Free Execution of Innocence by Christopher Pike

that amazing?” Riles turned back to the girls. “If either of you wants to change your story now's the time. But let me warn you, lie to us again and the court will take that into account when deciding what to do with you two.”
    Mary acted as if she wanted to speak, but Hannah cut her off sharply with a gesture and her voice. Sharp wandered over to see yet another confrontation between the girls and Riles.
    “Lots of people wear Nikes and New Balance,” Hannah said, as much for Mary's benefit as for the cops’. “It proves nothing. I know the law. You’d have to match our DNA with some of the blood you found here to prove that we had definitely been here. That will never happen.” She turned to her friend. “Mary, we have the right to remain silent. Don’t say anything else to these cops until you talk to my father's lawyer. They'll just use it against you.”
    Riles spoke to his friend. “Handcuff these young women. And while you're at it, put plastic bags over each of their hands. When we get back to town I want to check their skin for powder marks.” Riles stepped close to Hannah and breathed frost in her face. “Did you wash your hands tonight, Hannah? Did you wash them real well?”
    Hannah did not seem scared at all. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    It was the night of the murder. But no one was supposed to die, Mary had understood. They were just supposed to scare Charlie. Scare him out of his pants so he’d feel bad about everything he had done to Mary. And then…then he was supposed to want her back. In Mary’s mind, even then, this one and one did not add up to two. Mary knew she was dealing in fractions of reality. Charlie was two dimensional, and he couldn’t possibly conform to her simple equation. Still, she was so mad at him she didn't really care if he did or didn’t.
    And that was as untrue as anything could possibly be.
    They were Mary, Hannah, and Dick.
    They were sitting in the Pizza Palace eating—what else—pizza. The time was between nine and ten. So later, what Mary told Riles and Sharp was true. But just the first part. Charlie had never been to the Pizza Palace that night. He was supposed to meet Mary at twelve midnight at the Crossroads, as far as Mary knew. She had called him and asked him to meet her. They were going to talk out their problems. He had agreed to come, and she had been surprised.
    “Charlie wanted to know why the hell we had to meet out there,” Mary said to Dick and Hannah. They were sitting in a booth in the corner. The place was crowded and loud; it was all the town had going on Friday night. Mary kept glancing around to see if anyone she knew was there, and, lo and behold, she realized she knew everyone. She was pissed at Hannah for talking her into such a stupid plan. And it was stupid, there was no debating that.
    “That doesn't matter,” Hannah said, blowing smoke.
    “One place is as good as another,” Dick said.
    Mary chewed on cold crust. “I don't know why we’re doing this.”
    “We don't have to do it,” Dick said.
    “Shut up,” Hannah said.
    Dick shrugged. “He's such an ape. How do I know he won't attack me?”
    “Because you'll be the one with the gun, stupid,” Hannah said.
    Dick gave a weird grin and looked at Mary. “And what do I get out of all this?”
    “The thrill of the scare,” Hannah said.
    “I want sex,” Dick said flatly.
    “Subtle, aren't we?” Mary said.
    Dick drank his beer. He was, of course, underage but that didn't seem to matter in Maple. “I tried subtlety and it didn’t work,” he said.
    “Sticking your tongue in my mouth was not subtle,” Mary said. She threw her pizza crust aside and leaned closer. “Do this tonight and get me into Stanford, and then you get some of what you want.”
    Dick was amused. “The hookers in Vegas aren’t as pricey as this.”
    “But you don't want a hooker,” Mary said.
    Dick snorted. “Isn’t that what I'm getting?”
    Mary