Deadly Reunion (24 page)

“You see the big cop who looks like he stepped out of a bad
‘70s TV movie?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

Kyle nodded his blue eyes lightening up in mischief. “Well, I have a feeling he is open to a little bribery.”

“N
umber one, that’s illegal and number two, we don’t have any money to bribe someone, even if we wanted to. You spent it all on that car and a new wardrobe.”

“We might have just enough to convince him to put us in cells next to each other.”

“Oddly enough Kyle, that’s not making me feel much better.”

“Shh,” he whispered as the police officer in question walked by. They sat in silence until they heard the sound of car doors slam and saw the police drive away. “Well, your police force certainly does a thorough job around here.”

“Lucky for us,” she said. “Look, there’s Adam.”

“About time.” Kyle stood up and motioned for Adam to join them next to the school.

“That was close,” Adam said
, as he approached. “You guys ready?”

“Just follow me
.” Kyle led them around the high school and to one of the side doors. “Now ladies and gentlemen, what I am about to show you—”

“Mr.
Drake!” Grace said. “I have to get back home in a couple of hours, could you hurry this up.”

“Right,” Kyle said turning back to the door. “Abrac
a—”

“Sir!” Grace snapped.

“All right. All right. It’s open,” Kyle said, pushing open the door and turning on his flashlight.

“Ok
ay, Adam, this is your show. Where do you want to begin?” Grace asked.

“Let’s start with the administrative offices. I know
Melodie was using one of the conference rooms when she was planning the reunion. Crystal might have hidden it in there. I’ll start there. You two, take the other offices.”

Kyle and Grace followed him to the offices with Kyle helpfully opening the doors.

They went from room to room, looking in drawers, on shelves and any other place that could possibly hold a binder.
After about an hour, with Adam going back through each room, to double check, they met at the front desk.

“It’s got to be here,” Adam said. “Did you check this desk?”

“Yes, and so did you an hour ago. It’s not here, Adam,” Grace said, shinning the flashlight in his face.

“Maybe we’re just missing it. Let’s turn on the lights,” he said
, walking to the light switch.

“No!” Grace and Kyle shouted in unison.

“Someone will see the light and call the cops. It’s just not here!” Grace said.

Frustrated, Adam threw his flashlight against the wall.

“You’re paying for any damages, Adam,” Grace warned.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll donate some more money for the dramatic arts. Happy? Look, let’s split up. Grace, you take this floor, Drake—”

“No
, absolutely not. Grace and I aren’t splitting up.” Kyle instinctively moved closer to Grace.

“It will go faster if we split up,” Adam insisted.

Kyle, however, steadfastly refused to leave Grace’s side. Giving up, Adam agreed to meet them back at the administrative offices in an hour. If they hadn’t found it by then, they would go home and meet up the next day to discuss their next move.

“Come on.
” Kyle wrapped his fingers around Grace's upper arm and led her away from Adam. “Let’s go to the library.”

Grace nodded
, leading him down the hallway to the library doors.

“By the way,
Melodie called while you were changing, she asked if I could stay with her, tonight. She thinks someone has been in her house, and she wants me to stay with her for protection. She sounded scared.”

“Oh, I just bet she is
.” Grace pushed against the library doors.

Locked.

“It’s true.
” Kyle stepped in front of her and examined the lock. “Adam admitted breaking into her house, after all.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“No. I just told her that we would both come by later tonight.”

“I bet she felt much safer knowing I was coming by
, too,” Grace said sarcastically.

Kyle smiled
as the door swung open. “Jealous?”

“No, not at all.
” Grace stepped through the threshold. “I just hope I’m invited to the wedding. Will she be going by Mrs. Dragovich or Mrs. Drake?”

“I t
old you, it’s official now. My legal name is now Kyle Drake.”

“
You know, you better be careful Kyle, or you’re going to find yourself tagged, bagged, and tied to the roof of her car.” Grace looked around the room and its rows of books. “Why did you want to start here?”

“Adam said that she had the
binder with her that night. We know it was with her most of the night, but when I saw her later on she didn’t have it with her. She had just come from the library, so I think she may have hidden it in here.”

Grace looked around.
There must be thousands of books on the shelves. Finding this binder was going to be impossible.

“Think Grace. Pretend you’re Crystal
. You have evidence of all the horrible things your closest friends and family have done over the years in a binder and are planning on selling it later to a sleazy Hollywood screenwriter, where would you hide it?”

“At home.”

“Grace, you’re not playing,” Kyle complained.

Grace walked to the reference desk and grabbed a layout of the library. What did she know about Crystal? She was vain, arrogant, selfish,
entitled, and not very bright. A great combination of traits. Knowing Crystal, she would hide it in plain sight, convinced everyone else would be too stupid to find it. “Is there a section on true crime?” she asked aloud while scanning the library map. “Or maybe a local history section? If this scrapbook does contain the sins of the town, then she might have hidden it there.”

She felt Kyle lean over her shoulder. “There!”
Kyle pointed to a corner of the map, before turning and dashing to the back of the library. The map showed a small little room devoted to local and state history. Grace followed a bit more slowly, convinced it couldn’t be this easy. By the time she caught up, Kyle had already picked the door lock and was pulling each book off the shelf. “You don’t have to take apart the library,” she scolded.

“She may have hidden it behind one of the books
.” Kyle cleared a section of the lower bookcase. “Shine your flashlight over here. There’s something—”

“See anything?”

“Yeah,” he said disappointedly. He blew out a breath and handed her a black binder. An empty black binder. Grace turned it over and ran her fingers over the label. Reunion was written in bold lettering.

“Well, this is just great. Let’s keep looking. She must have taken information out and stuffed it somewhere. Do you see anything else back there?” she asked shining her light over the lower shelf.

Kyle pulled out a leather book and flipped through it. “No, it’s just some family’s genealogy history. I thought—” he paused to look closer at the back pages. Smiling, he stood up and hugged Grace. “We’ve got it. Look,” he said thrusting the book into her hands. “Someone stuffed in newspaper clippings, pictures, and handwritten notes in the back.”

“Isn’t that typical for a genealogy record?”

“Guess who the book is about? Or rather, whose family?"

Grace turned to the title page. “The Ancestors and Descendants of Marshal Benton Hogan.
Crystal’s great-great-great grandfather.” She flipped to the back of the book and pulled out a newspaper clipping dated the day she graduated. ‘
Tragedy at the Hogan High School Graduation.’
As she read the clipping, Kyle removed another piece of paper from the book.

“
Whoa,” he said in a whoosh. “I knew it.”

Grace placed the clipping back in the book and moved to Kyle’s side. In his hand were pages from a ledger. “She kept track of her blackmail payments?”
she said in disbelief. “Hmm. Crystal was nothing if not organized. Come on, let’s get out of here. This place is creepy.” Grace took the ledger page out of Kyle’s hand and stuffed it back into the book.

“A
ll right, but let’s not tell Adam that we found this just yet. At least, not until we can go through it ourselves.”

Grace agreed, pushing the book back into his hands.
“Take the book and go to the car. I’ll find Adam and—” she stopped when the door to the local history room slammed shut.

Grace and Kyle looked at each other in stunned disbelief. Kyle handed Grace the book and crept up to the door.

“Maybe it was the wind,” she whispered, looking around the windowless room.

Kyle turned and looked at her before placing his hand on the doorknob.
“It’s locked.” At her panicked expression, he smiled and reached into his coat pocket. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about? We’re
trespassing, we’re trying to catch a killer, and the door slammed shut just as we found a key piece of evidence. My years of horror movie watching have taught me that there is plenty to worry about.” Grace turned in a circle, looking for an alternate way of escape, as Kyle slowly backed away from the door.

“What’s wrong?” she asked
, shinning her flashlight in his face. “Why do you look so pale? I thought you said there was nothing to worry about?”

“Bit of a problem,” he said
quietly.

“Do you smell something?”
Grace turned her flashlight to the door, as smoke began to pour into the room from underneath the door. “It’s all right. This is a school. I’m sure the fire trucks are on their way.”

“Grace, I don’t hear any alarms
, do you?” he said, pulling a table over to the corner wall. Kyle jumped on the table and started to unscrew the vent above his head.

Remembering that Adam was still in the building
, Grace began shouting his name, only stopping when flames began to engulf the wall. The sound of something falling to the floor caused her to look over her shoulder at Kyle.

Coughing, Grace looked from the vent to Kyle’s shoulders. “That’s too small to get through.”

“No, it’s not,” he said, reaching out his hand and pulling her onto the table. Making a stirrup with his hands, he hoisted Grace up into the narrow vent. “Don’t worry I’m right behind you,” he shouted when she stopped.

It
took less than a minute before she reached another vent. Using her hands, she pounded on the metal until it gave away and she less than gracefully dropped to the floor, coughing. She looked up just as Kyle’s feet landed a few feet from her head. Turning Grace over, he picked her up in a fireman’s hold and ran to the nearest exit.

Smoke filled the
hallway.

Without warning
, he fell to his knees only a few feet from the exit. Crawling they both tried to reach for the door. The last thing Grace remembered was Kyle pushing her closer to the door.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The first thing
Grace became aware of was the excruciating pain in her chest as she gulped in air. The second thing was someone gently caressing her forehead. The third thing was someone wrapping something tight around her arms, stomach, and legs. Carefully, she opened her eyes to see an EMT standing over her, strapping her body down on a stretcher and Diana telling her to calm down.

Pulling off the oxygen mask
, she croaked out Kyle’s name.

“I’m over here.”

Relieved, Grace turned her head towards the sound of his voice to see him sitting a few feet away pressing an oxygen mask to his face. Melodie stood next to him, massaging his shoulders. Grace noticed Steve standing behind them, taking pictures of the smoldering building.

“Let me up,” she demanded
, trying to sit up. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“Yes
, you do and so do I,” Kyle said standing up. He quickly jumped into the back of the waiting ambulance and motioned for the EMTs to move Grace into the ambulance.

Once Grace was settled, he turned to
Melodie, who was trying to climb into the ambulance. “Would you do me a big favor? Would you go to my hotel and get me some clean clothes? Please, it’s really important,” he said, pressing his hotel key into her hand.

Once they were in the ambulance and on the way to the hospital, Grace asked how they survived.

Kyle quickly explained that Diana and Eric had pulled them out of the building and called 911.

“What were they doing there? At this time of night?”

“Apparently, some lady next door saw something suspicious and called Collins. He thought it might be us, so he and Diana decided to come over instead of calling the police. They were looking for us when they smelled the smoke and called for help.”

Worried
she asked, “Did Adam get out?”

Kyle snorted, “Did he get out? Yeah
, he got out. Eric and Diana saw him running from the library only seconds before they smelled smoke. But you want to hear the really big news? His name was in the ledger.”

*  *  *  *

Grace shifted restlessly in the uncomfortable hospital waiting room chair as she waited for Kyle to finish the paperwork. Luckily, neither one of them was seriously hurt and the school had only suffered minor damages. Unfortunately, most of the damage occurred in the library, specifically in the local history room. Whatever information Crystal had hidden there was now lost.

Grace glanced at her watch again. It was now fifteen past three in the morning. They had spent the last three hours at the emergency room. Most of the time had been taken up by the Sheriff and his deputies interrogating them
, while they sat in the ER.

To Bellamy’s obvious disappointment
, both Eric and Diana had covered for them. Despite Eric’s earlier warning, he once again covered for Grace, going as far as telling Bellamy that he had personally given them permission to be at the school that night.

Bellamy did seem to cheer up when Kyle mentioned Adam’s name and how they became locked in the library w
hile a fire raged around them. Grace and Kyle listen patiently as Bellamy entertained himself at their expense. He seemed to enjoy scolding them about the dangers of being a detective and how a valuable piece of evidence was now lost. He was practically giddy when going over the many ways they could have died. Only after promising Bellamy that they would keep him informed of their every move from now on, did he finally leave.

“Honestly,
Drake, if you had just called me, all of this could have been avoided.”

Now if only Steve would leave, she thought.

“Now, don’t you worry,” Melodie said, stroking Kyle’s hair. “I’ve moved your things out of that horrid hotel room and into one of my nice clean guest rooms. You’ll be perfectly comfortable there.”

Grace glared at
Melodie’s back. She could leave at any time, too.

“What you needed was a lookout,” Steve said
, for the fifth time since arriving at the ER.

Ignoring Steve, Kyle turned to
Melodie, “Abry’s with you?”

“Who?”

“My pet rabbit,” he explained, signing the last form and handing it back to the nurse with a smile.

“Oh, that . . . precious
thing . . . I mean, bunny,” Melodie said shuddering. “I thought Grace could take it home with her.”

Grace smirked, remembering
Melodie’s dislike of anything with four legs and fur.

“I mean, after all that you’ve been through tonight. I think you should just relax and let someone take care of you,” she said
, practically purring. “Grace loves animals. Don’t you Gracie?” She threw Grace an encouraging look.

“I do. I do love animals
, but after everything I’ve been through, tonight,” Grace sighed dramatically, “I just don’t think I’m up for it. Besides, Abry will love it at your house. He can hop his little heart out.”

“
Melodie, I really don’t want to impose,” Kyle said, holding up his hand as she started to object. “Besides, I paid for the room in advance.”

“Oh
, but I have this nice big room and to be perfectly honest, I’m afraid to stay by myself.” Melodie leaned against Kyle’s chest. “I mean, there’s a killer loose.”

“Hey,
Melodie, I offer bodyguard services. I’m very reasonable.” Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card.

Ignoring Steve’s card, Melodie
linked her arm through Kyle’s arm. “I’ve already hired someone, Steve,” she said coldly.

Steve was u
ndaunted. “After what happened tonight, I’m thinking he might need a bodyguard, too. Seriously, Drake, it wasn’t very smart taking an amateur in with you,” he said, jerking a thumb at Grace.

Too tired to protest, Grace leaned her head back against the wall, trying to stifle another yawn.

“He does have a point, honey,” Melodie purred. “You two, together at this time of night . . . It doesn’t seem like that was a very good idea.

Grace sleepily wondered what
Melodie really objected to: their almost dying, at this time of night, or their being together, at this time of night. “What are you doing here Melodie? How did you even know about the fire?”

“
Diana called me on her way to the school. She thought I might have been with Kyle,” she said, laying her forehead against his arm. “I wish I had been. I could have helped. I definitely wouldn’t have let you get locked up in that room.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “And what about you, Steve?”

Steve smirked. “Listen to the detective over here. I don’t have to answer any questions from you.”

“How did you find out?” Kyle asked annoyed.

“Police radio,” Steve said quickly. “All’s I’m saying, is it’s getting rather dangerous around here. Obviously, there’s a vicious killer out. You need someone with some experience. No offense, Grace.”

Kyle reached down to give Grace a hand up
. “Nonsense. I wouldn’t have found anything if it wasn’t for Grace.”

Steve snorted. “Look, Drake
, you can play with the amateurs if you like, but when you want to play with the big boys, you give me a call,” he said, handing Kyle his business card.

“What exactly are you doing here?” Kyle asked
coldly.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked.

“No one’s hired you? So, why are you here?”

“Because you obviously need my help. I’ve been watching you two running around town . . . You
’re completely lost. Grace can’t help you, but I can.”

Melodie
let go of Kyle’s arm and stepped between the two men. Facing Steve, she asked, “I have a much better question. How did you know to be here tonight? Hmm? Do you want to answer that one, Stevie?”

“
I already told you. I have a police scanner.”

Melodie
shook her head. “No. You showed up before Aunt Diana called the police. Right about the same time I did. Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?”

Steve p
ointed a stubby finger at Kyle. “You keep my number handy. You’re going to need me,” he snarled, throwing open the door and walking out into the night.

Kyle leaned down to whisper in Grace’s ear. “What do you think about that?”

Before she could answer, Melodie clamped a hand around Kyle’s bicep, pulling him towards her. “You will come stay with me tonight, won’t you?” she asked, running a fingernail up his chest.

“Absolutely!” Grace
answered her, taking Kyle’s other arm. “We would be happy to stay with you, Mel. We’ll have a slumber party, just like when we were kids.”

Taken aback Melodie’s smile grew tight.
“Wonderful,” Melodie said, sounding less than thrilled as Kyle and Grace followed her to her car.

*  *  *  *

The drive to Melodie’s house took less than ten minutes. Grace was almost asleep when they pulled into Melodie’s garage. Stumbling out into the kitchen, she sank into the nearest chair, as Melodie went upstairs to make up an extra guest room. Kyle sat down next to her. “Well, do you think Adam’s our killer?”

“I don’t believe he set the fire. It’s just not like Adam. Besides, why would he kill us? We don’t know anything and if it weren’t for him
, we wouldn’t have even been at the school in the first place.”

“Maybe he didn’t want us to see what was in the scrapbook. He just needed us to find it
, so he could get rid of it and any witnesses. According to Crystal’s ledger, he’s been making regular payments to Crystal for the last ten years.”

“That doesn’t mean he killed Crystal. Why now? Why not ten years ago when she started blackmailing him?”

“Remember, him telling us that she tried to blackmail people anonymously. Maybe he didn’t realize it was her until recently.” Kyle shook his head. “Collins and Diana saw him running out of the library right before the fire.”

“I just can’t believe he would steal Sam’s screenplay. Kill him. Pay the blackmail, for the screenplay, mind you, not the murder. Wait ten years
. Kill Crystal. Hire us to find her killer. Then convince us that the murder he committed ten years before, that everyone assumed was a suicide, was actually a murder. Send us off looking for evidence that would incriminate him and then try to burn down the school and us when we find it.”

“
Yeah, I guess it doesn’t really make much sense. I don’t know, maybe he’s gone crazy. Anyway, I guess . . . Adam wasn’t the only one who could have set that fire.”

Grace looked at him questioning.

“I spoke to Eric and asked him if he and Diana were together the whole time. He said, they were, except for about five minutes before the fire. Collins decided that they should split up and search different parts of the school. They did, but he ran into her in front of the library just before Adam came running out and the fire started. Either one of them could have tried to kill us. If Adam is right and Diana did kill Sarah Collins, she could have had plenty of time to set the fire.”

Grace nodded her head. “
Let’s not forget that Melodie was there, too. The moment she found out we—or rather you— were there, she made a beeline for the school.”

“With Steve
probably right behind her.” Kyle laid his head on the table. “Why would Melodie care about Crystal’s scrapbook?”

“How much
do you want to bet Crystal made a copy of Larry’s suicide note?”

“Well, I guess that let’s Tom off the hook. He’s the only one who didn’t know we were at the school.”

Grace sighed, “We don’t know that. For all we know, he could be following us.”

“
Who’s following you? Steve?” Melodie stood in the doorway. Smiling, she tied the sash of her red silk dressing gown into a pretty bow at her waist, and slid into the chair next Kyle.

Grace laid her head down on the table. “Probably.”

“The guest room is already made up, Grace,” Melodie said. “You can go up there now if you would like.”

Grace raised her head off her arms. Smiling she said, “I was just teasing, Mel. I called home from the
hospital; they’ll be expecting me soon.”

“
Oh, that’s too bad.” Melodie smiled sweetly at Kyle, as she scooted her chair closer. “I was really hoping you would stay, Grace. Oh well, too bad.” Leaning into Kyle, she asked, “You can stay, can’t you?”

Kyle sleepily looked towards Grace. He didn’t really want to stay
, but he was growing too tired to move.

“I would just feel so much safer if you were here,” she said
, her voice lowering another octave as she laid her hand on Kyle’s arm.

Before
Melodie could begin her great seduction act, Grace quickly changed the subject. “It’s really not safe to be around either one of us. Someone did try to kill us tonight,” she said, finding it strange that she would have to point this out to Melodie.