Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? by R.L. Stine, Bill Schmidt

officer ran off, leaping to the ground and sprinting around behind the bleachers. Eva could hear her calling to her partner as she ran.
    â€œWhat’s Leslie doing up there?” Keith asked. “Do you think she—”
    â€œI don’t know
what
I think.” Eva felt herself shaking so hard her teeth chattered. She stumbled toward the bleachers and sat down. “Leslie had a look on her face. Such a weird smile.”
    The police officers returned. Leslie walked between them, looking very frightened. Jeremy came up behind them, a confused expression on his face.
    â€œWe need you to tell us what you saw,” the policewoman said to Leslie.
    â€œI didn’t see
any
thing!” Leslie declared.
    â€œThen why did you run?” the policeman asked.
    â€œBecause I was scared,” Leslie explained. “I mean, I’m just standing up there, right? Then all of a sudden Eva is pointing at me. And two cops start chasing me like I’m some kind of criminal!”
    â€œWhat were you doing up there?” Eva asked.
    â€œI wanted to see how the video was going. Okay?” Leslie’s face flushed. “I couldn’t help it. I know I’m not in it, but I couldn’t stay away.” She shrugged. “When I got here, all I saw was a bunch of people running around in a panic.”
    â€œDo you know what happened to Tania’s body?” the policewoman asked.
    â€œI told you, I …” Leslie broke off, her eyes wide in surprise. “What?” she gasped. “Tania’s
body?
What are you
talking
about?”
    â€œTania is dead,” Eva told her. Her voice breaking, she described what had occurred. “Are you sure you didn’t see what happened to her, Leslie?”
    Stunned, Leslie shook her head. “I told you, I saw everybody running around. I never saw Tania.”
    Is Leslie telling the truth? Eva wondered. She seems totally shocked about Tania. But after all, she
does
want to be an actress.
    As the police began asking more questions, Eva started to shiver. The rain had picked up and so had the wind.
    But it’s not the weather, Eva thought.
    Something’s wrong, I can feel it.
    She glanced around at the group. Leslie stillseemed shocked. So did Keith. Jeremy stared at the ground, a dazed expression on his face.
    Everybody’s having the right reaction, Eva thought.
    But someone is faking.
    Someone here is lying.
    Eva shivered again. Her weird feelings usually just told her when something wasn’t right.
    This time, it told her that someone was lying.
    But who? she wondered, glancing around again. Who is it? And what are they lying about?
    Footsteps pounded loudly on the concrete. Sandy suddenly appeared. Rain plastered his light-brown hair to his head, and he gasped for breath.
    â€œWhere have
you
been?” Jeremy demanded.
    â€œLooking …” Sandy bent over and gulped in some air. “Looking for Tania.” He took some more deep breaths, then straightened up and slicked the rain out of his hair. “I thought she’d be waiting in my car, but …”
    Jeremy’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”
    â€œHow could she be waiting in your car?” Keith asked. “She’s dead, remember?”
    Sandy glanced away, looking uncomfortable.
    Jeremy stepped toward him. “You know something, Sandy! What is it? What are you hiding?”
    â€œIf you know something, you’d better tell us,” the policewoman warned. “I don’t need to tell you this is serious. You could get in a lot of trouble if you don’t tell us everything.”
    â€œOkay, okay, I’ll tell you!” Sandy wiped rainwaterfrom his hair again. “Look, this wasn’t supposed to happen, okay?”
    â€œWhat
wasn’t?” Jeremy demanded. “What are you talking about?”
    â€œIt started out as a joke. Tania and I cooked it up,” Sandy explained. “The idea was,