The Secret (17 page)

Officer Boyle hedged for a moment, studying me. “I suppose you’re going to the prom tonight?”

My stomach knotted. I didn’t like to think that he’d be watching me. I tilted my head forward in the best
demure,
Scarlett O’Hara impersonation I could muster. “Why yes, I am.”

As he backed down the steps, his eyes sparked in humor and suspicion. He took on a southern drawl and waved his hand in the air dramatically. “Well, Miss Hart, by all means, go prepare.”

Stepping back inside, I shut the door and leaned back on it. I was the worst liar. “That was messed up.”

“Are ya in cuffs yet?” Reed called to me from the living room.

I found Reed sitting on one of the metal chairs from the kitchen, his own frustration palpable. Mr. Drake stood over him, pulling his ear back and tapping the raised mark in a two-step kind of rhythm.

Inwardly cringing, I tried to imagine what I looked like talking to Officer Boyle. “Bad advice, Reed—demure?”

Rolling his eyes, Reed smiled. “Sorry. It’s not like there’s a handbook on how to evade a cop.” Immediately straightening, he twisted his hand into some weird looking type of signal. “But gangsters probably have one.”

Mr. Drake pushed Reed’s head back into position. “Hold still.”

Crossing my arms, I watched Mr. Drake counting and tapping. “You have no idea how to get their powers to work, do you?”

Shaking his head, Mr. Drake kept working. “It’s like a slow dance—you have to get the steps just right. And then it will all fall into place. Hold still!”

Reed hunched into position, pouting. “This is stupid. I’ve got to go get my brows waxed and my nose hairs trimmed before prom or Marsha will be even more unbearable.”

A small laugh escaped me, thinking about Reed clipping hairs out of his nose. But even though I didn’t understand why he cared so much about Marsha, especially since Marsha’s plan had been to ditch him for prom, I did find his loyalty a little bit endearing. Persistent—that’s what Reed was. If he wanted something he kept on and on until he got it. I reflected on how I was that way with my art—always pushing until it looked real. Even though I could make it become real—if I wanted to.

An idea struck me. Standing quickly, I walked to Mr. Drake’s side, my hands starting to shake. “Can I try something?”

Pulling his hands to his sides, Mr. Drake nodded. “Go ahead.”

Putting my thumb against Reed’s mark, I closed my eyes and focused on the blue, pastel color Marsha had used to describe his power that day in the art room. I tried to bring his strength…to life. A shock went through me and I fell to the ground.

Reed reached behind his ear, alarm on his face. “What was
that
?”

My heart raced. It felt like every part of me was buzzing in vibration as I got back to my feet. I looked at Reed. “Do something.”

Standing, Reed opened the door and jogged down the steps, shaking his arms like a boxer. He called back, “I feel different.”

Mr. Drake and I followed him out.

Reed looked around. “See any cops?”

Scanning the street, I pushed down my anxiety. “Nope.”

Fixing his eyes on Mr. Drake’s car, Reed went to the front of it, leaned down, and then quickly pulled it up over his head.

I laughed, clapping my hands together, astonished that it had actually worked. “You did it!”

Mr. Drake laughed beside me and went down the steps, putting his hands out in the air. “Okay—put down the car slowly.”

Reed locked eyes with me and smiled like a young boy holding up his first fish. “
You
did it, Lanie.”

I glared at Sam’s smiling face and tugged on the dress that had arrived in the mail yesterday. Wrapped in expensive tissue paper, the return address had been from somewhere in France.

Sam unabashedly looked me up and down. “I knew the red sequined top was the way to go.”

My hands pricked against the sequins, following them down the empire waist and stopping at the white tulle material that flowed out from my waist to right above my knees. I felt very beautiful in the dress, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “Don’t you think it’s a little sick, sending me a dress—kind of stalkerish or something?”

Sam tsked his tongue. “Being a spoilsport won’t solve your problems.”

Batting the corsage away as I stepped down the stairs, I went to Marsha’s car, flinging open the passenger side door and getting in. “It seems like it works for you.”

Gently shutting the door into place behind me, Sam stared down at me through the window.

I didn’t look up at him, but I could imagine the way his dimple deepened into his annoying grin. The way he’d slicked back his hair made him look like a young Cary Grant.

Walking to the other side of the car, he lowered himself in and started the engine. “You look good.”

My stomach flip-flopped as I met his eyes. “Shut up.”

The gym was packed. Big, star-shaped ornament looking things were hung in a haphazard way all over the gym ceiling. Royal blue lights were draped behind them, giving them a shimmery effect. And large, silver stars covered everything. Looking around, I tried not to smile. It looked beautiful. But I wouldn’t tell Marsha that. She would probably ignore the compliment anyway.

Marsha stood on the stage, engaged in what looked to be a rousing conversation with the band. The band seemed hypnotized by her, with her silver, spaghetti strapped dress and fluffy arm thing.

Reed stood next to the stage, Jake at his side. They both turned to me at the same time. A stupid grin covered Reed’s face. He flexed one arm and pointed at me with the other. His voice boomed across the gym. “She da man!”

I smiled at his excitement, but kept my eyes on Jake’s.

Sam’s voice whispered low into my ear. I jerked as he tugged the jacket off my shoulders. “I’m not going to spend the whole night with you looking at
him
.”

I didn’t move, but I could see Jake scowl and start making his way across the gym floor.

“Fluttering my eyes at you all night wasn’t the deal,” I hissed.

“That’s the new deal.”

Shoving out of his grip, I turned on him. Fury rose up inside of me and I thought of using my powers. But—I quickly forced myself to calm down. I had to get inside mom’s head, and I wasn’t backing out now. “Right, I guess that’s the problem when you make a deal with the Devil—isn’t it? You never know if he’ll keep his word or not.”

“Are you okay, Lanie?” I heard Jake’s voice behind me.

Pushing back my sadness, I put on the best smile I could and turned, facing him. “Hey.”

Even though he hadn’t spoken to me the last few days, his face still held worry and I melted at it. His eyes darted to Sam and back to me. “Is everything okay?”

Sam draped his arm around me. “Couldn’t get a date, Curtis?”

Jake’s eyes turned a shade of dark grey, but he didn’t look at Sam. “Hoping I might be able to get back what I thought I had.”

Sam laughed dramatically, pulling me away. “It looks like she prefers me, doesn’t it?”

Frowning, I focused on not sending him flying across the starlit gym.

Sam checked our coats and then took me over to the photographer in the corner. I tried to muster an evil look as I was pushed into position against him for a picture. I may have to be here with him, but I didn’t have to help him enjoy it.

A slow song started and Sam took my hand, pulling me to the middle of the dance floor.

My body felt wooden. I tried to keep him as far away from me as possible.

Sam shook his head and lifted my arm, twirling me out and back to him. “I bet you
could
be a good dancer.”

I ducked into another spin. “I could. With the right person.”

Pulling me tightly against him, I felt the heat between us. “How do you know I couldn’t be right for you?”

I couldn’t stop myself from blushing, and that made me angry.

He kept me against him. “Come on, Lanie. Tell me you don’t feel it—the fire.”

Gritting my teeth, I turned on my newly practiced
demure
look. “You can pretend whatever you want, but that’s what you’re doing…pretending.”

He relaxed his pull on me. “That’s fine, Lanie—you can deny it. But I know. I was there too—when you kissed me.”

Fury surged inside of me and I smacked him as hard as I could across the face.

His stunned look made me feel better.

“You took that kiss from me and you know it!”

Sam didn’t quit dancing, but he did reach a hand to his face, his eyes alight with pleasure. “Fire, Lanie. That’s what we are together.”

Fuming, I looked away from him.

Sam still kept dancing, slithering his arm back around me.

My feet kept moving as I scanned the gym for Jake, hoping he hadn’t seen the slap. I couldn’t afford another confrontation if I was going to get what I wanted from Sam.

Rob appeared, making his way through other couples as he walked toward me. His freshly cut hair and trimmed goatee made him look like a respectable gentleman.

Relief pulsed inside of me.

“Can I cut in?”

Sam released me and nodded to Rob. “Of course. I think I’ll go see if my sister has forgiven me yet.”

Rob gave Sam a mistrusting glance. “I don’t think that’s going to happen in this lifetime.”

Smiling properly, Sam lifted his eyebrows. “We’ll see.”

Relaxing against Rob, I felt the music finally start to reach me. “You look good, brother.”

His eyebrows creased. “You do, too. Not the dress style I would pick for you, but you always surprise me.”

“Yeah.” Another thing I couldn’t explain to anyone right now.

He squeezed me. “I have something to tell you.”

Feeling myself slip into an easy back and forth motion, I wondered at his apparent giddiness. “What is it?”

Rob dipped me back and held me there. “I broke it.”

I caught his eyes and pulled myself up quickly. It couldn’t be what I thought it was. “What?”

His eyes sparkled. “Yep, like thirty minutes before I was supposed to pick up Karen for prom. I thought I should tell you first.”

I stopped moving, my mind trying to grasp what he meant. “You cracked the code. Like—we can read the book now?”

He looked over at Karen, sitting by Jake at a table and sipping punch. “I can hardly stand it, but she was so excited about prom, I didn’t want to trump her night. I figured it could keep for three hours.”

Speechless, I tried to think of what this would mean for us. It could change everything.

His eyes glistened in happiness. “It’s awesome, isn’t it, Lanie? Tonight you can help Marsha and Karen get their powers back. I’ll call Stewart, and we’ll make plans for getting him and the book back here.  Everything is finally going our way.”

Large hands clamped down on Rob’s shoulders, wrenching us to a stop.

I looked into Officer Boyle’s flushed face.

“Kids, this dance is over. Rob Hart, you’re being arrested for the murder of Tamara Fuentes.”

Episode 19: Another’s Mind

It didn’t feel right, watching Lanie pout against the white, cement wall of the police station. I frowned and threw my rented tux jacket over the bench across from her. “Let me take you home, Lanie.”

Tendrils of her fire red hair fell down from the bun she’d worn to prom. Her skin looked whiter than usual, making her look like one of those hard, porcelain dolls my mother used to keep poised above her old relic cedar chest in our living room. My chest tightened. Did she have to be this…this…

She looked up at me, her green eyes going to cat-like slits. “Seriously, Sam. Why are you still here?”

Stubborn. 

Trying my best to be the jerk she thought I was, I sauntered over to her and sat down on the bench. I had to get her to leave with me and go into her mom’s head. I’d promised him information tonight, and it wouldn’t be pretty if I didn’t deliver.

Patting the wall with my hand, I looked at her. “Oh—
of course
you wouldn’t leave him. I’m sure he feels your moral support through the cement. He
does
seem to be more in tune with inanimate objects than people.”

In one forward motion she pushed me back against the side of the bench. Her eyes moistened but took on a fury I hadn’t seen before, even during her spat with Marsha. “Do
not
make fun of my brother. Do
not
think that anything is more important to me than him.”