Pretty Little Devils Part 28

Then she heard a sound she couldn't identify-a loud thud.

And then screaming.

Hysterical screaming.

Hazel threw open the closet door and raced out of Charlie's room. She ran into the hall. "Ellen?"

A light flared on wall; Sylvia emerged from the closet with her flashlight. "What's going on? What happened?" she demanded.

The door to the study was open and so was the door beyond it, leading outside. Sylvia pushed past Hazel, raced inside the study. "Oh my G.o.d!" she cried.

Hazel ran in after her.

Sylvia's flashlight beam sliced through the shadow, giving Hazel tiny glimpses of the scene.

Ellen sprawled on the floor, gasping.

Charlie's baseball bat at her feet.

"Megan, turn on the lights!" Sylvia bellowed.

The lights switched on.

Hazel covered her mouth with both her hands.

Monkey Boy, with his hideous, laughing face, sat untouched in the study chair. Behind him lay Brandon, sprawled on his back. He didn't move.

Hazel ran to him, crying, "Brandon? Are you okay?"

Sylvia came with her. Hazel fell to her knees. There was no blood, but there was an angry red mark spreading around Brandon's right eye. Hazel cautiously reached out and touched his shoulder; he was still.

She looked at Sylvia, who paled. Hazel carefully raised Brandon's head.

His eyes were open but vacant.

"Brandon?" Hazel called. She looked at Sylvia. "Oh my G.o.d. Is he breathing?"

"Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d," Sylvia murmured. "Brandon, can you hear me?"

He didn't answer. Ellen was hunched in the corner, whimpering and crying.

Footfalls thudded down the hallway, and Megan burst into the room. "What's going on?" Her eyes grew wide with terror when they fell on Brandon's body.

"Sylvia?" Megan said in a trembling voice. "How did he get in here?"

Sylvia shook her head, too stunned to speak. Carolyn was standing in the doorway, her arms wrapped around her body, hugging herself.

Megan rushed over, bent down, and said, "Brandon?" She touched his forehead. Then she moved her fingers under his nose. "Oh my G.o.d. You guys, he's not breathing!"

"What was he doing here?" Carolyn suddenly demanded. "How did he get in here?"

"He's not breathing," Hazel repeated steadily. Then her voice rose as everyone stared at her. "He's not breathing."

The next few moments were a blur. Someone was holding on to her and crying. She snapped out of her stupor to find herself with her arms around Megan. Sylvia and Carolyn were wrapped around Ellen and holding her tightly.

He's dead. He's dead. The thought repeated in Hazel's mind. But how could this have happened? How could their prank have gone so horribly wrong?

Carolyn took a deep breath. She looked at Ellen. "What did you hit him with?"

Ellen was beyond answering. Her body shook with deep, soul-crus.h.i.+ng sobs.

"Charlie's baseball bat," Megan filled in. She reached for it.

"Don't touch it," Carolyn said. "They'll need to dust it for prints."

"What?" Hazel said. "Fingerprints? What are you talking about?"

Carolyn took a long, ragged breath. "Ellen killed him," she said calmly. "We have to call the police."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

Ellen killed him.

There was a long silence as everyone processed that.

Then Sylvia said, "Charlie's going to be home soon."

"Oh my G.o.d." Megan stared at the others. "What are we going to do?"

"We have to tell the police," Carolyn said.

"No! No, please," Ellen begged. She could barely speak. Her eyes were red and swollen and her face was wet with tears. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to-"

"Besides, this is our fault." Sylvia looked at each one of them in turn. "If we hadn't planned the prank, this never would have happened. We can't let Ellen take all the blame."

"But what's he doing here?" Megan cried, pointing toward Brandon's body. "How'd he get in?"

"He must have let himself in through the study door," Sylvia said. "Ellen, did he know you were going to sit Charlie?"

Ellen shook her head. "I...I didn't tell him." Her eyes widened as she looked at the group. "How did he know? Which one of you told him?"

No one spoke.

Sylvia took a deep breath, exhaling. She stood up straight and raised her chin, rea.s.serting her command. "Okay. We are not going to the police with this."

Everyone looked at her in shock.

"We all had a hand in this. We're all guilty," Sylvia said.

"It was an accident," Hazel argued.

"No, it wasn't," Carolyn said. "Someone told Brandon to come here."

"Who?" Ellen bellowed. "Who did this?"

"Shut up," Sylvia snapped. "We were all in on the prank. We're all involved now." She paused. "Don't you see? Even if it was an accident, they can still send us to jail-all of us-for manslaughter."

Hazel stared at the others. She found a look of horror on each of their faces-an expression that must have reflected her own.

"I can't let that happen," Sylvia decided. "I'll take care of this." She whipped out her cell phone and dialed.

"Sylvia, that's ridiculous." Megan grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"

Sylvia stared at her coolly. "Let go of my hand," she said in an almost conversational tone. "You go head off Charlie. Pick him up at the movie, take him to the diner, and wait till we call you." She looked at Hazel. "Get Ellen out of here. Get her something to drink."

Hazel put her arm around Ellen, supporting her. "Come on," she said gently.

Ellen rose with her, lurching forward. Together they shuffled into the kitchen. On the way, Hazel glanced at the walls, the bookshelves, the gray carpet-a photograph of Charlie and his parents.

Everything felt close and foreign, as if all these strange objects might just collapse in and suffocate them.

In the kitchen, Ellen leaned her back against the counter. She ripped at her cuticle. Blood pooled around the moon of her thumbnail.

Hazel sat down beside her. She gave Ellen a gla.s.s or two of wine. Then Hazel switched her to water.

After a while, Carolyn peeked in on them from the doorway. She had a bedsheet clutched in her hands. "What is that for?" Ellen asked, her voice taut with grief.

"Don't worry about it. It's going to be all right," Carolyn said gently, as if Ellen had a terrible disease. She disappeared into the study again.

Ellen looked at Hazel and sobbed, "Why was he here?"

"I don't know, El."

They sat on the floor. Hazel had no idea how much time pa.s.sed. She heard noises, then talking. There were sounds in the backyard. She got up to see what was happening.

Sylvia came out of the study, blocking her way.

"What's going on?" Hazel asked.

"Go back into the kitchen. Don't leave Ellen alone," Sylvia said firmly.

"But-"

"Do it," Sylvia ordered her.

After a while, Carolyn called them into the living room. "I'm going to drive you home now," she told Ellen.

"But..." Hazel couldn't say what she was thinking. What about Brandon?

Carolyn wiped her forehead. She was sweating. "Josh was here. He and Sylvia took Brandon away. I'm going to handle Charlie tonight. That's all you need to know."

"What?" Hazel said as Ellen stirred beside her. They both stared at Carolyn as if she were speaking a foreign language.

"Brandon is gone. I'm taking the baseball bat and burning it. We're going to get another one. It's going to be all right."

"But...it's just a prank," Ellen cried. "He's really alive and we're all going to laugh over this later, right?"

"No," Carolyn replied firmly. "It's not a prank. He's dead."

Ellen let out a loud wail. Carolyn knelt beside her and caught her chin in her hand. "Ellen, listen to me. Listen. We can't tell anyone about this. We have to stay silent. PLDs hang tough. We hang together. Got it?"

Ellen sobbed, then she hiccupped a few times and took a ragged breath. "Where...where is he?"

"I don't know," Carolyn answered. "Sylvia and Josh took him away."

From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Subject: Surprise, surprise!

I told him to be there. I knew what would happen. You killed him, but I made it so. I'm just warming up. One of you is next.

On Monday, Megan, Hazel, and Ellen met early in the school parking lot. Ellen looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"I talked to Sylvia," Megan said.

"Oh G.o.d. Where's she been?" Ellen asked.

"I don't know. She started to say something like, 'I'm sorry,' but then she caught herself and she said, 'I'm so tired.' Which didn't make any sense in our conversation."

Ellen looked stricken. She glanced from Megan to Hazel.

"Maybe she's just stressed," Hazel suggested.

"Maybe," Megan agreed.

Ellen cleared her throat. "What about Carolyn?"

"She would barely speak to me. Maybe saying anything over the phone freaked her out." Megan touched Ellen's shoulder. "Be careful what you say today, El. Stay calm."

Ellen said, "I should go home. I'm not going to be able to handle being here."

"I'm here," Hazel told her.