Betrayed

Chapter 12

"Crystal," I said, surprised, "Did you kill Hayley?"

Crystal glanced at us, her eyes wild. "You think I killed Hayley?"

Ashley pointed at her bloodstained clothes. "Oh," she said, "I was standing near Hayley when you covered up her wound." The wildness left her eyes, and I started to relax.

"But," Ashley said, "if the blood came from when Hayley's wound was covered, then why did you go crazy?"

Crystal shuddered. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Ashley and I exchanged a glance. "You don't remember?" she asked.

"Remember what?" Crystal glanced around. "How did I get to the patio?"

Andrew sighed. "Crystal, you declared a new game to see who could escape first. You followed Natalia and I over here," he explained.

"I did?"

"Yes." Andrew rubbed his hands together. "We should see if Hayley is better," he suggested.

"Good idea," I said and the four of us left the patio and walked back over to the play set.

Hayley still lay on the slide, but she was not moving. The blood had stopped and her eyes were dull. "I think she's dead," Ashley whispered.

I shivered. "This cannot be happening."

Andrew glanced at me. "What do you mean?"

I met his gaze. "I came to this party because I wanted to hang out with my friends over the summer," I told him, "but I never thought that this seemingly fun party would become a place of death for six people."

Andrew placed a hand on my shoulder. "I feel the same," he told me.

"Same here," Ashley echoed.

Crystal nodded. "None of us thought that this would happen, except the killer."

I pushed them away and flinched at Crystal's hurt glance. "Sorry, but I can't trust anyone."

Andrew nodded. "I don't want anyone coming near me," he said. With a glance at his sister, he added, "Not even Ashley."

"You know," Ashley said, "I'm surprised that I'm still alive."

Andrew smiled. "It's probably because of me that you are," he replied. "No one wants to mess with me."

I stifled my laughter, but Andrew still heard it. "What?" he asked.

I looked him over. He was short and didn't even appear scary. "Whatever you say."

Ashley sat down on the ground, and the rest of us copied her. "Do you remember when we used to be in small musicals?" Ashley asked me.

"Yes, I do," I replied.

Andrew nodded. "My favorite was the one where we traveled through time."

"I liked that one, too," I said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, feeling the darkness close in around us. The moon continued to climb higher in the sky and I lay down to watch it. "The moon is beautiful tonight," I remarked.

"Yes, it is," Crystal said. "It's too bad that everyone who is dead can't see it."

I froze, and Ashley tensed up next to me. "Are you the killer?" Ashley asked. Crystal glanced at us. "I would never kill anyone, let alone Owen and you teenagers," she stated.

Ashley ignored her. "You tried to frame Hayley because she was the easiest to blame," she continued. "But you didn't realize that Raphael was also a killer."

"I didn't kill anyone," Crystal repeated.

Ashley stepped towards her. "Olivia was killed first because she ignored everyone. But Matthew saw you, so you killed him next."

I stood up. "Xavior accused Hayley of being the killer, so you killed him to make it appear that he figured out who the killer was. Raphael killed Owen, and you got suspicious," I said.

Crystal's eyes opened wide. "I would never kill him," she said.

Ashley glared at her, and she shrunk back from the sharp gaze. "You found out that it was Raphael who killed Owen, so you killed him and then walked away from the group."

"And then, Hayley figured it out, and you killed her. Then you pinned the blame on Andrew," I finished.

Crystal shook her head. "That's not true," she whispered. "I'm not a killer."

I glanced at Andrew to see what he thought, but he was staring blankly at us. "Um, Andrew?" I asked.

Andrew stood up. "Why do you believe that there were two killers?" he asked, now staring into the sky.

"There was a knife found in Raphael's back pocket," Crystal replied.

Andrew looked us. "Then, to find the second killer, look for the person who has a knife in their back pocket," he told us.

"Turn around," Ashley ordered Crystal.

"This is ridiculous," Crystal said, but she did turn around.

Ashley glanced at me, surprised. "She doesn't have a knife," she told me.

I shook my head. "What about her front pockets?" I asked.

Crystal sighed and turned back around. She turned her pockets inside-out and nothing fell out. "I am not the killer," she said.

My eyes opened wide and Ashley glanced at me. I turned around and Ashley checked my back pockets. "No knife," she said.

I glanced at Ashley and checked her pockets. "No knife," I said again.

We turned to the last person: Andrew. He glanced at us. "Still believe that I am the killer?" he asked.

Crystal and Ashley nodded, but I hesitated. "Are you sure that Crystal didn't discard her knife somewhere?"

Crystal turned on me. "For the last time, I am not the killer."

Andrew stepped forward. "She's right." He reached into his back pocket and withdrew a knife.

So, it was Andrew and Raphael all along. Who would have thought? Will Andrew kill anyone else? Find out in the final chapter of the  book.

~Aria