Gretchen McNeil - 3:59

2:20 P.M.

JOSIE CROUCHED BEHIND THE PHOTON LASER module and aligned it with the beam splitter at the other end of the lab table. Once we build the vacuum dome, she said, making a minor adjustment to the lasers trajectory, this should work.

Should? Penelope said.

Josie glanced at her lab partner. Theres a reason no ones been able to prove the Penrose Interpretation.

Penelope snorted. Because its unprovable?

Thank you, Captain Obvious, Josie said, with an arch of her brow. Would you also like to tell me why the sky is blue and the Earth is round?

Ha-ha. Penelope bumped Josie out of the way with her hip and took her place behind the laser. I dont know how you talked me into doing this as our science-fair entry. What if it doesnt work? Ill never get into Stanford if I fail AP Physics.

Were not going to fail. Josie looked around the room at the array of textbook experiments their classmates were working on: balloons and static electricity, wave pools, concave mirrors. Total amateur hour, whereas she and Penelope were tackling Penroses wave-collapse theory of quantum gravity. It was like bringing a major leaguer to a T-ball game. Mr. Baines grades on a curve. Well be fine.

Wed better be. Penelope moved around the table. For the bazillionth time, she began carefully measuring out the positions of the one hundred or so mirrors theyd use in the experiment, noting their exact locations in her spiral notebook. Her straight black hair swished back and forth in front of her face as she scribbled furiously. Are you sure youre not just doing this as an FU to your mom?

Josie stiffened. Of course not.

Penelope didnt look up. I dont know. Seems like trying to prove an almost impossible theory thats in direct conflict with the hypothesis your moms spent her entire career exploring is kind of a slap in the face.

It was, of course. Josie knew it. Penelope knew it. If Josies mom had bothered to initiate an actual conversation with her daughter in the last six months, shed probably know it too. But Josie wasnt about to admit that in fourth-period physics.

Im worried about the laser, she said, changing the subject. Im not sure its strong enough.

Penelope calmly looked up at Josie with her almond-shaped eyes. A grin crept across her face. We could always borrow the experimental laser your mom has up at her lab.

No way, Josie said.

Oh, come on! Its perfect.

Josie held firm. We cannot use the hundred-kilovolt X-ray free-electron prototype from my moms lab, okay? Get over it.

Penelope wasnt about to give up. Maybe you could have your dad borrow it? For legitimate work purposes? And then if it just happened to end up in our demonstration the night of the science fair no one

My dad moved out last weekend, Josie interrupted in a clipped tone.

She hadnt told anyone yet, except Nick, and only because hed picked her up for a date ten minutes after Josies dad had broken the news that hed rented an apartment in Landover.

Oh, Penelope said, her eyes wide. Shit, Im sorry.

Its okay. It wasnt.

Penelope opened her mouth to say something, when the loudspeaker in the classroom crackled to life.

Attention, students, said the voice of the school secretary. We have a special announcement.

What now? Penelope groaned.

Quiet down, everyone, Mr. Baines said. The murmur in the classroom dulled.

Josie checked her watch. A special announcement five minutes before the end of the school day? That was weird.

Good afternoon, this is Principal Meyers. As some of you may have heard, another body was found in the woods west of Crain Highway this afternoon.

The classroom erupted into agitated whispers. What? Penelope squeaked. Another one?

Like the previous incidents, the victim was killed sometime between the hours of ten oclock in the evening and four oclock in the morning, from an apparent animal attack.

Josie arched an eyebrow. Animal attack? In Bowie, Maryland?

Shh! Penelope hissed.

Therefore, students are asked to refrain from visiting the Patuxent River Watershed or other surrounding uninhabited areas after dark until the animal or . . .

Principal Meyers paused and cleared his throat with that kind of dry, forced cough a kid makes when theyre trying to convince Mom and Dad theyre too sick to go to school.

Until the animal, he continued, or other perpetrator responsible for the attacks is apprehended.

Other perpetrator? Josie said. What the hell does that mean?

But Principal Meyers offered no response to Josies question. The loudspeaker popped once, twice, and fell silent.

2:35 P.M.

THE END-OF-DAY BELL PEALED THROUGH THE classroom, jarring everyone into action.

Dont forget, Mr. Baines shouted above the commotion of screeching chairs, backpack zippers, and the almost choral musicality of thirty cell phones all being powered on at once. Final review of your projects tomorrow. Be prepared to defend your hypotheses.

How can I think about my science project after that? Penelope clutched Josies backpack as they slowly filed out of the room. Other perpetrator. See? I knew the police were covering up for a serial killer.

Josie half turned around. Who said anything about a serial killer?

Sixteen dead bodies in six months, their gruesome, dismembered, and half-eaten remains left in the woods in the dead of night? Penelope almost sounded excited as she described the murder scenes. Please, this is classic serial-killer territory.

Josie laughed. Okay, CSI.

Fine, dont believe me. Penelope trotted alongside her in the crowded hallway. But it fits. The pattern, the escalation. And now weve had two murders in the last week alone. She paused and dropped her voice. Im sure this animal-attack crap is just a cover-up so the population wont panic and descend into martial law.

Ah, that was the Penelope Josie had known for years. The lovable conspiracy theorist who spent most of her free time combing antigovernment blogs and with each passing day became increasingly convinced that Big Brother was watching her. Pen, youre blowing this way out of proportion.

No, Im not, Penelope said, sounding hurt. I never blow anything out of proportion.

Josie planted her hands on her hips. Remember that time you were convinced your eighty-year-old neighbor was a spy for the Venezuelan government? Or what about when you almost electrocuted yourself trying to find the hidden listening devices the NSA had installed in the walls of your house?

Penelope pursed her lips. Still no proof I was wrong about either, thank you very much.

Hey! a familiar voice called out through the postclass crush of bodies. Josie spun around and caught her breath as she spied the tall, black-haired figure of her boyfriend, Nick Fiorino, threading his way through the crowd.

Hey, gorgeous, Nick said, planting a kiss on Josies cheek. Miss me?

Nick pulled her close and Josie let out an audible sigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw Penelope grimace.

Can you believe they found another body? Nick shook his head. How many is that now? Like a dozen?

Sixteen, Penelope said quickly. Although coverupcadet.com suggests the actual number may be more like two dozen, if you take into account the missing-persons reports of the last six months and cross-reference them against people known to be in the vicinity of a wooded area. She chuckled nervously. This is why I dont leave the house.