The Killing Moon by Dan Padavona (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

it. And I broke the news to Derek Jordan’s girlfriend.”

“It must have torn her apart.”

“There’s something going on with the girl’s family. I got the impression the father abuses either the mother or the girl.”

Chelsey switched the phone to her other ear.

“Can you prove it?”

“No, it’s just a hunch. Ed Leonard is on my suspect list too. He didn’t approve of Valerie dating Derek, and he has a violent streak.”

Chelsey gave LeVar a confused glare and switched Thomas to speaker phone.

“Thomas, you’re on with LeVar too. Did you say Derek Jordan’s girlfriend is Valerie Leonard?”

LeVar’s eyebrow quirked up.

“That’s right. Does that name mean anything to you?”

“Shep, it’s LeVar. Remember Scout’s theory about Violet Lyon?”

“The girl someone murdered during her podcast. Scout is still investigating that case?”

“Scout tracked her down. Violet Lyon is Valerie Leonard’s podcast name.”

* * *

Leland Trivett stumbled in the entryway. His mother grabbed him before he lost his footing.

“Careful, Leland. The doctor said the painkillers will make you groggy.”

He would have acknowledged his mother with a nod, except moving his head made his vision spin. Leland accepted her arm as she walked him down the hallway to his bedroom. Inside, he plopped down on the used sofa he’d claimed from the side of the road last year. Though the old couch smelled of beer and dog, it was perfect for hosting game nights with Derek and Gardner.

Derek.

A tear pushed at the corner of his eye. He couldn’t believe his best friend was dead.

“No games tonight,” his mother said.

“Why not?”

“The doctor said to rest. Using the computer and phone will make your headache worse.”

He doubted the headache could worsen. It felt as though someone clamped his skull inside a vise and squeezed.

“Come on, Mom. There’s nothing to do, and it’s Halloween night.”

“So read a book. Or sleep.”

“Fun,” he muttered from the side of his mouth.

“Your father went back to work and won’t be home until midnight, and I’m turning in after the trick-or-treaters stop knocking. Take advantage of the quiet. Tomorrow is Saturday, so you can sleep as late as you want.”

He fluffed a throw pillow and stuffed it into the corner of the couch. Trying to get comfortable, he lay his head on the pillow and curled his legs on the cushions. The room gyrated as someone drove an invisible spike through his forehead. He touched his shattered nose and moaned.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Tylenol.”

“You’re already on painkillers. You can’t take anything else.”

He waved her away.

“Then turn off the light and let me rest.”

“If that’s what you want. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

Mom gave him a worried glance before she edged the door shut. Her footsteps trailed away as his head thrummed. Outside, sneakers scuffled past the house. Giggles announced the trick-or-treaters a second before the doorbell rang. Hurried footfalls moved through the living room as his mother raced to gather candy. Leland rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He should be out tonight, not suffering in his bedroom.

Despite the quiet, sleep refused to come to him. He lay in the dark and stared at the ceiling as a strange glow lit the wall. He pulled back the curtain. The sky had cleared, giving way to a full moon that took up a quarter of the horizon. It stunned him how huge the moon was. Leland turned away and closed the curtain before the moonlight ignited his headache.

Accepting he’d never fall asleep, he pointed the remote at the television. He couldn’t stomach Call of Duty. The game reminded him of Derek, of late nights laughing beside his best friend as they warred against zombies and digital soldiers. Leland scrolled through the channels and stopped on a horror movie. He’d seen John Carpenter’s Halloween more times than he could count, but the familiarity relaxed him. With a sigh, he settled into the pillow.

The doorbell rang. Leland grabbed a second pillow and placed it over his ear, content to watch the movie in silence, since it meant he wouldn’t hear the doorbell ringing all night. On the screen, Jamie Lee Curtis cowered with a knife as a ghostly face appeared from the gloom. The closet door groaned when it opened, causing Leland to jump. Confused, he realized the sound hadn’t come from the television. The hairs on his arms stood on end. Someone was right behind him.

Setting the remote down, Leland froze. A shadow passed over the carpet, and for a moment, he wanted to believe it was Derek. That the police had made a mistake and identified the wrong boy. That Leland’s best friend was still alive and playing a Halloween joke on him.

He whirled and stared into the leering eyes of the Halloween Man. It couldn’t be him. The killer was just a figment of Valerie’s imagination. Yet the murderer stood over Leland with the moonlight haloing his frame. Crazed eyes glared at the teenager from inside the mask. Leland opened his lips to scream before a powerful hand clamped down on his mouth. He thrashed and bucked, his feet prying cushions off the couch as the killer raised the butcher’s knife.

The blade cut through his chest. Raised and plunged again.

Blood sprayed the couch, the curtains, the walls.

As the movie reached its climax, the murderer left Leland to die. The window opened, and the chilling breath of night touched the dying teenager. Leland’s eyes stared into the killing moon as the room turned black.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

October 31st

6:35 p.m.

The sheriff’s head buzzed. Valerie Leonard was Violet Lyon. The girl faked her own murder during an internet stream hours before someone stabbed her boyfriend. Thomas hadn’t spoken to Scout since the supposed murder. Everything he’d learned about the podcast had come secondhand through Chelsey, LeVar, and Raven. Wasn’t there something about a legendary killer returning to Barton Falls on Halloween night?

Inside the Kane Grove PD break room, he peeked through the window. A full moon screamed in the night sky. It seemed to stare at him. The