Pretty Please (Nightmare Hall) Read online

  True. But she’d never hidden her distaste for what had happened to Jo’s face, either. It really seemed to bother her.

  The question was, how much did it bother Kelly?

  “So,” Jo asked casually when she came out of the bathroom with fresh bandages, “did you two go shopping?” Meaning, have you been together all afternoon so that I don’t have to suspect my best friend and roommate of trying to suffocate me?

  Nan shook her head. “We ran into each other out in the hall. I had a paper to finish. Jo,” she said then, “what are you going to do about this? Don’t you think you should call the police?”

  Jo sat back down on the bed. “I don’t know. I was going to. And I was going to tell them….” Suddenly, telling anyone else, even her best friends, that she knew Sharon Westover was dead, seemed like a really bad idea. After all, she had no proof. No information. Only a conviction, stronger than any feeling she’d ever had. But….

  “What?” Kelly asked. “What else were you going to tell them?”

  “Nothing.” Jo shook her head. “I just don’t think I can call the police and tell them that someone fastened a plastic bag over my head. How could they possibly take me seriously?”

  “Maybe that was the whole idea,” Nan said slowly: “Maybe whoever did it thought it was so outrageous, no one would believe you. So he’d get away with it. But you’ve got the plastic bag, Jo, and the rope. That’s evidence. And it was a deliberate attack. The police should know about it.”

  Jo looked down at her hands, in her lap. “It would help if someone else had seen something. But there wasn’t anyone around.” She glanced at the telephone on her nightstand. “There is someone who might know something, though. I’m going to call Tina and see if she can tell me if someone pushed her. If she was pushed down those stairs, that’s more ammunition to take to the cops, right?”

  “She might not be able to talk on the phone yet,” Kelly said. “But go ahead and try. That’s a good idea.”

  Evan arrived as Jo was dialing. Kelly let him in. He noticed the torn bag and the rope right away. An inquisitive look on his face, Evan sat on the floor, frowning as Jo asked to speak to Tina Downs.

  “Tina?” Jo gently fingered the bandages on her face. The cuts were hurting again. “This is Jo Donahue. How are you?”

  “Drowsy. They gave me something. But I guess I’m okay, Jo. My head hurts, but that shouldn’t surprise me, right? Slamming into a stone wall headfirst will do that.” Tina paused, and then added, “I heard I slammed into you, too, Jo. Sorry. Are you okay?”

  “Sure.” Well, not really. But Tina didn’t need to know that. She had enough problems of her own. “Tina, I was wondering…” Now that she had Tina on the phone, Jo wasn’t sure what to ask. If Tina hadn’t been pushed, if she’d simply slipped and fallen, she’d want to know why Jo was asking.

  But Tina was the only one who could help her out now. She had to ask.

  “Tina, what happened last night? Do you remember?”

  “Yes, I remember, Jo. I wish I didn’t. I wish I could forget, because it doesn’t make any sense. No sense at all.”

  Jo’s heart began pounding. “What happened? What happened that doesn’t make any sense, Tina?”

  Tina took a deep breath. “I was pushed down those stairs, Jo.”

  Jo sat up very straight.

  “What?” Evan hissed. “What’d she say?”

  Jo shook her head at him. “Are you sure, Tina?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I’d heard Cath mention that there was more soda in the cellar, and I was going down to get some. But all of a sudden, someone shoved me, hard. I didn’t have time to grab onto the railing. I didn’t even have time to scream.”

  “Oh, Tina, I’m sorry,” Jo breathed.

  “Jo…” Tina hesitated. “Jo, that’s not the worst of it.”

  Jo’s heart sank into her stomach. “It’s not?” She knew she didn’t want to hear what the “worst of it” was. But she couldn’t hang up now. She had to know. “What was, Tina? What was the worst of it?”

  “Well, I didn’t realize it until this afternoon, when I had time to think about it. But the person who pushed me whispered something as he came up behind me. I…I wasn’t going to tell you, because I didn’t want to scare you.”

  You are scaring me, Jo thought, gripping the receiver so tightly her wrist ached.

  “But you have to know, so you can decide what to do.” Tina paused again.

  “Tina!” Jo cried from between clenched teeth. “What did he say?”

  Another deep breath made its way through the phone line. Then, “He said, ‘I told you not to go running around without your face covered up, Johanna.’ ”

  Jo let out a soft moan and sagged back against the wall.

  “I’m sorry, Jo. I didn’t want to tell you. But I thought you should know.”

  Jo said nothing, but the hand holding the receiver was shaking.

  “It wasn’t me he was after, Jo,” Tina said. “It was you.”

  Chapter 16

  WHEN JO HUNG UP the telephone, her eyes bleak, Evan and Nan pressed her for information.

  “What’s wrong?” Evan asked, getting up to come and sit beside Jo on the bed. “You look like you just saw the proverbial ghost.”

  I did, Jo thought despairingly…my own.

  “What did Tina say?” Nan pressed, standing in the middle of the room, hairbrush in hand. “Is she okay?”

  She is, but I’m not, Jo said to herself. Aloud, she said, “I guess she’s okay. Has a headache. But she…” Jo lifted her head, meeting Evan’s eyes with her own “…she says she was pushed down those stairs.”

  “You’re kidding!” Nan cried. “Is she sure?”

  “Yes, and that’s not the only thing she’s sure of. She also said the person who pushed her called her Johanna.”

  “Johanna?” Kelly looked puzzled.

  Jo nodded.

  Evan’s expression became grim. “He called her that,” he said, “because he thought Tina was Jo. They were both wearing black, and with the kitchen light off….” He took Jo’s hand in his. “It was you he thought he was pushing, wasn’t it?”

  “According to Tina, it was. So it was probably the same creep who put that bag over my head. Tried to suffocate me.”

  They sat in nervous silence for a moment or two, then Jo looked straight at Evan and said, “Evan, someone is trying to kill me. Someone wants me dead.”

  “That’s crazy!” Kelly cried. She plopped down on her own bed and faced Jo. “Why would anyone want you dead?”

  “I don’t know. That’s what’s driving me crazy. I don’t know. But…but it’s got something to do with my face.” Jo glanced at the dresser mirror. “That’s why the mirrors were covered. And then I got the hat with the veil and the corrective makeup…it’s pretty obvious, don’t you think? Someone hates what’s happened to my face.”

  “Well, I hate it, too,” Kelly said fervently, and then, her cheeks flushing, quickly added, “I mean, I hate that it happened to you. But I certainly wouldn’t kill you rather than look at it…at you. That’s just plain…”

  “Crazy?” Jo interrupted. “Of course it’s crazy. Pushing someone down a flight of stairs is crazy. I never said the person doing this stuff was sane. He’s not. That’s what scares me.”

  Evan pressed her then to call the police, but Jo said, “I don’t have to. They’re coming to see me. Tina told them what she heard just before she fell. So they’re coming out here tomorrow to question me, see if I have any idea who might have done it.” She shrugged. “I don’t, so talking to them is going to be a waste of time.”

  “Are you going to tell them about what happened today?” Kelly asked.

  “I guess so. I’ll feel silly, but I’m sure it’s all part of the same thing, so yeah, I guess I have to. I just hope they don’t laugh.”

  “They won’t,” Evan assured her. He stood up, forced a smile. “Well, since we know the strong right arm of the law is going to b
e handling things from here on in, and since we can’t do much about any of this until you talk to them, why don’t we put all this on a back burner and go find some fun? It’s a premium Saturday afternoon, and you’ll be safe with all of us, Jo. How about it? Reed and Carl are skating down at the pond. Feel like joining them?”

  Jo loved ice-skating. She’d been skating since she was eight. She’d been delighted when she found out that Salem University’s duck pond, out behind the infirmary, was kept snow-free for skating whenever the ice was safe.

  What better way to banish from her mind the awful plastic bag episode than to stride across the ice in her skates, feeling the sunshine on her face? Evan was right: she’d be safe on the pond, with so many people around her. She’d come home late, lock the door, go to bed, and when she got up Sunday morning, she’d hand the whole ugly business over to the police, who would know what to do.

  “Yes,” she said firmly, “I am definitely up for some ice-skating.” Why should she stay in her room like some frightened rabbit? That would be giving the creep too much power. “Kelly? Nan? Are you coming?”

  They nodded and went to change into suitable skating clothes.

  “We’ll change and meet you at the pond in fifteen minutes,” Jo told Evan.

  “Thirty,” Kelly said firmly. “I can’t get ready in less than thirty minutes, Jo, you know that.”

  “She’s right,” Jo said, smiling. “Meet you in thirty-five.”

  By the time they got outside, the sun had disappeared and ominous gray clouds were sailing rapidly toward campus.

  “It’s going to snow,” Kelly said. “I can smell it in the air. Oh well, it’ll be fun skating while white stuff is coming down. We’ll feel like we’re on a Christmas card, right?”

  “Unless it comes down too thick and fast,” Nan pointed out as they trudged toward the pond. “If it does, we’ll have to find something else to do.”

  If it does, Jo thought, my tape’s going to get all wet and then I’ll have to come back to the dorm for new bandages. Should have brought some with me, just in case.

  The pond was crowded. The long, wide oval of ice sat at the foot of a steep slope behind campus, in a clearing surrounded by a wooded grove. Thick with skaters, the scene did remind Jo of a Christmas card, except that the pond was circled now not by pure white snow, but with dead grass and a few patches of old snow here and there.

  Judging from the look of the darkening sky, that would change very quickly. “If we’re going to get any skating in,” she told Nan and Kelly, “we’d better get our skates on in a hurry. It’s going to start snowing any second now.”

  The words were barely out of her mouth before a few random flakes began drifting down, and minutes later, the skies opened up and snow began falling thick and fast.

  But Kelly had been right: it was fun skating through the cloud of white, like speeding across the ice through a wall of white cotton candy. Several people ran to get brooms from their dorms, and skated around the ice pushing the brooms in front of them in a light-hearted effort to keep the ice clear.

  The ice-clearing efforts quickly became a fast and furious game of hockey, with the brooms as sticks and someone’s wallet the puck.

  Jo and Evan skated together, holding hands and circling the pond several times to music blaring from a cassette recorder someone had brought.

  “Isn’t this better than sitting in your room alone?” Evan cried over the music as they rounded a corner. “Fresh air and exercise can cure almost anything, right?”

  Jo grinned and nodded. It was a great feeling, sailing along to the music, holding Evan’s hand. She’d almost forgotten….

  She didn’t even notice how wet the tape and bandages had become until Evan left to get her a cup of hot chocolate from the Sigma Tau concession stand. Now that she was standing still, she could feel the cold stinging her cheeks. She supped her glove off and tentatively explored. One cut was exposed. She could feel its rough edges. The tape must have slipped off while she was skating.

  A second later, another piece slid sideways under the touch of her fingers, and fell to the ground.

  Darn.

  It probably wasn’t a good idea to leave the cuts uncovered, even though the snow and wind had lessened somewhat. She didn’t want to make things worse when she was so close to having the stitches removed.

  When Evan returned with her hot drink, Jo had a painful moment. The look in his eyes when he saw her uncovered injuries was one of shock. He covered up quickly, handing her the drink with some comment about how long the line had been at the concession stand, but it didn’t help.

  Telling herself she shouldn’t be so sensitive, she took the drink, thanking him. After all, it probably did look pretty disgusting. Evan was human. Why shouldn’t he have a reaction?

  “I’m going to have to go fetch some fresh tape,” she told him. “The infirmary’s closer than Lester, so I’m going to run over there. I’ll be right back.”

  She expected him to argue with her. Hadn’t he said she’d “be safe” with them? Shouldn’t he try to stop her from climbing the hill alone?

  But just then the “puck” hit Evan in the left leg. Someone thrust a broom into his hands and, calling out to Jo that he’d wait for her there, he took off across the ice.

  Jo watched him skate away, not sure whether to be amused or angry. The garbage bag episode had happened only a few hours earlier, but even to her, it seemed a long time ago. The sun had been shining then, it hadn’t been snowing…it was almost as if the incident had taken place on an entirely different day. They’d had so much fun skating, they’d all forgotten that it had even happened.

  Well, she hadn’t. She’d been watching…paying attention…staying close to Evan or with Nan or Reed or Kelly or Carl. She hadn’t forgotten. How could she?

  But Evan had…or he wouldn’t have let her go off to the infirmary by herself.

  She should ask Nan or Kelly to come along. Safety in numbers…

  But the infirmary was right at the top of the hill, right on the other side of that new wall. She’d be in plain sight of the pond almost the whole time. The snow wasn’t coming down so hard now…they’d be able to see her.

  And hadn’t she decided she wasn’t going to let that creep dictate how she lived her life?

  She would go by herself. If whoever it was was watching, let him. He couldn’t do anything to her in full view of all those people on the pond. And he’d see that he hadn’t scared her into hiding. Maybe that would dent his ego so badly, he’d give up on her.

  Trying to ignore a trace of resentment toward Evan for forgetting that she was in danger, Jo removed her skates, slung them over her shoulder, and hiked up the hill to the infirmary.

  Dr. Trent wasn’t on duty, and the nurse who greeted Jo at the front desk, added quickly, “I’ve got an emergency. One of your professors had an urge to be eighteen again. Went skating, fell on the ice, and sprained an ankle. Bandages and tape are in the back room, in the closet. Just jot down in the book whatever you take, okay? Makes it easier to keep track of inventory.”

  Glad to be in out of the cold, Jo headed straight for the back room where the supplies were kept. She would fix her bandages and take some extra in case the snow got heavier again. Then she could keep skating until it got dark. Later, maybe they’d all go to Vinnie’s.

  For a day that had started in such a horrible way, it had certainly improved.

  She found the supply cabinet. Opened the door. Reached inside for the packet of fresh white bandages, wrapped in plastic for sterility…

  She was about to turn around when, for the second time that day, an arm came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around her neck, cutting off her air supply.

  Chapter 17

  BEFORE JO COULD MAKE a sound, she was thrown into a wooden chair and her hands were quickly and roughly tied behind her back. Too shocked to think clearly, she cast a desperate glance over her shoulder. She caught only a glimpse of a figure all in black, face hidden
behind a black ski mask. The glimpse told her nothing…except that she was in real danger.

  “You just wouldn’t listen, would you?” a voice whispered in her ear. “I warned you and I warned you and I warned you.” There was a sharp tug on the ropes around her wrists to make sure they were tight enough. “You just ignored me. I don’t like that, Jo. I don’t like that at all. I made a mistake, being so patient with you. I don’t often make mistakes. And I hate it when I do.”

  “What do you want?” Jo managed. Her legs weren’t tied, but that did her no good at all. Kicking backward would be futile. All she’d hit would be the chair legs. She would have to wait and hope he’d move out in front of her, where a well-placed foot might connect, might even do some damage.

  The ski-masked head leaned in close to hers. She could feel the thick wool rubbing against her ear. “What do I want? I want you to stop offending people with the sight of that ghastly face of yours. You won’t do it on your own, like I wanted you to, so I’ll have to do it for you.” And then, “Don’t even think about screaming. If you make a sound, I’ll snap your neck like a twig.”

  Jo’s heart rolled over. She fell silent, biting on her lower lip to hold back the scream rising up in her throat.

  She felt the figure behind her move away from her chair. A faint flicker of hope that he had finished with her, that he had only meant to scare her, died quickly as soft footsteps returned a minute later to take up a position behind her again.

  What was he doing back there?

  Maybe the nurse would need supplies, would come rushing into the room, see him, stop him. Or run and call the police before he could block her path.

  That seemed Jo’s only hope.

  Something soft touched the top of her head. Something white rolled down over her shoulder, into her lap. She looked down. Narrow gauze bandage, unrolling itself across her shoulder, her lap, onto her thighs, a soft white ribbon tracing a path down her body.

  Now it’s not sterile anymore, she thought with an odd feeling of detachment born of shock. The wrapper is off and the gauze is touching my clothes and the floor and it’s probably already covered with germs.