was murdered. Just concentrate on driving. In a few minutes you’ll be at the Burger Basket with Sean and Ty.

  Sean’s car had broken down. Bad fuel pump, he informed her. So she had to give him a ride home from work. Ty, too.

  Liz had promised to pick up Ty. But she backed out at the last minute. She felt too afraid to go out at night.

  No one had been arrested for Marc’s murder. And the police had no new information on P.J.’s disappearance. So the killer could be anywhere.

  Reenie pulled into the Burger Basket parking lot. She checked the area carefully—no one around. She climbed out of the van, locked the door, then hurried toward the entrance.

  Something moved. To her left.

  Reenie walked faster.

  Footsteps.

  Behind her.

  Reenie broke into a run.

  “Hey, wait up!”

  Reenie spun around. Sandi trotted up to her. “What’s your problem?” Sandi asked. “Didn’t you see me waving to you?”

  “Sorry. You scared me. What are you doing here? The place closes in about thirty seconds.”

  Sandi had bundled up in a big fuzzy black coat that went all the way down to her toes. Her breath came out in white puffs when she answered. “I’ve come to give Ty a ride home.”

  Huh? Reenie thought. Sandi and Ty? What’s going on here? “I, uh, I thought he was going out with Liz.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Sandi explained, smiling smugly. “I think Liz knows more than she’s saying about what happened to her brother. And I think Ty probably knows what she knows.”