Page 110 of Paranoid

“I don’t like it.”

“Tough.” She met his worried gaze, let her hand slide away from his sleeve. “Seriously, I’ll be fine.”

He hesitated, then saw that she wasn’t about to be talked out of it, so he sat again.

Under the harsh globe lights, she looked down at him. “Take care, Ryder,” she said in a moment of tenderness, then slipped her ponytail through the opening in the back of her cap. “And thanks for the coffee. Don’t forget to leave the server a nice tip.”

CHAPTER 25

“Oh my God, oh my God, is it true?” Lila was almost screaming from the other end of the wireless connection.

Seated at her computer, Rachel decided she’d made a mistake answering what she knew was the inevitable call.

Lila sounded as if she was bordering on hysteria. “Is Annessa really dead? Murdered? Oh my God, I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. I was working out, you know, my in-home routine, and the news was on and . . . oh, holy crap, there it was. At first they were saying that the police had to wait to identify the victim until the next of kin had been informed, but then they must’ve told Clint, because then they said it was Annessa Cooper and oh my God. . . . And it was at St. Augustine’s, right next door to Charles’s offices. And then Lucas came down and said he’d gotten a wild text from Xander saying that he and Harper had found her hanging in the bell tower! Oh my God, oh my God. This is terrible. Horrible. And after Violet . . . oh, wow.” A pause as a thought seemed to occur to her. “Wait a second. Are the murders connected? I bet they are, I just bet they are. They have to be! I didn’t immediately go there. I mean, who would want to think that a serial killer is here in Edgewater? Killing off the class of . . . oh, they have to be connected.”

“Cade thinks they could be.”

“Of course they are. So you’ve talked to him?” She sounded surprised.

“He brought Harper back last night.”

“Oh. Oh. Geez, Rach.” A pause and then a deep breath. Rachel guessed she’d found another “just for emergencies” cigarette. “Then . . . what happened? The details were sketchy on the news, mainly just that she was found in the chapel. I can’t believe it.” Another drag and a long breath as she exhaled.

“I did. Yeah. We talked,” Rachel said, but decided not to go into detail. “But Cade didn’t say too much. Just what you heard on the news.”

“This is awful! Chuck is beside himself and Lucas is freaked. Freaked! I mean, you can imagine, it’s his friend and cousin who found Annessa. It’s his fault that Xander is up here in the first place.” She was winding up. “Another classmate? I mean, what are the chances? Does someone have a thing against us? Against our reunion?”

“I don’t think—”

“And the committee. What about the reunion committee? Annessa was in charge of the money.... Oh no. And she was one of the signers on the bank account. It takes two signatures, you know. But I’m on it and Reva, too . . . oh, God. This is going to complicate things. I’ll have to find someone else to handle the money for the registration. Oh! Maybe you could take charge. You’re already trying to find the classmates who are missing—”

“Oh, hey, wait. No.”

“But—”

“Lila, stop! As you said, two classmates are dead, murdered, and my daughter discovered Annessa. . . . It’s a madhouse around here.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry. I heard about the vandalism, but this could be a good distraction for you. It would be easy for an organized person like you.”

“Find someone else!” Rachel said with more vehemence than she’d intended as Reno stood and stretched, then trotted to the top of the stairs. “I can’t. And I really can’t think about the reunion right now.”

“But she was a classmate!” Another pause. Another drag. “I don’t have anyone to handle the remembrance table and now . . . now we have another name to add. Oh my God, this is so damned sad.”

“Very. You know, Lila—”

“And scary as all get-out. To think two members of our class have been killed in the past week. It makes you think twice, you know.”

Did she ever. Reno whined and headed down the steps. Rachel pushed back her chair and followed. “You might consider postponing the reunion or maybe not even having it at all,” she said as she reached the main floor and lowered her voice as the kids were still sleeping.

“What?” Lila gasped. “No! Are you crazy?”

“Are you? Think about what’s gone on.”

“But it’s the twenty-year reunion. A biggie.”

“You could wait until twenty-five.”

“No! No way. We’ve all put too much work into it. Look, Rachel, I realize you’re upset with everything that’s gone on, but we have to keep going, you know. Just keep going. We’re not stopping it or postponing it, but we might have to have another emergency meeting. Losing Annessa at this point is a big deal.”