Chapter 29 #2
“That’s good enough,” I grumble, reversing slowly back and then changing course. I’m headed for an abandoned building nearby, one of Bohnes’ emergency hiding places. We’ll set it on fire later. For now, it’ll do to store the killdozer.
Cars are pouring down the streets on all sides, filling up the space with luxury vehicles courtesy of the Oak Valley brats and our own long held Snow Day traditions.
Prescott students explode from the doors, setting up speakers and blasting music.
Folding tables are set out, covered in alcohol bottles.
The crowd didn’t just show up here randomly.
We invited them.
The block party unwinds around us, leaving respectful space for the killdozer to move as I rumble through Prescott under the cover of night and secrets well-kept.
I’m not saying this neighborhood is a good neighborhood, but it’s a predictable one.
Nobody is going to know about this killdozer or how that skeleton got dug up.
But everybody is going to know the corpse exists.
Try to cover this murder up, Mr. Mayor.
We park the monster in the building, cover up the doors with graffiti-stained plywood, and then drive our Oak Valley cars back to the scene of the crime.
Everyone is filming poor Larron’s body. We abandon our keys in our rides and other students hop in, taking off with those same cars and muddying up the evidence.
Ash tosses the diamond cuff links on the tumble of bones and concrete, his eyes soft as he stares down at the body of a man he helped bury. When I gave the cuff links to Emma Jean, I thought she’d want to keep them. Instead, she donated them to our noble cause—makes for a better headline.
“How did Aspen kill him?” I whisper, stepping up beside Ash and putting my hand on his arm.
“Blue Velvet” by Princess Nokia is playing over the speakers, another song from my very long playlist. I put a lot of thought into this, okay? Tonight’s a big deal. My last day at Prescott High.
Damn, that’s heavy.
“Strangulation. It was his favorite method. He loved knowing that our shared face was the last thing his victims would ever see.” Ash sighs. Everyone is gossiping, chattering, recording. Both the internet and the city are a mess. “Then we brought him here, together.”
I don’t have to ask him why he did that, if he didn’t agree with it. Turning Aspen in would likely end with Ash taking the fall for the murder. And that would be only a fraction of the punishment he might receive.
“If he had his way, what would Jonas do to you?” I ask, people churning and jostling around us (but without touching), fighting for a chance to see the body and film it. Maybe because they want to. Mostly because I asked. We can’t let Larron Van Gordon die silently and be swept under the rug.
I study the grave of cloth and ivory, the expensive diamonds obscene under the shine of phone flashlights.
“I won’t let myself imagine it, because it’ll be even worse than that.
” Ash stares hard at the body, like he’s committing it to memory.
Punishing himself. I hold a hand up and block his view, forcing him to look at me.
“When Jonas realizes what we’re going to do to him, he’ll start making irrational decisions.
That’s when we’ll get an answer to that question. ”
“We might get a glimpse of his plans, but that’s all we’ll get.
I said next Friday, didn’t I? It’s the last day of my bet with Burt for the Facel Vega.
I don’t make bets I’m not confident that I can win.
” I put my arm around Ash’s shoulders and turn him around, leaving space for more students to crowd the gravesite.
Widow, Bohnes, and Alexei clear the crowd out of our way with their mere presence, leaving a nice smooth path for me and Ash to move down the sidewalk. Across the street is the apartment building where two of the protesting residents went missing. The ones last seen with Valeria Navarro.
Something weird is going on, and I’m just not seeing it. Why? How obscure is this secret?
“LAST PARADE” by BamBam is playing now, setting more somber tones for this impromptu funeral. It’s enough to groove to, but not enough to riot to. We’re having a mostly peaceful gathering here, nothing sus.
The other boys pause beside the open door of a yellow Lexus with the keys inside, engine already running.
“Get in the passenger seat.” I push Ash inside and hook his seat belt while he lifts his fingers to my chin and stares poetically at my mouth. He’s so unbelievably morose and romantic.
“Thank you, for helping me clean up my sins.” And then he drops his hand to his lap and closes his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat. The move we just made is going to infuriate Mayor Kelly, no doubt about it. Not only that, but Ash had his very first round of anal tonight…
Poor thing is probably exhausted.
“It’s almost over,” I promise him, looking up to meet Widow’s eyes as he climbs into the driver’s seat of the car.
He’s still wearing the jagged steel crown, one hand on the wheel, leaned back like a punk on that expensive leather seat.