The Stranger Inside (35 page)

Sawyer gave me a withering look. “Okay. Yeah. I did—about that. But it was only because I didn’t want to tell you that you were the one who killed Lindsey—I mean,
Kenzie
killed Lindsey.” He ran his hands through his hair, as though on the verge of ripping it out. “Look, I don’t know why Kenzie did it. I don’t. Maybe to shut Lindsey up. Maybe that’s what Lindsey was trying to blackmail me about—maybe she knew about Kenzie. And Kenzie didn’t want her to tell anyone.”

My hand suddenly had a mind of its own. Totally without my control, my hand shot out and picked up the lipstick beside me on the nightstand. It wrote across my wall, “That’s not what Lindsey knew.”

I stared at the words, amazed. And horrified.

Sawyer furrowed his brow, tilting his head. “Kenzie?”

I shook my head, shaking. “No, it’s me. But Kenzie wrote that.”

Sawyer studied the message with a frown. “Okay.” He finally relented with a shrug. “So, that’s not why she did it—why she killed her. But she still did it. Like I said, I don’t know why.”

“I didn’t
do
it!”

Everyone turned to look at me. But I blinked, again amazed. The voice had come out of my mouth. But I was still here, me. Only, somehow, it was Kenzie talking.

“I didn’t! It was them. They did it, I swear.”

Okay, who was I supposed to believe? The guys with scratches and secrets? Or the stranger inside me?

CHAPTER 40

I had an idea. Maybe a lame one, but it was all I had.

Really quick, I texted Hanna, asking her if she could please tell us what happened the night Lindsey died. I didn’t know if she could or would. It seemed if she was able to summon up something about Lindsey’s death she would have told the police…. Only, maybe not.

The other day, Sawyer told me Hanna didn’t like people to know about her “gift.” He found that out a few days ago, after asking her why she stopped reading his palm in the fifth grade.

Sawyer said she’d flinched. Actually looked pained. She told him she just wanted people to think of her as normal, not a freak. “And that’s what most people thought of me—freaky,” she said. “And it wasn’t like I could help anyone. I could sort of see that something bad was going to happen, sometimes, but I didn’t know how to stop it from happening. So, I tried to stop seeing it.”

Knowing all that, I texted Hanna anyway—basically out of desperation. I was either hanging out with a bunch of murders, or I had one inside me. Either way sucked. Still, one seemed worse than the other. Way worse.

If I only knew what it was Lindsey had on Sawyer. What her information was that she wanted him to “get out of her.” That, AND if he didn’t have those scratches. And lie about them. Zack too.

I so needed answers. So I could get rid of the pain in my chest and ache in my gut and so I could breathe without my heart catching in my throat.

Unfortunately, as soon as I sent the text, it bounced back, saying something was wrong with Hanna’s cell account.

I quickly scribbled her a note instead, my hands shaking so bad it was hard to write. My breath catching in my throat, I gave the note to Sawyer. “Will you take this to Hanna’s house?”

He read over the note, read that I wanted information about that night, what happened. “Jodi, I told you what happened,” he said, sounding firm, unable to believe I didn’t trust him. “But yeah, I’ll give her the note.”

The rest of the band waited with me while Sawyer went to Hanna’s. No one actually talked much. What could they say? Sorry we’re holding your earring hostage? Sorry we maybe murdered a girl and are blaming it on the ghost that lives inside you?

No. They didn’t say any of that. They didn’t say anything. They wouldn’t even look at me. No one but Jeremy.

Jeremy
kept
looking at me. “Here, let me help you with that,” he said as I brought my tray into the kitchen. He took it from me, standing close. “I remember that necklace,” he murmured, his eyes on the emblem around my neck.

My heart throbbed. Kenzie had put the “J” back on the chain at some point. Actually, she had done it a couple of times. I kept taking it off, she kept putting it back on. Now it held both the “J” and Dad’s ring.

Jeremy’s eyes seemed to be trying to give me some sort of message. “Do you remember what it meant?”

I nodded.

I was going to ask him if
he
remembered, but right then, the phone rang.

It was Sawyer, calling from Hanna’s. “Meet us at the cemetery.”

***

A cemetery is a lot scarier at night than during the day. I stayed close to Jeremy. Like, in his shirt. He took my hand. “I’m right here, Jodi.”

Sawyer and Hanna were already at the Grandma Grave when we finally found it. Sawyer eyed me holding hands with Jeremy and I quickly let go. But now my hand was cold, totally missing Jeremy’s warmth. I glanced at Jeremy and he gazed back. But then I looked away because Sawyer was watching us, drinking in our every move.

“Okay,” Hanna said. “Again, I can’t stay with you for more than—than a second. And don’t ask me who killed Lindsey—I can’t even look into it. Not when Ethan’s lurking around. Evil draws to evil. I’m not going to try to dig up a murderer, don’t ask.”

“I wasn’t,” I said, though really I was.

“I recorded what I got from my safety circle,” she said, rooting around in her backpack. “I was in a trance. I don’t even know what’s on it.” She dumped the key drive in my lap. “Okay, I’m gone.”

 The recording was a reenactment of what happened that night on Dover’s Ridge—told in Hanna’s voice as though she were there while the whole thing happened—as though she was having a vision.

Kenzie had slipped something into the guys’ vodka bottle when they weren’t looking. Then she went and sat with Jeremy in the car. Meanwhile, Lindsey had crawled up into Sawyer’s lap near the campfire, and purred in his ear, “I really like you Sawyer. Just kiss me and I’ll tell you my secret.”

“Oh, your secret.” He grinned. “Is there really a secret?”

“There is.” She licked his neck. “It’s good, too. You won’t like it, though.”

Impatient, she pushed aside the bottle of Vodka he kept drinking. “It’s almost ten. I’m supposed to meet my guy at ten.” She tried to get Sawyer to kiss her. “Don’t you want to know my secret?”

“Thing is,” Sawyer slurred. “I’m not really into you, you know that right? I love Jodi.”

Lindsey clawed Sawyer’s neck and cussed him out, running into the woods, crying. But Sawyer didn’t chase after her. Sawyer passed out. And so did Zack and Micah. Jeremy too, out in the car.

Kenzie made sure that the band was out cold, then she pulled a knife from her jacket and crept over to Zack. “I know you want me gone—you keep saying that—but
you’re
the one going.” She pulled his head back, ready to slit his throat.

Only suddenly, Lindsey darted out of the woods, slashed up and bleeding.

“He has a knife! Help! Help me!” She was hysterical, begging for assistance until she saw that Kenzie had a knife. Then she backed away. “What—what are you doing?”

 Lindsey was right at the edge of the cliff, so close. And she was hysterical. Kenzie smiled, figuring there was more than one way to get rid of the band. Having them behind bars would work just as well as murdering them, maybe even better. No need to explain the mess.

Kenzie darted at Lindsey with the knife. Lindsey stumbled back, then grabbed out, latching on to Jodi’s earring as she fell back, but Kenzie barely noticed. She was busy tucking the pocketknife back into her jacket.

Then she started screaming. “They did it! They pushed her!”

CHAPTER 41

“So where’d Lindsey’s body go?” Micah asked.

We were all still sitting in the cemetery, still too dazed to get up.

“Yeah, where’d the body go?” Zack reiterated.

Chilling question.

I shivered. Not that I wasn’t shivering already. I was relieved beyond words that the band didn’t kill Lindsey. But still. I had a
murderer
inside me. It had me shaking. Big time.

“Whoever Lindsey was going to meet—the guy that stabbed her when she ran off in the woods—he must have taken her body,” Sawyer said, sounding intrigued, but horrified at the same time. “To get rid of the evidence, like the article said.”

“Or maybe the guy is just totally wacko. Maybe he just wanted her body. Didn’t care in what condition. Or maybe he’s into blood and guts and gore.” We all stared at Zack. He gazed up at us. “What?”

I looked down at my hands, frightened at what Kenzie almost did to him.

“Sort of seems like we need to keep a better eye on Kenzie,” Zack said. “Or at least I do. She doesn’t seem to like me so much, does she?”

I looked back down at my hands. “Sorry Zack.” It was lame, but that’s all I could say.

He grinned. “What? Were you going to help her?”

Silence.

“It’s late,” Sawyer said, rising to his feet. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Hold on,” I said, pulling out my cell.

I checked my password-locked messages, now, at the cemetery, while I had the escape from Kenzie. Grey had written: “
You know how you asked about church people? What was that about? Darcy’s dad is a priest
.”

My stomach flipped. Excellent. For a moment I had something to be happy about.

“
Have him there with the body—if we ever show up
,” I typed, then stuffed my phone back in my jacket, my brain buzzing.

“Jodi …” Sawyer had seen what I’d typed. His eyes looked concerned. “Hanna told me you should stay away from church people—it’s dangerous for you. Ethan’s blood might kind of be in you too—maybe since it’s part of Kenzie, and now you are too. If the priest really can vanquish a demon, he might vanquish you as he’s doing it.”

My breath caught in my throat and my chest tightened. I was in a daze, but I didn’t text Grey back. I couldn’t. There was no way I could let a maniacal demon loose in the world. “I hope that’s not the way it works,” I whispered.

Sawyer hoisted me to my feet, and I let him walk me to Jeremy’s car, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about him—not anymore. He had kept my ear-ring hostage. The thought made me cringe. Sawyer held me tighter, probably thinking it was because I was spooked. In Jeremy’s car, I sat stiffly as Sawyer tried to hold me, comfort me.

“Have I lost you?” he whispered in my ear. “Are you really never going to forgive me?”

“Sawyer.” I was tired. My feelings were confused. And I had a
murderer
inside me. I bit my lip. “I’m not sure how I feel right now. Things are so messed up. Can we … just have a little distance, for a little bit? And we’ll talk about it later?”

Sawyer flinched, his eyes full of pain, but he nodded. “I’m sorry I blew it, Jodi.”

I squeezed my eyes shut to keep from crying. “Me too.”

I slumped back in my seat, feeling miserable and alone.

Sawyer watched me a long while, seeming to want to say something. Finally he murmured, “Jodi … things may not be exactly as they seem.”

I looked up at him. “What?”

His eyes looked pained, but he didn’t answer. Instead he murmured, “I can’t say.”

I sighed, frustrated. He was being cryptic. Everything about him was cryptic these days. Everything about him and the whole band. It was so disturbing. They were who I used to turn to for support, turn to for everything.

But now I felt as though I had no one when I needed someone the most. I had a murderer inside me and she didn’t even seem to care who she killed. She didn’t. She seemed to be willing to kill anyone who stood in the way of her getting what she wanted.

Knowing that made me shiver. Sawyer noticed and gave my hand a squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.”

I wished so much that were true, that I could believe him. But things seemed hopeless. Like they would never be okay again.

Jeremy dropped us off at Sawyer’s. “Aren’t you going to come in?” I asked when he just pulled up at the curb, the motor still running. Micah was staying in the car too.

“No.” Jeremy stared straight ahead, out into the darkness. “It’s been a long night.” He flicked a quick gaze to me. When he saw I was hurt, he added with resign, “Sawyer wants to talk to you alone.”

“Oh.”

“Jodi.” When I looked up at him, Jeremy’s eyes were intent, staring straight into mine. “I remember what the necklace means.” Then he drove away.

I watched him go, feeling confused. Was he actually trying to tell me something? It seemed he was, but then why would he just leave like that? Not stay and try to make things better. Not try at all?

I turned away. Then my stomach knotted. If Sawyer wanted to talk to me alone, why was Zack here?

And where was Sawyer?

Zack stared at me with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “I want to talk to Kenzie,” he said.

CHAPTER 42

I sat inside Sawyer’s house, feeling trapped. My heart beat wild and out of control. Zack wanted to talk to Kenzie. But I didn’t want him to, not at all. Anything mean he did to her—he would actually be doing to me. And I could see by the wicked look in his eyes he had wicked plans—plans for revenge.

 “You know, it doesn’t really work like that, Zack,” I said, my heart pounding. “I can’t just snap my fingers and turn into her.”

“Try.”

I swallowed, shaking my head. “Where’s Sawyer?”

I’d asked about a hundred times. But every time I asked, Zack said the same thing, “Let me talk to Kenzie.” He said it again now. “Jodi, please, let me talk to Kenzie.” He didn’t seem so wicked this time. He seemed sort of desperate.

Still, I shook my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an envelope sticking out of my backpack. The note from Mr. Daniels. I had forgotten all about it. Trying to redirect Zack, I grabbed the envelope with shaky hands. “I got this note from Mr. Daniels today. I haven’t read it yet. Did he give you a conference note, too?”