what?”
“Somebody was murdered near the school last night!”
“ What ?” The shock was softened by the relief that it hadn’t had anything to do with her…incident.
“Yeah, it was all over the news this morning.”
Nora sat down hard. “You know I don’t watch TV in the mornings. It happened by the school ?”
“Yeah, which is why I was calling you all last night!” Stacy’s dad was a news anchor. It gave her an inside scoop on anything that happened in town. “We couldn’t figure out why you were missing last block yesterday, and none of my calls got through, so when daddy told me what happened, I got scared, because, well…you never know what might happen.”
“Wait, so what happened exactly?”
“Some guy was murdered here yesterday,” Molly offered.
“Like here , here?” Nora asked.
“Here, here,” Molly continued. “It happened over by the movie theater.”
“Seriously?” Her thoughts turned immediately to Hunter’s absence. Was he all right?
“And, it gets even weirder. Turns out, the guy who got killed was a hitman from Portland.”
“A hitman?” Relief flooded her system, surely that had nothing to do with Hunter. The news did, however, peak her interest. Things like this never happened in this town.
“That’s what the police say.”
“What was a hitman doing here, anyway? And if he was the one who got killed, he had it coming, no?”
“No, you don’t get it!” Molly jumped in.
“Don’t get what? Can someone just tell me the full story?” She looked back and forth between her friends. She had entirely too much on her mind to follow their disjointed version of events, and her patience was wearing thin. “Stacy?”
“Okay, so it goes like this.” Stacy fidgeted in her seat. “A fight broke out in the theater last night, which is unusual by itself, since not many of those happen here.” She paused for a minute, obviously waiting for a reaction. When she didn’t get one, she huffed out a breath and kept going. “Apparently, the hitman was involved in the fight. The two men took it outside, so nobody paid it much mind. They were afraid to interfere, from what I heard. Anyway, that’s not the most important bit.”
“Well, what is?” Nora prompted.
“They found the guy later, the hitman, lying out in the back with all his blood drained out of him .”
“Wait, what?” Nora was, for the first time in this whole conversation, completely taken aback.
“That’s why the news is so big,” Kelly explained.
“The guy had two gaping holes in his neck.” Stacy shivered. “Right beside each other. The cops say they looked like bite marks .”
“Bite marks?” Nora laughed nervously. “What, like a vampire or something?”
“I know, right? It sounds like something out of one of those horror books,” Stacy said, “but it’s true . The police say the guy got knocked out in the fight, and they’re not blaming the other combatant for the death, but they’re trying to find and question him anyway.”
“Wait, so the other guy got away?”
“For now, but that’s not the real important part.”
“Then what is…?” One guy was dead and the one he’d been fighting with had disappeared, and that wasn’t important?
“The police issued an animal warning.”
Nora’s eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “An animal warning?”
“Yes. They say the guy got knocked out in the fight, and when he was unconscious outside on the ground, an animal killed him.”
“An animal sucked his blood?” Nora said, skeptical.
“Yup, that’s what they say.”
“What kind of an animal could do that?”
Stacy shrugged. “They don’t know. My dad told me they called in specialists from Portland, agents from the CIA and FBI, different scientists, zoologists, and those morgue guys to try and figure it out.”
“So then if it’s all taken care of,” Nora said, thinking, “and there’s no like…hitman or serial killer on the loose, why were you so
“Somebody was murdered near the school last night!”
“ What ?” The shock was softened by the relief that it hadn’t had anything to do with her…incident.
“Yeah, it was all over the news this morning.”
Nora sat down hard. “You know I don’t watch TV in the mornings. It happened by the school ?”
“Yeah, which is why I was calling you all last night!” Stacy’s dad was a news anchor. It gave her an inside scoop on anything that happened in town. “We couldn’t figure out why you were missing last block yesterday, and none of my calls got through, so when daddy told me what happened, I got scared, because, well…you never know what might happen.”
“Wait, so what happened exactly?”
“Some guy was murdered here yesterday,” Molly offered.
“Like here , here?” Nora asked.
“Here, here,” Molly continued. “It happened over by the movie theater.”
“Seriously?” Her thoughts turned immediately to Hunter’s absence. Was he all right?
“And, it gets even weirder. Turns out, the guy who got killed was a hitman from Portland.”
“A hitman?” Relief flooded her system, surely that had nothing to do with Hunter. The news did, however, peak her interest. Things like this never happened in this town.
“That’s what the police say.”
“What was a hitman doing here, anyway? And if he was the one who got killed, he had it coming, no?”
“No, you don’t get it!” Molly jumped in.
“Don’t get what? Can someone just tell me the full story?” She looked back and forth between her friends. She had entirely too much on her mind to follow their disjointed version of events, and her patience was wearing thin. “Stacy?”
“Okay, so it goes like this.” Stacy fidgeted in her seat. “A fight broke out in the theater last night, which is unusual by itself, since not many of those happen here.” She paused for a minute, obviously waiting for a reaction. When she didn’t get one, she huffed out a breath and kept going. “Apparently, the hitman was involved in the fight. The two men took it outside, so nobody paid it much mind. They were afraid to interfere, from what I heard. Anyway, that’s not the most important bit.”
“Well, what is?” Nora prompted.
“They found the guy later, the hitman, lying out in the back with all his blood drained out of him .”
“Wait, what?” Nora was, for the first time in this whole conversation, completely taken aback.
“That’s why the news is so big,” Kelly explained.
“The guy had two gaping holes in his neck.” Stacy shivered. “Right beside each other. The cops say they looked like bite marks .”
“Bite marks?” Nora laughed nervously. “What, like a vampire or something?”
“I know, right? It sounds like something out of one of those horror books,” Stacy said, “but it’s true . The police say the guy got knocked out in the fight, and they’re not blaming the other combatant for the death, but they’re trying to find and question him anyway.”
“Wait, so the other guy got away?”
“For now, but that’s not the real important part.”
“Then what is…?” One guy was dead and the one he’d been fighting with had disappeared, and that wasn’t important?
“The police issued an animal warning.”
Nora’s eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “An animal warning?”
“Yes. They say the guy got knocked out in the fight, and when he was unconscious outside on the ground, an animal killed him.”
“An animal sucked his blood?” Nora said, skeptical.
“Yup, that’s what they say.”
“What kind of an animal could do that?”
Stacy shrugged. “They don’t know. My dad told me they called in specialists from Portland, agents from the CIA and FBI, different scientists, zoologists, and those morgue guys to try and figure it out.”
“So then if it’s all taken care of,” Nora said, thinking, “and there’s no like…hitman or serial killer on the loose, why were you so
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