CHAPTER 29 BILLY SETS A TRAP

April threw herself into his arms. “Would you hold me? I can’t stop shaking. Just hold me?”

For a moment, Billy stood still. Is this a trick? he wondered. Does she plan to attack me, too? Then his arms automatically closed around her.

She really is trembling, he saw.

And cold . . . her skin is so cold.

Cold as death. The phrase repeated in Billy’s mind. Cold as death.

Vampires are already dead.

April pulled back and gazed at Billy. He imagined her fangs sliding down. Her lips pulling back from her teeth.

Her fangs piercing his skin.

A siren shrieked outside the theater. Billy gave a sigh of relief. The police had arrived.

Was that disappointment on April’s face?

• • • • •

“The police are talking about closing the beach and sending everybody home,” Billy announced. He, Jay, and Nate were skipping stones over the water.

It had been three days since Ms. Aaronson’s murder. No killer had been found. No connection between the deaths. No official word on how they had all died.

But the police know, Billy thought. They would never close the beach unless they knew about the vampires.

He had promised Jay that he wouldn’t mention vampires anymore. Billy and Nate had made an uneasy truce. But Billy knew that Nate wouldn’t put up with any vampire talk, either.

At least Jay hasn’t gotten any weaker, Billy thought. He still looks terrible. But April must be leaving him alone.

For now.

Frustrated, Billy picked up a round, flat stone and skipped it off the top of a breaker as it rolled into shore.

Nate tried to imitate him. But Nate’s stone went plop and vanished into the ocean. “How come yours skip and mine sink?” he asked.

“Skill,” Billy replied.

Jay chuckled. But Billy knew it was forced laughter. Nothing seemed funny lately. Not after so many people had died.

“Will they really close the beach?” Jay asked.

“Wow,” Nate said, shaking his head. “You mean we’d all have to go home?”

“That’s right,” Billy replied.

“But I have the condo to myself now that my parents took Lynette home,” Nate complained. “If they send us home, I’d have to give it up. And I’ll have to say good-bye to Irene.”

It’s better than seeing her murdered by vampires, Billy thought.

“Speaking of Irene,” Nate said, glancing at his watch, “I’m supposed to meet her at the Beach Emporium. Catch you guys later.”

Billy watched Nate trot down the beach. Then he turned to Jay.

“Did April tell you that Ms. Aaronson had bite marks on her neck?” he asked.

Jay kept walking. He didn’t answer.

“I saw them,” Billy insisted. “Did April say anything about it?”

“No,” Jay answered. “Now drop it!”

Billy grabbed Jay’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “Let me prove to you that April is a vampire—before she makes you one, too. I know a way to prove it.”

“Oh, please,” Jay moaned. “Give me a break.”

“You know you’re sick,” Billy pressed on.

“I’ve got the flu or something.”

“How about your neck?” Billy demanded. “Have those ‘bug bites’ gotten any better? Or are they worse?”

Jay groaned.

“If I can prove it, you have to believe me,” Billy insisted. “And if I don’t prove it, I’ll shut up. I’ll never say another word about vampires. And I’ll leave April alone.”

“Fine!” Jay yelled. “I give up! You won’t drop this until I let you try, will you? Okay, go ahead. But don’t blame me if you end up looking like a total jerk.”

Great! Billy thought. Finally.

“What are you going to do?” Jay asked.

“First, you have to promise not to be alone with April until this is over,” Billy told him.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Look, Jay, she’s already bitten you once or twice. Three times and you’re a vampire.”

“I’m not going to quit seeing April.”

“You don’t have to. You just have to make sure someone else is there whenever you’re with April.”

“That’s just what I need—a chaperone.”

“Jay—”

“Okay, okay. I’ll do it.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise. Tell me what you’re planning to do.”

“It’s easy,” Billy explained. “What kills vampires?”

“I’m not driving a stake through April’s heart.”

“We don’t have to do that. What else kills them?”

“I don’t know.”

“Sunlight.”

“Sunlight,” Jay repeated.

Billy leaned forward to explain exactly what he had in mind. When he was almost finished, he heard a sound behind him.

He turned quickly. And saw April standing behind him. Her eyes burned into Billy’s.

How long has she been standing there? Billy asked himself.

How much did she hear?

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 580