Page 27 of Two Favors Repaid

“Hey, Emma,” a voice said. “What are you doing here?”

Emma looked up to see Jessy, a marine biologist who’d arrived in town several months ago to study shark activity. Jessy and Emma had been out with the same group of people several times, but they weren’t close enough for Emma to be confiding in her.

Not that there’s much to say about my night with Rob.

“Hi, Jessy,” Emma answered. “I’m sorry I can’t stay and chat. I need to get to the school.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know,” Emma answered distractedly. “I hope so.” She waved her phone around like a madwoman, wondering why she wasn’t getting a proper signal.

Jessy didn’t ask any more questions. “I can drive you,” she said, “I’ve got my car keys right here. Let me just put this in the trunk,” she said, lugging a large bag. Emma wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was in that bag. Jessy was shark-obsessed.

“So what’s going on? I’m not great at keeping track of days, but isn’t it still the middle of the summer?”

“Um, yes, I just … I got a call. I think one of my students is looking for me.”

“At the school?” Jessy said, frowning. “Well, we’ll be there in a few minutes. It’s right on the next street, right?”

Emma remembered Jessy hadn’t grown up in Sharp’s Cove.

“Yes, take the first right now then left at the end of this street.”

Finally, the school building came into view. At first she was surprised to see there was nobody by the front gate. Then she remembered what Joe had told her on the phone, that he had something to do at the gym. Thanking Jessy, Emma got out of the car.

“Wait,” Jessy said. “Are you sure it’s even open? It looks deserted.”

“They’re probably in the gym. Thanks for the ride, Jessy.”

“Wait. How will you get back?”

“My apartment’s only a few minutes’ walk from here, and I’ve got my car keys with me. I’ll catch you later. Thanks again,” Emma said, eager to get into the school. She was really worried about Jonas.

“Okay, see you later!” the younger woman said, waving. Emma watched the sleek Audi sports car depart the parking lot before making her way to the gate. She headed straight for the electronic lock. As a staff member, she knew the eight-digit code. Before she could enter it, she noticed the gate was open, the door flapping in the breeze without the lock engaging.

She felt a frisson of fear and shook herself. She was letting paranoia get the better of her. The maintenance man had said he was fixing something at the gate when Jonas arrived. He probably didn’t get a chance to finish.

Walking into the school grounds, she ignored the main entrance and headed for the side door that she knew would lead her right to the gym. The school wasn’t large, but for her it was the happiest place in Sharp’s Cove—at least it was when there were dozens of children running around. Now, the playground looked sad and lonely.

The side door was wide open. Light streamed into the deserted hallway.

“Hello? Jonas?” she said loudly. There was no reply.

Emma walked inside and started walking towards the gym. At first all she heard were her own steps, which were rather soft because she was wearing rubber-soled sandals. Then suddenly she heard another sound, camouflaged against the sound of her own footsteps. She stopped and the other sound stopped as well. She thought she might be making it up and tried to convince herself to keep going. But the hair on her arms stood on end. Suddenly, it hit her: she was acting exactly like a character in a 1990’s horror movie. Not the protagonist who brought the killer down, she was acting like the blonde who died in the first ninety seconds of the movie.

She fished in her handbag for her cell. She needed to call Rob and—

The noise came again and this time she didn’t try to convince herself it was nothing. She clutched her bag tighter against her shoulder—because dammit, her phone was somewhere in there, and she needed to find it—and turned. She ran as fast as her legs would take her to the exit, which now seemed miles away.

She heard her own footsteps, no longer soft, and somebody else’s footsteps behind her. But she was close to the door, so close that she knew she was going to make it. Suddenly there was a pop and a sharp pain on her right arm. The sound was soft, not at all like she’d imagined a shot would sound like, but the evidence was loud and clear.

Somebody’s shooting at me.

Her arm burned but the pain wasn’t incapacitating.

Maybe I’m in shock.

You can be in shock later.