What Holly Heard by R.L. Stine, Bill Schmidt Page A

“Jed isn’t the murderer.”
    Miriam uttered a startled cry. “Huh? What are you saying? How do you know?”
    A sob escaped Ruth’s throat. “Two other murders,” she choked out in a slow, trembling whisper. “Two other murders. Tonight.”

chapter 24

    M iriam’s mouth dropped open, but no sound came out.
    â€œCome on,” Ruth pleaded. She took Miriam by the arm and dragged her upstairs.
    â€œRuth, where are we going? We have to call the police. Jed—he’s out there and—”
    â€œMei and Noah broke in here tonight!” Ruth revealed. “My mom’s working late tonight. I fell asleep in the family room. A noise woke me up.”
    They reached the top of the steps. Ruth’s bedroom stood straight ahead, the door slightly ajar. Yellow light washed out into the hallway.
    Miriam shivered, wondering what Ruth was so desperate to show her.
    â€œMei and Noah were
here!
And they did this!” Ruth cried.
    She pulled open her bedroom door. It swung wide and banged against the wall.
    Taking a deep breath, Miriam stepped inside. Her eyes swept around the room. At first everything appeared normal. Posters covered the wall. The stereo on its shelf. The bed had been neatly made.
    But then Miriam’s eyes moved to the wall behind the bed.
    To the shelf beneath the window.
    To the dark puddles on the carpet.
    To the two bodies beside the dark puddles.
    And she uttered a scream of horror.

chapter 25

    R uth’s hamsters lay in puddles of blood. Gaping in disbelief, Miriam took a step closer.
    â€œOhhhhh.” A moan escaped her throat as she saw their heads.
    Their heads.
    Their heads had been smashed. Smashed flat.
    And their little, furry bodies.
    Torn and battered.
    Smashed.
    Miriam raised a hand to her mouth and tried to fight off wave after wave of nausea.
    â€œMei and Noah left a note,” Ruth said in a voice trembling with emotion.
    She picked it up off her desk and read it to Miriam:
“Dead hamsters today … Dead girls tomorrow.”
    Miriam suddenly felt dizzy. She slumped against the wall, struggling to hold herself up. “Oh, Ruth!” she cried, gazing down at the battered bodies on the floor. “Ruth …”
    Ruth shook her head, fighting back tears.
    Miriam took a deep breath. She pulled herself up. “We have to call the police.”
    Ruth nodded. “The phone is in my mother’s room. Will you come with me? I—I’m afraid to be alone.”
    â€œOf course I will,” Miriam replied, putting her arm around Ruth’s shoulders. They made their way down the hall.
    Ruth sat on the edge of her mother’s bed. She took a deep breath and dialed the emergency number.
    Miriam wandered over to the window. Clearly, Mei and Noah were the killers—not Jed. But still, he’d been chasing her.
    Where was he now? Miriam saw no sign of him outside.
    Behind her, Ruth hung up the phone.
    Miriam turned to her friend, not knowing what to say.
    Ruth stared at her. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and Miriam could see the pain there. Ruth had been so attached to her hamsters.
    Miriam felt a shiver. How could Mei and Noah do this? What did they plan to do to Ruth and her?
    Ruth had begun to cry.
    Miriam handed her a tissue. “Do you want to get dressed before the police get here?” she asked.
    â€œI can’t go back in my room with Lizzy and Tilly like that!” Ruth cried.
    â€œI’ll go back and cover them up,” Miriam offered. “You don’t have to see them like that again.”
    Ruth murmured her thanks.
    â€œYou wait here,” Miriam said soothingly. She crossed the hallway and made her way back into Ruth’s room.
    She glanced around the room in search of a shirt, a coat, anything to cover Lizzy and Tilly. The closet door caught her eye.
    There’s probably a shoebox or something in there, she thought. She pulled open the door.
    Miriam searched the shelf