Chapter 38

 

Bianca tried calling Nick next, but he was not home, and she only got his voicemail when she tried his cell.  She left him a message, saying for him to call her back on her cell phone, gave him the number, and hung up, not wanting to break the news to him in a voicemail message.

 

She tried Brian next, but he was not home either, and the cell phone number she had written down for him didn’t work.

 

“Does Brian have a new cell phone number or something, AJ?”  she asked.  “This one doesn’t work.”

 

“Ohh… I don’t know, maybe.  I don’t think I have it if he does though.”

 

“Oh… I wonder who would.  You think Nick or Howie would?”

 

“Yeah, probably.  I’m sure Nick has it,”  answered AJ.  “I can go over to his house if you want and see if I can find it written down somewhere.”

 

“You’re just going to barge into his house?”

 

“It’s not like he’s going to notice,” AJ laughed.  “He probably has it on speed dial or something anyway.  I’ll just see if I can find it and write it down for you.”

 

“Well… okay…”  Bianca said reluctantly.  She watched as the Gold Mist floated out of the room and disappeared.  She could hear AJ no longer.  She bit her lip, feeling very alone and vulnerable without him.  He had been killed, Krystle had been killed (probably – though it was not yet certain), Howie had almost been killed, and she had been run off the road.  Would the murderer come back to finish her off?

 

She shivered at the thought and hoped AJ would return soon.

 

***

 

AJ arrived at Nick’s house feeling relieved.  He was glad for the opportunity to get out of that hospital and have a chance to think about things alone.  He was very worried, though he had been trying to hide that from Bianca.  He had been murdered wearing her sweatshirt, and then she had been rammed off the road, which seemed to add up to the conclusion that whoever killed him had meant to kill her.  Then Krystle and Howie had been attacked.  Where did that fit into the scheme of things?  Was someone just going to try killing of all of the Backstreet Boys and their girlfriends or wives?  He didn’t know, but he was afraid of the very same thing Bianca was – that the attacker would want to finish the job he started and kill her.

 

With an uneasy sigh, AJ passed through the front door of Nick’s house, in search of Brian’s new cell number.  He tried the kitchen first, solidifying his hands to check the speed dial list on the phone.  No such luck.  He went to Nick’s office and tried the phone there.  Again, nothing.  He wondered if Nick had an address book in one of his desk drawers.  He stared at the desk, debating over whether or not it would be wrong to go looking through Nick’s drawers.  What kind of stuff would he have in there?

 

Hesitantly, he opened the top drawer and looked inside.  There was an address book in there, alright.  It was opened to the P’s, and one entry stood out.  Bianca Parker.  Her address, home number, cell phone number, and email address were listed under her name.  And all of it was circled in red pen.

 

But that was not all.  Lying on top of the address book, covering the part below Bianca’s information, was an envelope, a stamp already on it, something already stuffed inside.  And tucked under the address book, its corner sticking it out, was something that made AJ feel sick to his stomach – even though he couldn’t get sick anymore.

 

It was a sheet of yellow happy face stickers.

 

Suddenly, everything made sense.  Nick hadn’t had a steady girlfriend in years, not since Willa Ford broke his heart.  He had been bitter to Bianca when she had started dating AJ over a year ago and had never warmed up to her.  He had never seemed fond of Krystle either – though no one really was, except Howie.  He had said publicly that things were different in the group now that Kevin and Brian were married.  Some might say he was jealous of the guys’ women for drawing their attention away from him and the group.

 

On the night of AJ’s murder, he was alone in his hotel room.  He could have left with no one knowing and made up a perfect alibi.  No one would know whether or not it was true.

 

His favorite color was green, just like the rental car that had run Bianca off the road.

 

It was quite obvious now – Nick was the killer.

 

***

 

Bianca was relieved when AJ’s Gold Light appeared in the waiting room again about twenty minutes later.

 

“Did you get the number?”  she asked.

 

“What?”  AJ had almost forgotten just why he had gone to Nick’s house in the first place.  “Oh, no.  But Bean, I found out something.”

 

“What?”

 

Her tone was innocent; his was grave.  “Bean, it’s Nick.  Nick’s the killer.”

 

“What?!”

 

And AJ explained everything – the letter lying on top of the address book that was opened to her name, the yellow happy face stickers, the green car, the girlfriend issue, everything.  When he was finished, she was completely silent.

 

“Oh God,”  she said finally.  “It all makes sense, doesn’t it?  How could I have thought it was KEVIN?!”

 

“Maybe that’s why he rented the green car in the first place, to frame Kevin or something.  Or maybe it’s just that he likes green.  I have no idea, Bean, but there’s something seriously wrong with him.”   

 

Again, AJ got that sick feeling.  How could Nick Carter, one of his best friends, his brother, someone he known for ten years, someone he had been through thick and thin with, do this?  Chase Bianca, attack Krystle and Howie, and… kill him?  AJ would have never in a million years thought of Nick being a murderer.

 

Bianca’s cell phone rang then, startling them both.  When she reached into her purse to retrieve it, Bianca’s hands shook so badly she could hardly undo the snap holding the purse closed.  She fumbled around and finally pulled the cell phone out, pulling up the antennae and answering it.

 

“Hello?”  Her voice was shaky and light.

 

“Bianca?”

 

Bianca’s eyes widened in terror.  She recognized the voice immediately.  It was Nick!

 

“It’s him!”  she cried frantically to AJ in her mind.  “It’s Nick!  What do I say?”

“Tell him about Howie.  Don’t let him know you know anything.  Just act normal.”

 

This was a difficult thing to do, but Bianca tried her best.  “Nick?” she asked.

 

“Yeah.  What’s up?”

 

“Um… well… um…”  Bianca shook her head quickly and tried to get a hold of herself.  “It’s Howie,” she said.  “H-he was attacked at his house this morning with a knife!  I’m calling from the hospital.”

 

“Oh my God!” Nick cried with realistic-sounding shock.

 

The kid’s a good actor, Bianca thought darkly.

 

“Which hospital?” Nick asked.

 

Bianca told him, and he promised to be there as soon as he could.  As soon as they hung up, Bianca began to shake again.

 

“He’s coming!” her mind screamed to AJ.  “He’s coming here!  Oh my God, how am I supposed to talk to him?  How am I even supposed to look at him, knowing he’s done this?!”

 

“I don’t know, Bean… just try to act natural.”

 

Bianca nodded.  That’s what Nick was doing to her – acting natural, acting like nothing was wrong, acting like he hadn’t broken into Howie’s home that morning and stabbed him and Krystle.  She had to do the same. 

 

It was a mind game they both were playing.  A dangerous mind game.  If she lost, she could end up dead.

 

Then again, she might end up dead anyway.

 

***

 

 

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