Now she couldn't shoot. There was no clear shot. He was using Berenice, effectively, as a shield.
In a moment, the look on the teacher's face changed to one of pure rage. His mouth curled into a snarl, and his eyes narrowed.
"You," he hissed. "How did you find me?"
“Never mind that now,” May insisted.
"Get back," he threatened her, hooking his hands around the girl’s neck as she screamed in terror.
"You need to let her go. This is over now," May insisted. She was fighting for calmness, doing her best to think through the situation and figure out how she could get across the clearing to either free the girl, or get a clear shot at her captor.
"It is not over. I've only just started with her. But if you take one more step, I'll finish her!" he said.
May stopped. Her heart was pounding.
They were in a standoff which, at any moment, could turn deadly.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
May couldn't shoot. It was too risky. There wasn't enough of York’s body visible behind the terrified girl. She simply couldn't aim at the narrow margin of head, the sliver of arm, that was all she had to go by.
Plus, if she missed, things would get extremely bad, very fast. It took only seconds to lose consciousness in this situation, and if there was enough damage done, the girl might not live. Her windpipe could easily be crushed. He might even break her neck. He was stronger than he looked. That average seeming, pinstripe shirt concealed bulky muscles and powerful arms, May now realized.
She had to talk him down. It had worked with Coach Adamson. It was a scary, precarious thing to do but it was her only option.
"Mr. York, this has gone way too far. You don't have to do this. Just let her go," May said.
"I can't," he argued back. "She's the one I need to kill the most."
At least she had him talking. But she didn't like what he was saying. Not at all.
"You can't kill her. She's a person. She has her whole life ahead of her. You can't do this," May insisted.
"You just don't get it," he said. With horror, May realized the evil man was smiling.
He gave a little shake of his head, but his hands didn't relax their grip on her. Not for one moment.
He was alert and aware. He was ready for her.
May had to get closer, somehow. Her time was limited. At any moment, he could tighten his grip and kill Berenice.
"Let her go, and I'll go with you. She's just a girl. There are others. There's no need to kill her," May offered.
"I want her. I want her more than any of the others. She's mine. She's been mine from the start."
Now May could see the madness in his eyes.
She had to try. She had to get him down. She had to have a clear shot. At any moment, he could crush the girl's throat. This was the only chance she had.
She edged forward, speaking again as she stepped to try and distract him from the fact.
"How did you do it? How did you get them to trust you?" May asked him, making sure to sound curious.
"Oh, I didn't have the same charisma as that coach." His voice was filled with disgust. "Or that other teacher. I got rid of him. I could see he was like flypaper to the girls."
May had wondered about the other teacher's sudden resignation and that odd scandal. So this had, in fact, been caused by York. He’d clearly applied his evil intelligence to obliterating what he considered as his ‘competition.’ She guessed that was why the coach had been framed. Maybe York had somehow learned, or just sensed, what his background was.
"I didn't have any of those qualities. All I had was knowledge. They trusted me because I knew things they didn't. But at the same time they scorned me because math is not exciting. All I had was specific information they needed, but didn't admire."