Ten by Gretchen McNeil Page B

think we should take her down?” Even though he’d effectively taken leadership of the group, he still seemed intent on her input. Meg wasn’t sure why, but she kind of liked that. And while she had a split second of panic when she realized that everyone was waiting for her answer, she was excited by the idea that T.J. cared what she thought.
    Meg swallowed. “Okay.” They couldn’t just leave Lori hanging there. It wasn’t right. “Let’s do it.”

THIRTEEN
    IT TOOK JUST ABOUT EVERYONE’S HELP TO LOWER Lori’s body down to the ground floor of White Rock House. The rope had been flung up over the top rafters of the tower, with one end tied securely to the banister at the bottom of the garret stairs. It was a knot worthy of a sailor, and Meg was surprised Lori had been able to both secure the knot and loop the rope over the rafters in what must have been a distraught state of mind.
    The guys gradually lowered Lori’s body while Meg and Kumiko waited at the bottom of the stairs. Meg had found some old sheets in a linen closet that they could wrap the body in. She and Kumiko spread one out on the floor while the body crept downward.
    The horror of Lori’s suicide was nothing compared to seeing her body descending from above. It jerked and wiggled like a marionette as the guys strained against her weight. Inch by inch, the dark figure grew larger as it approached, the tangled hair hanging lank around her face. The beams at the top of the tower creaked and groaned as the body twisted slowly, rotating first to the left, then unwinding more rapidly before twisting back again.
    Meg’s stomach lurched as Lori’s dangling feet passed over her head. She stepped back and dropped her gaze, unwilling to see the lifeless eyes again. She waited until she heard the sound of the body touching down before she dared look up.
    The guys at the top of the tower must have felt the change in weight and eased up on the rope, letting it slip through their hands. All at once Lori’s body crumpled to the floor, lifeless and rigid. Meg and Kumiko scampered out of the way as the rope cascaded down from above.
    “Sorry,” Ben called from the top of the tower. “Everyone okay?”
    “Yeah,” Kumiko said. “We’re good.”
    Everyone except the dead girl , Meg thought as she brought a second sheet over to cover Lori up.
    Her body lay facedown—left arm caught beneath her, right arm twisted unnaturally at the shoulder. She looked like a doll that had been taken apart and put back together with all the parts reversed. The noose still encircled her neck and the rope had draped itself over her body in a series of loops and turns as it fell.
    Meg unfurled the sheet and draped it over Lori’s body, then together, she and Kumiko folded the top and sides over to form a kind of mummified bundle.
    Ben, Gunner, and T.J. gathered at the bottom of the stairs, with Nathan trailing behind. “Should we say a prayer or something?” he asked. “Seems like we should.”
    “Know any?” Kumiko asked.
    “Heh,” Nathan laughed. “No.”
    “We’re here to say good-bye to Lori Nguyen,” Kenny said from the top of the first flight of stairs. He had taken possession of Lori’s mourning. “Never again will we see her smile. Never again will we hear her voice. I wish—” Kenny caught his breath, smothering a sob. He paused and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I wish we’d gotten to know each other better. We could have been …”
    His voice trailed off. Meg saw Nathan shift his feet uncomfortably as he glanced up at his friend, but he didn’t say a word.
    “Well, whoever did this, whoever caused this …” Kenny said after a pause. “They’re going to pay.”
    Meg winced. It was the second time in less than a day someone had mentioned revenge. Meg realized that Kenny was upset, but couldn’t he just accept that Lori had killed herself instead of looking for someone else to blame?
    Vivian poked her head out of the study. “We