It wasn’t until lunch period that Sylvie was able to find Jodi. She needed to tell her about the morning’s events.
The girls carried their paper bag lunches to the courtyard, looking for a private space to eat. The courtyard seemed to be their best option. Even though the news vans weren’t parked out front today, there were still random local reporters lingering around. The cafeteria was too loud and packed full of kids who did nothing but stare at Sylvie now. She couldn’t help but notice that, since June had died, they stared at her like she had the plague, not sure what to say to the girl with the dead sister.
Not that there wasn’t anyone in the courtyard, there was. And not like they weren’t staring too.
“So, what did he say when he saw you in his office?” Jodi asked as she held up the apple she’d been eating. “Do you think he was suspicious?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I think he was just seeing an opportunity to groom another girl. Like, the first time he saw me, I passed out and wasn’t there long. Now he had his chance. He offered me donuts, and I took one. I tried leaving, but he wouldn’t listen. I was afraid that, if I gave him any more excuses, it would look suspicious, given that I’d told him I was there to set up an appointment.” Sylvie took a bite of her tuna sandwich, even though she wasn’t hungry.
“And you didn’t time jump? I mean, I get why you didn’t, with your explanation of how looping makes unpredictable changes, but I mean, you didn’t time jump from the stress?” Jodi said.
“Well, I tried when I saw the doorknob turn, but it all happened too fast. Then he was there. I didn’t want him to see me disappear, so I just kept counting backward in my mind, you know, to stop myself from disappearing.”
“But what did you do? How long did he keep you? What did you say?”
“Well, thankfully, I got saved by Mrs. Kay, you know, the new art teacher. She stopped by his office to talk about some art project she wanted his help with. Something about helping bring students together with art or something like that. I didn’t stick around to hear. I just got up from that chair and excused myself. I had to get out of there, Jodi. But you know, the worst part? I have to go back. I still need that receipt.”
Jodi sighed. “They just don’t get it, do they?”
“What do you mean?” Sylvie asked. “Who doesn’t get what?”
“Everyone. The adults. People like Mrs. Kay blabbering to a psycho about an art project. The people running the world. People who hire men like Dr. Peterson. Who says there’s anything wrong with us, anyway? Kids, I mean. I think it’s the adults who need the help.” Jodi took another bite of her apple, then tossed its core into her brown paper bag.
“You can’t blame them. People like Mrs. Kay. She’s just trying to help,” Sylvie wrapped up her sandwich. She was too stressed to eat.
“I suppose.” Jodi said. “Do you really think he’s the killer, though? I mean, obviously he’s inappropriately touching girls. He’s buying them bracelets. But how does that make him a killer?”
“Well, think about it. June and Beverly were his patients. Both were pregnant. Both had his bracelet, and both were killed.”
“Still, just proves he’s a perv. The bracelet and the diary, I mean. Nothing to show he killed them.” Jodi took out a Twinkie and unwrapped it. “Want a bite?” she asked as she split it in half.
Sylvie took it even though she’d already tossed her half-eaten sandwich. She didn’t want to be rude. Besides, the sugary sweet looked good. “Well,” she said as she took a bite. “I say, let the cops figure it out. If I can just get them onto him, they can dig deeper. We need to stop him from hurting anyone else before I can go back and fix what he’s already done.”
“Okay. Still, what if he’s not the one? What about Bruce?”
“Honestly? I think Bruce was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know, like Sebastian always says.” Sylvie left out Sebastian’s theory that the killer might also be a time traveler. There was no proof of that. No need to confuse things any more than they already were.
“But why kill them?” Jodi pressed. “What was Dr. Peterson’s motive?”
“I don’t know. I think June was trying to expose him. She had newspaper clippings. Maybe he knew she was going to turn him in, and he wanted to shut them both up? Obviously, June had talked with Beverly about it. Also, one thing to consider is that we don’t know how Beverly got pregnant, you know, we don’t know who the father is.”
“You think it was Dr. Peterson’s?”
“Well, we don’t really know.”
“But what about June’s? Do you think . . .”
“Nah, that was definitely Rick’s baby,” Sylvie answered before Jodi could ask. Sylvie finished the piece of Twinkie and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “She never had sex with Dr. Peterson. She’d have written about that.”
“Would she?” Jodi crumpled up her brown lunch bag into a ball.
“Yeah, I think so,” Sylvie said, as she thought about the journal entries once more. There’d been nothing that suggested she’d even seen Dr. Peterson again after the almost-kiss. In fact, she’d gone out of her way to avoid him.
“I think he knew she was on to him,” Sylvie thought out loud. “I think something must have happened with Beverly, too, so he killed her, too, to shut her up. I think Bruce was just there, like a witness. I just need to get back in that office and get that bracelet receipt. Then I can show it and the diary to the police.”
“How are you going to do that? Do you have a plan for getting back into his office?”
Sylvie leaned back on the bench and gulped her Yoo-hoo. She needed Sebastian to read the time travel journal faster. He’d been obsessed with it, not even letting Sylvie take it to read herself. Sylvie hadn’t minded until now because she was so busy trying to learn how to time jump and find clues. But time was running out. Sylvie almost laughed at that thought. Even with all the time in the world, it still wasn’t enough.
Sylvie took another swig of her Yoo-hoo and shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get back into that office without time jumping. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
In the distance, she could see a group of kids heading to another bench. They laughed at some joke, oblivious to the fact that a killer roamed the hallways of their school. One of them was Jonathan Perkins. Sylvie had had a crush on him since freshman year. He was in her Spanish class and always winked at her when he handed back the worksheets the teacher passed out. That all felt so long ago now. There was no more time for crushes, homework, or daily high school life. She had a killer to catch and the space-time continuum to figure out. It felt overwhelming. She pulled out a Ziploc bag stuffed with one of Uncle Lonnie’s brownies and leaned in for a bite. She hadn’t wanted the sandwich, but the piece of Twinkie had sparked a need for more sugar. As she settled into a bite, the sound of Jodi crying stopped her.
“Jodi? What’s wrong?” Sylvie asked. She stuffed the brownie back in the Ziploc. “Are you okay?”
Jodi looked away. After a moment, she looked back at Sylvie and said, “I’ve been ordered to see Dr. Peterson.”
“What? What do you mean, ordered?”
“By DCF.”
“DCF?”
Jodi took a deep breath. “You know, the Department of Children and Families?”
Sylvie stared at her blankly.
“You know, DCF, they—”
“I know what DCF is,” Sylvie said, even though she wasn’t entirely sure. She thought she’d seen an after school special once about a foster kid with a social worker. She figured that’s what DCF was—a place filled with children’s social workers. But why did Jodi have one, and why were they ordering her to see Dr. Peterson? And why was Jodi just telling her this now?
“There’s an open DCF case on my family,” Jodi explained. “My father hasn’t been right since—” She looked away as she began to cry.
Sylvie reached over to hug her. “It’s okay,” Sylvie said.
Jodi leaned her head on Sylvie’s shoulders, then began to shake with sobs. The kids in the distance didn’t seem to notice. They headed inside as the first warning bell signaling the end of lunch rang.
Jodi pulled back, wiped her tears, and said, “Since my mother and little brother died. There, I said it. I know it helps to say it. It makes it feel more real. Accepting it helps heal. That’s what my last counselor said.”
Sylvie shook her head, not sure what to say.
“He—my dad—he drinks a lot. I mean, like, all the time. Like, a lot.” She paused. “There are days, weeks even when he doesn’t get food, only beer. He hasn’t been working. We’re on assistance. I mean, look at me. Look at my clothes. Look at my house. I do the best I can. I’ve even been trying to get a job at the local supermarket or something, to help with money, to get my own food. Unfortunately, I have a late birthday, I’m not sixteen until December.”
“Is there anything I can do? My Uncle Lonnie is always bringing over casseroles from my Aunt May. They don’t usually taste good, but after my last time loop, it actually tasted better. You could come over for dinner.” Sylvie rambled, not sure what to say. She felt guilty now for eating half of Jodi’s Twinkie.
“It’s not just the food. It’s…” Jodi paused again, then took a deep breath. “Someone—a teacher, I think—called DCF with a report, a concern about neglect. They came to investigate. Talked to me and my dad. They didn’t remove me. Apparently, neglect is hard to prove, and despite the fact that our house is a mess, my dad did a good job talking the report down, saying he was a single dad managing the best he could after his wife and child drowned. But there is still an open case on us.”
Sylvie shook her head and took Jodi’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Jodi. I haven’t been a great friend. I’ve been so caught up with June and this time travel thing. I know what it’s like now to have people stare at you after a tragedy. Like you have a disease or something. I never thought to ask you about your mom and brother, I just—”
“It’s okay, Sylvie. Just listen; there’s more.”
Sylvie nodded. She wondered what Dr. Peterson had to do with this.
“Because there’s still an open case on us, that means we have to do certain things DCF orders us to do. They will check on us to make sure we do them. DCF ordered my dad to go to AA meetings and me to see Dr. Peterson to work through the trauma. I’m supposed to see him this afternoon during last period.”
The very idea of her friend having to sit across from Dr. Peterson’s desk made Sylvie shudder. “You can’t go see him,” Sylvie said as she let go of her hand. “It’ll put you in danger. He’s a pervert and a killer.”
“But if I don’t, DCF will take me away from my dad.” Jodi wiped her tears once more. “That’s how it works. You have to do what DCF says, or it can go against your case.”
The second warning bell rang. Sylvie felt uneasy. If they didn’t leave the courtyard soon, they’d be late for class. Being late for class… Jodi’s tear-streaked face… It could all lead to yet another visit to Dr. Peterson for both of them. A visit neither of them needed.
“Listen.” Sylvie said, tugging Jodi’s arm. “Listen, close. You can’t go see Dr. Peterson. The man is a genius at making you feel like you have to sit down with him and talk. I mean, look at me. I know who he is and what he’s done and still, even I got maneuvered into his office this morning. You can’t go see him.”
“I don’t really see that I have a choice. I told you; I’m supposed to go during last period.” Jodi tossed her crumpled lunch bag into her backpack.
“No, you have a choice. Listen, I want you to go straight to the school nurse. Tell her you don’t feel good and see if you can get her to send you home. Even if she doesn’t, go straight home anyway. I don’t care if you have to walk right out of school before last period and walk home. Just go. I’ll take care of the rest. And once we stop Dr. Peterson, and all of this, we’ll figure out what to do. About you and your dad’s drinking and DCF and everything.”
“What are you going to do?” Jodi asked.
“Well, first, I’m going to catch Dr. Peterson,” Sylvie said. “Everything is going to be okay.” Sylvie reached for Jodi’s hand and squeezed it tight.
But deep inside, Sylvie worried. Could she keep her promise? Would it be okay? She didn’t know. But she had to try.