She hadn’t mentioned foreseeing the crime scenes to me—not that she had any reason to. It just seemed odd that she’d tell one friend but not the other.
I rubbed my temples. “So much for keeping the investigation a secret.” I dropped my hand. “Is she alright?” I asked, grabbing my bag and looking pointedly at her empty bed.
For one rare moment I glimpsed Oliver serious. “I don’t think so. But she won’t talk about what’s going on.”
Oliver stared at me for a moment. “You won’t freak out if I show you something I found on her desk, will you?”
“No.” Maybe. I kept that to myself, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“Okay, just a second.” Oliver wound his way around his makeshift bed to Leanne’s desk. The cluttered surface was nearly as messy as Chief Constable Morgan’s.
Oliver pushed aside several sheets of paper. From amongst the pile he pulled a small note and brought it back to me.
The blood in my veins chilled as I read the note now in my hands.
Make sure that on Samhain Gabrielle does not sell her soul.
Chapter 15
The day was just as bad as it promised to be. My first two classes were cut short so that the school could attend a memorial service for the two students who had been killed in the attacks. I spent an hour receiving harsh glares and frightened looks from both students and teachers. Their expressions said it all; they blamed me, either directly or indirectly, for crimes I not only didn’t commit, but crimes I was also desperately trying to solve. That made the whole ordeal that much harder to endure.
The looks continued during my third period history class, and once the bell rang, I left history room to the sound of whispered accusations.
Caleb followed me out the door of our history class. Throughout the hour he’d sent me apologetic glances, which I pretended not to notice. I couldn’t deal with his pity on top of everyone else’s fear and anger. However, I had found another silver lining: all the raging scents rolling off of people had given me ample opportunity to practice sheathing my teeth. I was almost a pro at it. Almost.
“Gabrielle, I’m so sorry about the Politia,” he said, grabbing my arm and stopping me outside our class.
Down the hall two teachers walked close together, their heads bowed. “Do you think that could be true?” I heard one of them whisper.
“That’s what Hazard said.”
“It’s fine,” I said to Caleb. I could tell by his eyes that he didn’t find the situation fine.
“You’ll be back as soon as these murders stop,” he said.
Although Caleb was trying to make things right between us, he wouldn’t be able to. We might be the same age, in the same class, and interested in the same things, but he’d always be accepted. And I would probably always be fighting the negative stereotypes.
“But Peel hasn’t had a lockdown in decades, especially not on Samhain,” one of the teachers said.
“Students also haven’t been murdered on the island in just as long. It’s not happening yet, but it might.”
The school was thinking of having a lockdown because of the murders?
“Why doesn’t he expel the girl? She’s only adding to the tension here.”
They were talking about me. I clutched the strap of my book bag tighter. It was one thing to hear statements like that from students, but another to know my teachers might hold the same opinions.
“Negative publicity. As soon as they find some hard evidence to link her to the crimes, he’ll send her out of here.” The other nodded.
I made sure to curtain my hair over my face as they passed so that they wouldn’t recognize me.
“Gabrielle?”
I blinked, and Caleb’s face came back into focus. “Sorry. What were you saying?” I asked.
“I was saying that you’ll be back as soon as these murders are solved.”
“Sure,” I agreed absentmindedly while I mulled over the teachers’ words.
It was happening. First my suspension from the Politia, and now the possibility of expulsion loomed on the horizon. Slowly, my life was falling apart, just like the chief constable predicted.
***
Instead of going to my dorm to grab a quick nap like I planned, the teachers’ hushed conversation made me more determined than ever to work on the investigation.
There was still one aspect of the crimes that I hadn’t researched, and it had been churning in the back of my mind for some time.
After mentioning to Maggie the possibility that these murders had taken place near entrances into the Otherworld, I’d never quite let go of the thought.
I wasn’t sure whether the last crime actually had taken place near one of these portals, but the chief constable had said that there were Viking burials that the third victim had come to bless. If cemeteries were a literal place where worlds meet, then this might mean that all three murders happened near Otherworld entrances.