Free Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner

perhaps I didn’t teach you correctly. More likely, though, the culprit is hasty editing. Your assignment is to find five bylines that are formatted incorrectly and fix them.”
    I didn’t ask if I was one of the guilty parties. I very well could have been; I got lazy sometimes. I sifted through a newspaper from two weeks ago when an opinion article on the fourth page caught my attention.
    Is Lacey Township becoming too large? After the second murder in three weeks, citizens are beginning to wonder if they are not as safe from the big city crime as they once thought.
    This paper was from a few weeks ago. How many murders had there been now? Three? Maybe even four, if Hannah was already dead. My fingers twitched and I fought back nausea, again pricked by guilt. Stop it! I chided myself. It’s not like you could help her!
    Then why did I feel like I should be doing something? I began scanning all the articles and headlines for any information about the murders. There had to be clues as to how this guy operated.
    There were no more references to the murders in that paper, so I put it aside and picked up another. Nothing in this one either. I exhaled, feeling my shoulders slump. This could take awhile. An online search would probably prove more helpful.
    I swiveled around to a computer, pulling up a web browser. I had gotten as far as typing “Lacey Township serial killer” in the search bar when a hand landed on my shoulder. I shrieked.
    “Jayne,” Ms. Montgomery said, peering at me over her glasses, “what are you doing?”
    I swiveled in my chair and smiled my best innocent smile. “Research.”
    “Save it for home.”
    “Yes, ma’am” My face burned at being called out in class. I waved a hand to cool it off, watching her move on to supervise other students. Fine. This could wait until tonight.
    
    “Hey, Jayne.”
    I didn’t look up from the cash register. I had smelled Aaron the moment he walked into JT’s, and I felt too emotionally drained to get excited about it now. I’d spent the rest of the school day thinking about that newspaper article. The anxiety to get home and start my own research sat like a rock in my stomach. I’d almost skipped Spanish club with the intent to do my own private research. Then I thought better of it. I didn’t need my teachers thinking I was obsessed with this topic.
    Even though it was in a vision, I’d seen the murderer’s face. What if there was a way I could help identify him? The woman had told me to declare. Could I still prevent Hannah’s death? Should I declare what I knew to someone?
    I focused on the keys on my register. “Hey, welcome to JT’s. What can I get you?”
    He stood just far enough away from the counter that I could see his feet shift over the linoleum. Brown leather shoes again. “Do you have a moment? I need to talk to you.”
    The grinning confidence was missing from his voice. He sounded uncomfortable, nervous, even. His tone distracted me from my state of mind, and I found myself wanting so badly to look at him. Get a grip, girl. I checked my watch. 7:05 p.m. “I’m going on break in ten minutes. Can you wait?”
    “Sure.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Corner table.”
    He shuffled away and my heart beat out a staccato note. His attitude was making me nervous. He wasn’t my boyfriend, so he couldn't break up with me. I had nothing to worry about.
    At least it gave me something else to brood about. The next ten minutes couldn’t pass fast enough. Finally I slipped out from the counter and wandered over to the table, my fingers trailing the chairs that I passed.
    “What’s up?” I sat down in front of Aaron and focused my eyes on his mouth. He licked his lips, and I wondered what it would be like to kiss them.
    Bad idea. I dropped my eyes to my hands.
    “I came by at four and you weren’t here. What time did you come in to work?”
    “Are you stalking me?” I tried to tease, but then I remembered the serial killer, and