Maggie nodded. “I know. We still have no idea who killed him.”
Colleen held Cat’s hand as she dragged her through the crowd. Cat looked back over her shoulder, knowing that Stride had spotted her. Over the heads of the people around them, she saw Stride talking to Brayden from the stage, and she could read his face. He was furious. She tried to slow Colleen down, but the other girl had surprising strength.
“Where are we going?” Cat asked impatiently.
“Bathroom. Come on. If we lose each other in here, we’ll never find each other again.”
Colleen yanked Cat through the open doors on the west side of the ballroom. In the corridor, there was a little bit more breathing space among the people and more fresh air. Behind them, Cat could hear an eruption of cheers and jeers and the boom of a microphone over the speakers. The town hall was finally getting underway. Devin Card was being introduced.
“It’s starting,” Cat said. “We should go back in.”
“Two minutes.”
Colleen aimed for the door to the women’s restroom, and she and Cat went inside. Two other women left as they entered, and they had the bathroom to themselves, just a line-up of sinks and two rows of empty stalls. In here, the voices from the convention center were a muffled, indistinct chatter. Colleen put a finger over her lips to keep Cat quiet, then went into one of the middle stalls. Instead of letting go, she hauled Cat inside with her and locked the door behind them.
“You can’t do this yourself?” Cat asked, with a crinkle of annoyance on her forehead. Her back was to the door.
Colleen whispered, and her voice had a hollow echo. “No, silly. I need to tell you something. It’s important.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Are you drunk, Colly? Because you’re acting weird.”
“No, no, no, no, oh Cat, this is so important. I know you don’t remember me, but I remember the very first time I saw you in math class. I couldn’t take my eyes off you! You looked so amazing, you were so smart. But I couldn’t even talk to you. I was too tongue-tied. I get that way sometimes, or at least, I used to. It was that way with Karen, too.”
“Who’s Karen?”
“Karen! I told you about Karen! Before I came to Duluth, I lived in Madison. That was during my first two years in high school. There was this girl, Karen, and same thing like you, she was so pretty, so smart. My sophomore year, we took all the same classes, went out for the same teams, hung out in the same coffee shops. I told you, she was stalking me!”
“She? Your stalker was a girl?”
“Yeah, but Karen told the police it was me. She told them I kept sending her notes, kept following her. But she had it all wrong. That was my way of letting her know how cool she was. How much I loved her. She didn’t want to admit that she loved me, too. That she was obsessed with me. But I knew.”
A tremble wracked Cat’s body down to her toes. The truth washed over her like cold rain. “I need to go. Let me out of here.”
But Colleen was in front of her, backing Cat up to the door of the stall, her hands pinning Cat’s arms against her body. “No, no, no, I haven’t told you the secret yet! You can’t leave! Oh, I was such a mess back then, so shy. I’ve grown up since then. I’m different now, but you can see that, can’t you? Karen didn’t understand. She didn’t appreciate what was going on between us. But that was my fault, because I couldn’t tell her face to face. That would have made all the difference. If you love someone, you have to tell them. That was why it didn’t work out with Karen.”
“What happened to her?” Cat asked in a stricken voice.
“Karen? She disappeared. She was one of those people in the magazines. You know, like I told you about. ‘Whatever Happened to Karen Lopez?’ Of course, the police thought I had something to do with it. Everybody in school did. But that was silly, they could never prove anything. Even so, I decided it was better for me to leave. I was done with Madison, so that’s when I came to Duluth. I just packed up everything and went away.”
“You left? What about your parents?”
“Oh, my dad died when I was twelve. Somebody shot him. The stupid police never figured out who. And then the same thing happened to my mom right when I was moving to Duluth. Weird, huh? But I didn’t need her anymore. I just buried her in a field and left town.”
“Holy shit,” Cat murmured. She tried to push Colleen away, but the girl grabbed Cat’s wrists and held on tight.
“Where are you going, sweetheart? We’re finally together! I’ve waited so long! Seeing you at the cottage today? I could barely stop myself from making love to you right then and there. But I knew we needed to get away first. Soon, darling. Soon we’ll be together forever. I told you, I’m packed, just like I was in Madison. We can go tonight.”
Colleen kissed Cat roughly and molded her body against her. She let go of one of Cat’s wrists and stroked her body everywhere. Under her shirt. Down the back of her shorts. And then in the front, invading between her legs. Cat squirmed to get away, but Colleen had her imprisoned.
“See? I can tell you the secret now. I can finally show you. I love you, Cat. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. And you don’t have to pretend anymore. You love me, too. I know you do. That first night at Hoops, I could see how you looked at me. Wow, what a relief that was! To see how much you wanted me, just like I wanted you!”
“You’re nuts,” Cat said. “You’re out of your mind. Let me go!”
Colleen’s face twisted in unhappy confusion. “What’s the matter, my love? What’s wrong? Are you still scared of Wyatt? Do you think he’s going to come between us? You don’t have to worry about him. I took care of him for you.”
“You took care of him? Oh, my God, what did you do?”
Colleen squeezed Cat into the corner of the stall. The girl dug into her purse and came out with a black semi-automatic pistol in her hand. She placed the side of the barrel gently against Cat’s temple. The burnt smell of the gun was in Cat’s nose, and she knew it had been fired recently.
“Wyatt won’t bother you anymore, my love.”
“Oh, shit, you killed him!”
“I had to! I didn’t have a choice! He’ll never stalk you again.”
“But that was you!”
“Me? No, no, what I sent you were love letters. I could see how Wyatt looked at you. He was obviously infatuated with you, that little pervert. I had to do something about that. The same with that cop, Brayden. The two of you kissing on the hillside? That was very naughty, Cat. I was pretty upset with you for cheating on me like that. I confess I lost my temper. But then I realized it was his fault, not yours. You’re too pure. You’re too beautiful. He’s the one who tempted you. I was shooting at him, not you.”
Cat felt tears running down her face. “Colleen, put down the gun. Please. Put it away.”
“I need the gun to protect us, Cat! This way, no one will stop us or get in our way. I told you, we can go right now. My car’s outside. It will be hours before anyone realizes we’re missing. By that time, we can be anywhere. It’s going to be amazing, Cat. You and me on the road. Like ghosts. You’ll be on the cover of People again, and this time, I’ll be with you. Everyone will be looking for us, but no one will ever find us. We’ll be legends. Come away with me, Cat!”
Cat breathed hard. She needed an escape. Just one moment to buy her freedom. “Okay.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You’re right. Let’s go quickly. Before anyone sees us.”