Chapter 97

The gun isin my coat pocket as I march into the hospital.

Nobody searches me. Of course they don"t. I've got an ID badge, and I come in through the garage from the student parking lot, which requires ID access. Despite my size, I am utterly unsuspicious. There's a guard by the entrance from the parking lot, but he barely glances up at me.

He certainly doesn't know about the gun in the pocket of my coat.

I don't know what my intentions are—I haven't decided yet. But when I think about Patrice, my chest burns with anger. And I feel a little better when I wrap my fingers around that gun.

She said she'd be around Sunday night because we've got our final exam tomorrow. She said she wants to "be there" for us. Which I assume means she's hoping to score some drug sales. Anyway, she said she'd be physically here.

I'm counting on it.

I take the elevator up two stories, and when I get out, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I consider ignoring it, but then I pull it out. There's an unread text that I missed while I was driving, and Heather's name is flashing on the screen. That is a call I'm definitely taking.

"Hey!" I say, trying unsuccessfully to hide my eagerness.

"Hey, Abe."

She doesn't say anything right away, so I prompt her: "What's up?"

I realized I love you, Abe. I don't care why you had blood all over your scrubs. Let's never speak of it again.

"Listen, I'm sorry to bother you." Her voice trembles slightly. "But I didn't know who else to call…"

"Okay…"

"I'm worried about Mason."

That's the last thing I expected her to say. "Mason?"

"I came upstairs to find you," she tells me. "And the door to your dorm room was unlocked. I went inside and… well, your room was a total mess—I'm sure you know that. But especially Mason's desk."

"Uh-huh…"

"And I know it was none of my business," she continues, "but I thought it was your desk at first, and you've been acting so strange. And then, by the time I realized it was Mason's desk, I had already started looking through all the papers, and none of it had to do with our classes. It was all these weird articles about dead police officers. And there were random sentences highlighted, notes scribbled in the margins. I didn't know what to make of it. It was really weird."

"It's kind of weird," I agree.

"And then," she says, "I found a bullet on his desk."

A bullet?

My heart speeds up as I pull the phone away from my ear. I look down at the text message alert that I had missed while I was driving. I click on it, and sure enough, it's from Mason:

If I don't return tonight, make sure the police know that Dr. Matthew Conlon killed Frank.

Huh? What the hell does that mean? Frank, meaning our cadaver? What is Mason talking about?

It must be some kind of mistake or joke.

"Heather," I say, "I don't know what's going on with Mason, but I'm sure—"

My reassurance gets cut off by a gunshot echoing through the hallway.

"Shit," I say.

"What's wrong?"

"Heather." I struggle to keep my voice steady. "I need you to call 911 now and tell them that someone fired a gun at the hospital."

"What?"

And now there's a second gunshot, even louder than the first one. Closer. But I don't mention that to Heather.

"Just do it," I say. "Right now. I have to go."

"Abe!" she cries. "What's going on over there? If someone is shooting, you need to get out of there. Or… or hide."

"Don't worry." My voice is dripping with false confidence. "Come on, I could take down anyone in our class no problem. Right?"

"Abe…"

"Please, Heather. Call the police right now. I… I'll talk to you later."

And then, before she can try to talk me out of what I'm going to do next, I end the call. Almost immediately, the phone starts ringing again. Heather's name is flashing on the screen. I decline the call, put the phone on silent, and shove my phone back in my pocket.

The hallways are very deserted, given it's the middle of the night—my rapid footsteps sound like thunder on the floor. Only half the overhead lights are lit, and several hallways aren't lit at all. But on the plus side, I don't hear any more gunshots.

I round the corner to my first stop, which is Dr. Conlon's office. I figured it was smart to go there first given the content of Mason's message. I hope this is all some weird mistake. That there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Heather found a bullet on Mason's desk, and now there are gunshots echoing through the halls.

But when I see the body lying on the floor, any hope vanishes.

It's Dr. Patrice Winters. She's lying on the floor, the pool of blood beneath her growing wider by the second. Her eyes are open, staring up at the ceiling, unblinking. I don't need to bend down to feel her pulse—she's definitely dead.

I wonder if she made any money tonight, before someone put a bullet through her chest.

I reach into my coat pocket, feeling the gun nestled within. I had been on my way to Patrice's office when I came to the school, and if things had gone differently, would I have been the one to pull the trigger? I was mad as hell, that's for sure.

I yank my hand out of my pocket, wishing I hadn't brought the gun. It sickens me to think of what I might have done—I'm not a killer. And the last thing I want is for the police to find it on me.

The door to Dr. Conlon's office is still closed, although light is coming from below the door. I listen for a moment, but I don't hear anything from inside. No voices—nothing. But if Dr. Conlon were here, surely he would have come out of his office at the sound of gunshots in such close proximity. So does that mean…?

I put my hand on the doorknob, not wanting to turn it. Maybe it's better to wait for the police. But what if Dr. Conlon is injured and bleeding? What if I can save him?

I start to turn the knob, but before I can, my attention is jerked away by a sound from around the corner. It sounds like a door slamming shut. It's coming from the direction of the anatomy lab.

Mason must have gone there next.

But there's nobody in the anatomy lab. It's so late. Who would be in the lab with the dead bodies at this hour, even the night before the final? If that's where Mason went, he can't possibly do any harm, can he?

And then the scream cuts through the air.