Don't Scream. Wendy Corsi Staub
MARKED FOR DEATH
“What if we went to the police and we didn’t tell them anything about what happened with Rachel?” Brynn asks carefully. “What if we just told them what’s going on now and that somebody is obviously threatening us?”
“How long do you think it’s going to take them to figure out that what’s going on now has something to do with something that happened in the past?” Fiona asks. “Specifically when we were in college?”
“If Cassie would just call us back…You did leave her a message on her cell phone voice mail, right?”
“Three. Cassie said she was going to take off, remember?” Fiona goes on. “And she told Alec the same thing.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s safe.”
“No, but we both know there’s no reason for us to start panicking until we know for sure something’s happened to—”
“Stop!” Brynn holds up a hand to cut her off. “Don’t even say it.”
Brynn hugs herself, still quaking from her latest bout with nausea, which has everything to do with what she found inside the parcel left by her front door.
There was an identical one at Fiona’s door.
Both packages contained framed copies of their sorority composite picture from ten years ago.
Four smiling faces are circled in thick black marker: Brynn’s, Fiona’s, Cassie’s and Tildy’s.
And both Cassie’s and Tildy’s are crossed out with an ominous, blood-red X…
Books by Wendy Corsi Staub
DEARLY BELOVED
FADE TO BLACK
ALL THE WAY HOME
THE LAST TO KNOW
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
SHE LOVES ME NOT
KISS HER GOODBYE
LULLABY AND GOODNIGHT
THE FINAL VICTIM
MOST LIKELY TO DIE
DON’T SCREAM
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Don’t Scream
Wendy Corsi Staub
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
Dedicated in loving memory of my grandfather,
Samuel J. Ricotta (April 1915–May 2006)
and in honor of my grandmother, Sara J. Ricotta.
And for Mark, Morgan, and Brody.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Carolyn MacNeil and Officer Michael McCarthy of the Boston Police Department, who patiently answered countless questions about murder and mayhem. Any errors in police procedural are strictly my own. In addition, I owe a tremendous thank you to my editor, John Scognamiglio, and the staff at Kensington Books; to my agents, Laura Blake Peterson, Holly Frederick, and the staff at Curtis Brown, Ltd; to my publicists, Nancy Berland and Elizabeth Middaugh, as well as Kim Miller and the rest of the staff at Nancy Berland Public Relations.
Heartfelt thanks as well to Cathy Cadek and Laura Pennock and staff at Levy Home entertainment for their ongoing, enthusiastic support, and to Levy’s Sales Promotions team—Pam Nelson, Sarah Donaldson, Janet Krey, Emily Hixon, Devar Spight, Kathleen Koelbl, Justine Willis, Renna Thomas, and George Tyrrell—for making the K-mart/Levy Sizzling Summer Author Tour such fun! Thanks to Carol Fitzgerald, Sunil Kumar, and the staff at The Book Report Network; and to Rick and Patty Donovan, Phil Pelletier, and their staff at my favorite store, The Book Nook, in Dunkirk, N.Y. Finally, Mark Staub: I could never do any of it without your feedback and support every step of the way along every literary journey.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PROLOGUE
PART I HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR RACHEL
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
PART II HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR TILDY
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
PART III HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR CASSIE
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
PART IV HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR FIONA
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
PART V HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BRYNN
CHAPTER 22
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
September, ten years earlier
“…and I do solemnly swear that I will never ever tell another living soul what happened here tonight…”
“And I do solemnly swear that I will never ever tell another living soul what happened here tonight,” the female voices echo dutifully, none without a quaver.
Brynn’s is the most tremulous of all, barely audible even to her own ears. She prays Tildy won’t notice and single her out to repeat the pledge solo. If that happens…
What will I do?
What can I do?
She’ll just have to go along with it, the way she’s gone along with all of this, right from the start. Against her better judgment, against her conscience, and, ultimately…
Against the law?
Tildy says no. Adamantly. She insists that they haven’t broken any laws.
“It’s not like we’ve murdered someone,” she hissed when Brynn balked at the proposed plan. “Anyone in our situation would do the exact same thing.”
Brynn highly doubts that, but she can’t bring herself to say it.
There was a time when Brynn Costello—apple of her daddy’s eye, valedictorian of her high school class, dean’s list candidate for her first four semesters at Stonebridge College, Zeta Delta Kappa pledge—would have stood up to all of them. Even Matilda Harrington.
So why didn’t you?
Why are you standing here in the woods in the middle of the night being sworn to secrecy?
This can’t really be happening. If anyone ever found out…
But nobody will find out.
They’re not going to tell.
Anyway, Tildy was right when she pointed out that what happened isn’t their fault.
Still…
I just want to