Impostor (11 page)

“So, how are you getting along with Summers? Is she a good mom?”

Alec shrugged and continued to stare out the window, his face solemn. “I guess. I wouldn’t know.”

Beneath the bitterness, there was a vulnerability that he seldom showed. I jumped off the desk and walked up to him, my bare feet soundless on the carpet. He didn’t turn to face me. Without shoes on, I barely reached his shoulders. I linked our fingers and squeezed. “I know it’s hard. But the FEA is our family and that’s enough.” I was trying to convince myself as much as him.

A tremor went through his body and I wrapped my arms around him, though I half expected him to push me away. He didn’t. I relaxed against him. After a moment, he pressed his palm against my lower back. Perhaps one day he’d realize that I was a better choice than Kate. He tensed. “There’s someone on the sidewalk, watching your window. A man.”

I quickly shifted back to Madison’s body before approaching the window. There was a lone figure, obscured by the darkness. “He was here before,” I whispered.

Alec pushed open the window. The frame groaned as the man whirled around and fled. I could only hope the rest of the household hadn’t heard the noise. Alec swung out of the window, not bothering to climb. Falling one floor wouldn’t hurt him. He took off running in the direction the stranger had gone. Alec was stronger and faster than a normal human. If the guy didn’t have a bike or a getaway car somewhere nearby, he didn’t stand a chance.

“Text me,” I hissed but he had already crossed the street and disappeared into the foggy night. Cold wind blasted into the room, making me shiver. I wanted to run after them but in the time it would take me to get dressed and climb down, they’d be too far away. I closed the window, sank down on the bed, and clutched the cell phone in my hands.

My eyes began to blur from staring at the dark screen. Finally, a half hour later, the little phone glowed and Alec’s name appeared.

He got away. Lost him in fog. Talk tomorrow.

That was all? Nine words? I’d hoped for a call or at least a warmer text. He must have known that I wanted to learn every detail. After all, it wasn’t an easy feat to outrun Alec. How had the stranger managed it? I had no choice but to wait until tomorrow to find out.

• • •

My first class of the morning was English literature, one of the few classes Alec and I didn’t share. That meant I had to wait even longer to get an explanation from him.

Ana and I took our seats in the front row, the only class where we occupied such a prominent position. “Why the first row?” I asked as we unpacked
Wuthering Heights
, a book we were apparently reading. I’d never read it and hadn’t found the time to make up for it yet.

Ana tipped a pen against her lips, smearing her lip gloss all over it. She was always getting lip gloss everywhere, leaving her shimmery fingerprints on everything. If only the killer had been into wearing shiny makeup.

“You chose the seats,” she said. “Because of how much you love literature.” She eyed the yellowed pages of the book in front of her as if they might bite her. “Personally, I think it’s boring. The only reason I agreed to the front row is for the view.”

“The view?”

Ana winked. “You forgot the best thing about lit class? Just wait, you’ll see.”

As soon as the lit teacher, Mr. Yates, entered the classroom, I knew exactly what she’d meant. He was cute and very young for a teacher, maybe in his early-to midtwenties. His brown hair was short and curly. He wore a light-blue shirt and black trousers and was lean, but built like an athlete. Perhaps he was a runner.

“He’s new. It’s his first year as a teacher,” Ana whispered. “Everyone totally has a crush on him.”

Mr. Yates stopped behind his desk before he turned and allowed his focus to settle on me. His eyes flitted to the scar around my throat. “We’re all happy to welcome you back, Madison. I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks as every pair of eyes in the room focused on me. He gave me a tight smile and picked up his copy of
Wuthering Heights
. He began reading an excerpt from somewhere in the middle of the book but I wasn’t listening anymore.

A minute before the bell rang, I started packing my backpack, eager to get out as fast as possible. There wasn’t much time to squeeze in a talk with Alec before the next class started. The bell rang and everyone began streaming out of the room.

“Madison, can you please stay behind for a moment? I want to discuss the assignments you missed while you were gone.”

So much for talking with Alec . . .

Ana mouthed “good luck” before she disappeared.

Mr. Yates and I were alone in the classroom. I hoped I wouldn’t have to make up work for all the classes I’d missed. I really had better things to do. Maybe someone from the FEA could do the homework for me.

“Could you please close the door? It’s getting loud outside.”

I did as he asked. My steps were the only sound as I made my way back to the front of the room where Mr. Yates was waiting. He stood behind his desk, fidgeting with a few papers. Something about the way he looked at me made me uncomfortable. It was off. There was something too familiar about it. It wasn’t a look I’d ever been on the receiving end of. And it was certainly not a look I’d expected from a teacher. His eyes searched mine and I had to fight the urge to look away.

He walked around the desk. “I was so worried. It was torture not to be able to visit you in the hospital.” A horrible suspicion wormed its way into my mind. “I missed you so much,” he whispered. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Goose bumps flashed across my skin. I looked up at him, though I dreaded what I’d see in his eyes. There it was: affection.

And I thought the FEA was twisted.

His eyes moved to the scar on my throat. “I wish I could have protected you.”

“Mr. Yates,” I said, my voice like a squeak.

Hurt flickered in his eyes. He grabbed the edge of the desk as if he needed something to hold on to. “You don’t remember.”

“I’m sorry. I—” I whispered, then stopped myself. Why the hell was I apologizing to a teacher who obviously had some kind of inappropriate relationship with his student?

He began rearranging the pencils on his desk. The silence expanded until it felt like it might crush me. His fingers hovered over a stack of papers, shaking slightly as he picked one up. “That’s for you in case you’re thinking about catching up.”

It was a summary of the last book they’d covered. I couldn’t care less.

“Mr. Yates . . .”

“Owen.” His voice was strangely raspy.

“Owen.” The word tasted strange in my mouth. “Can you please tell me what happened between us?” He handed me the stack of papers. I took it but didn’t pull my eyes from his face. He turned abruptly, leaving me to stare at his back. “You’d better go. Your next class is about to start.”

I waited, hoping he’d say more.

“Maybe it’s for the best that you don’t remember.” His voice betrayed the lie buried beneath it, and it gave me an opening. Gingerly, I leaned toward him and put my hand on his shoulder. He didn’t shy away from the touch. “Please. I want to remember.”

He turned his head, his expression a mixture of dread and hope. The bell rang, marking the beginning of my next class. No one had entered. Maybe this was his free period.

“Please,” I whispered, my eyes pleading with him. I was sure he’d refuse me.

“I’ll tell you everything if you come to my house today.”
To his house?
“I need to talk to you without the risk of being seen or interrupted,” he said, his eyes hopeful.

I swallowed my concerns and ignored the alarm bells going off in my head. I needed to know more about Madison’s relationship with him. Maybe it was the missing puzzle piece that would lead us to the killer. Maybe Yates
was
the killer and was luring me to his home to finish what he’d started?

“Okay,” I agreed.

He looked relieved and far too happy. “Meet me at five. Do you remember where I live?”

I shook my head.

Yates scribbled down his address and handed it to me along with a slip of paper excusing me for being late to my next class. “I’m looking forward to talking with you,” he said as I swung my backpack over my shoulder and trudged into the hall.

I couldn’t say the same.

CHAPTER 12

“
Y
ou’re not going to that meeting,” Alec said the moment I’d stopped talking.

I glanced around. We were alone in the parking lot but I could hear laughter in the distance. It was lunchtime. People were milling around, and though it was still cold outside, some of them were enjoying the first sunshine of spring. “I have to. It could be crucial to our investigation.”

Alec shook his head. “Don’t you get it? He could be the murderer. Do you want to get yourself killed? For God’s sake, Tessa. That guy had an affair with his student. Don’t you think he could’ve killed in order to keep it a secret?”

Of course I knew that was a possibility, and I hated how he made it sound like I was too naive to realize it. “That doesn’t explain the other victims, or do you think he had an affair with them too?”

His eyes narrowed at the challenge in my tone. “Maybe. But what about this theory: The janitor caught Yates and Madison red-handed after classes and Yates decided to get rid of him so he couldn’t tell anyone. And that girl? Maybe he had an affair with her too, and that’s why she had to die. Or maybe he wanted to silence her because she was talking shit about Madison and possibly about him too. How does that sound?”

He really made it sound like a logical explanation. At the very least, Mr. Yates seemed to have a more plausible reason to dispose of the victims than Ryan or Phil.

“It doesn’t matter. If we want to get proof, I’ll have to talk to him. Maybe he’s got nothing to do with it,” I said.

“I won’t let you go there alone.”

“Alec, don’t be stupid. Do you think he’ll talk to me if you’re around?” I joked, knowing full well what he meant.

He wasn’t amused. “I’ll wait outside. If something goes wrong you’ll scream or make yourself noticeable. If you don’t return within thirty minutes, I’m coming in.”

“Suppose my talk with Yates takes longer than thirty minutes.”

“You’d better make sure it doesn’t.”

That was the last word on the matter. Alec had that stubborn glint in his eyes that I knew all too well. He was in protective mode and it was useless to argue with him.

• • •

Ana drove me home that day. She kept throwing worried glances my way and I could practically feel the tension rolling off her.

I needed an alibi for my meeting with Yates—Linda wouldn’t let me leave without an explanation. But asking Ana would make her even more suspicious. Not that I had many options. “Could you do me a favor?”

She hesitated. “Sure, what is it?” Her voice was light but her lips thinned out.

“I need you to cover for me. I’m meeting someone this afternoon and I can’t tell my mom about it. Can I tell her we’re meeting at your house?”

Ana narrowed her eyes. “Who are you meeting?”

“Please, Ana, I can’t tell you yet but it’s important. Please.”

She swallowed twice, thickly, like she was trying to push back the words that threatened to rise into her mouth. “You know, these last few days I’ve been holding myself back, swallowing my feelings, telling myself it would get better, that you needed time to recover. Actually, I’ve been holding back for months, ever since you started keeping secrets from me. But I’m just sick of it. I’m sick of being lied to and left out. I thought we were best friends. I abandoned everyone for
you.
And now you won’t even let me in.” She took a deep, shaky breath and wiped at her eyes.

I opened my mouth but closed it again, unsure of how to respond. I agreed with what she’d said. If Holly had kept so many secrets from me, I’d have been just as hurt and angry. But I couldn’t tell Ana the truth now, not even half of it, no matter how much she deserved it.

“I don’t know why you don’t trust me,” she said. I could feel that I was losing her, that she was pulling back, and I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t talk to her about Yates, much less about the rest. But maybe I didn’t need to.

“I trust you,” I stammered. “It’s just . . . complicated. The new guy, Alec.” I hesitated and looked down at my lap, trying to feign discomfort.

“What about him?” There was a flicker of excitement in her voice and it was all the encouragement I needed.

“I’m meeting him this afternoon.”

“Like, a date?” Ana slowed the car until we were crawling along at a snail’s pace.

I glanced up, hoping I looked appropriately embarrassed and excited. “Kind of. We’re hanging out. I’m not really sure what it is yet.”

“But when did that happen? I’ve never even seen you guys talk!” Every bit of resentment and disappointment I’d seen on her face earlier seemed to evaporate.

I thought about the times I could have spoken to Alec in school without Ana’s noticing and there weren’t many; she and Devon seemed to be glued to my sides. “Actually, I met him right after I was released from the hospital. I went for a walk around the neighborhood to get some fresh air.”

“Your parents let you out alone?”

Shit.
“No, I snuck out once, so please don’t mention it around anyone.” I waited for her to nod before I continued my tale. “Alec was jogging near our house and we kind of just started talking. And during lunch break today, I met him in the parking lot and he asked me out.”

“What are you going to do?”

My mind drew a blank and a panicky feeling wormed its way into my head as I struggled for a semi-intelligent reply. “Umm, he’s picking me up in his car and we’re going to drive around a bit and familiarize ourselves with the area. I mean, since he just moved here and I don’t really remember much about it.” Gosh, I was a rambling idiot.

“Okay, but please be careful. You don’t know him very well. Keep your cell phone in your pocket and call me if he’s acting like a douche. Promise me,” she said. Her brown eyes fixed me with a stare that reminded me of Kate’s when she rummaged in other people’s brains.

I snorted, unable to help myself. “You sound like my mom.”

“Maddy, I’m serious.”

“I know.”

She relaxed against her seat.

“Don’t tell your mom we’re meeting at my house. If she calls and my mom picks up the phone, she’ll know it was a lie. Tell her we’re spending the day in Manlow. I wanted to head there anyway to go to the mall,” she said.

That was one of the moments I wished I were just a normal girl. A girl who could go shopping and hang out with her friends instead of doing the kind of work that would terrify any normal person.

“Thank you,” I said.

“And don’t think I’ll let you off the hook so easily this time. I want a detailed account of your kind-of-date.”

“And you’ll get one, I promise. I know I’ve been a bad friend . . . and I’m trying to get better, but I’m still trying to figure things out myself. I don’t even know what my life was like before. I don’t even remember why I broke up with Ryan or why I dated him in the first place. Do you know how hard that is? It’s like living someone else’s life.”

Guilt filled Ana’s face. “I’m so sorry, Maddy. Sometimes I almost forget what happened. It’s easier that way, you know?”

“I know but it’s my life. I can’t pretend it hasn’t happened.” I knew I had her. This was my chance to pry more information out of her. “Can’t you just tell me more about Ryan and me? I need to know what’s been going on before I can allow myself to consider dating someone new.” I made a mental note to tell Alec about all this later so our stories would line up.

Ana bit her lip and nodded. “You’d been dating Ryan for a year and a half and you were the dream couple. And you really were happy, at least from the outside. But then, maybe three months before you and Ryan broke up, something changed. I don’t really know what happened. You never said anything about it, but I could see something wasn’t right.” She glanced at me and I tried to keep a straight face. “I thought you and Ryan were drifting apart. It happens. I mean, we’re only in high school, you know? But then Franny and Kristen told everyone they saw you with another guy at the lake, and it was all downhill from there.”

“How did Ryan react to the rumors?”

“It’s actually funny. He should have been furious but he never showed it. I think he didn’t believe it. He’s one of those guys who is so full of himself, it’s like he couldn’t imagine his girlfriend would ever want someone else.”

I nodded as if I understood. But the truth was, I didn’t know Ryan well enough. I hadn’t even talked to him yet. “Thanks, Ana,” I said. I wondered why Madison had kept her in the dark when she seemed like such a good friend.

We pulled up to the Chambers’ house, where, just like every other day, Linda was already waiting for me in the front yard. New flowers had been planted in the flower beds—purple geraniums—and the lawn was freshly mowed.

“Oh, and Ana? Could you please keep my date with Alec to yourself? Devon is uberprotective at the moment. I don’t want him to threaten Alec or something. That would be too embarrassing.”

“My lips are sealed, don’t worry,” she promised.

We hugged goodbye and I slipped out of the car. I suspected she wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t tell her every little detail about my date. I would soon have more lies to keep track of.

Inside, Linda had prepared a tray with three different kinds of sandwiches. I told her about school, editing out my search for info and my talk with Mr. Yates. She listened to me, her eyes practically glued to my lips, that loving look on her face like I could do no wrong. What would she say if she found out about Madison’s affair with her teacher?

“I told Ana I’d meet up with her again at five,” I said between bites.

Linda wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Where did you girls want to go?”

“Just to the mall in Manlow.”

Linda dropped her sandwich. It fell apart, sending lettuce, bacon, and tomatoes sliding onto the table. Her hands shook as she picked them up. “Don’t you think it’s too dangerous to drive to Manlow all alone? Wouldn’t it be better to stay in Livingston? You could invite Ana here and order a pizza.”

“Ana will be with me the whole time, and the mall is full of people. I really want to go out. I can’t hide inside forever.”

She picked up the phone. “I’ll call Devon. He can join you.”

That was the last thing I needed.

“Mom, don’t. He has practice. Don’t make him come home because of me.”

“He doesn’t mind. He’s as worried about you as I am.” She started dialing but I pried the phone from her hands.

“Please. I don’t need a babysitter. It’s bad enough that Devon keeps an eye on me at school. Ana and I will be at a crowded public place. There’ll be security cameras and people. Nothing is going to happen.” I touched her hand. “Please.”

She looked away, her lips trembling. I felt horrible for doing this to her.

“Take your cell phone and the pepper spray with you. Stay in the mall and don’t let Ana out of your sight. I want you two to stick together. And promise to call me as soon as you get there and again when you leave.”

I kissed her cheek. “I will.”

• • •

At four forty-five I made my way downstairs, trying not to feel guilty at the sight of Linda’s worried face. “Don’t forget to call.” She hugged me goodbye and waited outside until I’d turned the corner. Ana lived well within walking distance, so I didn’t have to come up with an excuse for why I didn’t want Linda to drive me.

Alec waited for me behind the steering wheel of a black Jeep. I gave a quick glance around before I got in to make sure nobody was watching.

“I told Ana that I was going on a date with you,” I blurted the moment I got inside.

“Why?” He didn’t act as surprised as I thought he would.

“She wanted to know what was going on with me. Apparently, she was sick of Madison lying to her, so I had to come up with something. She’s also my alibi for leaving the house, so this seemed like the easiest explanation. I don’t think she’ll ask, but if she does, just tell her we cruised around in your car.”

“Wow, what an exciting date. Can I at least add some backseat action?”

I knew he was trying to be funny, but with everything that had been going on between us lately, the laughter died in my throat. He looked away, jaw locked, and started the car. I was glad when the sound of the engine cut through the thick silence.

Alec parked a couple blocks away from Mr. Yates’s house, so there was no chance that he’d spot us together.

“Be careful. And don’t let him feel you up,” he said with his usual professionalism.

“Jeez, thanks for the advice.” My sarcasm made him scowl, but before he could reply, I got out of the car and jogged toward the house. Though I didn’t look over my shoulder, I knew Alec was following close behind.

The lawn in Yates’s front yard was neat and freshly cut; there wasn’t a single blade of grass that stood taller than an inch. The mailbox and the shingles framing all the windows glowed white like they’d been painted hours ago, and not a speck of dirt could be seen on the light beige clapboard. From the looks of it, I wouldn’t have guessed that it was the home of a single man.

As I walked up to the front door, I wiped my sweaty palms on the legs of my jeans. I didn’t really know anything about the guy. Was he married? I hadn’t noticed a ring. Would he be a difficult opponent in a fight? He’d looked like an athlete. Maybe this was it. Maybe I was willingly putting myself alone in a house with a guy who strangled people. I didn’t know if he had a Variation, or if I’d have any chance at defending myself against it. My leg muscles twitched with the impulse to bolt. But I didn’t have a choice. Lives depended on me.

Squaring my shoulders, I pressed the button beside the door.

A second later, the door creaked open and Yates stood in front of me. He must have been watching my arrival from a window or waiting in the entrance hall. He ushered me inside, with a quick glance outside, probably making sure that none of his neighbors had seen me. I brushed my palm across the Taser in my bag.

The hall smelled of chocolate.

“I made chocolate chip cookies,” he explained as he led me into a big, stainless steel kitchen. A baking sheet with fresh, golden brown discs sat atop the spotlessly clean counter. Why the hell had he baked cookies?