Blood Red

It took her a few minutes to dig into her purse and find the business card, but she eventually found Richard Boyd’s number and gave it a ring. He didn’t answer so she left him a message. There was nothing solid, of course, but she wanted him to know about her search and about the crows for what little it was worth.

“Hey, Kelli!” She recognized the voice immediately. It was Todd Thatcher. He was one of the Phi Chi’s, a rather notorious fraternity on the campus. They had the best parties, the best drugs, and the worst reputation for a frat house in the state as far as she could tell.

Still, she’d managed to go to a few of their parties in the past and always had a good time. Okay, so her ass got grabbed now and then, but she always had fun flirting with the jocks and the upperclassmen that made up the roster.

And they were smart enough to know it was just flirting. Mostly. Derek Benson wasn’t smart enough. Todd had been there to prevent his refusal to accept “no” as answer from becoming an incident that would have landed her in the hospital, Derek in jail, or both. When he tried forcing the issue, Todd slammed him into the wall hard enough to dent the plaster and then made him apologize to Kelli. Derek wasn’t with the Phi Chi’s anymore. He didn’t go to the university anymore, either. He managed to screw up his grades too badly to stay.

“How are you, Todd?” She smiled in his direction and he came closer, a broad grin on his broad body. The boy was built like a door: big and blocky.

“I’m good. We’re having a party tonight, thought you might like to come.” He was trying to be casual, but it wasn’t working all that well. He had a crush, and he was sweet when he wasn’t being a typical guy.

“Oh, I don’t know if I can.” She doubted it, actually. There were tests to study for and she didn’t like being away from the house after dark right now. There was something creepy about the nights lately. The nightmares probably had something to do with it. Sometimes she still thought Teddy was outside and asking her to let him in.

He looked a little crestfallen, but it was a survivable level. He pouted very well for such a big moose. “Oh, that’s cool. Just wanted to let you know.”

“I would if I could, Todd. But I’m so far behind on my schoolwork and I have to watch over the house for the Listers.” She gave him her best apologetic look and he shuffled around uncomfortably for a second. “Maybe we could do something on Halloween? I have to take some kids out around five, but I should be done a little after seven, maybe seven-thirty.”

He smiled and nodded. If he’d had a tail, it would have wagged. “Yeah, that’d be great. We’re having a party that night too. This is just sort of a warm-up.”

“Yeah, I was wondering why the party on a Wednesday night.”

“Hey, why not?”

“So, you want to meet up?”

“That’d be great. Okay.” He shuffled from one foot to the other, his hands moving like they had no idea what to do with themselves. Kelli’s hands never had that problem; they flew around her body whenever she spoke.

“Okay, so I’ll see you later, Todd.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you, Kelli.”

She walked off, smiling again and thrilled. She hadn’t had a chance at a date or even a party for over two months, and she needed the release.

Todd shuffled off, on his way to wherever he had been going. He was smiling, too.

They never got to go on the date. Todd was dead by Halloween.

IV

The Phi Chi boys wanted to have a party, and that meant they called on Tom. Tom was glad to accommodate. They wanted to spend enough to at least earn him the cash to make his next buy, which was going to be necessary if he wanted to stay in business.

He hadn’t found Lenny, and he was on his way to Ryan’s place when Doug Clark got hold of him. Doug was the big man on campus this year; top of the food chain as it were. That was good, because Doug had money and wasn’t afraid to spend it.

“Yo, Tom, my man! Wassup?”

“Doug! How’s business?”

“Rockin’, that’s why I need to get some party supplies.”

“What are you gonna need, Doug?”

Doug gave him a list that was substantial and put Tom into a good mood for the first time all day. “I can do all of that, my man. Anything else?”

“Yeah, actually.” He sounded almost embarrassed. Anything but extremely cocky was rare for the moron, but that was okay as long as there was money involved.

“Talk to me.”

“Some of the guys were thinking a few girls could be fun. I heard you can supply some.”

“Oh, I can get you girls. No problem there, but they aren’t your standard hookers. We’re talking high-end, quality ass.”

“That’s cool. How much?”

“How many guys?”

Doug paused for a moment before answering, “The whole frat.”

“How many girls?”

“Maybe three or four.” He was sounding a little nervous now. Three or four girls for one of the largest fraternities in the area probably meant a serious train job on the girls. They would not be happy when it was all done.