Deadly Reunion (9 page)

“Maybe we can come to some agreement?
Name your price,” Crystal growled.

“
The only thing I want is for Tom to finally see what you’re really like.” Hope snapped the phone shut and turned away.

Crystal t
ook a step forward.

Fearing the worst, Kyle
grabbed Crystal’s arm. “Let's calm down. Don't do anything that you will regret.”

Crystal sneered up at him. “Ge
t your filthy hands off of me.” Kyle held her arm tighter, not quite sure what to do next.

Enraged,
Crystal reached down and bit his hand causing him to release her. Once free, Crystal charged after Hope, tackling her to the ground.

Kyle
watched, horrified, as both women fell to the floor and then rolled down the stairs. He rushed forward shouting their names. In the second it took him to reach the stairs, the fight was over. Crystal had only fallen part of the way. She had a hold of the bannister and was already pulling herself into a standing position.

Hope was a few s
teps below Crystal. Like Crystal, she had broken her fall by grabbing ahold of the bannister. However, unlike Crystal, she was making no attempt to stand up.

Kyle dashed down the stairs
and past Crystal, who was slowly climbing back up. By the time Kyle reached Hope, she was sitting up, holding her head in her hands, and moaning. He gently pulled her hands away to see blood pouring out of a large gash on her head. She was going to need stiches. Hopefully, that was all she was going to need, Kyle thought, as he reached for his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I'm going to call an ambulance.” Hope tried to grab his arm. “Stay still, Hope.”

“I don't need an ambulance. I'm fine.
It's just a little cut,” she insisted. “Where's my phone?”

“Hope
, that's not important. I think you should be checked out by a doctor.”

“I'm fine.
Let’s just go back to the gym. We’ll find Diana and she can patch me up,” Hope said, trying to appease him. “I’m sure it looks worse than what it is.” Hope looked down at her dress and groaned. “Can you do me a favor first?” she asked, smiling up at him.

Kyle nodded
, reluctantly.

“G
o into the ladies' room and get me some paper towels. I'm getting blood all over my dress.”

Women. Kyle ran his hand through his hair, deciding it would be best to do as she asked. “Where's the
restroom?”

“Down the stairs
, next to the trophy case,” Hope directed.

“Don
't move. I will be right back.” Kyle ran down the stairs and into the closest restroom. He collected a handful of paper towels, and ran back out and up to the stairs only to discover Hope was already gone.

*  *  *  *

Kyle closed his cell phone and walked around the perimeter of the gym again. No sign of Hope or Crystal. In fact, he hadn't seen any of Grace's friends since he walked into the gym.

He was starting to get desperate when he
noticed Tom Lake walk across the stage, and disappear behind a black curtain.

Kyle followed him. When he reached the curtain, he found
Melodie pacing back in forth in front of Diana and Tom, who were seated at a small table.

Diana was pleading with
Melodie to sit down. Tom was slouched in a chair with his arms crossed at his chest. Melodie was obviously agitated and angry. As Kyle approached, he overheard her say, “I'm sick of Crystal and her diva attitude. She needs—”

Kyle would have liked to
hear the rest of what she was going to say, but Melodie stopped speaking when she heard him approach.

“Have any of you seen Crystal or Hope?”

Tom was the first to speak. “What's wrong?” he asked anxiously.

Kyle explained what had happened, purposely leaving out what the
two women had fought about. While Kyle was talking, Tom took out his cell phone, and held it to his ear. “She's not answering,” he said, snapping his phone shut.

Diana stood up, shaking.
“I'll run to my office and grab my first-aid kit.” Turning to Melodie, she said, “I have my phone. As soon as you find either one of them, call me on my cell. I’ll find Eric and let him know what’s going on, too. I’m sure he’ll help us search.”

Melodie
nodded her head. “I’ll check the restrooms,” she said, following the older woman out into the gym.

Tom stood up. “I'll check outside. Crystal had said something about needing to go to her car earlier.”

“Wait!” Kyle said. “Someone needs to wait here for the ambulance, and to let us know if Crystal or Hope turns up.”

“You do it
,” Tom said, running out before Kyle could protest.

*  *  *  *

Grace closed the door to the lab. Where could he have gone and why was his phone going to voice mail? She told him to stay right here, but since when did he ever do anything he was told. This night was turning into an unmitigated disaster, and she couldn't help but worry that it was going to get worse.

No, she cautioned herself, be optimistic. There is only about an hour left and the reunion will be over. What more can happen in an hour? Everything is going to be fine. Just need a plan. First, find Kyle. Then, find Hope. Go straight home. Go to sleep, and then do everything possible to convince yourself this night was just a bad dream. Good plan. Excellent plan, she thought.

Grace walked by the library. As she was passing a trashcan, she noticed that someone had thrown away a pair of high heels. Grace picked up the bright red shoes. They looked new. Why in the world would anyone throw away new shoes?

Grace checked the size, sighed in
disappointment, and laid them on the floor next to the can. No sense in throwing them away, she thought. Maybe someone else could use them.

She looked down the hallway, and then back towards the lab
. Just as she did, she caught a flash of purple, turning down the opposite hall.

“Hope, is that you? Hope?”

She was about to race after her, when she felt her cell phone vibrate. Recognizing Kyle’s number, she quickly answered.

“Do you know where your sister is?”

“I think I just saw her, why?”

Kyle hurriedly describe
d what happened between Hope and Crystal. “I went ahead and called for an ambulance, just in case. They should be here any minute.”

“She may have headed to the administrative offices for a first
-aid kit. I'm going to check there first.”

After agreeing to meet up by the trophy case, Grace said good
-bye and closed the phone. This night was definitely getting worse.

*  *  *  *

Kyle walked back to the central hallway. He was finally learning his way around. He just needed to go down this hallway, make a right, and then a left, and then walk down the staircase. Make another right, and Grace should be waiting for him at the trophy case.

Kyle
found the staircase and started down the steps, when he paused. Someone had turned the lights off downstairs.

Why aren’t the emergency lights on
, he wondered.

Cautiously, h
e continued down the stairs and looked around. The only light was coming from a streetlight, shining through a glass door at the end of the lower hallway.

There's no reason to wait down here for Grace, he thought
, as he climbed back up the stairs.

Kyle stood up straighter
, and looked back down the staircase. He thought he heard a noise from downstairs. Like something falling.

He waited. Maybe it was nothing. It was probably nothing. Still, if Hope is down there,
she could be hurt. He walked back downstairs. Walking up to the girls’ bathroom, he rapped on the door. When no one answered, he opened the door slightly, and took a step inside. It was pitch black. He couldn't see anything. Deftly feeling around the wall, he made contact with the light switch.

Nothing.

A breaker must have been thrown downstairs. He called out Hope's name again, sighing when he received no answer.

“Kyle? Kyle, where are you?”

Grace. He could hear her calling from upstairs. She sounded upset. Kyle quickly stepped out of the restroom and dashed upstairs. “I'm here.”

“
Hope wasn’t at Diana’s office. Have you seen her, yet?” Grace asked, running up to him.

“No
, not yet.”

“Diana
told me that the ambulance is here. Mr. Collins is organizing a search.”

“
I just don’t understand why we haven’t found either one of them, yet,” Kyle said, running a hand through his hair. “Do you know where we could find a flashlight? The lights are off downstairs.”

“They were on earlier,” Grace said
, taking hold of his hand and leading him down the hall. “Let's go back to the administrative offices. Melodie could probably find one for us.”

“
Melodie is in the gym. She promised me she would call if Hope or Crystal showed up.”

“No
, I just saw her in the offices a few minutes ago.”

Both jumped when
they heard a loud banging noise. They both looked around confused.

“I think it's coming from downstairs,” Kyle said. Grace dropped his hand and ran back
down the hall to the staircase. “Grace, wait!”

“It might be Hope,” she yelled back.

She made it to the stairc
ase with Kyle right behind her. He pulled her back before she could dash down the steps. “Wait. Would you be careful? You could trip on the dress and break your neck.” Kyle peered closely at the bottom of the stairs. The bottom was completely dark, but he could just make out a foot lying on the bottom stair.

“Grace, please wait here for me,” he said gently.

Grace could tell by the tone of his voice, and the expression on his face that there was something wrong. She turned to look down the stairs, gripping the bannister tight to prevent him from dragging her back up the stairs. “Oh God, Hope,” she cried, as soon as she saw the foot. Grace sank to the ground.

As soon as Grace sat down, Kyle ra
n down the rest of the stairs. There wasn't much light, but he was able to find a hand.

No pulse
.

He took out his phone and opened it up, using the light from the phone to take a better look at the body.

“Grace, it's Crystal!”

CHAPTER
SEVEN

G
race stood at
the top of the stairs, holding Diana, who was sobbing on her shoulder. Emergency technicians were at the bottom of the stairs, working on Crystal's body.

Pandemonium had broken
out. The upper hallway and bottom floor were flooded with former students, significant others, and teachers. Everyone was talking at once.

Eric
Collins was at the top of the stairs, trying to take control and get everyone to go back to the gym. Unfortunately, they hadn’t listened to him when they were his students, and it was clear they weren't going to start tonight, either.

Grace looked over Diana's shoulder
, and saw Beth standing nearby, twisting her camera strap into knots. “Beth? Have you seen Tom or Melodie?”

For once Beth was speechless.
She just wordlessly shook her head.

“Someone needs to find them,” Grace said
, speaking to Beth.

“I'll do it,” Diana said
, pulling away from Grace. Grace was about to object, but Diana insisted that she should be the one that told Melodie.

Grace nodded her head. Beth recovered from her shock enough to say that she would go with Diana.

Grace turned and made her way through the growing crowd to walk down the stairs and stand next to Mr. Collins. The lights were still out downstairs, but the emergency workers had set up some lighting, so that they could see better. “Can't someone turn on the lights downstairs?”

“No. The breaker isn't working.
I've called maintenance. They should be here soon.” Eric Collins turned back to the crowd. Exasperated he shouted, “Would everyone stand back, stay off the stairs, and let the emergency workers do their job.”

“My friend wa
s the first one who found the body. He's still downstairs. Do you mind if I go and bring him up here?”

Mr. Collins grunted and turned back to the crowd.

Grace quickly walked down the far side of the stairs, trying to stay out of the way. As soon as she got to the bottom step, she skirted away from the body, and over to the wall. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust. Several people had gathered downstairs and were lined up against the wall.

All eyes were on the emergency technicians and Crystal
. Everyone’s but Kyle’s. Kyle was rooted to the spot, staring at the girl’s bathroom.

It only took a few ste
ps for Grace to reach his side. She lightly touched his elbow and called his name. On a normal day, he would have immediately smiled, and turned his full attention to her. Today was not a normal day.

Worried a
t his lack of response. She gripped his arm harder. “Kyle, look at me,” she demanded.

“I can't. I think someone
is hiding in the girl’s bathroom. I'm waiting for the lights to turn on, and then I'm going to go in there and see who it is.”

“Did you see someone go in there?”

“No.”

“Then why
—”

“Just a feeling
, but I know someone's in there,” he whispered back.

“I want everyone's attention,” an authoritative voice shouted from the stairs. A big man in a police's uniform stood on the stairs. “
Everyone and I mean everyone, who does not belong here needs to go to the gym now. Everyone upstairs needs to leave through the central hallway. Everyone downstairs needs to go through the back entrance and up the sidewalk back into the school. There is a deputy opening the door now to help you make it back to the gym. No one is to leave the area. Does everyone understand? Good. Get going.”

Grace grabbed Kyle
’s hand to lead him away, but he stood firm. “When we get outside, we'll tell the deputy to check the bathroom,” Grace reasoned.

Kyle looked ready to argue, when Grace
and he were pushed from behind. “Would you two get out of the way? I don't need any more trouble with the law.”

Kyle and Grace turned to see a
six-foot-two, three hundred-pound man, with a snake tattoo running up the side of his neck, glaring at them. Grace vaguely recognized the man from her tenth grade Home Economics and wondered what happened to the scrawny boy from class. She was about to say something when she felt Kyle's arm encircle her waist, and physically move her out of the man's way.

Kyle let out a whoosh of air. “Quick Grace, look around. Do you see anyone you recognize?”

Grace wanted to point out that th
is was her high school reunion. The place was full of people she recognized. “Kyle, I can barely see you. Who am I supposed to be looking for?”

“I don't know
, but when I turned back to the bathroom, the door was just closing. Whoever was in there just ducked out.”

*  *  *  *

The atmosphere of the gym had completely changed. The band sat quietly on the stage. No one was dancing, laughing, or telling outrageous stories. Everyone sat somberly at their tables waiting for the police to let them go.

Grace and Kyle walked quietly through the gym. To Grace's relief
, she found Hope sitting at the table, next to Beth and Mark. She was holding an ice pack to her head, and quietly whispering to Beth. She smiled and held out her hand when she saw Grace rushing forward.

Grace leaned down to hug her sister.
“Where have you been?”

“Right here. Where have you been?”

Grace didn't bother answering her. “Here, let me see your head.” Grace moved Hope's hand away to inspect her injury. “You look just awful.”

“Thanks a lot,” Hope said sarcastically
, while looking around her chair. “Have you seen my wrap?”

Grace shook her head.

Hope placed the ice pack against her forehead and shivered. “I’ve lost it. I know I had it with me earlier. Can you find it for me? I think I left it in one of the labs.”

Kyle took off his jacket and draped it around Hope’s shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it will turn up later.”

Hope smiled at Grace. “I see your Ken doll is still with you.”

“Ken doll?” Beth asked, looking from Hope to Kyle.

Grace laughed nervously. “Hope
, you must have really whacked your head. You know this is my boss, don't you?” she said, digging the heel of her shoe into Hope's foot.

Hope grunted in
pain.

“Oh dear. Poor thing. Maybe you
should just sit here quietly.” Grace removed her foot when she saw her sister nod in agreement.

Kyle sat down next to Grace. “Where
are all of your friends?” he asked Hope. Hope just smiled at her sister and shrugged her shoulders.

Unable to keep quiet any longer
, Beth happily answered. Mr. Collins was still trying to find out why the lights weren't working downstairs. Steve offered to lend his expertise to one of the deputies. Diana took Melodie to her office to lie down and “Tom's over there,” she said, pointing to another table.

Grace looked in the direction Beth was pointing and saw Tom sitting at a table with his hands covering his face. An older man was kneeling next to Tom with one hand on his neck, speaking softly in his ear.

“Who is the man with Tom?” Grace asked.

“That's James Simpson, the District Attorney. Tom must have called him when he found out about . . .” Beth trailed off and shook her head. “Poor Crystal. Breaking her neck like that. It's just awful.”

“They haven't said how she died
, yet. What makes you think she broke her neck?” Grace asked.

“She fell down the
stairs,” Beth explained slowly. “Everyone who falls down the stairs breaks their neck.”

Grace was happy that Beth's manners prevented her from adding “duh”
to the end of her statement.

Beth twisted her camera strap
around her fingers. “Poor Crystal. Poor Melodie. It's just awful. Think of it. Losing half your family in one year.” She looked at Mark, who simply nodded his head. “First, her husband and now her sister. It's just so sad. Well, at least, she has Diana and Tom left.” Beth suddenly shook her head. “Well, I guess not Tom.”

“Why do you say that?” Kyle asked.

Beth looked back at her husband and shrugged. “They're not really blood related, and I don't think they're that close,” she whispered.

Grace looked around the room. “Where's Adam?”

Beth shrugged. “I haven't seen him in hours.”

Kyle tapped Grace's wrist.
“There he is and he's bringing the police with him,” he announced.

Grace turned to see Adam and two police officers striding to their table. At the same time
, she noticed Tom stand up, and shake off his boss, who had a hold of his arm.

The large police officer
, who had ushered everyone away from the hallway earlier, walked in front of Adam, and stood next to Hope's chair. “Ms. Holliday, my name is Sheriff Beauford Bellamy, I would like a few minutes to speak to you,” he said gruffly, as he pulled out Hope's chair.

Grace's protective instincts kicked in. “Now wait a second. My sister has a head injury and should be at the hospital.” She started to rise out of her seat
, when she felt Adam place a cautioning hand on her shoulder.

“Be quiet
, Grace. I keep telling you, I'm perfectly fine.” Hope stood up, tilted her head to the side, causing her long hair to spill over her shoulder, and looked up at the officer through her lashes. “It's just a little bump. How can I help . . . you?” she asked breathlessly.

Grace wanted to tell her sister
that she wasn't on a photo shoot or a catwalk. Batting her eyes and lowering her voice seductively, wasn't going to work on the police.

“Aw
, miss, please sit down. There's no need to get up.” Smiling like a schoolboy, Bellamy gently pushed Hope back into her chair, and kneeled down to speak to her. Grace shook her head, muttering “unbelievable” under her breath.

“Now
, I understand from Mr. Lake, there was some kind of altercation earlier, is that right?” Sheriff Bellamy asked gently.

Grace glared at Tom.
She knew she was being unreasonable. Of course, he would mention what happened between Hope and Crystal, but she still felt like he was betraying her sister once again.

“Yes,” Hope's eyes fil
led up with tears. Grace was pretty sure they were of the crocodile variety. “Crystal was angry with me. She attacked me, and pushed me down the stairs.”

“
Now, why did she want to do something like that to you?”

“I don't really know.
I think she may have been unhappy with a picture I took of her. It's so silly. Mr. Drake was there and can confirm that,” she said, glancing at Kyle, who automatically nodded his head.

“What time was that?”

“A little after 9:30.” Hope scrunched up her face as if trying to remember. “I was disoriented and went into the bathroom, near the gym, where I tried to clean myself up. I think I may have passed out. When I came to, Beth was outside crying, and saying something had happened to Crystal.”

Beth confirmed that she saw Hope
, “leave the little girls’ room.”

“That's a lie,” Tom growled
, causing Hope's face to flush. “She didn’t spend the whole time in the bathroom. About 9:35, I saw Hope sitting at this table, holding her head in her hand. I asked her what was wrong, but she just told me to go to hell. About the same time, I saw Melodie walk across the stage, and I went into the back to tell her that as soon as Crystal showed up, we were leaving. It wasn't but a few seconds later that Drake here,” Tom pointed to Kyle, “said there was a fight, and we needed to find Crystal.”

Kyle shook his head and started to speak when h
e caught the other man's eyes. If looks could kill.

Kyle snapped his mouth shut.

“I went to find Crystal,” Tom said. “I saw her outside in the parking lot about 9:40. She was heading back into the school with Adam Phelps.”

Bellamy turned to Adam. “Funny
, I don’t remember you mentioning that, Mr. Phelps.”

Adam’s eyes widened.
“I wasn’t with her. I saw her in the parking lot, but we didn’t speak or anything. We just both went into the school at the same time. I swear. We weren’t together. She went towards the offices, and I went back into the gym.”

Bellamy
continued to stare at Adam. “What did you do after that, Mr. Lake?”

“By the time I got to the door, Adam and Crystal had disappeared. I went into the gym—”

“I don’t remember seeing you there,” Adam said.

“I don’t remember seeing you there, either,” Tom snapped. “Hope was there
, and she saw me.”

All eyes turned to Hope
, who nodded silently.