“It’s okay.” It wasn’t.
Penelope opened her mouth to say something, when the loudspeaker in the classroom crackled to life.
“Attention, students,” said the voice of the school secretary. “We have a special announcement.”
“What now?” Penelope groaned.
“Quiet down, everyone,” Mr. Baines said. The murmur in the classroom dulled.
Josie checked her watch. A special announcement five minutes before the end of the school day? That was weird.
“Good afternoon, this is Principal Meyers. As some of you may have heard, another body was found in the woods west of Crain Highway this afternoon.”
The classroom erupted into agitated whispers. “What?” Penelope squeaked. “Another one?”
“Like the previous incidents, the victim was killed sometime between the hours of ten o’clock in the evening and four o’clock in the morning, from an apparent animal attack.”
Josie arched an eyebrow. “Animal attack? In Bowie, Maryland?”
“Shh!” Penelope hissed.
“Therefore, students are asked to refrain from visiting the Patuxent River Watershed or other surrounding uninhabited areas after dark until the animal or . . .”
Principal Meyers paused and cleared his throat with that kind of dry, forced cough a kid makes when they’re trying to convince Mom and Dad they’re too sick to go to school.
“Until the animal,” he continued, “or other perpetrator responsible for the attacks is apprehended.”
“Other perpetrator?” Josie said. “What the hell does that mean?”
But Principal Meyers offered no response to Josie’s question. The loudspeaker popped once, twice, and fell silent.
TWO
2:35 P.M.
THE END-OF-DAY BELL PEALED THROUGH THE classroom, jarring everyone into action.
“Don’t forget,” Mr. Baines shouted above the commotion of screeching chairs, backpack zippers, and the almost choral musicality of thirty cell phones all being powered on at once. “Final review of your projects tomorrow. Be prepared to defend your hypotheses.”
“How can I think about my science project after that?” Penelope clutched Josie’s backpack as they slowly filed out of the room. “Other perpetrator. See? I knew the police were covering up for a serial killer.”
Josie half turned around. “Who said anything about a serial killer?”
“Sixteen dead bodies in six months, their gruesome, dismembered, and half-eaten remains left in the woods in the dead of night?” Penelope almost sounded excited as she described the murder scenes. “Please, this is classic serial-killer territory.”
Josie laughed. “Okay, CSI.”
“Fine, don’t believe me.” Penelope trotted alongside her in the crowded hallway. “But it fits. The pattern, the escalation. And now we’ve had two murders in the last week alone.” She paused and dropped her voice. “I’m sure this animal-attack crap is just a coverup so the population won’t panic and descend into martial law.”
Ah, that was the Penelope Josie had known for years. The lovable conspiracy theorist who spent most of her free time combing antigovernment blogs and with each passing day became increasingly convinced that Big Brother was watching her. “Pen, you’re blowing this way out of proportion.”
“No, I’m not,” Penelope said, sounding hurt. “I never blow anything out of proportion.”
Josie planted her hands on her hips. “Remember that time you were convinced your eighty-year-old neighbor was a spy for the Venezuelan government? Or what about when you almost electrocuted yourself trying to find the hidden listening devices the NSA had installed in the walls of your house?”
Penelope pursed her lips. “Still no proof I was wrong about either, thank you very much.”
“Hey!” a familiar voice called out through the postclass crush of bodies. Josie spun around and caught her breath as she spied the tall, black-haired figure of her boyfriend, Nick Fiorino, threading his way through the crowd.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Nick said, planting a kiss on Josie’s cheek. “Miss me?”
Nick pulled her close and Josie let out an audible sigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw Penelope grimace.
“Can you believe they found another body?” Nick shook his head. “How many is that now? Like a dozen?”
“Sixteen,” Penelope said quickly. “Although coverupcadet.com suggests the actual number may be more like two dozen, if you take into account the missing-persons reports of the last six months and cross-reference them against people known to be in the vicinity of a wooded area.” She chuckled nervously. “This is why I don’t leave the house.”
“Wow, Pen,” Nick said. “That’s, um . . .” He glanced sidelong at Josie, grasping for words.
“Insane?” Josie suggested.
“Fine, don’t believe me.” Penelope narrowed her eyes. “But we’ll see who’s insane when the feds catch the serial killer. Later.” Then she turned on her heel and marched off down the hall.