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Ellie turned to ask Robby, because he seemed to have it all figured out, but he was no longer there. He had crossed the clearing, stepped around the birds, and was climbing the steps to the porch of the Pickerton house.
96
Matt
PETERSON DIDN’T BOTHER WITHthe parking lot. He followed the blacktop right to the gym doors and parked in the yellow zone where the visiting school buses usually off-loaded. The truck jerked to a stop, and the engine stuttered out.
Eli jumped over the side, went to the back, and opened the tailgate. “Here’s your stop, Loverboy. Time to go.”
With one hand on the Colt, Rodney yanked Matt to a sitting position by his collar and forced him to the edge of the tailgate, then gave him another push.
Matt managed to keep his footing and was about to make a play for the Colt when Peterson came around the side, holding Gabby firmly by the arm. “Jesus, Matt, wipe that look off your face. You got no place to go. Stop making things harder on yourself. This is where you’re supposed to be.”
The crowd around them had gone quiet, their voices nothing but muffled whispers. Several people pointed at Matt; others were focused on the girl as she walked to the back of the truck andjumped down, her dress billowing out around her. She took in all the people for a moment, studying their faces in turn, then circled around the truck to the open doors of the gym and disappeared inside, walking with the confidence of someone who’d been there before and knew where they needed to go.
Against her protests, Eli pulled Addie from the cab of the truck. She tried to twist away from him, but he was far stronger. With one hand lodged on the small of her back, the other gripping her shoulder, he steered her into the building.
Peterson placed two fingers in his mouth and blew out a sharp whistle. “Everyone inside! Let’s get this thing started!”
“Move,” Rodney muttered, shoving Matt forward.
97
Cody Hill
CODY AND MARCIE WEREstanding just inside the double gym doors when Mr. Peterson and his friends showed up, dragging Deputy Maro by his short-and-curlies like a stray dog on a leash. Hands all zip-tied. Head hung low. Wow, what a sight. Cody hadn’t much liked Mr. Peterson until that moment, but the man clearly knew how to take charge of his shit. The local po-po had dropped the ball, and he wasn’t about to let them wiggle out of their reckoning. Cody expected them to drag the sheriff in, too, but no such luck. Instead, they had the waitress from the diner and that woman who always dressed like she was ten years younger than she probably was, Addie something.
Marcie was still holding Cody’s hand, and she gave him a gentle tug toward the bleachers. “We should go get a seat.”
When Cody had entered the gym with Marcie, he’d wanted nothing more than to prance across the floor with Marcie at his side, make sure everyone got a good eyeful, but then he saw something he wanted even more—there was a chain hanging from themetal door’s emergency push bar. Not just a chain, but a padlock, too, and holy hell was that fortunate, because Cody hadn’t considered how he’d keep everyone inside when shit hit the fan, and now he had a plan.
As if to back up the ray of sunshine the universe was shining up Cody’s ass, Mr. Peterson stopped at the door, eyed first the chain and lock, then turned to Cody. “Fasten that up when the last of them comes in, will you, kid? We don’t want anyone wandering off.”
Sir, yes, sir!
“Yeah, whatever,” Cody muttered, trying to hold back the enthusiasm.
Peterson reached out and honest-to-God ruffled Cody’s hair before heading toward the center of the gymnasium floor, where a microphone had been set up.
“You’re sweating,” Marcie said. “Maybe you should take your coat off.”
Before Cody realized what she was doing, she reached over and tugged down the zipper on his jacket. He slapped her hand away and got the zipper back up, but not before she sawsomething. He couldn’t be sure exactly what that something was, but it wasn’t good. He could tell that much by the look on her face. Her hand in his seemed to go cold, and she tried to pull away. He gripped her tighter. “I think it’s best you and I stay close. You try to run or tell someone, and I might panic, do something rash. You really don’t want me to panic, do you?”
Marcie swallowed. “That’s not real, right? It’s some kind of joke?”
“It’s no more a joke than what Malcolm Mitchell did to you.”
Her face went white. “You know about that?”
“He’s probably here right now. I bet you really want to get even with him. I bet you’ve thought about it every day. Well, today is your chance. You can get even with him and all those people whoturned their back on you when you needed them most. They’re all here. Every one of them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What God intended me to do when he put me on this planet. I’m here for a reason, and so are you.” He squeezed her hand. “Thisisn’t an accident. You’re meant to help me.”
They stood there in silence as the last of the people came in from outside and filled the bleachers. Marcie’s grip on his hand loosened but didn’t let go, and Cody knew he had her. Just like the chain, the lock, and everything else; it was all meant to be. He wasn’t the least bit surprised when Marcie closed the metal door and clinked the lock in place all on her own. She’d died that day with Malcolm. This was her shot at being reborn.
98
