Broken Hearts by R.L. Stine

was killed last night. Every little noise makes me jump. All I think about are the threats in those cards and Muggy.”
    Erica said something in reply, but her words were drowned out by the roar of a large moving van speeding by. After it passed, the sisters crossed the street and entered the new card shop.
    Josie paused in the doorway. It was a long, narrow store with two aisles that ran between stainless-steel shelves loaded nearly to the ceiling with cards. A young woman with close-cropped blond hair sat behind a cash register at the front, a bored expression on her rather plain face. There were several other customers in the store, most of them pawing through the valentines, pulling them out one by one, reading them silently, putting them back in their slots.
    Josie turned to the front shelf. She pulled off her red wool gloves, shoved them into her coat pockets, and began examining cards.
    â€œThere’s more in the back,” the woman at the register called to her. “Those have pretty well been cleaned out.”
    â€œThanks,” Josie said distractedly. She was reading areally crude, insulting card. Making a disgusted face, she quickly returned it to the shelf.
    Why do people want to insult each other on Valentine’s Day? she wondered. Of all days!
    Why do people want to kill people on Valentine’s Day?
    The question crashed uninvited into her mind.
    Meanwhile Erica made her way through the narrow, crowded aisle to the back of the shop. An enormous valentine, nearly the size of a wall poster, caught her eye, and she stopped to read the cornball rhyme in it.
    When she looked up, she was startled to see Jenkman at the end of her aisle.
    He didn’t see her at first. He was concentrating on pulling out valentines and examining them. Erica stared at him, waiting for him to recognize her. He was wearing a brown leather bomber jacket and black jeans.
    â€œHey, Jenkman!” she called finally.
    He turned toward her and his face turned bright red. He shoved the cards he’d been holding back on to the shelf. “Oh, uh, hi,” he said, obviously very embarrassed.
    He walked rapidly up to Erica, peering over her shoulder as he approached.
    He didn’t want me to see the cards he’d selected, Erica thought. He’s so embarrassed. It’s as if I caught him committing a crime or something.
    â€œHi, Erica,” Jenkman said, still gazing beyond her. “Just buying some cards for my mom.”
    â€œThat’s nice,” Erica told him, giving him a warm smile. “I was—”
    â€œIs Josie here?” he interrupted. “Oh, yeah. There she is.” He hurried past Erica, pushing her aside with both hands to get down the narrow aisle. “Hey, Josie! Hi! Josie!” he shouted.
    He never even glanced at me, Erica thought unhappily. She followed him down the aisle, eager to see how Josie would react.
    At first Josie pretended she didn’t hear Jenkman calling to her. But when he was only a few feet away, she turned and glared at him coldly.
    â€œJosie—” he started.
    â€œDid your mother let you out of your cage?” she asked, turning up her nose.
    â€œJosie, listen,” he pleaded, grabbing her arm.
    She jerked back as if he had hit her.
    â€œI just want to talk to you,” he said, stung.
    â€œBuying more ugly valentines for me, Jenkman?” she asked. “Going to scrawl more ugly threats?”
    â€œHuh?” His face filled with confusion. Then he seemed to remember. “Hey, Erica told me about those cards, Josie. You don’t think that I sent them, do you?”
    â€œThree guesses,” she said coldly. “And were you spying on me the other night? At the skating rink?”
    â€œNo way,” Jenkman said heatedly. “Why would I spy on you?”
    â€œI don’t believe you,” Josie told him. “Why don’t you get a life?”
    â€œI don’t get you,” Jenkman