Disclaimer: I do not own the Baby Sitters Club or any of its "sister" books. The Baby Sitters Club belongs to Ann M. Martin and Scholastics. I am simply borrowing their characters for a non-profit writing.
Thanks to: Ann M. Martin for writing such a great book series and Christopher Pike for inspiring me with his book, Remember Me. Without these two, this fanfic would not be.
Chapter FIVE
(ZodiacRain, started 5/26/07)
"We need to tell someone about this," Mary Anne said the next morning before breakfast.
Dawn and Mary Anne were both very tired from the night before. After the séance, they tried to go to sleep, but the horrible nightmares kept waking them up. It felt like they'd only been asleep for five minutes.
Breakfast, however, was ready. The parents had bought donuts from a local bakery, and they were going to eat in the living room. The police were still inspecting the kitchen, so Dawn, even though she disliked donuts, couldn't complain.
"We can't tell them that Kristy's ghost came to us and showed us her wrist was bleeding," Dawn said, shaking her head. "We can't just say that we saw her wrist bleeding, either, because then they'd suspect us of it."
Mary Anne paled. "We'll, we have to tell someone. If we don't, they won't be able to find Kristy's murderer as easily…."
They both sat silently for a while, contemplating the situation. Then Dawn snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"
"What?" Mary Anne asked.
"You could simply tell my mom and your dad that you saw Kristy had a wound on her wrist," Dawn explained. "It was a stressful night, so they wouldn't be surprised if you'd forgotten something like that."
Mary Anne thought about it for a second, and then nodded. "Okay…"
"Mary Anne, Dawn, come on down!" Richard called for the third time.
"Coming!" Dawn responded, and the two walked down the stairs. Dawn sat down and picked up one of the plainer donuts. As she reluctantly took a bite, Mary Anne coughed.
Sharon asked, "Are you okay, dear?"
"Well," Mary Anne said. "I'm okay… except I remembered something last night. About Kristy…."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. After a few seconds, Richard asked, "Well, what do you remember?"
"I remember," Mary Anne explained, looking down at the donut she had yet to begin eating, "that Kristy had a wound in her wrist. I'm not sure the police noticed that."
Richard and Sharon looked each other in the eyes. "Well, I guess we should call the police with this information…." Richard said.
The two adults stood up and walked out of the room, prepared to tell the police of Mary Anne's discovery. Dawn and Mary Anne sat in silence for a second, but then Dawn asked, "That wound on her wrist… what do you suppose could have caused it?"
"I don't know," Mary Anne sighed. "It wasn't a very large wound, but…"
Another silence filled the room. They listened in on their parents, who were explaining to the police that they might have found something to do with Kristy's case.
"You said," Dawn stated, almost casually, "that Kristy mentioned a flash of yellow? Was anyone wearing yellow at the party?"
Mary Anne sat silently. "No, but everyone had balloons tied onto them. Some of those balloons were yellow…."
"Why, again, were you wearing balloons?" Dawn asked incredulously.
Mary Anne sighed. "We were just having fun and being goofy. There was a mistake on the invitation, and everybody brought balloons with them. We had so many balloons that we didn't know what to do with them. So Claudia jokingly said 'wear them'. So we did… and we wore them to bed, too, when Kristy dared us."
For a moment, Dawn just reflected over that. Then she asked Mary-Anne to get the mystery notebook; Mary Anne complied. She also asked her to get that photo from her party, which Mary Anne gladly did so. She brought her digital camera along as well, because she had more photos on it.
Taking a hold of the photo, Dawn said, silently, "I think the murderer was wearing a yellow balloon. That would explain the flash of yellow Kristy saw, and the balloon I saw in my dreams…."
"So," Mary Anne said after a second of silence, lifting her pencil up, "who was wearing yellow balloons?"
"Abby was wearing a yellow balloon next to her ankle," Dawn said, her voice suddenly cold. "Jessi was wearing a yellow balloon around her stomach. Stacey was wearing a yellow balloon around her wrist. And you, Mary Anne, wear wearing a yellow balloon around your elbow."
Mary Anne stopped writing at Dawn's tone. "I didn't kill her, Dawn," she said quickly, her eyes watering up. "Why would I? We're best friends!"
A nagging voice in the back of Dawn's head stated, She used to be Logan's girlfriend, too…. But there wasn't that much evidence for Mary Anne. Besides, she knew Mary Anne… Mary Anne wouldn't do that. She couldn't do that.
Both girls jumped when Sharon and Richard came into the room. Looking at the photos, they decided not to ask what they were doing, but instead told them what the coroner had told them.
"It's true that she was struck in her shoulder blade," Richard said, "but that didn't kill Kristy. The coroner had already seen the wound and said that someone had stabbed something into her wrist, probably a needle."
Mary Anne shook violently, as if though she could feel the needle piercing her own wrist.
"It struck a major vein," Sharon continued, "but they couldn't find any poison in Kristy's blood. They believe an air bubble was injected into her blood, instead."
"An air bubble?" Mary Anne and Dawn asked at the same time. Dawn noticed how surprised her stepsister sounded; she was sure that Mary Anne had not killed Kristy.
"Yes," Richard explained. "When an air bubble is injected into someone's bloodstream, it blocks the flow of blood. If the air bubble is large enough, it can stop blood flow completely, causing you to… to, well, die."
"Why was she stabbed at all, though?" Mary Anne asked violently. "If they were going to kill her so subtly, why bother with the knife wound?"
"It was probably a distraction, so that the police wouldn't notice the smaller wound," Sharon said.
Richard continued, "And it probably helped knock Kristy out. Air bubbles don't kill you in five seconds, at least, not an air bubble in the wrist. Kristy probably could have gotten help if she hadn't been stabbed in the shoulder."
Something was nagging at Dawn's mind. The answer was imminent…. She knew that, very soon, it would be clear who Kristy's murderer was. Dawn excused herself from the table, going upstairs into her bedroom. Mary Anne did the same.
"We need to review the notes," Dawn whispered.
They reviewed the notes Mary Anne had written:
Stacey was the one that found Kristy. Stacey saw death of father; might have gone insane.
Abby only one at party wearing gloves. Police report says murderer wore gloves. Had befriended Cookie, Kristy's enemy.
Alan Gray liked Kristy… Kristy dated Adam Pike…left Adam for Byron. Alan/Adam mad for being dumped. Byron angry about fights he was having with Adam?
LOGAN BRUNO the idiot went out with Kristy then was dumped. Sore loser…
Dawn stared at the last one, an eyebrow raised. Mary-Anne was still mad at Logan, that was for sure….
Kristy saw bright yellow when she died. Abby, Jessi, Stacey and I all wore bright yellow.
"Who do you think killed her, Dawn?" Mary Anne whispered.
Dawn stared for a second, concentrating. She pieced together the evidence, along with the new evidence. "It's obvious!" she gasped in realization.
"What?" Mary Anne's eyes widened. "Who killed her, Dawn?"
"Didn't you say Stacey had dated Logan before Kristy did?" Dawn asked, her eyes wide with realization. "Wasn't Stacey wearing a yellow balloon? Doesn't Stacey carry a needle around with her all the time, a needle much like the one that killed Kristy? Didn't Stacey see someone murdered in font of her own eyes?"
Mary Anne gasped. "Stacey? Stacey killed Kristy?"
I listened in on the conversation, anticipating. Waiting. I would soon learn who killed me…
"Stacey? Stacey killed Kristy?" Mary Anne's shocked voice fills the room…
Stacey killed me? STACEY?
I remember now! Stacey was the one the one that brought those tasty, salty chips to the party…. I couldn't figure out why a diabetic would have something like that, but it makes sense now…. She wanted me to become thirsty, and I did!
I crept down the stairs that night, but it was silent, and I couldn't help but be scared. I heard a creak behind me… I thought it was just the old barn settling, but now I know… it was Stacey sneaking up on me…
I remember… The sensation of the knife stabbing into my back… Agh, what a horrible feeling… I dropped my cup, and turned around… then I saw that flash of yellow. A yellow balloon! A yellow balloon, that is, tied around a girl's wrist. And that girl's… Stacey's… hand was clutched tightly around my own, keeping me from moving…
Then I saw her face. I saw Stacey's eyes and hair, but I didn't see Stacey's smile… The smile seemed too cruel for her. "What are you doing?" I remember asking her.
"Killing you, KRISTY TOMASH!" she responded. But it wasn't her voice… it wasn't a human voice at all. It belonged to an evil creature, the evil creature I've seen in Dawn's dreams. I can hear it now, that evil voice gloating… laughing….
I remember, now, the needle Stacey was holding. I remember that she filled it to the brim with air. I tried to get away, but her grip was too strong. It was stronger then any human's grip.
Then she stabbed that needle into me… I remember how terrified I was as I saw the blood trickling down my wrist… She stabbed an air bubble into me, I realize now. That balloon in Dawn's dream… that balloon that floated away into the red sky, causing me to fall and the creature to laugh… That balloon must have been the air bubble, flowing into MY veins!
I remember, I was so weak…. The wound in my shoulder was painful, so painful I couldn't keep my eyes open….
But even as I blacked out, I saw Stacey fall to the ground. I saw that evil force inside her body suddenly start to glow. I remember, the last sound I ever heard was Stacey's screams of agony…
However… it was Stacey's scream… not that monster's….