Obsessed (17 page)

“That’s just it. We’re all suspects. Every one of us.” Judy snuggled a little closer. The combination of the warm water and Michael’s muscular body were making it difficult to concentrate.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well . . .” Judy hesitated slightly. What harm would it do to tell him? “We all have motives, especially if you be lieve that the killer’s a member of our group.”

Michael tipped her head up so he could look straight into her eyes. “Whoa! I think you’d better explain that.”

Judy sighed, and then she began to explain. She only left out two things. She didn’t tell Michael that the theory was Carla’s brainchild, and she didn’t mention the contest. When she was through, Michael nodded.

“Okay. That makes some sort of crazy sense. But you said everyone had a motive. What’s Andy’s motive?”

“Maybe he’s jealous of you. After all, you’re dating the girls he wants to date. And if he thinks they’re getting too serious about you, he kills them.”

Michael nodded. “Okay. I don’t buy it for a minute, but Detective Davis might. How about Berto?”

“Uh . . .” Judy thought fast. She didn’t want to tell Mi chael about the contest. “Berto could be jealous, too. And he could be upset that the girls picked you instead of him.”

“Carla?”

“You didn’t ask her for a date. So she’s killing off the girls you go out with. The same motive could apply to me.”

“You?!” Michael raised his eyebrows.

“Sure.” Judy nodded, and forced a smile. “Detective Davis doesn’t know that we’re just buddies.”

“Okay. How about Linda? Is her motive jealousy, too?”

Judy nodded. “Of course. And it’s the same for Nita, and Vera. It’s a little different for Mr. Calloway, though.”

“Mr. Calloway has a motive?” Michael looked astonished.

“Definitely. He’s always after you to pay more attention to your career. If he thought you were getting serious about one of the girls, he might break it up by killing her.”

That was too much for Michael. He started to laugh. “I don’t believe this, Jude! I’m the only one who’s not on the suspect list.”

“You are on it. After all, your arrows are missing.”

“You’re right.” Michael winced, as he pulled her a little closer. “Jude? You really don’t think that I . . . I could ac tually . . . I mean . . .
”

Judy reached up to touch his face. “Of course not! I’m just telling you what Detective Davis might believe, that’s all. Of course, he won’t believe it for long. You have alibis for the nights of the murders, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t. I came straight home the night Deana was killed, but my parents were already in bed, and they didn’t hear me come in.”

“But the night that Becky was killed, you were waiting for her at her sister’s apartment. Didn’t anyone see you there? A doorman, maybe? Or another neighbor?”

Michael shook his head. “There’s no doorman. And no valet parking, either. I parked on the street and went straight in. There was no one in the lobby and I didn’t see another soul in the hallway. I was there, but I can’t prove it.”

“How about the night that Mary Beth was killed? You said you were stuck in a traffic jam.”

“I was. But I can’t prove that, either. For all Detective Davis knows, I could have heard about the traffic jam on the radio!”

“Oh no!” Judy swallowed hard. “How about when Ingrid was killed? Did anyone see you at the carnival?”

“No. It was so late, they weren’t taking tickets anymore. I just walked right in. I waited by the ticket booth, the way we’d agreed, but I didn’t see anyone I knew. There’s abso lutely no way I can prove I wasn’t inside the House of Mirrors.”

Judy shivered. “It doesn’t look good, does it?”

“Not at all. That’s why I’m so worried about those miss ing arrows. If the markings on the arrows they found at the crime scenes match the ones on my arrows, I’m dead!”

Judy wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck, and gave him a hug. “Don’t worry, Michael. I know what to do.”

“What?”

“I want you to make sure you’re never alone, not even for a single minute. That way, if the killer strikes again, you’ll have an alibi.”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t!”

“Wrong.” Judy shook her head. “You’d better hope he does. If you’ve got an alibi, that’ll clear you.”

Michael looked absolutely shocked. “Judy! You can’t mean that! You’re not thinking clearly. There’s no way you could actually hope that someone else will die!”

“Of
course I don’t hope that,” Judy back-pedaled quickly. “I just hope that the killer attempts to strike again. Even if the police fail to catch him, you’ll have an alibi, and you’ll be in the clear.”

Michael nodded. “That’s true. I wish the police would actually catch him, though. I feel really strange about dating Nita. I can’t help but feel that I’m putting her life in dan ger.”

“Dating Nita?” Judy shivered. The water was hot, but she had suddenly turned cold. “When are you dating Nita?”

“Tomorrow night. She asked me to take her to a midnight movie after the show, and I said yes. We’re going to the drive-in. Berto’s going, too.”

“Oh.” Judy began to feel a little better. It couldn’t be much of a date if Nita was taking her brother along.

Michael looked suddenly thoughtful. “Say, Jude . . . you like Berto, don’t you?”

“Sure. He’s okay.”

“Why don’t you come along with us? We could do sort of a double date. And you could drive so you and Berto could be in the front seat. It’s going to be damn awkward, snuggling up with Nita, if her brother isn’t otherwise oc cupied. You know what I mean?”

Judy nodded. She knew exactly what Michael meant. If she distracted Berto, Michael and Nita could be free to do whatever they wanted in the back seat. She bit back her angry retort, and tried to think rationally. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea. If she went along, she could keep her eye on Michael and Nita. She might even snuggle up a little with Berto, and see if she could make Michael jealous. And if she drove, she could drop Nita and Berto off first, and then she’d have Michael all to herself on the long drive home.

“Why not?” Judy shrugged carelessly. “I’ll go. It might even be fun.”

“Great!”

Judy’s heart pounded hard as Michael reached out and pulled her close for a hug. But the next words he spoke made her feel like crying.

“You’re a real pal, Jude. And you’re saving my life. I sure wasn’t looking forward to Berto staring at us all night. You’re my absolute favorite kid sister, Jude—you know that?”

Michael hugged her again, and Judy hugged him back. She wasn’t as depressed as she usually was when he called her a pal or a kid sister. Would tomorrow night work? Would Michael be upset if she came on to Berto? There was noth ing to do but try it and see. Maybe, if he saw that another boy thought she was hot, he’d finally stop thinking of her as just a friend.

Fourteen

“You like this movie, Judy?” Berto leaned close to whisper in her ear.

“No. It’s stupid,” she whispered back.

“You don’t like spy movies?”

“I do like spy movies. That’s the problem.” Judy turned to face Berto. “This is the worst spy movie I’ve ever seen. Six guys just opened fire on our hero with Uzis, and he outran the bullets. Can you explain that?”

“Fast feet. Very fast feet.”

Berto was perfectly deadpan and Judy laughed. Going out on this double date might be fun if the other couple was someone other than Michael and Nita. Actually, Nita would be okay with a different guy. But knowing that Mi chael was only inches away, cuddling in the backseat with another girl, was enough to make Judy grind her teeth in frustration.

Berto leaned close again, and made a small gesture to ward the back seat. “You like him, huh?”

“Who, Michael?” Berto nodded, and Judy sighed. “Sure. I like him. Everybody likes Michael, including your sister.”

“I know. But I wish she wouldn’t like him quite so much. And I wish she wouldn’t go out with him.”

“Why not? Don’t you like him?”

Berto frowned. “It’s not that
—
I like Michael. But I don’t like the way Nita’s treating Ramon.”

“Ramon?”

“Ramon Morrales. Nita’s been going steady with him for over a year. Ramon’s uncle owns a roofing company in Phoenix, and he gave Ramon a job for the summer. Ramon’s only been gone for a couple of weeks, and now Nita’s going out with Michael.”

Judy nodded. “Did Ramon and Nita break up?”

“No. They’re still making wedding plans for when Nita graduates, and Ramon is making payments on the engage ment ring they picked out. I don’t think he knows there’s another guy in the picture.”

“But that’s not right!” Judy shook her head. “Nita shouldn’t be going out with Michael if she’s practically en gaged to Ramon.”

“I know. I told her that last night, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Nita says she’s just having fun with Michael, and it’s not serious between them. But it looks pretty serious to me.”

Judy cast a quick glance into the back seat. Michael had his arm around Nita, and he was kissing her. When she turned back to face Berto she was frowning. “It looks pretty serious to me, too. Do you think she’s going to dump Ra mon?”

“I don’t know. I hope not. Michael’s not right for Nita. I don’t think he’s ready to get married and settle down. What do you think?”

“I think you’re right. And I think it’s a good thing that we’re here. At least we can keep them from getting too . . . uh . . .
serious.”

Berto frowned. “How are we going to do that? I think they forgot that we’re even in the car!”

“Well then, I guess we should remind them.” Judy opened her purse and took out a twenty-dollar bill. “Does Nita like popcorn? I happen to know that it’s Michel’s fa vorite food.”

Berta looked confused for a moment, and then he began to grin. “Nita likes popcorn, but she likes hamburgers even more. And they take longer to cook. You want me to take Michael with me when I make a run to the concession stand?”

Judy grinned back, and passed him another twenty. “You got it, Berto! Blow as much money as you can on food, especially the kind that takes a long time to eat. If we’re gobbling food and passing things back and forth, Nita and Michael will forget all about romance.”

“Maybe.” Berto didn’t look entirely convinced. “But you don’t know my sister. Don’t get me wrong, Judy. I love Nita . . . but she’s got a one track mind.”

Judy pulled up in front of Berto and Nita’s house, but she didn’t shut off the engine. Instead, she nudged Berto and called out cheerily, “We’re here!”

“Come on, Nita.” Berto grinned at Judy as he caught his cue. “I just saw Mom pull back the curtain. We’d better get inside before she thinks something is wrong.”

Nita nodded. She didn’t look happy, and Judy barely managed to keep from grinning. Berto had brought back the perfect food from the concession stand. A giant tub of buttered popcorn they’d passed back and forth, hamburgers dripping with mustard and ketchup and mayonnaise that were impossible to eat unless you used both hands, a large pizza that had to be doled out from a box, and ice cream in pointed cones that had to be held and eaten before they melted. The only time Nita had been able to snuggle in the backseat with Michael was on the drive home. And even then, Berto and Judy had kept them busy talking about the new song Michael was singing at Covers tomorrow night.

Michael got out of the car, and motioned to Nita. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“That’s okay. I’ll take her.” Berto grabbed Nita by the hand. “You shouldn’t leave Judy alone in the car. This isn’t exactly Beverly Hills.”

“Oh. Right.” Michael nodded, and opened the door to the front seat. “See you tomorrow, Nita.”

Judy waited until Michael had slid into the passenger’s seat, then she locked the doors and put the car in gear. “Berto told me that they have a lot of car-jackings in this neighborhood. And he warned me that they really go for expensive cars like this Volvo.”

“It is a nice car, Jude. You’re lucky to have it.”

“I know.” Judy drove down the deserted street, and turned at the entrance to the freeway. “It’s not exactly my dream car, but it’s very reliable.”

Michael turned to look at her in surprise. “Well, it’s my dream car! It’s top of the line, Jude. They don’t make them any better than this. You’ve got every option they offer, in cluding a CD player. I like my old Lincoln, but I’d trade it for a brand new Volvo any day of the week.”

“Okay.” Judy nodded. “It’s a deal. I’d much rather have your Lincoln. It’s embarrassing, driving around in an ex pensive car like this.”

“You’re kidding! You really don’t like your Volvo?”

Judy sighed. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just, well . . . it’s hard to be one of the gang, when you’re driving around in a car that cost fifty thousand dollars. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone that I actually own it. I always say that I borrowed it from Pamela.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t rat on you.” Michael reached out to pat her shoulder. “But everybody knows my parents have money. I don’t see why you’re so embarrassed about being a rich kid.”