The Last Victim by Kevin O'Brien

but most of the time, they were merely using her to get close to Brad. She always saw through them early on.
    But Kim didn’t care that much about Brad. “Oh, your brother’s gorgeous,” she said. “He’s an incredible athlete, very sweet, and smart as a whip. Plus he has a cute ass—as much as that grosses you out to hear it. Still, c’mon, you must know that just about every girl in the class—and a few guys too—would love to jump his bones. Maybe that’s why I’m not getting a case of thigh-sweats over him. The last thing in the world I want is to be like everyone else.”
    Kim was the only true friend Bridget had. And in some ways, Bridget felt better off than her brother. Despite having a throng of friends, admirers, and hangers-on, Brad wasn’t particularly close to any of them. The most popular guy in class didn’t have a best friend. He used his popularity in a way that some people become generous with money. For biology class, he chose the class “fag,” Ricky Savan, as his lab partner, and people stopped picking on Ricky. At school functions, Brad often paired off with one of his far-less-popular classmates for an entire afternoon.
    One of those chosen was Zachary Matthias, a likable “geek,” whose baby fat, bad glasses, and chipped, gray front tooth didn’t deter Kim from having a little crush on him. Brad had “bonded” with Zachary during a school picnic.
    “I asked Zachary what your brother and he talked about,” Kim later told Bridget as the two girls walked home from school. “Zach said Brad basically ‘interviewed’ him the whole time. He said he was really flattered to have the attention of the ‘coolest guy in class’ for three hours, but he walked away from that picnic not knowing Brad Corrigan one bit better than before.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Bridget asked indignantly.
    Kim shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s implying that your brother is more interested in finding out what makes people tick than actually connecting with them. Why else would Brad choose to spend so much time in private powwows with so many class nobodies and also-rans? And I’m proud to count myself among them, I might add.”
    Bridget figured Brad was merely trying to make them feel good about themselves. The most popular guy in class was showing interest in those people who didn’t quite fit in, and it must have made them feel special. Brad was a champion for the underdog, always trying to do good.
    “I think Zach would rather have spent three hours at the picnic with you ,” Kim said. “He’s got such a crush on you, Bridget. It’s so unfair, because you don’t even like him that much, and I think he’s really cute.”
    “Oh, I like him okay,” Bridget muttered, hugging her schoolbooks to her chest. But Zach Matthias wasn’t her type. Besides, she was in love with David Ahern. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, and brooding, he was a senior who hung around with Brad from time to time. Bridget got all tongue-tied and ditsy whenever he came over to the house. He wasn’t part of the pack who had latched on to Brad. David and Brad usually went off by themselves whenever they got together—hiking, swimming, long drives to Portland or along the Columbia River. Bridget didn’t know much about David, except that his mother had died when he was eleven. This, of course, endeared him to her even more. She pumped Brad about him. Typical of guys, Brad couldn’t tell her much about his friend: “Well, he’s just, y’know, a nice guy. Reads a lot, likes movies. He’s really interested in astronomy. I don’t know what else I can tell you.”
    “He’s as gay as a maypole, and you’re totally wasting your time,” Kim maintained. She often spent her weekends with an aunt in Seattle, and had a lot of gay friends there. “I can read all the signs. He’s cute, dresses nice, and I see the way he sometimes looks at your brother—though obviously, you and Brad don’t see it. I highly