| “No, I think Mr. Almond thinks you killed them.” Mulder said. “Piper, we’re on your side, you know that.” Do I, Piper thought to herself. She stood up and walked back towards the stairs that lead to her room. She walked a few feet away before she turned back around. “Oh, and by the way, tomorrow is the New York trip with Mr. Coffey. So, if he’s your murderer you better catch him before he murders again.” Piper walked upstairs and into her room. She was scared and upset. She didn’t want to admit to herself that Mulder and Scully actually believed she was a murderer. She was a good person who would never hurt a living soul. As she laid in her bed and thought, she knew she had to draw a conclusion. She had no human compassion. Her thoughts were never with a person, but instead with the manor in which she died. The thoughts of her friends deaths didn’t bother her, but instead the ways in which they were murdered, fascinated her. “They don’t think you’re the murderer.” Erin said walking up the stairs. “Now, I’m not sure if they’ll let Mulder and Scully on the trip, but if they don’t, then it’s our job to make sure no one else gets hurt.” “Do you think Mr. Almond is the murderer?” Piper asked. “I’m not sure what to believe. He’s the only possible murderer except for…” Her voice trailed off. “Me?” Piper questioned, knowing she could answer Erin’s statement. “I don’t think you did this.” Erin said. “No body does.” “Can we please go to sleep at a reasonable hour this time, since we have to wake up especially early to get to school on time to get to New York?” Hannah asked walking into the room. She cuddled under her blanket and put her head on her soft, feather pillow. “Can you ever say something without being too complicated?” Erin wondered out loud. Hannah sneered at her but closed her eyes, in order to sleep. Ten minutes later, the lights went out and the soft sound of heavy breathing could be heard throughout the room. Each of the girls was sleeping, dreaming about different things. In her own room, Scully looked above her at the glow in the dark stars. There were many of them aligned to shape the words “Suzanne’s Room.” Scully smiled, thinking of herself as a teenager. Before she went off the college, she had decorated her own room so that everyone would always know it was hers. She thought of what all three of the girls must be going through. How the families must be coping with their losses. How the school would be dealing with the many parents who called in because of rumors they had heard about. By this time the story had probably hit the news and people were panicking. Piper had obviously not told her parents what was going on for a good reason. They would panic to an extreme. They would probably find any way to leave her Uncle’s house. They would fly down immediately so that their little baby would be okay and safe. Piper’s parents hadn’t always trusted Mulder and Scully. It took them a long time until they could allow Mulder and Scully to walk into Piper’s life. That first time when they had met, Piper would come home with wild stories about how she met two agents from the FBI at camp. Her parents didn’t believe her, at first, but then when she began hanging government conspiracy posters, they knew Piper’s life was about to change. Chapter 6 February 17 5:33 AM Erin shifted her weight, so her foot was underneath her on the chair. She brushed a strand of light brown hair away from her eyes. She picked up a Teen magazine and began reading an article on contact lenses. For months, she had been trying to get her parents to let her buy contacts, but they just wouldn’t agree. Piper sat next to her, writing in a small notebook. Erin was unsure what she was writing but by the vigorous motions her hands made, she knew it was something important. Piper covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. Across from them were Melanie and Ian. Melanie leaned her head against the cushion, complaining of a headache. Ian listened to his headphones. He turned a small dial button and began to lip synch the words, as the familiar songs filled his ears. Piper looked around, constantly looking at Mr. Almond. Mulder and Scully were unable to go, so they stayed in Rhode Island, looking for more evidence. They were going to question police and Jim’s parents, while Piper went off to New York. It was an English class trip to see a Broadway play called “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” The past year they had seen “Beauty and the Beast” a truly magnificent show. “Piper, are you feeling okay?” Mr. Almond asked coming over to the girls. Piper smiled back, not knowing why Mr. Almond was so concerned. “I’m fine, why do you ask?” “You haven’t taken your nose out of that book since we left the parking lot. What are you writing?” He asked. Erin looked over at Piper, also concerned to why Mr. Almond would ask so many questions. It wasn’t like him to be overly concerned, if he was concerned at all. “I was writing a note to my two FBI Agent friends and I’m also starting a story.” “What type of story?” He asked, obviously interested. “A story about a teacher who murders his students.” Piper answered. Mr. Almond nodded and walked back to his own seat. Piper looked out the window, and saw Hannah’s bus in front of them. She wished Hannah could be there now, so they could share their thoughts together. Piper kept a record of exactly what happened and when. She knew if anyone was hurt or even murdered on the trip, that her journal would be taken as concrete evidence to what happened. She wanted to keep documented accounts so Mulder and Scully could see what really happened. “Why wouldn’t they let Mulder and Scully go with us?” Erin asked. “Well, everything should be okay. With all these people here, I don’t think the murderer would kill will everyone around.” Piper said trying to comfort Erin. She ignored her own words, not really believing what she said. If a killer’s impulse was great enough, it wouldn’t stop anyone from killing. “Yea, except the theater is going to be dark. I’m not sitting anywhere near Mr…” Erin began. Piper cupped her hand around Erin’s mouth. Her voice became muffled. Piper could faintly hear the word Almond. As soon as she said it, Piper removed her hand and sighed. “Don’t say that name.” She hissed. “We need to have key words. Instead of his real name we’ll use…Steve.” “Steve?” Erin questioned. “Yea, you know it sounds like a nice simple name that belongs to a sweet, innocent person.” Piper said. Erin nodded realizing Piper’s secrecy. If Mr. Almond knew they were talking about him, he might kill herself or someone else on the bus. Piper continued to write in her book. She looked around and glanced up everyone once in a while at Mr. Almond. He constantly licked his lips and looked around at the number of students. Piper was concerned that he was looking for his next victim. On the other bus, Hannah was sitting by herself. A movie played on her bus, but she wasn’t interested. If either of the busses passed each other, she tried to crane her neck to spot Erin, Piper, or Mr. Almond. The windows were tinted so it was hard to see, but she thought seeing them with shine a glimmer of hope. Hannah knew she wasn’t the one who should be afraid. So far, the two victims had a few things in common. They were male, around the same age, friends, and students of Mr. Almond. Hannah knew the rest of his students should be warned but that would cause a panic throughout the school. * * * * “Scully?” Mulder questioned. He clenched his cellular phone in his hand and put it up to his ear. He had been trying to reach Scully for quite sometime but her cell-phone was most likely turned off. She finally answered. By the background noise, Mulder could tell she was inside a building. He could hear voices and the sound of elevators dinging as they reached the correct floor. “Mulder, where are you?” Scully asked. “I just got back from talking to Jim Guild’s parents.” Mulder answered. “Where are you?” “I’m inside Quantico and I think I’ve found something. I had some scientists look into the claw we found at each crime scene.” “And…” Mulder wondered. “And no one could tell me what it was.” “What are we going to do?” Mulder asked. “Well, I did get the name of a person who they say could tell us what it is. He lives outside of Boston. I faxed the address to Piper’s house. Go there and pick it up and we’ll meet in Boston in two hours.” “Okay.” Mulder said. He hung up his phone and put it down on the seat next to him. He turned the car around and went back the way he came. He was heading towards Gorton to interview teachers but he knew talking to the mysterious man would prove more valuable to the investigation. The claw was the one piece of hard evidence that could be gathered, and they needed to find out what it was. Two hours later, the bus had stopped at a nearby McDonalds. Piper got out and stretched her legs. She walked into the building with Erin close behind. They went into the bathroom and Piper stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection. “What are you doing?” Hannah asked. She knew Piper wasn’t big on what she looked like. She could have a giant purple streak in the middle of her forehead and she didn’t care. Her looks didn’t matter, it was juts her personality. “I’m afraid.” Piper answered. “What if he decides to kill someone on this trip? What if it’s me or you or Erin.” “I think what you need to do is look at the repetitiveness of the case.” Hannah said. |