Player by DeLuca Laura

Author:DeLuca, Laura [DeLuca, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bumble Book Press
Published: 2012-12-12T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Elena was gone. Rosa had taken the frantic girl down to the nurse’s office to try to calm her down. In the meantime, Josh and Bryan snuck off to the yearbook room where they could talk without being overheard. They were cutting homeroom, but the possibility of getting detention hardly seemed to matter in light of this new disaster.

“Bryan,” Josh snapped. “What happened to Jasmine? Tell me everything!”

“She was attacked last night at the mall,” Bryan explained. “One of the girls she works with is a junior here. She was quick to spread the word this morning. Jazz was hit from behind with a crowbar or something. When they found her, she had no wallet or jewelry, so the cops think it was a mugging. I think we know better.”

Josh had to clear his throat to get any the words past the lump that had suddenly developed there. “Have you heard anything about her . . . her condition?”

“Rumor has it that she’s critical.” Bryan had trouble looking him in the eye as he spoke. “She’s in a coma.”

Josh leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He felt horrible having left her alone. “Maybe we should go back to the cops,” he suggested. “They have to believe us now. They can’t think it was a coincidence that two of my ex-girlfriends were attacked.”

Bryan shook his head. “Think again, buddy. If we go to the cops now, who do you think is going to be on the top of their suspect list? Jasmine and Lily went to different schools. They had different friends and different enemies. The only connection between the two of them is you. We can’t go the cops until we have some kind of evidence or you’ll be the one who winds up behind bars.”

“What about the notes and the earring?” Josh argued.

“What about them? Didn’t Gibula already suggest you had written them yourself? And wasn’t it you who pointed out that we have no idea who that earring belongs to or if it’s even connected? Trust me, Josh, you don’t want to go to the police again. Not yet.”

Bryan was right. The last thing he needed was to have the cops on his case. His father harassed him enough. “Okay, you’re right. No cops.”

“Good. Hey, man, are you all right? You’re looking a little funny.”

Josh hadn’t even realized that his whole body was trembling. Once Bryan brought it to his attention, he felt his legs shuddering and he had to sit down. He tried to pull himself together, despite the overwhelming guilt he felt, and the possibility of the cops fingering him as a suspect. Bryan shouldn’t be worrying about him. He was the one who had just buried his little sister.

“I’m fine,” Josh told him. “Just a little shaken up, that’s all. I just talked to Jazz last night.” He filled Bryan in on his meeting with Jasmine.

“You idiot!” Bryan swore when he was finished. He punched the wall for emphasis, putting a large dent in the plaster.

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