Those stupid messages seriously had me worried- worried enough to make me shut down the computer and wait for RJ to come out of the shower. I wanted to try confronting her again about the computer. Maybe I could find out where she first purchased it and ask them to repair it. While there, I could also ask them to help me find the block feature on LlamaMessaging. This was definitely a lesson in reading the Install files before downloading a messaging client.
I must have heard the water running for ages. Late night turned into early morning and RJ was still in the bathroom. There is no way a shower could take as long as RJ was taking, but her reluctance to come out wasn't the first odd thing to happen to me and I knew it wouldn't be the last.
It was around two am when I gave up and headed to my bedroom. RJ could find the couch for herself, after all she had let herself into the house.
Remembering how easily not one, but two people had let themselves into my house made me shudder under the covers. I was actually starting to miss Bridgeport. There, at least I was certain no one could make it past my deadbolt system. There I knew the way things worked and how to spot when things went wrong. It was unsettling how uneasy I felt in this small town. I didn't know the way things worked here, and I definitely didn't know the people.
It was a scary thought, and unfortunately it was the last thought I had before my eyelids began to droop. Right as I was falling asleep, I could have sworn I heard the water stop running and the door open, but by then I was already on my way to dreamland.
I had a feeling RJ would be awake before I was, and I was right. After shaking off the last bits of sleep, I checked the house for RJ and couldn't find her. I did, however, find some of her things, which let me know she would be back.
I had a lot to do, including finishing unpacking and registering at City Hall. Instead of being the responsible adult and finish my chores, I chose to be lazy. I went through a lot in the day or so I've spent in Riverview, and it definitely wouldn't hurt to take a day to myself to get acclimated without my new 'friends' freaking me out.
I settled down in front of the computer. I knew it probably wasn't the best choice, but if I avoided the instant messenger I thought I would be fine. After all, you can't get messages when you aren't signed in
I was on page three of a site that had funny pictures of cats with witty captions when my offline theory was proven wrong.
premed_murder: 8 little monkeys jumping on a bed...
“How?” I whispered to myself, doubling checking that yes- I had never signed into my instant messenger.
premed_murder: 1 fell off and broke her head...
premed_murder is typing....
premed_murder: it's too late....i tried 2 warn u..
I wanted to slam the laptop closed and throw it out the window. I heard something that stopped me, though. It was a faint noise, a quiet weeee wooo that made me turn from the computer screen and listen carefully.
The noise got louder, a blaring siren. Then it hit me- a siren! A fire truck's siren! Just as the realization dawned on me, the fire truck sped past my house, it's lights flashing and siren blaring.
My heart dropped into my stomach. I had a terrible feeling about this. I turned back to the screen and saw that new words had appeared.
premed_murder: better hurry if ur gonna catch it.
At that, I sprang into action. I jumped up hard enough to send the chair flying to the floor. I was still in my pajamas, but I had no time to change. I slipped into some sneakers, not even bothering with the laces, and sped out the door.
I had a lot of running to do, but the siren wasn't out of my hearing range so I still had a chance. I kicked into gear, pushing myself to run faster than I had ever run before. I turned a sharp corner and saw RJ walking down the street with an arm full of groceries.
I wanted to stop and talk to her, but I didn't want to lose the siren. I knew if I did, I would miss a chance at figuring out who was sending me odd messages and exactly what they meant.
As I sped past her, I could hear her shouting at me. Things like “Hey!” and “Where the hell are you going!?” But soon her voice faded away and the siren grew louder.
I didn't know my way around town, but thanks to Sammie's tour I at least had a vague idea of where I was and where I was going.
I looked up into the sky and saw clouds of black smoke. My lungs ached and my chest burned, but I was so close. There was no way I was going to stop now.
The houses blurred past me. I made another turn, nearly sending myself crashing to the gravel, and came face to face with the blazing building I had been chasing down.
I stopped and doubled over, taking in huge breaths filled with black smoke. I felt weak all of a sudden, and somewhat foolish. What had I been thinking, chasing down a fire truck? All because of a message on a screen.
A message that sent when I shouldn't have even gotten messages at all.
Shaking, I looked up. Firemen were trying to contain the fire the best they could, but I knew the house would not survive the blaze. There were too many flames. Walls were turning black and crumbling right before my eyes.
I took a few steps closer, wanting to see but at the same time wanting to stay out of the way. I watched as a fireman ran out of the door with a girl close behind. She seemed alright, coughing a lot and a little shaken but at least she was still alive.
The fireman pulled her to the side so she could be examined by a medical team. That gave me a much better view of her, and what I saw caused me to gasp and stagger backwards.
Julia!
Julia was one of the girls I had met the night before, one of Sammie's friends. I didn't know a lot about her, but I did remember her as the girl who brought up RJ. RJ, who everyone hated. RJ, who Sammie thought was a killer.
Was this fire an accident?
Suddenly, I didn't want to be anywhere near the fire. Despite my protesting lungs and my aching legs, I turned around and sped back the way I came. I heard more sirens as perhaps another engine pulled up to Julia's house, but I didn't turn around to check. I kept moving forward, wanting to be home and feel some tiny piece of safety.
It took me a lot longer to get to the house then it had to get to the engine, but once I was inside I felt a little relieved.
I laid down on the couch and closed my eyes, willing this whole experience to be a bad dream.
“You're still asleep.” I told myself. “You haven't woken up yet.”
“Oh yeah?” A voice answered me, making me snap my eyes open.
RJ emerged from the kitchen, a glass of what I presumed to be coffee clutched in her perfectly manicured hands. “And people think I'm crazy...” She laughed and shook her head.
I sat up so quick I got dizzy and rounded on her. “Where were you this morning?”
RJ scrunched her face up. “What the hell are you talking about?”
My eyes narrowed. “You know, this morning, when Julia's house was burning down!? Where were you?!”
RJ's jaw dropped a little, and she looked genuinely shocked. “Julia's house-? Oh. Oh shit.”
One hand left the coffee mug to press against her forehead. Then she dropped her hand abruptly and turned to me.
“And you think- you think I did it!?”
I nodded, not saying anything.
RJ looked like she was going to go off on me, but then stopped and sighed. “Of course. Look at who you've been hanging out with since you got here. Of course you would think I did it.”
She walked back into our kitchen and I followed her.
She set the coffee on the counter and took a minute to gather herself. I backed off a little, giving her some space, but my eyes didn't stop their accusing gaze.
“For your information, this morning I was out buying groceries. You were understocked. They cut my credit card off, so I didn't get much.” She waved her hand toward the fridge. I raised an eyebrow.
“Can anyone at the store verify this?”
“You have got to be kidding!” RJ's voice sounded desperate. “You have no idea what you're getting into, asking me for information and acting like the cops.”
I crossed my arms. “Maybe we should be talking to the cops, RJ. You have any idea what those girls say about you?”
RJ looked like she was going to cry, and nodded. “Yes. I do, I know what they say. I know exactly what everyone says about me.”
Finally, I backed down. I didn't want to push the girl to tears. I stepped back and rubbed my temples, thinking.
“RJ, there's a lot of strange things that have been happening. People just walk into the house like I've never locked the door, weird messages online, weird people saying things- Julia's house has burned down!” I looked away. “I have no idea what is going on here. I feel like I've stepped into the Twilight zone. I just want to know what's happening.”
RJ stepped beside me and shook her head. “There are a lot of secrets in this town.”
“That's not the first time I've heard that.” I grumbled.
“Well, it's true.” I watched RJ walk to the couch and sit down, her back to me as she spoke. “Sometimes, the less secrets you keep, the safer you are. If I tell you the truth about me, and what they say, you could be in danger.”
I moved to sit beside RJ, but even once I had sat down she still looked away.
“I think I already am in danger.” That did it, her head snapped back to face me and her eyes were wide. I continued speaking.
“RJ, I think we all are. Something weird is going on, and it definitely has something to do with you. Remember what I said before? About how I don't know your past? The only thing I have to go by is what I'm told, and if you want someone to know the truth then you have to tell it to them. I can't believe what I never hear in the first place.”
She was crying now. She made no noise but tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Fine.” She whispered after a moment, sniffling quietly. “Fine.”
It took RJ a few minutes to gather herself. She asked that once she start speaking, I not stop her, and I agreed to let her tell her story without interruptions.
“It began about a year ago. Me, Sammie, Skip, Julia, Emma, Cait, Orange, and a girl named Selena were like the best of friends. We pretty much ran this town. We were the queens of gossip and knew everything about everybody.
We started to fight, though. Just minor things here and there, but one of the group took the fights way too seriously.
Then, it got bad. Selena started a fight about something trivial, but she would just not back down. Finally, I told her to shut up or we would make her shut up. It was an empty threat, none of us ever resorted to physical violence.
Of course, when Selena....when she turned up dead a week later, it didn't look like such an empty threat. I swear I didn't kill her! Before this whole thing, my record was clean- which is more than I can say for some of the group.
I was put on trial, and sent to a....uh...an institution, instead of prison. They thought I was a skitso or something, since I couldn't remember how I killed her. I couldn't remember because I didn't do it, but that's not the picture they painted of me. I got out a few months before you got here.”
She took a long breath. I thought she was done, but she continued.
“I take anxiety medicine to help cope with some of the effects of the scandal. But, I swear, I didn't kill her. My past is squeaky clean, I didn't lay a finger on her. I just..can't change what people believe. That group- those girls, they still run the town. People believe that they say, and they keep their own dark secrets to themselves. And once your apart of them, they know your secrets too. I used to think if I kept their secrets, they would keep mine, but one wrong move...”
More tears came. RJ pressed her knees to her chest and took sobbing breaths. I waited for her to calm down before I spoke to her.
“RJ, I believe you.”
Her eyes lit up and the tears stopped. Then, suddenly, she whipped her head around as if checking for someone else in the house. Satisfied we were alone, she turned back to me.
In a hushed whisper, she uttered five words that sent chills down my spine.
“I can't...I can't tell you, but..I know who killed her.”
I wanted to ask her who, to pressure her for answers, but when I opened my mouth my cellphone ringtone blasted from my pocket.
I pulled out my phone to hit ignore when I saw Cait's name flashing across the screen. I didn't recall ever giving her my number.
RJ stared at me with eyes red from crying.
“It's Cait.” I said. “Should I answer it?”
She nodded. “Don't ever ignore calls from them.”
As I hit the talk button, I realized how genuinely afraid of those girls RJ was. The flicker of panic in her eyes was obvious to anyone who was looking for it. RJ was really, truly terrified of this group of girls. After all she had been through, though, I kind of understood why she would be.
“Are you even listening to me?! Hellloooo?” Cait's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. Bad reception. Repeat it please?” I refocused on the phone conversation so I wouldn't miss a word.
“I said, we're all going to the Red Rendezvous for a drink. Orange is treating. We'll see you there at 7.”
I rarely drank at all, hating putting anything in my body that could hinder my judgment. I found myself nodding, though. I didn't think it was a question.
“Yeah, seven.”
Cait repeated the information back to me. Red Rendezvous, seven o clock. Then her voice beeped out and the phone disconnected.
I glanced at RJ. “They want me to be at the Red Rendezvous at seven.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes. “You have to go, you're already knee-deep into this mess. If you have any chance of getting out, you have to play their game.”
She forced herself to relax then headed for the bedroom. Again, I felt the urge to pressure her about who killed Selena, but something told me I wouldn't get any answers. If I was being virtually harassed just for talking to RJ, I wondered what kind of threats RJ herself was getting.
I resolved to find out later, and changed for my outing.
Everyone was already there when I arrived at Red's. Together, the group took up the entire bar. They were actively chatting until I sat down, then every gaze turned to me. I shook off the odd feeling it gave me and ordered a Frozen Strawberry Margarita. A little something to calm my nerves.
“How's Julia?” I asked once my drink was in my hand.
“She's fine.” Sammie spoke up. “She's staying with me. A little shook up, but okay.”
I nodded. “That's good.”
“She needs to watch herself.” Skip spoke up, then gave a half smile. “I mean, I'd hate to see Sammie's house burned down too.”
I swirled my straw in my glass. “So, you think it was an accident?”
Orange turned to me, her eyebrows raised. “And you don't?”
“I don't want to rule out the possibility...” I had to be careful about how I spoke about Julia's fire. I knew the wrong thing could get me in so much trouble.
Cait, still in her firefighter uniform, slammed her hands on the bar. “Don't be stupid, Cheyanne. Of course it was an accident. Julia's a moron.”
“Of course.” I nodded again. “Yeah, I mean, of course it was an accident. I'm sorry, I'm not a firefighter. I don't know these things...Thanks for clarifying.”
The air was thick with tension. I'm not sure it was evident to anyone else, but I felt it. I cleared my throat.
“Is there a lady's room in here?” The way the girls were looking at me, even sweet Sammie and shy Emma, made me want to get away.
“It's upstairs.” Orange answered.
I mumbled my thanks and headed up the front stairway.
There was no bathroom. The upstairs room of Red Rendezvous was just empty. Floors and wallpaper, but nothing else.
Well, one thing else. There was another person upstairs, a thuggish looking guy with a ton of tattoos. He reminded me of the bartender from the last visit, so I assumed he was an employee. I assumed wrong.
“Excuse me, do you know where-”
He turned on me, his eyes narrowed. “The bank. On fifth. That's where.”
I scrunched up my face. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I can't believe they sent you. Look at you- skinny chick with glasses can't pull of this job. You don't even know where the hell you're supposed to be. Dumb bitch.”
“Hey!” I started yelling right back at him. “I have no idea who the hell you are, but how dare you!”
Then, suddenly, the man eyed me up and down. “You don't know who I am? You a freezer bunny?”
“I just want the bathroom!” I threw my hands up, glaring at him.
“Oh. Aw Hell.” He formed a fist and pushed himself against me. “Listen, you better not tell anyone about this. You hear me? I will find you. I will find you and I will kill you.”
Suddenly, it clicked in my mind. Fear surged through my veins. I began backing up. “P-p-please.”
“I swear. I will kill you and everyone you've ever known. It'll be your fingerprints on their hands. Keep your mouth shut.”
I turned before he could finish and bolted down the stairs. I didn't know whether to go back to the group or to go home.
I decided that leaving the girls without an excuse would get me into even more trouble. Despite my mind screaming at me to leave, I took my place at the bar.
“There's no bathroom upstairs.” I told Orange as I slid back to my stool.
“Cait got buzzed.” Emma said, cocking her head towards Cait's empty seat. I hadn't even noticed she was gone.
“As in- drunk?” I asked, picking up my own drink and taking a huge gulp.
Emma laughed and shook her head. “Her beeper went off. She had to go save the day.”
Another fire? My hands were still shaking. I took several more big gulps of my drink.
“Are you okay? You don't look so good.” Sammie leaned across the bar and looked at me. I shook my head and finished off my margarita.
“I'm feeling a little...faint.” It was true. After my run in with the criminal upstairs I wasn't feeling too good. “I'm going to step outside for a little bit.”
Before anyone could protest, I put a few bucks on the counter as a tip for the bartender and headed out for a much-needed breath of fresh air. I was faintly aware of Sammie following me, but there was something else. As I exited Red's, I knew someone was definitely following me but I didn't want to look.
I jumped into the air when Sammie put her hand on my arm.
“Woah- easy. It's okay.” Sammie said. I relaxed instantly at her voice. At least it was her and not someone else.
“It really was an accident, you know. Julia's a little clumsy.” Sammie tried comforting me, but bringing that up did not help.
“Y-yeah.” I mumbled. “I just...didn't know that. I don't know much about any of you.”
Sammie froze at this. I hated seeing her freeze up, it made me feel like I'd crossed some invisible line.
“Well...” Sammie looked around the way RJ had earlier. I knew what was coming. More secrets. The more secrets you know, the less safe you are..
“I suppose I can tell you a bit about some of us.”
I forced myself to smile. “I'd like that.”
Sammie straightened up, obviously thinking hard.
“Alright, I'll tell you a bit about Cait. That should make her easier to deal with. I know she's got a bit of a temper, always one to step in on arguments. Or create them.”
I smiled more, but inside I was wondering if Cait had anything to do with Selena.
Sammie continued. “So, uh. She can..snap sometimes. Her bark is worse than her bite. She used to be in a relationship with this guy, and things got really bad.”
“Was he abusive?” I asked, having my own experiences in that department.
Sammie winced. “Well, no. Not him. She used to take a lot of things out on him. He pressed charges against her and she's doing community service at the Fire Department.”
My jaw dropped. “No way!”
Sammie nodded. “Yes. BUT! Please don't think badly of her. That's why I told you this, so you won't think badly of her. She is so disciplined now, and so nice. She has a great outlet to vent her frustration.”
Sammie gave a huge smile. “It's just, sometimes it's still a little hard for her to deal with her anger. I don't want you to dislike her for her past.”
Before I could stop myself, I said something I wished I hadn't. “You guys hate RJ for her past.”
Sammie gasped, but recovered quickly. “Cheyanne, I don't know if she's told you, but she killed somebody. Cait's had it rough, but she's never killed anyone. Who deserves a support system more, someone going through hard times or a murderer? Cait's a fantastic girl. RJ is just crazy.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. I didn't want to make things harder on myelf. “Yeah, you're definitely right.” I heard myself say. “Cait does seem super nice. I know she doesn't mean it when she snaps.”
Sammie clapped me on the back. “That's a girl!”
I smiled again. “Anyway, Sammie, I have some writing to do, will you tell the girls I'm sorry? I'd love to stay, but I really have to go. I wasn't even going to come in the first place, but you guys are starting to become like family.”
Sammie frowned, but said she would tell them, then headed back inside.
I let out a huge breath I wasn't even aware I was holding and flopped down on the bench next to Red's. Before I had time to get up, I was joined by Orange.
I stilled as I felt her slid into place next to me.
“Don't cause trouble.” She warned.
I rubbed my palms against my pants. “I won't.”
Orange gazed into the distance before turning back to me. “Sammie told you about Cait.”
“She did.”
“Why do you want to know about us?” Orange didn't sound angry, which relieved me greatly.
“Because I want to be friends.” I didn't know if at this point it was a lie or not. “I want to know about my friends. I really don't know you guys that much. For example, why do they call you Orange?”
Good transition, I inwardly applauded myself. Get her off of the subject of me making trouble.
Orange thought for a minute before apparently deciding that the change of subject was okay. “They call me Orange because I used to be really sick. I had jaundice. Turned my skin orange. I had liver problems when I first came here.”
My eyes widened. “I'm so sorry.”
Orange shook her head. “Don't be. The girls helped me through my tough time, and I'm going to make absolutely sure no one messes with them.”
Orange stood up and brushed herself off. “You need to head home now.”
It wasn't a question, and I agreed. I did need to head home, I was too tired of all this strangeness.
It wasn't over yet, though. When I got home, I was almost in the door when I stumbled. I looked down and saw a small pouch sitting on the doorstop. Maybe it was RJ's. I picked it up and quickly dropped it. The bottom of the bag was all wet and smelled terrible.
I didn't care who's it was, I didn't want it in my house. I kicked it off of the porch and headed inside. The odd smell didn't go away, though. It seemed to get stronger. I sniffed the air and deduced that the smell was coming from the kitchen.
“RJ, did you burn something?” I called out. RJ didn't answer. She must not have been home. I headed to the kitchen to check the damage and found another small bag sitting on the counter top.
There was a small note pinned to it. Remember, don't tell anyone.
I opened the bag and gagged. Inside was a piece of meat that must have gone bad years ago. I dumped everything in the trash and covered it to kill the smell. I didn't need a reminder to not tell anyone, I certainly wouldn't.
I was too exhausted to go to bed. I would let RJ take the bed for the night, deciding to instead crash on the couch. The world around me turned dark as I drifted off to sleep...
And was rudely awakened by my cellphone. I rolled off the couch in my startled state, crashing painfully to the floor.
“Does it never end!?!” I yelled out to no one.
I fumbled around for the phone, hitting talk and jamming it against my ear. “What do you want?!”
“Miss Zorrilla?” A deep male voice asked me. “It's Sergeant Ross from the police station. We have reason to believe you are connected with a bank robbery that happened this morning, and we'd like to ask you a couple of questions.”
My head spun. This morning? What time was it? I squinted around for the clock- 1pm? I'd overslept! And- wait, bank robbery?
After a chat with Sergeant Ross, I ended up down at the police station.
I was escorted into the interrogation room. The walls were dark and cold. I wasn't under arrest, so it wasn't too bad, but I still hated it. I was started to think that the uneasy feeling I had over the past few days wasn't attached to incidents, but to Riverview itself. It definitely was not the quiet town it advertised itself to be.
“I need you to tell me everything you know about The Main Street Bank on fifth. It was robbed today and we have reason to believe you're an accomplice to the robbery.”
I leaned back into my seat. “I have no idea what you're talking about. I just moved here. I can't even find my way to the Bank without assistance.”
We began to go back and forth. The officer questioned me and I answered. I pleaded my case five or six times, getting more exasperated each time I had to reiterate that I was not affiliated with any gang and I had not robbed a bank.
He walked me out of the room and led me to a holding area. I instantly recognized the gang member from yesterday.
“This man says he spoke to you about the robbery. He says you were at Red Rendezvous yesterday where you coordinated the crime.”
If I spoke about the meeting, they would have me for sure. I had to do something I've never done before. Lie to the police.
“I have no idea what you're talking about. I have never seen this man before in my life.” I said, my heart suddenly pounding with anxiety.
“Do you have anyone who can verify your whereabouts?”
I remembered RJ telling me before that the girls would keep your secrets if you kept theirs. I had something on them now. Something I could use.
“Yes. I was having drinks with Sammie, Emma, Cait- who later left to go on call for a fire job, Skip, and Orange Plumbob. We were at Red Rendezvous but I never left the girls. They can verify this for you.” I prayed to whatever God there was that these girls would keep my secret. I knew that with that one statement, no matter how hard I was trying to figure things out, I had thrown myself head first into deep, dangerous waters. Now they would have something on me. Now things would get tricky.
Before the officer could question me further, his walkie talkie went off.
“We have a-bzzzz-a code one eighty seven. Victim Julia Simma found dead near her home on Ave Q. Requesting back-up officers-bzzzz-all backup officers.”
The officer played with his radio for a moment before turning to me. “You got lucky this time. I need to respond to this. I hope you can find your way home from here, Miss Zorrilla.”
He escorted me as far to the door before taking off for his patrol car.
I hovered my hand against the door knob, ready to leave. Victim Julia Simma...Julia. A hard lump formed in my throat. I didn't have time for secrets anymore. I had no time to tell anyone anything or to get me out of this situation. Julia...a victim. Oh, no.
Already knowing the answer, I turned toward the closest secretary. “Excuse me, Miss, what is a code one eighty seven?”
The secretary looked shocked. “Where did you hear that? One Eighty Seven is the code we use for murder.”
