Impotent Death: A Paranormal Mystery

Chapter Thirteen

     I didn't actually know Liam that well—what if this whole date was some kind of trap? A trap to get me alone so he could... finish me off?
     It seemed like in every murder mystery I'd ever read, the protagonist ended up falling in love with the killer. Oh, no.
     I looked over at Liam. His face was strained, like he was feeling anxious. Anxious about what? How he was going to... kill me? What was I going to do? How could I escape?
     My question was, why? Why did he need to protect Benjamin's secret? How was he connected to all of this?
     "You've been quiet for a while," Liam observed as we took a turn onto a dark road. "Promise you're okay?"
     I gulped and gulped but couldn't seem to get enough air. How could I have been so naive to let him take me to dinner alone?
     "Makayla... say something, you're kinda freaking me out."
     I worked up the nerve to whisper, "Liam... I think you're the one freaking me out."
     "Um... what do you mean?"
     "Don't play dumb, Liam," I said, adding a bit of anger to my words. "You were the one who threw that rock through my window, weren't you. Don't lie to me!"
     "Makayla! What—I—what are you—you think? You actually think I'm—!" he stammered.
     "I can't believe I trusted you," I said, feeling more nauseous by the second. "And I can't believe I actually liked you!"
     "Makayla, what are you taking about? I didn't throw any rock through your window, I can't even stand being near that place—" he tried.
     "Stop lying! I know you just took me out tonight so you could—so you could KILL ME!" I shrieked. "So get it over with, won't you? But first tell me why you're—"
     "Makayla! What are you talking about? If I wanted to kill you—which I don't!—I would've done it before we even got to dinner. You think I would buy you dinner and then kill you? That'd be such a waste of money!" he said loudly.
     My breathing became more steady. "Oh. That's... actually a good point."
     "See? I'm not some serial killer! I don't know why you would think that... especially right after I bought you dinner! Can't you tell I like you? You've... you've been something special to me ever since we met in Mrs. Elms' class."
     That hit hard. I felt like I'd been run over by a massive train of guilt. I didn't know what to say. "Oh, Liam... I'm so sorry... I think I'm just overreacting about everything and... I'm just scared. Now I'm the worst sister ever and the worst friend ever. Why do I even exist?" Tears started flowing down my cheeks and Liam pulled over.
     He looked at me. "Makayla! Don't be so hard on yourself. You're actually the best sister ever and the best friend ever! You've just been through a lot. I promise I'm not mad at you. I'm actually kind of flattered—I didn't know someone could mistake me for a killer."
     I laughed through my tears. "I d-don't think that's a compliment."
     "Anything coming from you is a compliment."
     My heart melted as I reached over and gave Liam the biggest hug I'd ever given anybody. This day had been so strange, a hug was what I needed more than anything.
     We let go and looked in opposite directions immediately. This was now the most awkward moment of my life. I went from accusing Liam of being a murderer to sobbing on him and giving him a hug. And now we both basically knew we liked each other. Wow, I didn't know so much could happen in so little time.
     "Well... we'd better check on your sister," Liam said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
     I wiped my nose on my sleeve. "Right... let's go."
     We drove through the rain for another ten minutes until we pulled up at the Raymond Mansion. Everything looked normal from the outside, which was good.
     We got out together and he walked me to the door, holding my hand in his. He squeezed it and said, "Whatever happens, I'm here for you."
     "Thank you," I breathed, giving him a squeeze back.
     We knocked on the door and I held my breathe. We heard footsteps inside, and... Cameron answered the door. He looked annoyed.
     "Uh, who's this? Your boyfriend?" He glared hard at Liam.
     I said, "Sort of" at the same time Liam said "Why not?"
     Cameron stared at us. "So 'yes' or 'no'?"
     We looked at each other and laughed.
     "I'll take that as a 'yes'," Cameron grumbled.
     "What's got you in such a bad mood, Cam?" I asked him. "And where's Ruth? Is she... okay?"
     "Um, why wouldn't she be?" Cameron grunted.
     "Where is she?" I repeated, taking a step with Liam inside the mansion.
     "Probably disappeared into the attic again. You guys love going in there," Cameron mumbled as he went to go find something to eat.
     "So you don't know where she is?" Panic began to flood through my body again.
     "It's okay, we'll find her," Liam said calmly. He must've been able to sense my stress.
     I was about to start calling Ruth's name when a tiny figure came out onto the stair balcony, combing her wet hair.
     "Ruth!" I cried in relief, and I rushed up the stairs to swoop her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay... I was so worried..."
     "Worried I would run out of shampoo? Because I almost did," she said, and Liam and I both laughed. "No, I'm just kidding. Kevin came and told me what was going on—how you guys thought I was in trouble or something because someone threw a rock through our window today. But if you think about it, wouldn't it be kind of stupid for someone to attack one of us the same day they made a threat? Messages need time to sink in."
     "Well, we were just being careful," I told her.
     "And also, wouldn't you be the target, Makayla? You're the one doing all the investigating," my sister pointed out.
     "Well yes, but you're the one who can talk to ghosts," I reminded her.
     Ruth frowned. "But, Makayla—who else besides you two knows I've been talking to Kevin? Not even mom and dad know."
     Liam raised an eyebrow at me. "Really?"
     I sighed. "I guess you've got a point."
"So you're the one we need to be worried about, Makayla," Ruth said with a grin.
"Well, not right now, though—because you guys are here!" Liam, Ruth and I all embraced in a little group hug. It was a very tender moment I'll never forget.
Liam had to leave a while after, but we exchanged phone numbers first so we could call each other if we needed to. The moment after he left I got to work memorizing his number.
"What are you doing?" Ruth asked me while I walked around her room chanting numbers to myself.
"Don't distract me! I'm trying to memorize Liam's phone number!" I told her sternly. "Five, four, one, three, one, six, one, four—oh, wait, was it four or seven? Ahh!"
"Can't you just keep the piece of paper or save the number in your phone?" Ruth asked me, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "It doesn't have to be memorized."
"Yes it does, Ruth! It would be kind of rude not to memorize it, wouldn't it?"
"Well, you don't even have your own number memorized... or mom's..."
"It's not my fault I suck at memorization!" I said defensively, though I blushed. It was kind of embarrassing I was making a special effort for Liam. But he deserved it, he was basically my boyfriend now.
"Phone numbers are only ten digits long, it shouldn't be too hard for you. It should be easy compared to all the stuff you have to memorize for school, right?"
I laughed. "Um, what stuff? I don't memorize anything for school." Which was probably bad.
"Maybe that's why you aren't passing your classes," Ruth said.
"Hey, at least I'm doing better. Right now I have four B's, two C's, and two D's. That's not so bad," I said. "Now, let me memorize in peace!"
"Whatever," Ruth said with a smile, and she let her head rest on her pillow.
"Five, four, one, three, one, six, one, seven, nine—no, eight—four! I think I've finally got it now." I went on repeating the ten numbers until it was time for bed.
As I lie in bed, I did something that was very hard but also very relieving: I let myself forget about solving the murder. We would be leaving to go to San Diego tomorrow, which meant a break from school, a break from homework, and even a break from solving the mystery I'd been trying to solve for weeks. I couldn't wait. I spent the night thinking about how much fun we would have, and for the first time in a while, I actually got some sleep.