Deadly Attraction (Nightmare Hall) Read online

  Hailey bent to tie the laces on her boots. “Robert Q had motive and opportunity, too, Nell. And Bo had a motive … we just don’t know yet if he had the opportunity.”

  “True. But if Darlene didn’t clue her brother in on who were the bad guys and who were the good guys, he could be madder than both Robert Q and Bo. What do you know about Darlene’s brother?”

  “Mike. His name is Mike. And I don’t know anything except that he got a scholarship to school. So I guess he’s not stupid.”

  “Do Finn or Pete know him?”

  Hailey slapped a navy blue knit cap on her wavy hair. “I don’t know. The subject never came up. I’ll ask, though. In fact, I think I’ll leave a few minutes early and stop by Lester to ask Finn. If he’s not already in class. Catch you later.”

  At Lester Dorm, alive with the frantic sounds of late-risers rushing to get to class, Hailey went directly to the reception desk in the lobby.

  A plaid-shirted boy wearing glasses was manning the desk. He looked like he was asleep. He was leaning back in his chair, hands folded over his lap, eyes closed.

  “Excuse me,” Hailey said. “I’d like to see Finn Conran, please. I don’t know what room he’s in.”

  Without moving, the boy said, “He’s not in any room. No Conran here.”

  “You didn’t even check,” she protested.

  “No need. I know the last name of everyone in this place.” Eyes still closed, he tapped his temple with a forefinger. “Photographic memory. Names, room numbers, it’s all up here. No one named Conran lives in Lester.”

  Pompous jerk! “Look,” Hailey argued, “I’m sure he lives here. Will you please just check?”

  “You probably got the name wrong,” Pompous Jerk replied lazily. “Next time, double-check before the guy tells you good night.”

  Hailey had had it. “Only an idiot would get a name like Finn Conran wrong!” she shrieked.

  His lack of reaction told Hailey he thought she qualified.

  Giving up, she turned in disgust and stomped from the building.

  On her way across the Commons to her ten o’clock class, she ran into Pete. He was dressed in gray sweats and breathing hard, so she knew he’d been jogging or running. It was nice that he and Nell had that in common.

  “Listen,” Hailey asked abruptly, while Pete jogged in place, “doesn’t Finn live at Lester?”

  Pete bent to retie his sneaker. “Sure. Why?”

  Hailey explained about the encounter in Lester’s lobby.

  Pete shrugged. “The guy’s a jerk. Probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

  “Thanks,” Hailey said. “Gotta run to my ten o’clock. See ya.”

  An hour later, as she was coming out of class with Beth Darnell, she remembered that Beth lived at Lester. On an impulse, she asked if Beth had seen Finn that day.

  “Um … no I haven’t. I don’t run into him that often. We only have one class together.”

  Hailey felt her cheeks grow warm. She felt weird talking to someone about Finn. “But you see him every day at Lester, right?”

  Beth frowned. “Gee, I don’t think Finn lives at Lester, Hailey. I’ve never seen him in the building. I figured he lived in a frat house.”

  Confused again, Hailey thanked her and hurried away.

  Beth had seemed every bit as certain that Finn didn’t live at Lester as Pete had that Finn did. If Finn didn’t live at Lester, why had he let her think he did? True, he hadn’t actually said that’s where he lived. But that’s where he’d asked to be dropped off. Or … had she just assumed that’s where he lived, and dropped him off there without asking? She couldn’t remember.

  But if Finn didn’t live at Lester … where did he live?

  Chapter 18

  FINN CALLED LATER THAT day to invite Hailey and Nell to join him and Pete at Duffy’s, a favorite restaurant-bar. Hailey accepted without hesitation, promising to check with Nell and get back to him.

  She’d find out tonight where he lived.

  Nell couldn’t go. “I have a philosophy paper due tomorrow morning. Can’t afford to turn it in late. Tell Pete I’m sorry.”

  But since she wasn’t going, Pete decided to stay home and study.

  “I guess it’s just you and me, kid,” Finn said when she called him back. “Pick me up in front of Lester at six?”

  He wouldn’t have asked her to pick him up there if that wasn’t where he lived, Hailey realized. It made sense that Pete, who knew Finn better than Beth did, would know where Finn lived. That idiot at Lester’s reception desk must have the brains of a turnip. She’d feel like a total fool asking Finn where he lived when he had clearly told her to pick him up at Lester. She wouldn’t even ask.

  Duffy’s wasn’t crowded. The waiter who served Finn and Hailey told them glumly, “Business has been lousy ever since that guy got splattered all over the mall parking lot.”

  Hailey winced.

  The waiter glanced around the normally raucous bar. No one was playing pool. The video games were silent, the photo booths empty. Even the jukebox music seemed subdued. And Hailey noticed that most of the patrons were townspeople, not students. “It’s like everyone’s afraid the guy who hit and ran is hangin’ around in our parking lot,” the waiter added, “waitin’ to cream another victim.”

  He could be, Hailey thought, her eyes scanning the place from wall to wall. He could be anywhere. And he could be … anyone.

  Before Hailey and Finn had a chance to talk, Milo Keith and Ian Banion arrived from Nightingale Hall and, without waiting for an invitation, sat down at Hailey and Finn’s table.

  Hailey had no intention of letting that happen again. She was about to hint sharply that four was definitely a crowd, when Ian began talking about the grim situation on campus.

  “We all heard what happened to you,” Ian told her. “You were really lucky. So, do you think it’s over now? Think the guy’s given up and crawled back into his hole?”

  The feeling of hanging high above the ground, helpless, came over Hailey again. She bit down hard on her lower lip to make the feeling go away. “Why would he hide?” she said irritably. “No one knows who he is. No one seems to have a clue.”

  Ian leaned forward and explained. “But Jess said you thought the reason for all of this stuff was Darlene, right? That someone wanted revenge for the way she’d been treated?”

  Hailey nodded.

  “Well,” Ian said, “hasn’t our resident weirdo finished his self-appointed task? He’s done a number on Robert Q, on Gerrie, Richard, maybe even Susan and Puffy. And Lindsey Kite is miserable, too, because her two best friends are in disgrace. Isn’t that everyone who made Darlene’s life miserable? What we can’t figure out is why you were targeted. You and Nell didn’t stomp on Darlene.”

  “I’m not sure why, either,” Hailey admitted. “Nell and I thought maybe it had something to do with helping Darlene change the way she looked. To please Robert Q. At first, we thought it was Darlene’s ex-boyfriend, but the police say Bo wasn’t around when all this stuff happened. They don’t know where he is.”

  “Well, my point was, isn’t that everyone? I mean, if there’s a list of people at Salem who gave Darlene a hard time or encouraged her to go after Robert Q, there probably isn’t anyone left on that list, is there? So maybe the guy will crawl back into his hole now.”

  “He has to be found!” Hailey cried. “He can’t just disappear. He killed Richard! And he almost killed me!”

  “Take it easy,” Finn said, laying a hand on Hailey’s arm. “At least you and Nell are safe.”

  Suddenly Hailey sat up very straight, her eyes wide with new fear. “Nell!” she cried, surprising her companions.

  “What about her?” Ian asked.

  “If there is a list, Nell might be on it, too. And we … I … left Nell alone in our room. I never thought—”

  “Take it easy,” Milo cautioned. “She’s in the dorm, right? In your room? The door locks, doesn’t it? And there are cops all o
ver the place. She probably couldn’t be any safer.”

  Hailey and Finn exchanged a glance. Hailey said anxiously, “But this person—whoever it is—might have made a copy of my key. He could have a key to our room right this minute!”

  Finn threw some money on the table. He and Hailey ran from the bar without asking Milo or Ian to join them.

  Hailey paid little attention to the speed limit signs en route to campus. When the Ford screeched to a halt in front of Devereaux, she and Finn jumped out and ran inside.

  They took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the elevator, which was too slow.

  When they reached room 416, Hailey still hadn’t unearthed the key she’d been fumbling for in her black shoulder bag.

  “Pound!” she urged Finn, while she continued to search. “Pound on the door!” She began shouting Nell’s name.

  Finn rapped sharply, then more loudly. Other doors in the corridor opened, heads peered out tentatively, but the door to 416 remained closed.

  “Oh, God,” Hailey breathed, her frantic fingers searching, searching, “where is she? Why doesn’t she answer the door? I never should have left her alone!”

  “Nell! Nell!” Hailey shouted, and finally, finally found her key. But her hands were trembling. She thrust the key toward Finn.

  Other Devereaux-dwellers, anxious about the shouts and pounding, came from their rooms and moved down the hall toward 416 to see what was going on. They moved slowly, tentatively, clearly afraid of another disaster, another injury, perhaps even another … death?

  Music drifted from their open doors. They shouldn’t be playing music now, Hailey thought angrily, not now when Nell might be in trouble …

  Finn was having trouble with the lock. Just as Hailey was sure she was going to scream in frustration, she heard a click and the door opened.

  The room was dark. Hailey sucked in her breath. Nell should have been sitting at her desk, the lamp on, finishing her philosophy paper. But she wasn’t.

  And the room was silent. Nell never wrote in silence. She said music helped her “creative juices.”

  Finn flipped the switch beside the door.

  When Hailey’s eyes found Nell, her heart stopped. Nell was lying face-down on her bed, a pillow completely covering her head.

  She’s been suffocated, was Hailey’s first sickening thought.

  At the same moment, her eyes were drawn to a small, round red light glowing on Nell’s stereo, situated on a table at the foot of her bed. That tiny light meant Nell’s CD player was on.

  Then, why was it silent instead of blaring like usual? Had Nell’s attacker turned it down so no one would come knocking on the door to complain about the noise and discover Nell lying there, unconscious … or worse?

  Hailey sagged against the doorframe, where a small group of curious onlookers had gathered. “Lift the pillow,” she whispered to Finn. “Lift it!”

  Finn removed the pillow.

  They all saw the headphones at the same moment. A unanimous sigh of relief escaped the crowd.

  And Nell slept on, headphones on her ears.

  Nell was safe.

  Hailey went weak with relief. She reached out to gently dislodge the earphones. Nell rolled over, but didn’t awaken. Hailey put the earphones on top of the stereo and turned it off. Then she pulled Nell’s blankets up around her shoulders, carefully tucking in the edges. “It’s going to be really cold tonight,” she said in an eerily quiet voice to Finn, who watched her with concern in his eyes. “Can’t have my roomie catching pneumonia.”

  “Everything okay here?” someone in the group in the doorway asked. Hailey, fighting tears of relief, could only nod silently.

  “Okay, show’s over!” the voice continued.

  “Everybody back to their rooms.”

  Murmuring among themselves, the group turned and left.

  Hailey’s legs gave out then, and she sank down on her own bed.

  Finn sat beside her, his arms around her, until she stopped shaking.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked at least twice before he left.

  “No, I’m not,” she said. “But I’ll be okay. You go ahead. I’m just going to sit here until my heart quits hammering.”

  “I’ll call you later,” he promised after kissing her good night.

  “I could call you,” she offered. “That way, the phone won’t ring in here and wake Nell up. What’s your room number?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve got to make a quick trip to the library. Research. I’m not sure how long it will take. Besides,” he added, laughing, “now that I’ve seen how your roommate sleeps, I wouldn’t worry about the phone waking her up.”

  When he had gone, promising again to call her later, Hailey checked one more time to make sure Nell was breathing and then went to the window to gather her thoughts before an hour or two of trying, somehow, to study.

  She reached the window just in time to see Finn board one of the shuttles. As it pulled away, she could clearly see the sign on the front, announcing its destination.

  The sign read DOWNTOWN.

  Downtown? Finn had said he was going to the library.

  Where was he going? And why had he lied to her?

  Maybe he had an errand in town that he’d forgotten about. But … it was late. Everything in town was closed.

  It made no sense. Finn had clearly said he had some research to do, and was going to the library.

  He had … lied.

  People lied to hide things. What was Finn hiding from her? And why did he feel he had to?

  Hailey closed her eyes and leaned against the window. If she couldn’t trust Finn … the thought made her sick.

  But … she really didn’t know that much about Finn, did she? Not really. She couldn’t even be positive about where he lived.

  Hailey stood at the window a few more seconds before making up her mind. The shuttle would be making numerous stops. If she hurried …

  On her way out, she stopped at Amy’s door to ask if Amy would be willing to study in room 416, so that Nell wouldn’t be alone. “After everything that’s happened,” she said apologetically as Amy obligingly collected her books, “I’d just feel better if there were two people in that room.”

  Amy understood and said, “No problem.”

  Then Hailey hurried outside to her car.

  As expected, a ticket for parking illegally had been thrust under her windshield wipers. It seemed unimportant. Hailey grabbed it, tossed it on the front seat and jumped in after it.

  Then she started the engine, backed up, and turned the car around to follow the shuttle bus. And Finn.

  Chapter 19

  HAILEY CAUGHT UP WITH the shuttle as it was passing through Twin Falls. Several students disembarked at the stone bridge in the center of town. Finn wasn’t among them.

  Finn got off at the Fourth Street corner.

  He was headed for Darlene’s house.

  Hailey felt a wash of shame at what she was doing. Spying on Finn! If he saw her, how would she ever explain?

  I couldn’t, she told herself. What would I say? It was such a nice night, Finn, I decided to take a ride. It wasn’t a nice night. It was cold, moonless, and damp. And wouldn’t Finn think it was weird that she’d leave Nell alone when, just a little while ago, she’d thrown such a fit about Nell being in danger? Of course he would.

  She didn’t want him to know that she’d been following him … that she didn’t trust him completely. I’m getting as paranoid as Nell, she thought in disgust. Finn probably just changed his mind about going to the library. And there I was, jumping to the conclusion that he was lying. What is wrong with me?

  Still, how could she be expected to trust anyone after everything that had happened?

  But Finn wasn’t just anyone.

  Deciding, Hailey pulled her car into a driveway and turned around. If she couldn’t trust Finn, she didn’t want to know it. Because she couldn’t deal with it. No way.

  As she steered away
from Fourth Street, she couldn’t help glancing in her rearview mirror. She saw Finn running up the steps to Darlene’s house.

  He must be looking for Darlene again. Maybe he’d heard that she was back.

  Then, remembering Nell’s dire thoughts about Darlene’s brother, Hailey slammed on the brakes in the middle of the street. Finn was probably looking for Darlene … but what if he found Mike there instead? If Nell was right, Mike Riggs could be a vicious killer.

  Then the front door of the Riggs house opened, and Hailey saw silhouetted in the doorway the figure of Darlene’s mother.

  She sagged in relief against the back of the seat. Finn was perfectly safe with Darlene’s parents in the house.

  Besides, she reminded herself as she resumed driving, Finn wouldn’t be on that list of people who had hurt Darlene, or encouraged her in her pursuit of Robert Q. Finn hadn’t done either one.

  But she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until Finn called and said he was safely back at Lester.

  “Finn called,” Amy told Hailey when she entered room 416. “He couldn’t believe you weren’t here.” Amy’s brows furrowed. “Was I not supposed to tell him you’d gone out? You didn’t tell me not to.”

  Hailey shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll explain tomorrow.” Although she had no idea what she’d say.

  Amy picked up her books. Glancing toward Nell’s bed, she said with envy, “Boy, I wish I could sleep like that! She never moved.” Then she said more seriously, “Hailey, I think Finn thought you were with another guy. I could hear it in his voice.”

  “Another guy?”

  “After I told him you weren’t here, at first he sounded worried. But when I told him you were fine, his voice got all stiff and all he said was, Never mind, I’ll see her tomorrow. But he sounded upset.”

  Now he wouldn’t call when he got back to Lester. And when she did talk to him, where was she going to tell him she’d been? “Oh, no place special, Finn, I was just following you.”