The Prom Queen Read Online Free PDF Page B

hands started to shake even more now. She lifted them to cover her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that I’m so scared.”
    I knew what to do when kids started crying or acting scared. I could usually joke them out of it, or hug them, or whatever, till they felt better. Whenever Rachel got really down, for instance, I always used to say, “Your feet stink.” It was so stupid that it made her laugh every time.
    When adults freaked out, I was totally at a loss though. Obviously I couldn’t tell Mrs. Perry that her feet stank.
    I just stood there helplessly as Mrs. Perry began to cry. Luckily Mr. Perry came into the kitchen at that moment. He quickly put his arms around his wife.
    â€œSimone’s going to be fine,” he whispered to her.
    â€œNo, she won’t,” she sobbed.
    Mr. Perry tightened his grip around her. “Whoever kidnapped her only wants money. We’ll give him whatever he wants, and that’ll be the end of it.”
    I could tell he didn’t really believe it. What kind of kidnapper left a puddle of the victim’s blood all over the floor?
    A killer, that’s who.
    Like the guy who had killed that girl, Stacy, who was found in the Fear Street woods.
    Mr. Perry tried to smile reassuringly at me over his wife’s shoulder, but his face was very drawn. There were big, dark bags under his eyes, like a raccoon’s circles. “Please just tell everyone the police will be here any minute.”
    I headed back into the living room.
    All the kids stared at me when I went into the room, as if they were hoping I might be Simone.
    I shrugged. “They say the cops’ll be here any minute.”
    As if on cue the doorbell rang.
    Two police officers were standing on the frontporch. Mr. Perry hurried in from the kitchen. His face lit up when he saw them. “Any news?” he asked hopefully.
    One of the officers, a tall, lanky guy, shook his head. The other one—a short, dark-haired woman—frowned. Mr. Perry’s face fell.
    He showed them into the living room and introduced them to all of us. Then he said, “I’ll get my wife,” and left.
    â€œI really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us,” Officer Jackson, the tall, lanky one, told the large group. He looked almost as worried as the Perrys.
    â€œDo you really think it’s a kidnapping?” Dawn asked him.
    Officer Jackson shrugged his narrow shoulders.
    I could hear Mrs. Perry blowing her nose in the kitchen.
    â€œWe hope so,” Officer Barnett offered with a tight little smile. “But we also have to be prepared for—”
    â€œFor the worst,” Officer Jackson finished her sentence. “Right now we’ve got several officers out combing the Fear Street woods.”
    We all stared at one another in silent horror. The Fear Street woods, where they had found Stacy. The woods, where— An image flashed in my mind from the TV news: the blue body bag lying in the muddy ravine.
    If there were people in the room who didn’t believe it before, they did now—we’d never see Simone again.
    Rachel caught my eye. It was as if she wanted me to tell her this wasn’t really happening.
    I tried to be reassuring. But as horrified as I had been when Stacy had been found in the woods, it was nothing to what I felt now. This was Simone, someone I had known since kindergarten.
    Mr. and Mrs. Perry were walking toward us, Mrs. Perry carrying a tray of cookies, and Mr. Perry holding a pitcher of milk. Mrs. Perry bit her lip when she saw the police. Mr. Perry took the tray from her and set it down on the coffee table.
    Robbie Barron reached out and took a cookie. Everyone stared at him. How could he eat at a time like this? He bit into the cookie, and in the silence of the room, everyone heard him chomp. He glanced around and saw everyone staring at him. He put the rest of the cookie down.
    Just then the telephone