I was exiting the library with Gordy and Katie, when my phone started to vibrate. I’d turned the ringer off while inside, but left it on vibrate so I wouldn’t miss a call or text from Cal and Simon. Maybe they’d found Yuki.
But the picture on the phone wasn’t Cal’s smiling face or Simon’s smoldering eyes. A ridiculous picture of Yuki, eating a waffle the size of her head, flashed on the screen. I hit accept and whipped the phone to my ear so fast, I nearly punch myself in the face.
“Yuki?” I asked.
Gordy and Katie looked at me excitedly. If Yuki was calling, then maybe she was okay.
“Emma, I know w-w-we’re not really sp-p-peaking right now, but I am so creeped out,” Yuki said.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“S-s-some spooky old park trail,” she said.
“Wakefield Park?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said.
Yuki’s voice sounded small and shaky. Why was she so scared? Was she hurt? Had she experimented with some crazy street drug? Was the Graduation Grabber there now?
And what was she doing in Wakefield Park?
“Are you okay?” I asked. “We’ve been looking all over town for you.”
“I’m okay, but I found a ghost and…it led me to a skull out here in the woods,” she said.
“You’re out there now?” I asked. “With a dead body?”
“Um, yeah, a dead body and its ghost,” she said wryly.
I wondered if I should tell her about the Grabber. Yuki was already frightened and if I told her that a serial killer who targeted teen girls was in town, she’d totally freak. But if I didn’t tell her and some random guy showed up and offered his help, she might wander off with a murderer.
Someone would have to inform Yuki that the Graduation Grabber was back in town.
“Have you talked to Calvin?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “His phone went straight to voicemail.”
Great, I would have to be the one to tell her. If Calvin was tracking Yuki in his wolf form, he wouldn’t have his phone with him. Maybe I could rig up some kind of hands-free, paws-free, phone on a collar for times like this, but that would have to wait. There were more important things to worry about.
“Not to freak you out or anything, but there’s something I have to tell you,” I said. “The reason we’ve all been looking for you is because a girl from our school went missing. The authorities think the Graduation Grabber has returned.”
“Son of dung beetle,” she muttered.
“How did you get out there anyway?” I asked.
I knew that Yuki hadn’t received a ride from me, Simon, Calvin, Gordy, or Katie. But it was a long walk from Yuki’s house to the park. Had she taken a bus part of the way? Or hitched a ride?
Goosebumps sprouted across the back of my neck at the thought of Yuki getting into a car with a stranger, especially with the Grabber lurking around looking for his second victim.
“I rode my bike,” she said. I let out a relieved sigh. At least she hadn’t been hitchhiking. “And, um, Emma? It’s getting really dark out here. I think I need to start riding back toward town.”
“Okay, can you keep your phone on?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” she said. “The battery looks like it has a full charge.”
“Good, put your phone in your bag, or a pocket, and start riding toward the park entrance,” I said. “We’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks Emma,” she said.
“Any time,” I said.
And I meant it. Yuki was my best friend. Our recent fighting seemed foolish now that she was in danger. When we got through all of this, we were due for a long talk and lots of soy ice cream.
The phone grew muffled and quiet as Yuki tucked it away and started bicycling. I turned to Katie, who was waiting excitedly beside Gordy, and handed her the phone.
“Katie, keep that line open,” I said. “And please try to keep listening in case Yuki tries to tell us something. I need my hands free to drive.”
I grabbed my keys, but Gordy put his hand on my arm stopping me from rushing to my car.
“Wait, is Yuki in trouble?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I hope not. But she found a human skull out in a remote section of Wakefield Park and she’s pretty freaked out.”
“Eep!” Katie squeaked.
“I promised Yuki that we’d drive out to the park entrance and meet her there,” I said.
Gordy stepped back and I raced down the stone library steps, with Gordy and Katie struggling to keep up. Katie put my phone to her ear as she ran and gave me a thumbs-up. Apparently the phone was working and there were no signs of trouble.
We all piled into my car and I took a deep breath. Yuki better be okay. Night was falling and there was no telling what creepy things were out in those woods.
I was struck with a terrible thought.
What if the body Yuki found belonged to one of the Grabber’s victims? The police never found Rose Peterson. Yuki may have unwittingly discovered the site of one of the Grabber’s body dumps. And if he’d used that location successfully before, what was to keep him from returning to the spot and using it again?