The New Girl Who Found A Dead Body Part 16

"Really?" Chloe couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Yeah," Grey said more concretely. "You know what? I'll be over there in about thirty minutes. I'll give you a call when I get there and we can meet by the entrance or something."

"Sounds great," Chloe said.

Chloe hung up the phone, just in time to order her hot chocolate. She walked back to the stands. The game had just started. Chloe searched for Jake's jersey number out on the field, finally finding him, running down toward the opposing team's goalposts.

Chloe glanced toward the cheerleaders, cheering for the team. Kate was there and Chloe hoped that she didn't notice her among all the other people at the game. Kate seemed completely absorbed in her cheers, though, so Chloe felt somewhat safe from her attentions.

Chloe went and sat back in the stands to watch the game. The teams ran back and forth, n.o.body scoring. Everyone in the stands was yelling, regardless, enjoying the atmosphere more than the game. Finally, Chloe felt just like any other student, caught up in the excitement of school spirit.

Grey finally texted her and Chloe got up, walking out of the stands, toward the entrance to the field. She spotted Grey waiting for her and walked up to him.

"I'm glad you came," Chloe said, hugging him.

"I'm glad I came too," Grey said, smiling down at her. "n.o.body even looked twice at me when I came in. I thought the teachers might freak a little, but n.o.body seemed to recognize me, so it's all good, I guess."

"That's great," Chloe said, taking his arm and leading them toward the stands.

"How are we doing?" Grey asked, as they approached the football field.

"No score yet," Chloe said.

"Too bad. We'll get them though. We have an awesome team this year," Grey grinned.

"So, you're a football fan, huh?" Chloe smiled back at him. It was just fun being with Grey. She really enjoyed his company.

"I'm a huge football fan," He said. "I watch it all weekend long when the season starts. I hope you don't think that's too boring."

"I think I can take it," Chloe said, "If you don't mind watching some chick flicks, here and there."

Grey laughed, "I think I can do that every once in a while."

Chloe smiled back at him and they squeezed into some seats in the stands. The crowd around them cheered. Their team had just scored a goal.

"Awesome!" Grey shouted at the top of his lungs, "Go PV Cougars!"

Chloe laughed.

Grey sat back down, noticing her laughter and seeming a little embarra.s.sed, "Like I said, I get a little excited about football."

"I can see that," Chloe retorted, pleasantly.

Grey turned back to the game, but Chloe watched him for a moment. It was then that she noticed the whispers around them. Grey may have slipped past the teachers who were standing at the main entrance taking admission, but he hadn't escaped the notice of his fellow students. They didn't seem happy to see him. There was a rapidly forming hole around them, as if people were afraid Grey would murder them in their seats, in front of everyone else at the game.

Chloe wondered if she should say something to Grey. There was a group of guys, a row across from them who were discussing something intently and looking in their direction. Chloe was suddenly worried. She didn't want Grey to get into a fight when he was just out of jail.

"Grey, maybe this was a bad idea. I think maybe we'd better go," Chloe said, after a moment.

"Why? I just got here," Grey said, looking at her in confusion. "The game just started."

Chloe gestured to the crowd around them, "I think you're about to get into some trouble."

Grey looked at the people standing around them and turned back to Chloe, "Interested in coming with me somewhere else?"

"Sure," Chloe said.

Grey took her hand and walked down the bleacher steps. n.o.body said anything to them as they walked out of the stands, but everyone stopped paying attention to the game to stare at them. Grey was only adding to her notoriety, Chloe couldn't help thinking. It was like she was really popular, except without all the cool fun parts.

"Thanks for leaving with me," Grey said as they walked past the concession stand on the way toward the exit.

"No big deal," Chloe said, "I would have liked to have seen Jake play a little more, but there'll be other games. I'll see him then."

"Everything turned out okay the other night then?" Grey asked.

"Yeah, everything was fine. Jake was just concerned about me," Chloe said.

"Understandable. There is a killer on the loose, but I swear Chloe, it's not me," Grey said, pleading with her to believe him.

"I know," Chloe said, looking back into his eyes and squeezing his hand.

"Chloe?" Emma said, suddenly standing in front of them. She had just paid her admission fee.

"Emma! You're okay!" Chloe ran and hugged her, letting go of Grey's hand. Grey stood back and watched them embrace, awkwardly.

Emma laughed, "I was just out sick."

"I have your phone. I called your house and talked to your dad. I was worried about you. Some guy found your phone at the school," Chloe was rambling. She was just so glad to see that Emma was okay. She hadn't realized how anxious she had still been about Emma's well being, even after having talked to Emma's father.

Chloe fumbled around in her purse, looking for Emma's phone.

"I wondered what happened to my phone," Emma said. "I thought maybe I had left it in my locker by accident."

"Here it is," Chloe said, her fingers finally finding Emma's phone in the messiness of her bulky purse.

"Thank you," Emma said, taking the phone and checking it automatically. "Where are you guys off to?"

Chloe looked unsurely over at Grey. No matter what Emma said about her hanging out with Grey, Chloe felt a little awkward about it. Grey seemed to feel a little weirded out too, Chloe thought, by the expression on his face.

"Well, people were a little freaked about Grey being at the game, so we decided to go somewhere else. We didn't want to start anything and get him in more trouble," Chloe said.

"Makes sense," Emma nodded.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment. Chloe glanced between Emma and Grey.

"Well," Chloe said awkwardly, not sure if she should stay with Emma or leave with Grey. She made a decision, "I guess we should probably go. We don't want the teachers to notice Grey either and throw him out."

"Can I go with you guys?" Emma asked.

Chloe immediately thought that she didn't want Emma to come. She secretly wanted to spend some more time alone with Grey and see what their banter would lead to if they were left to their own devices. Chloe knew it was probably a risk to be with Grey, even if she believed he had done nothing wrong, but she didn't care. She really enjoyed his company and if she was going to admit it to herself, she was rapidly developing a huge crush on him. And, for once, Chloe thought, it seemed like Grey might be developing a huge crush on her too.

Chloe's second thought was that there was no reason Emma shouldn't go with them. Chloe felt bad for her first reaction. Emma was her best friend at school. She had confided in Emma about everything and she didn't want to disinclude her in something just because she was crus.h.i.+ng on a cute guy.

"Sure," Chloe said, glancing at Grey, hoping for his approval.

He looked torn, but agreed a split second later, "Yeah, it'll be fun."

"Cool!" Emma was suddenly almost overly cheerful as she followed them out to the school parking lot.

As they all walked toward Grey's car, Chloe texted Jake that she had left the game with Emma. She decided not to mention Grey and just said that she'd meet Jake at home later. Chloe hoped Jake wouldn't be too upset that she left the game early. She felt a little guilty about it as they got into Grey's car.

Somehow, Chloe ended up in the backseat of the car, while Emma ended up riding in the front seat.

"So, where do you lovely ladies want to go?" Grey asked in his most seductive tone, as he started the car.

Emma turned around to look at Chloe. Chloe shrugged, not knowing where to go.

"What about Dalt's?" Grey asked. "There'll be n.o.body there until after the game. We could just hang out and talk, maybe eat some pie."

"Pie sounds great," Emma said.

"That sounds fun," Chloe said a moment later.

Grey looked at her in the rearview mirror and smiled. Chloe wished that he could take her hand again, but he was too far away. He pulled the car in reverse and they headed for Dalt's Diner.

Dalt's was completely deserted. The wait staff was gossiping by the counter and it was almost a full minute before one of the servers noticed that they were standing there, waiting to be seated.

As they sat down, Chloe found herself thinking about the last time she was at Dalt's. Kate had barged in to yell at Jake for being there with her, in a jealous rage. Had Kate's jealousy driven her crazy? Had she killed Elizabeth Hill that night? Chloe pushed the thought out of her mind. It was so random, but something about being in the diner again had triggered that memory. Kate had not been able to spend that night with Jake for unknown reasons. Had she spent it killing Elizabeth Hill instead? And, the night of the party Kate and Jake had been fighting about his relations.h.i.+p with Lora. Kate definitely had motive.

Chloe glanced at Grey and Emma. They were both looking through their menus, at the long list of pies Dalt's carried. Chloe wondered if she should mention her suspicions to them or if they would think that she was completely crazy thinking about murder suspects when they were supposed to be just hanging out and having fun.

A waitress came by a moment later and Chloe rushed to pick her slice of pie, as Grey and Emma ordered their own. She settled on pecan, thinking briefly of her mom's freshly baked pecan pie at home in Illinois, as the waitress jotted down her order.

As soon as the waitress left, Chloe turned to Grey and Emma, "I know this is a little off topic, but I was thinking about something and wanted to run it past you guys."

"What?" Emma and Grey both asked, looking at Chloe with their full attention.

"Do you think it's possible that Kate killed Lora Kelly and Elizabeth Hill?" Chloe felt slightly worried about actually asking it out loud. It made it seem more real by saying it.

"I don't know," Grey said after a moment. "Why would Kate do that? I've known her a long time and..."

"I could see it," Emma said, interrupting him, touching his arm. "I mean, Grey, I obviously don't think you did it. It's just not in you, but Kate has been super crazy jealous lately and if she's the one who tried to run us off the road, then I could definitely see it. That person was insane."

"So, I'm not totally crazy for wondering if it's her?" Chloe asked, relieved.

"Not at all," Emma said.

"I just can't see her doing it, though," Grey repeated.

"But it's got to be someone at school. Is there anyone you would suspect? They've already killed two people without getting caught. It's obvious they're good at hiding how insane they are," Chloe said.

"Do we have to talk about the murders?" Grey asked. "I'm sick of talking about them. I wish the cops would just solve them and find the murderer, so I could be cleared. It's really ruining my life."

"I'm sorry," Chloe said. "I can't stop thinking about them. I only just wanted to see if you guys thought my theory was plausible. I don't have any evidence, but... Okay, I'll shut up now."

Grey laughed, "It's okay."

"So, what do you guys want to talk about then?" Chloe asked.

Emma smiled, "What about the dance? Are you going, Grey?"

Grey shook his head, "After the craziness of tonight, I don't know if I should."

"Of course you should go!" Chloe and Emma cried at the same time.

"Are you guys going?" Grey asked, looking between them both.

"Yes," Emma and Chloe said at the same time again. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Well, then I might consider making an appearance," Grey said, looking out of the corner of his eye to see their expressions.

"Yay!" Emma said, delighted.

"You should totally make an appearance," Chloe agreed.

"Will you both save me a dance?" Grey teased.

"Of course!" Emma said eagerly.

"Definitely," Chloe said. She suddenly felt guilty. She was going to be Jake's date to the dance and she didn't want Grey to know that. She didn't want him to get the wrong impression about her and Jake. They were just friends and she...

"Cool!" Grey was saying, "I have two dates to the dance! How much luckier can a guy get!"

Chloe groaned inwardly, what sort of a mess had she gotten herself into now? Luckily, she didn't have too much time to think about it, since the waitress brought their pie slices.

Chloe was stuffed. They had followed up their first slice of pie, with a second round and she didn't think she'd ever be able to eat pie again.

"But it was so worth it, right?" Grey teased.

Emma looked as equally sick and she had only taken a few bites of her second piece.

"If I can ever eat again," Chloe complained playfully.

Grey grinned at her.

"Hey, Chloe," Jana said, walking past their table and ignoring Grey and Emma.

Chloe did a double take. She couldn't remember ever even speaking to Jana before.