Read Online Kill You Last by Todd Strasser - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Todd Strasser
Ads: Link
home?”
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“Everyone else to leave. Just wait ten minutes?”
“Oh, I can’t,” she said. “When you left school before? I didn’t know if you were coming back, so I asked David Curlin for a ride.”
She left, and I read InStyle until I thought most of the kids had gone. Then I went out to the parking lot. There were still plenty of cars around, mostly belonging to kids on the various sports teams. Because I’d left school at lunch and then returned, I’d had to park my car in a far corner of the lot, in a spot where some low-hanging pine trees cast deep shadows. It was a place that was hard to see from the school building and, as a result, flattened cigarette butts were scattered around the asphalt.
I was lost in thought about Dad and how, even though he’d admitted that those “fishing trips” were at least partly a scam, it was important to remember that for many of the girls who had gotten their head shots from him, it was completely legitimate.
There had to be some girls who’d gotten modeling jobs, right?
I wished I’d asked Dad about that.
That’s what I was thinking when I got to my car…and felt a presence behind me.
Chapter 17
I SPUN AROUND.
It was Whit. He stopped when he saw me jump.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
My heart fluttered, but unlike the fluttering it did for Gabriel, this was caused by fright. I hadn’t realized how jumpy I was.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. Nonstudents weren’t allowed on school property.
“Trying not to partake in pack journalism.” He saw the scowl on my face and explained: “It’s when they all bunch up and go after a story together. Like those crowds that hang out in front of your house and your father’s studio every day.”
That reminded me of something. “Thanks for writing that article about not rushing to judgment about my dad. As far as I know, you’re the only one who’s said anything in defense of him.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And…I’m sorry I threatened to call the police.”
He grinned. “I probably would have done the same thing.”
“Only now that you know what was on the news this morning, I bet you regret what you wrote.”
“No way,” he said. “I wrote about the rush to blame him for the missing girls. I still stand by that.”
There was something honest and disarming about him that made me want to talk. “Can we go off the record?”
Whit’s lips parted into a wry smile. “All right. What’s up?”
“What do you know about serial killers?”
A few lines between his eyebrows bunched. “Not much.”
“You know why I’m asking, right?”
“Sure. And if it turns out that one’s involved in this case? I won’t be totally surprised.”
“You won’t?” I replied, caught off guard by his answer. “But no one knows what’s up with those girls. They could still be alive.”
Whit studied me. “You really believe that?”
He was right. “It’s seriously wishful thinking, isn’t it?” I admitted.
Whit nodded. “Off the record. I’ll tell you something…if you swear not to share it with anyone.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve spoken to either the family or friends of all three girls. Everyone’s willing to talk because they hope that the more news there is and the more times those girls’ photos are shown, the more likely it is that someone will recognize one of them or know something helpful. The common thread that comes out is that none of them was having problems at home or was in any kind of situation that would make you think they’d want to run away. I mean, not that life was perfect or anything, but two of them have serious boyfriends who they never said a word to about going anywhere. And the other one was totally focused on taking her GED test. She’d dropped out of high school the year before, and everyone I spoke to agreed that all she wanted in life was to get that high school
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“Everyone else to leave. Just wait ten minutes?”
“Oh, I can’t,” she said. “When you left school before? I didn’t know if you were coming back, so I asked David Curlin for a ride.”
She left, and I read InStyle until I thought most of the kids had gone. Then I went out to the parking lot. There were still plenty of cars around, mostly belonging to kids on the various sports teams. Because I’d left school at lunch and then returned, I’d had to park my car in a far corner of the lot, in a spot where some low-hanging pine trees cast deep shadows. It was a place that was hard to see from the school building and, as a result, flattened cigarette butts were scattered around the asphalt.
I was lost in thought about Dad and how, even though he’d admitted that those “fishing trips” were at least partly a scam, it was important to remember that for many of the girls who had gotten their head shots from him, it was completely legitimate.
There had to be some girls who’d gotten modeling jobs, right?
I wished I’d asked Dad about that.
That’s what I was thinking when I got to my car…and felt a presence behind me.
Chapter 17
I SPUN AROUND.
It was Whit. He stopped when he saw me jump.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
My heart fluttered, but unlike the fluttering it did for Gabriel, this was caused by fright. I hadn’t realized how jumpy I was.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. Nonstudents weren’t allowed on school property.
“Trying not to partake in pack journalism.” He saw the scowl on my face and explained: “It’s when they all bunch up and go after a story together. Like those crowds that hang out in front of your house and your father’s studio every day.”
That reminded me of something. “Thanks for writing that article about not rushing to judgment about my dad. As far as I know, you’re the only one who’s said anything in defense of him.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And…I’m sorry I threatened to call the police.”
He grinned. “I probably would have done the same thing.”
“Only now that you know what was on the news this morning, I bet you regret what you wrote.”
“No way,” he said. “I wrote about the rush to blame him for the missing girls. I still stand by that.”
There was something honest and disarming about him that made me want to talk. “Can we go off the record?”
Whit’s lips parted into a wry smile. “All right. What’s up?”
“What do you know about serial killers?”
A few lines between his eyebrows bunched. “Not much.”
“You know why I’m asking, right?”
“Sure. And if it turns out that one’s involved in this case? I won’t be totally surprised.”
“You won’t?” I replied, caught off guard by his answer. “But no one knows what’s up with those girls. They could still be alive.”
Whit studied me. “You really believe that?”
He was right. “It’s seriously wishful thinking, isn’t it?” I admitted.
Whit nodded. “Off the record. I’ll tell you something…if you swear not to share it with anyone.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve spoken to either the family or friends of all three girls. Everyone’s willing to talk because they hope that the more news there is and the more times those girls’ photos are shown, the more likely it is that someone will recognize one of them or know something helpful. The common thread that comes out is that none of them was having problems at home or was in any kind of situation that would make you think they’d want to run away. I mean, not that life was perfect or anything, but two of them have serious boyfriends who they never said a word to about going anywhere. And the other one was totally focused on taking her GED test. She’d dropped out of high school the year before, and everyone I spoke to agreed that all she wanted in life was to get that high school
Similar Books
