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Sprinting out of the bathroom and practically tripping over her own feet—although she had chosen the more sensible flat sandals—Rose hurried to find Spencer. She entered the grand hall, the entryway with high ceilings and a chandelier sparkling in the center. That was where she had left Spencer and Kasey, so where were they?
“Spence?” she shouted, not spotting him.
Rose kept walking, moving toward the entrance into the auditorium where all the seating and the stage were. “Spence?”
The doors to the auditorium slammed shut. Rose stared at the door she was closest to. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, and she contemplated yelling Spencer’s name again. What if he wasn’t nearby? Where did he go?
It had to be The Midnight Flower. But how had they closed both doors at once? The doors were on opposite sides of the room, so it wasn’t humanly possible to do it without help. Not for the first time, the possibility of The Midnight Flower having a partner crossed Rose’s mind. It would explain so much if two people were working together. But the question remained: who was it?
Rose tiptoed to the door and pressed her ear against it. She strained to hear any sound that would give away who was inside the auditorium. Backing away from the door, she pulled her bag from her shoulder and slid out the newest note.
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Rose,
How sweet of you to host a memorial for Lily! You’re almost acting like a real sister would. It doesn’t quite make up for her disappearance, but you’re trying, and that’s what matters, right?
Cancel the memorial now, and make sure everyone leaves, or suffer the consequences. By now, you have to realize that I know all your secrets. How isn’t important, but I will destroy you, secret by secret, until you have nothing left.
Yours sincerely,
The Midnight Flower
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Stifling a sob, Rose folded the note and tucked it carefully into the inner pocket of her purse. She didn’t want to be alone. She needed to find Spencer and Kasey. She questioned if she should listen to them, cancel the memorial, and go home—where she would be relatively safe—but then she reminded herself why she was having the memorial. It was all for Lily. Her sister deserved this remembrance of her too brief life, but she deserved so much more. She couldn’t cancel the event because of a stupid note.
She entered the auditorium, where Spencer and Kasey were embracing.
“Spencer, I was looking for you,” Rose spoke up. “Did you see who shut the doors?”
“What?” Kasey asked. Her soft smile turned to confusion.
Spencer stepped away from Kasey. “Rose! Kasey told me her good news.”
Rose turned to Kasey expectantly. “What’s up?”
Kasey waved around a piece of paper with excitement clearly etched across her pale face. “I got into Clemson! Early acceptance!”
“Wow! Already? We’re only going to be juniors in the fall,” Rose said.
Kasey’s head bobbed up and down. “Yeah! I’ve been taking college classes, and I guess they decided I was qualified.”
Spencer bumped her shoulder with his. “Clearly, you’re more than qualified. You’re brilliant. Congrats again.” He moved toward Rose and planted a loud kiss on her cheek. “You okay?” he asked, noticing the withdrawn, worried expression on her face.
“Mmhmm,” she muttered, barely able to speak because her mind was running a hundred miles per hour.
“What were you saying about the doors?” Kasey asked.
Spencer shrugged his shoulders. “They shut just before I came in here. I propped them open, but I guess it didn’t work.”
Rose couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Spencer’s explanation sounded lame. Were they lying to her about why they were in here? Could they both be The Midnight Flower? They had been alone in the auditorium this whole time. One of them could have planted the note in her bag when they first arrived here. They could have shut the doors together to scare her.
But Spencer wouldn’t do that to her, right? And Kasey had always been a good friend, never giving Rose a reason to distrust her. In fact, some of their classmates at school had bullied Kasey, so if anyone understood what it was like to have a tormentor, it was Kasey. She couldn’t be responsible for this.
“Hello-o-o?” A husky voice came from outside the auditorium.
“People are showing up. Should we go greet them, or do you need a minute? I can go out there if you want to stay in here and collect yourself first.” Spencer pointed to the door.
“Uh, no, I’m okay. We can go.” Rose started toward the door. “Come in! We’re in the auditorium,” she replied to the mysterious person, barely noticing the deep, husky voice that should have been familiar.
As Rose approached the door, the lights in the auditorium went out, thrusting the three of them into darkness.
Blindly, Rose reached out for the door. She knew it was close. She could find it if she felt around for it. It should have been only a few feet away.
“Spence, where are you?” she said in a low voice.
“Over here,” he said, sounding further away than he had been a moment ago.
“Can you find the door? Wait a sec. I have my cell phone in my purse.” Rose dug around inside her purse and found her phone, flicking on the flashlight app.
Seconds later, two other lights sparked in the darkened room. Rose sighed with relief. Spencer and Kasey must have found their phones too. They would be fine. They could use their cell phone flashlights to find the door and get out of there.
A fourth light popped up, casting its light toward Rose, coming toward her at an alarming rate.
Someone else was in the room with them.