Chapter 23
“What?” gasped Howie.
“H-How do you know that? I
thought you said he died the same as the others, with the… the… happy face…”
“He did, Mr. Dorough,” said Officer Davidson, “but we know believe
that his murderer was someone other than the real Smiley Face Killer and only
tried to make Mr. McLean’s death look like another serial killing. You see, there have been four other victims
of the Smiley Face Killer. Each of them
were killed by a blow to the head, and a happy face shape was carved into each
of them. But on the other four, the
shape was different than on Mr. McLean.”
“Different? It’s a happy
face; how could it be that different?” Kevin asked.
“The eyes, Mr. Richardson.
On the four victims we believe were killed by the same person, the
Smiley Face Killer, the ‘eyes’ of the face were elongated slashes. On Mr. McLean, they were more rounded
holes. That’s how we know that whoever
did this to Mr. McLean is not the Smiley Face Killer.”
Bianca began to feel queasy picturing what Officer Davidson was
describing. She wished he would let her
leave.
“Couldn’t it just be a copycat though?” Brian asked.
“It could be,” spoke up the FBI Agent, Kennel. “We haven’t ruled that out yet, but because
there has only been one death like Mr. McLean’s and because of Mr. McLean’s
celebrity status, we think it is more likely that someone set out specifically
to kill Mr. McLean and killed him in the Smiley Face Killer’s style to lead the
police astray.”
“How do you find out who killed him then?” asked Kevin.
“Well, that’s why you all are here. We’d like to question you all again in hopes
of finding out something that will lead us to some suspects. So, if you could all wait here, we will take
you one by one for questioning. We’ll
try to be as quick as we can.”
Sighs were heard throughout the room, but the group
cooperated. Anything that would help the
police find out who killed AJ was worth their time.
***
Bianca was last to be questioned, and when she came out of the
tiny office they used for the questioning session, she found that the other
guys and their girlfriends were still there, waiting for her.
“Hey, Bean,” said Howie.
“We were all gonna go back to my place and order a pizza. You wanna come?”
“Yeah, sure, that sounds good,” Bianca replied. She was not very hungry, but she didn’t feel
like going home and being alone quite yet.
So she followed the others out of the police station, and they all got
into their cars and drove to Howie’s house.
***
“I wonder where Bean is,” AJ said for the third time in five
minutes.
“Will you shut up already?” asked Lindy in exasperation.
“She was supposed to get off at five tonight; I saw her schedule,”
AJ said insistently.
“Well, she probably went somewhere else after work. I’m surprised you don’t already know that,
with all your stalking.”
AJ rolled his eyes. “I
don’t stalk her,” he muttered. “I’ve
barely seen her all day.” It was true;
he had managed to stay away from Barnes and Noble the entire day and hang out
around town with Lindy instead. He had
discovered that the more he followed Bianca around, the harder it was for him,
knowing that he was so close to her, yet so far away.
“Good; maybe your pathetic-ness is fading.”
AJ glared at Lindy. “Maybe
not. I’m gonna go find her.”
Before Lindy could say a word, he closed his eyes and concentrated
on the first place that came into his head.
Moments later, he found himself on Howie’s front porch. Looking around, he saw a line of cars parked
around the circular driveway. He
recognized one of them as Bianca’s. Without
a second thought, he slid through the front door and entered the house.
He found everyone sitting in Howie’s kitchen, drinking
coffee. They were all there – Howie,
Kevin, Brian, and Nick; Krystle, Kristin, Leighanne, and Bianca. And now he was there to complete the group,
even if no one knew it.
He walked around the table to where Bianca was sitting and
positioned himself behind her. He leaned
close to her, imagining the sweet scent of her auburn hair. Of course, he could not smell it now. He tried to run his fingers through it, to
feel its silky texture. But of course,
his fingers went through her as if they were made of gas, and he felt
nothing. So close… yet so far…
AJ was startled out of his desolation by an audible gasp from
Brian, who was sitting on the other side of the table between Nick and
Leighanne. Looking at Brian in surprise,
AJ saw that his blue eyes were wide, and he was staring at Bianca. No… not at Bianca… he was staring over her
head. He was staring right at… AJ.
“Brian,” AJ whispered, feeling a surge of hope rush through
him. “Brian, it’s me! Can you see me?”
Brian’s eyes were still fixed on him, yet he looked confused and a
little afraid.
“It’s okay, Brian!” AJ cried.
“It’s okay! I’m an angel, Brian,
I’m not going to hurt you!”
But Brian didn’t seem to be able to hear him, nor recognize
him. He just stared.
“Brian?” said Leighanne in concern. “Brian, what is it? What are you looking at?”
“Brian? Are you okay, Bri?”
asked Bianca.
“Rok, what’s wrong?”
“Frick?”
They all were questioning him now, and one by one, their heads
turned to follow his gaze. They all
looked in AJ’s direction. But none of
them saw whatever Brian was seeing.
Their eyes looked above AJ, to his right, to his left, or straight
through him. They could not see
him. But Brian could. Brian could see something that the
others couldn’t.
“Brian, what is it?” Leighanne asked again, her voice
rising in panic.
“That light,” Brian finally whispered. “That light!
Don’t you see it? It’s right
behind Bianca, right over her head!”
Bianca turned around, looking wildly through and above AJ. She had no idea what was there. “Where?” she demanded. “Where is it?
I don’t see anything.”
“It’s still there!” insisted Brian. “Right there in front of you, Bean!”
“Brian,” Howie said softly, “What light? There’s nothing there.”
“Maybe it’s just a glare,” Nick said helpfully.
“It’s not a glare, Nick, it’s dark out,” Kevin said irritably.
“Well, I don’t see anything.
It must just be your eyes screwing with you, Bri,” Krystle announced,
crossing her arms skeptically in front of her and looking away.
The others still stared in AJ’s general proximity, but they seemed
just as doubtful as Krystle. Only Brian
looked on with continued resolve. Only
Brian knew that something was indeed there.
A light… not actually AJ, but a light.
Still, this light was more than anyone else had seen, and that gave AJ
hope, hope that maybe he could communicate through Brian.
Finally, Brian tore his eyes away.
“Maybe you’re right, Frack,” he said softly, his cheeks growing
pink. “Maybe it was just some kind of
glare.”
It’s not, thought AJ desperately. Don’t
give up on me, Rok. You know there’s
something there; you know it. For a
few minutes, he felt miserable again, thinking that whatever light that
surrounded him had somehow gone away.
But then, when he thought no one was looking, Brian glanced up in
AJ’s direction again. And again, AJ felt
hope.
***
