Party Girls Die in Pearls by Plum Sykes

Author:Plum Sykes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Ursula was desperate for bed, but the intense excitement of being asked on her very first date set her mind whirring. As she started to ascend the staircase, her brain bubbled over with delicious dinner-date-type questions: What would she wear? What would she and Eg talk about? Would they kiss?

She had no idea how on earth she’d get to sleep tonight after so much drama, but she’d have to try. In less than four hours’ time, she had pledged to be in the porter’s lodge to jog down to the river for her first coaching session with the Christminster rowing squad. She’d save her dear grandmothers’ parcel as a treat for tomorrow.

Only—what was that? Ursula thought she heard a strange sound coming from the landing above her. She stood stock-still and listened. The sound came again. Ursula’s heart thudded like a ticking stopwatch. Silently, she removed her shoes and inched, as quietly as she could, up the last few steps. Now it was clear the sound was a human cry, something like “Whhh-aaa-yyyy,” followed by hiccuping and loud sobs.

Ursula tiptoed up onto the landing between her and Nancy’s rooms. The sobs were becoming more intense, and were definitely coming from her friend’s room. Was Nancy having some kind of crisis? Perhaps she was terribly homesick for New Jersey? Suddenly the sobbing turned into a gurgling, choking sound. Ursula froze. Was her friend being strangled? Was there a killer on the loose in college, as Eg thought?

Ursula didn’t hesitate another moment. Heart pumping, breath suddenly short, she threw down her satchel, parcel, and the Scottish Historical Review and flung open the door to Nancy’s room, ready to take on an attacker.

The sight that met Ursula was bizarre. The column of light coming from the landing behind her illuminated a shadowy figure writhing madly on the floor while Nancy cowered on the bed, brandishing a hockey stick.

“Ursula!” she screamed. “Thank God you’re here. He’s gone crazy.”

Now you never know where things will lead in life. Being prep school leapfrog champion had seemed, to Ursula, to be one of those achievements that was not going to add up to much. Until now. Reptile-style, Ursula leapt upon the writhing form, squashed the flailing arms under her knees, and pushed its head to the floor.

The room was deathly quiet for a long moment. Then Nancy shrieked, “I think you’ve killed him. Oh my God.”

The body beneath Ursula squirmed. Then it said, “I am not dead,” sounding irritated. “But I wish I was dead. I deserve to die.”

Ursula instantly recognized the Germanic inflection. Otto. He started sobbing violently, almost toppling Ursula. She stayed put, not sure whether it was safe to release her captive. What had he done to make Nancy so afraid?

“Nancy, what happened?” gasped Ursula.

“He just burst in here, like, going crazy, hysterical, saying, saying—that—that—Oh Ggg-o-ugh-o-od.”

Now Nancy was blubbing. She wept as though the Trevi Fountain had sprung a leak.

“That he—he—hiccup—he—hiccup—thinks—said—but no! It can’t be.”

She collapsed on her leopard-print pillowcase, mumbling unintelligibly, while Otto squirmed beneath Ursula.

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