What Holly Heard (10 page)

“Jed, wait!” Miriam started after him. But her anger halted her halfway.

Let him go,
she told herself.
He's not the guy you knew.

Could he really be that cold-hearted? Did he really believe all the terrible things he said about Holly? Was it possible that he truly thought Holly had deserved to die?

Without another word Jed climbed into the car, slammed the door, and sped off.

When he was out of sight, Miriam let out her breath in a thick cloud of steam.

What did he mean, I don't know everything? What else is there to know?

Does Jed know something more about Holly's death than I do?
she wondered.

A bitter wind howled down the street, stinging her cheeks. Miriam didn't know how long she'd been standing in the freezing winter air. She dug her hands back in her pockets and shivered back to the front door, and warmth.

One thing she
did
know—she couldn't talk to Jed anymore about what was happening. Jed had been replaced by a stranger.

An angry stranger who really frightened her.

*   *   *

“I can't do it,” Miriam told Ruth. She stopped in the main hallway of Shadyside High. She felt cornered. Trapped with Ruth in a long line of students heading for Holly's memorial. “I can't go in there.”

“Miriam,” Ruth urged, “come on. It won't be that bad.”

Students pushed past them, heading for the gym. A lecture on student safety was planned, as well as a group counseling session for anyone who wanted to participate.

Miriam couldn't bear it. “They're insane if they think we'll get up in front of hundreds of people and talk about how we feel! I won't do it.”

Miriam didn't say it, but there was another reason she didn't want to step into the gym.

She'd found Holly there.

Ruth pleaded, but Miriam held her ground. Someone jostled her. Another kid bumped her from behind.

“You're blocking the way,” someone complained.

Ruth grabbed Miriam's arm and dragged her out of traffic. “You can't just stand here,” she whispered. “What are you going to do?”

“I don't know,” Miriam replied. “Just go, Ruth. Leave me alone, okay? I really need to be alone.”

Ruth's gaze softened and she shrugged. “Okay. But don't get caught. You don't need detention right now.”

Miriam nodded. “Thanks, Ruth.”

Ruth slipped back into the crowd and disappeared.

Miriam pictured Holly on the gym floor, her bloated face and purple neck, the trickle of blood down her cheek.

Was
this
what the counselors wanted her to discuss? Her memories of a strangled corpse?

A sour taste rose in her throat. Suddenly Miriam felt truly sick. Clamping one hand over her mouth, she raced against the tide of students and pushed her way into the bathroom.

She tossed her books into a sink, then dropped to her knees in front of the first toilet. Her breath came in hitches. Visions of Holly flew in her head—Holly fighting off her attacker. Holly choking. Holly dying. Miriam wanted more than anything to get it all out.

But nothing happened.

Miriam's breathing returned to normal. A cold sweat coated her upper lip.

She felt shaky but better.

She took several deep breaths, then slowly rose to her feet.

Her books had landed haphazardly in the sink. She stacked them neatly on a ledge and turned on the faucet. Then she splashed the cold water onto her face.

She pulled a long strip of paper towel out of the dispenser and dried her cheeks, wiping away the salty grit that never seemed to leave her eyes since Holly's death.

She stared into the mirror.

What's happening to me?
she asked herself.

She had been so happy. She had had Jed. She had
had Holly and Ruth. Friends who loved her—who she loved in return.

All slipping away.

Miriam shivered. It was so cold in this bathroom. The porcelain of the sink felt frozen.

Felt dead.

She heard a sound.

A slow creaking sound that made her flesh crawl.

The bathroom door slowly opened, its hinges squeaking.

Miriam turned.

Mei and Noah stood in the doorway.

“M
ei?” Miriam croaked. She held on to the cold sink. Her legs suddenly felt shaky and weak.

Mei and Noah entered the bathroom, letting the door close behind them. They looked as if they hadn't slept in a week.

What were they going to do?

“Miriam, we need to talk,” Mei said. She held her hand out as if to calm Miriam down. “I have to know what you told the police.”

“I told them the truth,” Miriam replied, trying to steady her voice. Her eyes darted from Mei to Noah.

Mei's lip quivered and she turned to Noah. He put his arm around her and glared at Miriam.

“Do you have any idea what you've done?” Noah exploded.

Miriam blinked in confusion. Mei and Noah certainly weren't acting as if they wanted to kill her. Or even frighten her.

What was going on?

Mei narrowed her eyes at Miriam. “You told them
lies,
Miriam! Complete lies!” She clenched her fists and stepped forward. “I
loved
my mother! I would never kill her!”

Miriam pressed herself against the sink behind her.

“How did you know I went to the police?” she asked Mei.

“Because they made us come in for questioning. They kept Noah there for four hours last night!”

Miriam turned to Noah, but he didn't reply. He stared coldly at her.

“How could you do this, Miriam?” Mei yelled. “I thought we were friends. How could you spread such
lies?”

All the blood left Miriam's face. Her head swam. She didn't dare say anything.

A frightening thought crept into her head: The whole school was in the gym. No one knew where she was. No one would hear her screams.

“Mei …” she began.

“Don't,” Mei interrupted. “I know why you went to the police. You think we did it. You think we killed Holly, too.”

Mei shook her head in disgust. “I can't believe
Holly sucked you into all of this. My mother fell down the stairs by
accident,
Miriam. She sprained her ankle last week, and it gave out again on the top of the stairs. Do you hear me? It was an
accident.”

Miriam tried to clear her head. She listened hard to what Mei told her. Took it in. Thought about it.

And still didn't believe it.

Mei and Noah were murderers. She was sure of it.

They were trying to get her off their trail. That was the
only
explanation.

“I don't believe you,” Miriam declared.

“I'm telling the truth! I swear
on my mother's soul!
You know how close we were!” Mei screeched. “Don't believe all the garbage Holly put in your head.
Think!”

Miriam shook her head. “Holly heard you plotting it. She heard you after the basketball game. She heard Noah say he'd do whatever it took.”

“Yeah,” Noah snarled. “The cops ran that one by me a few times last night. Haven't you ever said that you wanted to kill your parents, Miriam?”

Miriam squirmed. She had made that very same argument with Holly.

And now Holly is dead,
she thought angrily.

“I've said it lots of times,” Miriam replied defiantly. “But I never
did
it.”

Noah's face darkened. Mei shook her head in disbelief.

“What will it take to convince you?” Noah asked. “You're the only one left who truly knows Mei. You
know
her. You know she's innocent. You know someone else killed Holly.”

“Who?” Miriam yelled.

Noah shrugged. “Who knows? All I know is that it wasn't us. That's all I care about.”

“I care about Holly!”
Miriam wailed. “She was my best friend!”

“So was I, once,” Mei said. “Why can't you believe me now? Holly had a big mouth, Miriam. She didn't care who she hurt. A lot of people probably wanted to kill her. But we didn't. You have to believe me.”

Miriam stared deep into Mei's eyes. Memories came rushing back—she and Mei at football games, dances, going to the movies together …

They had been best friends.

Until Noah.

Miriam turned to study him. She could never trust
those
eyes. Who knows what Noah could convince Mei to do? she thought. Who knows what Noah could do on his own?

Mei touched Noah's arm. “Come on,” she murmured. “She doesn't believe us.”

Noah pulled Mei close and gave her a short hug. His eyes never left Miriam. Then they turned to go, arm-in-arm.

What do you believe?
Miriam asked herself.

“Mei?” she called timidly.

Mei turned, gazing hopefully at her.

“I want to believe you,” Miriam whispered. “I know how you were before, Mei. Back then you
wouldn't hurt a fly. But now …” Miriam gestured at Noah. “I don't know.”

Mei's face hardened. “I would
kill
for Noah!” she cried. “Don't say a word about Noah!”

Miriam gasped. “You would kill?”

Mei smiled. “I would,” she repeated. “But I
didn't.”

Miriam saw a smirk cross Noah's face as he took Mei's hand and led her away. He kept his eyes on Miriam the whole way to the door.

Miriam felt sick again. Noah's eyes were dead, expressionless.

She didn't care what Mei said, or how convincing she was. Noah Brennan was a dangerous person. Miriam couldn't forget those
eyes.

The eyes of a maniac.

The eyes of a killer.

They walked away from me now, Miriam thought.

But will they come back?

M
iriam had never been so happy to see the end of a school day. The final bell had rung. The halls were silent.

She stayed after to make up a history quiz. Now she grabbed what books she needed and closed her locker, finally ready to head out. She tried not to think of Holly's locker next to hers.

She walked down the main hall toward the student parking lot. Her mother had let her drive to school today, probably out of sympathy. Miriam didn't care why. It was nice to have a car to herself.

As she passed the hallway that led to the boys' locker room, she heard Jed's voice.

Jed's
angry
voice.

“Get out of my face, man,” he growled.

Miriam whirled and saw him. He and Gary were nose to nose by the water fountain.

Miriam ducked behind the corner and watched, making sure no one saw her. The halls were empty.

“No way!” Gary yelled. “I will be in your face as long as it takes, Jed. I'm not carrying this around with me forever. You're going to slip up somewhere, and I'll blow the whistle.”

“No, you won't,” Jed taunted him. “You don't have the guts.”

“Watch me,” Gary shot back. “I know everything Holly knew. She was always right about you.”

Jed's face twisted. “You always have to bring her up, don't you? Get over it! She's
dead!”

Gary backed off a few steps, clearly shocked that Jed would say such a thing.

Miriam bit her lip.
What was going on?

“I'm warning you, man,” Jed said. “Don't mess with me. Just forget everything you know.”

“You don't scare me,” Gary sneered.

Jed raised a warning finger. “Forget everything, Gary.”

Gary muttered a curse and disappeared into the locker room.

Jed started walking toward Miriam. She backed away from the corner, her heart racing.

What did Gary know about Jed? What was going on with him?

Miriam backtracked down the hall to make it look as if she were coming from her locker. She didn't want
him to know she'd been eavesdropping.
Holly would be proud,
she thought grimly.