‘Just like the statues and carvings then.’
‘Yes, but they don’t convey the way it stared at me. That thing wants me dead.’ Nava gave a small shrug. ‘It’s mutual, obviously.’
235/5/24.
As Courtney settled into her seat for homeroom, she slotted her ketcom and was immediately greeted by a display showing the expected attendance figures for every class in the school. Nodding, she watched it as their teacher entered the room and walked to his lectern.
It was not much of a plan, but it was the best she could come up with for now. Any student who did not make it to homeroom was going to be investigated. That was going to cause problems and probably some embarrassment. It was better than discovering another body.
Now, all she had to do was wait and see who had not reported in for morning classes. It was a bit like hoping for a disaster to occur so that you could learn to predict them. Courtney was hoping – if hoping was the right word – for someone to be traumatised and injured in order to catch a killer. Sometimes, her job really sucked.
~~~
‘Nothing,’ Courtney said. She more or less slammed her tray onto the table beside Mitsuko’s. Her cutlery bounced and clattered. Her glass of juice sloshed out, forming a pool with her fork in it. ‘Oh…’
‘Calm yourself, Courtney,’ Mitsuko said. ‘It had to get smart eventually. We’re probably lucky it didn’t work out that it should keep student hours where possible before now.’
Kyle handed Courtney a handful of napkins. ‘The president’s right, Courtney. We’ll just have to move to plan B.’
‘There’s a plan B?’ Mitsuko asked.
‘Yeah,’ Courtney replied, ‘and you and Nava are going to be a major part of it. Actually, Nava is, but the first part is going to be better if there are two of you.’
‘You want me to wander around the campus looking for it?’ Nava asked.
‘That seems inefficient,’ Rochester commented.
‘We’re going to reduce the target area,’ Courtney said.
‘How?’
‘Oh, I figure I know the best place for this thing to find its next victims. So, Suki’s going to take Nava clubbing.’
Melissa and Rochester looked at each other and then both asked the question that first came to mind: ‘We have clubs?’
~~~
The campus actually had three establishments which could be described as nightclubs; it was in the middle of nowhere and it needed to provide entertainment to at least some extent. One of them did not serve alcohol and catered to the young adults at the school. One was aimed at the middle range, the older students and the younger postgraduates. Those two were located in the residential areas. The last was aimed at faculty and their families, and that one was out in the suburbia the older residents of the school called home.
Nava and Mitsuko could get into the first of them without any trouble at all. It was not exactly the sort of place Nava would have selected for having a good time. Mostly, the club area – and it was referred to as a club, not a nightclub – consisted of dance floor, but there were areas around that where you could sit at a table and chat. Sonic barrier magic was used to reduce the volume of the music outside the dance floor so that the chatting did not involve screaming at the top of your lungs. Nava was a little ambivalent about that since, given the opportunity to speak, the male customers were using that privilege to try to pick her up.
She supposed that it was inappropriate to blame them, and they were trying for Mitsuko about as much. Nava had exactly one dress suitable for a nightclub: the one Mitsuko had bought her for the party at the mansion. Mitsuko had found something a little less revealing to wear, though it was short, had a very low, open back, and was made of something which suggested a lot of what was technically hidden. It was probably unsurprising that they were getting attention, even if one of them was the student council president.
They were not, however, getting the attention they wanted. ‘It’s not here,’ Nava said. She was, as usual, expressionless, but there was something about her which suggested frustration. Or maybe just annoyance. Mitsuko was unsure why anyone was braving her gaze when she was giving off the kind of negative vibes that should have terrified potential suitors.
‘I guess we keep looking until Courtney comes and picks us up,’ Mitsuko replied.
‘If she waits too long, the death toll from the massacre will put the Harbinger to shame.’
‘Massacre?’ Mitsuko decided she had to be a little distracted after a second when it occurred to her what Nava was implying. ‘No massacring the students. It’s against school policy.’
‘Just the men? Please?’
‘No. Bad girl. If you don’t behave, there’ll be no treat later.’
The right corner of Nava’s mouth twitched slightly. ‘I feel like you should buy me a collar and a lead.’ She turned, scanning the room. ‘I wouldn’t mind if you did. Oh, Courtney and Kyle are here.’ And Nava set off toward the door.
‘Wait,’ Mitsuko said to Nava’s retreating back. ‘Nava, what did you mean by–’ No, she was out of range and clearly walking away just to leave Mitsuko hanging. She could be really evil at times. Mitsuko hurried to catch up and meet Courtney and Kyle halfway.
~~~
The second place they were checking out was the one for older students, and Mitsuko and Nava only got in because Courtney used her SSF authority. And then they had to promise not to drink any alcohol. Nava wondered whether the doorman thought either she or the president of the student council were going to
