Page 41 of The Killer You Know

“What’s going on?” I take another step toward her until I see exactly what’s happening and groan at the sight. “I can’t believe this. You’ve made pets of the rats. Of course, you have. You’ve always had the ability to manipulate anyone into loving you. It’s your wicked gift. Finally, you have the friends you deserve. Although the friends you had in high school were no better.”

“Is that what this is about?” Her head searches wildly in my direction to get a better look at me. “Is this about something I’ve done in the past? Oh, please forgive me! I’m not the same person. I don’t even talk to those people anymore. Or at least I try not to. I never liked anyone back then anyway. And that’s the truth.” She sobs as she cradles those rats as if she had given birth to them.

“Claiming change is convenient when you’re no longer causing the pain. This isn’t just about your past actions, Brittney.” I pause to savor the sound of my voice reverberating off the walls. “It’s deeper than that.” Although not by much. “It’s about what you represent. You and your friends became symbols of heartache and disdain to so many. You took our lives and stomped on them. Extinguishing our spirits as if you were putting out a kitchen fire. You did the work of the devil because you are the devil. And the devil always gets his comeuppance. But the world wasn’t going to give it. So it was up to me. I have to make sure you pay the price just like Robin and Sophie have already paid.”

Her eyes double in size. She all but stops breathing. I had already shared the news about Robin during our last little visit. I hope she’s been revisiting the past, remembering their commonalities. After all, it’s their commonalities that have landed them in peril.

“Wha-what happened to Sophie? Please not her.”

“That’s right. You haven’t heard the news, have you? I guess you’ve been a little tied up, haven’t you?” A dark laugh rumbles through me. “Sophie is dead now, too.”

A sickly scream evicts from her.

“I stabbed them both in the heart, just the way they stabbed me in the heart all those years ago. Nobody tears me to pieces and gets away with it. Sure, I’ve allowed some time to pass, but only because I gave the universe a chance to make things right. But that didn’t happen. Not one of you was punished. And that’s exactly why I needed to step in.” My speech is pressured and filled with rage. I need to get out of here before I jump the gun and slaughter her preemptively. “I wrote their names on their foreheads so the authorities would be able to identify them. I’ll write your name on your forehead as well once I’m through with you.”

She cowers and sobs uncontrollably as both rats scamper out of her lap.

“After the reunion, the full truth will emerge. You’ll confront the aftermath of your cruelty, just as Robin and Sophie did. But for now, I’ve got a party to get to. All the star players will be there. Don’t worry, Brittney. I plan on making them pay as well. Let’s just say tonight is going to be a gas.”

I step out of the room and bolt it shut once again.

“The game is nearing its conclusion,” I whisper to myself as her whimpers grow from the other side of the door.

“Why? Why me?” she cries out and her voice trembles with the weight of her words.

That’s funny. It’s the same question I asked so many years ago when the shoe was on the other foot.

As I make my way out, the echo of her sobs follows me and I soak it all in.

Such a lovely, lovely melody.

The endgame is set and the final chapter is ready to be written by my hand.

The game is almost over indeed, but tonight’s crescendo will echo far beyond this night. And it will be a testament to the lengths one will go to right the wrongs of the past.

27

Special Agent Fallon Baxter

As we step into the transformed gym of Aspen Heights High, it’s hard not to be taken aback by the elegance that’s taken over a space once dedicated to pep rallies and basketball games.

The music is loud, the men and women dressed to the nines are plentiful, it smells as if a cologne bomb has gone off, and there’s a buffet against one wall where you can serve yourself all the shrimp you can eat.

We just signed in at the table out front, and each one of us has a nametag proudly displayed. Jack’s includes his senior picture, a younger version who perfected the bad boy smirk.

“Would you look at this?” I muse as I take it all in. “They really went all out,” I say, scanning the room adorned with enough twinkle lights to transport us into a fairytale—if that fairytale had bodies piling up.

Tables are set out with fine linens and flowers. The dance floor gleams from the chandeliers they’ve jury-rigged up above. It feels more like stepping into a scene from a high-end wedding than a high school reunion. At the back of the room, there’s a large black and gold banner stretched across the expanse of the gym that reads, Aspen Heights High Twenty Year Reunion. Here’s to twenty more!

“They did a number, all right,” Jack says as we walk in a little deeper.

“It wouldn’t be a reunion if they didn’t go all out.” Nikki steps in next to me as we take in the scene.

The room might be nice, but Jack is certainly looking nice himself.

I’ll admit, Jack Stone cleans up well. He’s donned an inky dark suit, concealing the government-issued weapon strapped under his jacket. He’s wearing a baby blue dress shirt along with a matching tie that brings out the devil may care in his eyes, and I’ll admit, I may have sighed more than once after inspecting him.

He’s left just enough of that facial scruff on his face to make the women here want to reach out and touch it. And although my fingers might be twitching in that direction, I wouldn’t dare give him the satisfaction.

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