The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: The Curse of the Gifted (16 page)

“Dylan, God I hate to leave, but I have to get to work.
Please
come over after I get off,”
Aimee pleaded when she finally peeled herself away from Dylan. She wiped her eyes, and then reached for the key to start the VW.

Dylan smiled and replied, “You bet.”

That night when Aimee got home from work she looked at the picture of her parents on the beach. She rubbed her fingers over their faces as she thought about how much love they had for each
other. “Like Dylan and me,” she whispered. “I
so
want this, but I don’t know if I can do this, if I
should
do this.” She quivered suddenly thinking about
travelin
g if she was with Dylan. Something so right
would go so wrong if he witnessed her secret.

Her dad was still out to dinner so she had a reprieve from the nightly chores. Aimee decided to take advantage of the free time and shower before Dylan came over. In record time she got cleaned up and into her comfortable sweats, then whipped back the quilt to relax in bed while she studied. Aimee had forgotten her phone this morning so she slid her hand under the pillow to retrieve it. Her hand came up empty. She chunked the pillows off the bed and searched under the quilt.

No phone.

Aimee hung over the edge of the mattress squinting to see through the darkness under the bed. Other than dust bunnies, a pile of magazines, and an old pair of running shoes, it was empty, too. She sat up on the side of the bed, scratching her head. She was totally puzzled. Aimee thought she had left
it on her bed that morning.
Where the heck did it go?
She decided to check the hamper to
see if she had accidentally dropped it in when she got dressed this morning. She dumped the hamper over, spilling dirty clothes all over the floor, but no phone. Messily, she tossed shoes around in the bottom of the closet combing the disarray for the evasive item. Totally frustrated, she leaned back against the bed and stared at the soiled jeans and shirts spewed across the floor. A few minutes passed while she tried to remember where she laid it down the last time she used it. She only recalled placing the phone on the bed, but obviously it wasn’t there.

Aimee scooped up the smelly debris and stuffed it back in the hamper, then gave up the search. She would try again in the morning. She flipped the closet light off and stepped over to close the bedroom door. Zonker was ardently sniffing at something behind the trash can. Aimee checked what at
tracted his attention and noticed a wadded gum wrapper laying on the floor.
That’s weird. I don’t chew gum
. And she didn’t remember anyone else who had been in her room lately chewing gum, either.

The hair on the back of her neck shot straight up. Aimee froze. She nervously searched the room, but she already knew no one was here. She flew over to the window and yanked up the blinds. The lock was secure. Goosebumps now layered her body. She eased over to the door, locked it, and rested her hand on the knob.

“Zonker…” Aimee whispered while he waited for the door to open, “…was someone in my room today?” She looked down at her faithful bodyguard. His beady black eyes stared back. Aimee was too scared to leave the room, afraid that they might not be alone in the house. She pressed her ear up against the door to listen for anything threatening.

Nothing.

Aimee peered around the room. Crazy thoughts muddled her brain. A sensible person would leave the house or call someone, but she had no phone in her room, so the only thing she could think to do was hide. Dad should be home soon, and Dylan was supposed to come over in about fifteen minutes. She needed to barricade the door until someone arrived so she dragged the desk chair over to the
door and wedged it under the handle
. I need a weapon!
Aimee zoomed to the closet, and on her tiptoes
she raked her fingers across the wooden shelf searching for her weapon - a metal softball bat. It was hidden behind some boxes. She yanked it off the shelf, knocking the boxes and their contents off all over the bottom of the closet floor. With a death grip on the bat, she sat down on the bed with her attention focused on the door. Zonker jumped up beside her and laid down.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes seemed to drag into hours before she heard a vehicle pull into the driveway. Aimee flew over to the window and peeked out. Dad’s truck was parked in its usual spot. The backdoor slammed and Zonker’s tail started to wag.

Her dad’s voice floated lightly through the wooden barricade. “Aimee, honey, I'm home.” Her heart jumped into her throat. A breath leaked out in a gasp. The bat fell from her fingers onto the wooden floor, and she snatched the chair away from the handle and unlocked it. At the same instant, Dad pushed open the door and was in Aimee's room in a flash scouting for the source of the loud crash he heard from her side. He looked at Aimee, then spotted the bat that had rolled under the edge of the bed.

He shrieked,
“Aimee, are you okay?! What the
hell
is going on?!” He
swooped down and whipped up the bat, then turned back to her. She tackled him and clamped her arms around him, then buried her face into his jacket. She started shaking as the realization of some stranger being in their house set in.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. You’re okay. What happened?” he asked calmer. She clenched on for a few more seconds before loosening her grasp enough to crane her neck up to look at him. He peered worriedly at her.

“Oh Dad,” she started, then the sobs rolled out between her lips. “I was
soooo
scared! I think
someone was in our house today!”

“
What
?!
Why do you think someone was in here?”

Aimee sucked in a long breath, and then began, “Well, I left my phone at home today, and I couldn’t find it when I got home, and I was sure I had left it on my bed…”

He interrupted, “But you’ve misplaced your phone before.”

“Yeah, Dad, but I know I left it on my bed. Anyway, I couldn’t find it when I got home from work, and then Zonker was sniffing at a gum wrapper behind my trash, and you know I don’t chew gum. I just know someone was in my room.”

Dad stared at her for a long moment piecing together the clues from her rambling story. Suddenly he exclaimed, “Stay here!”

She shadowed him to the door and shut it behind him, leaving only a crack so she could listen. Aimee heard the door open and slam shut in the front hall, then her dad whizzed by her door detouring into every room along the way. After a few minutes he emerged from James’s room shaking his head. She opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the hall.

“Which door did you come in?”

“The backdoor. It was locked, but only the handle. I was in a hurry this morning when I left. I let in Zonker, and then raced out. I don’t think I locked the deadbolt.”

“Hmm. Think Aimee. You didn’t notice anything unusual when you came in?”

“No. Nothing looked out of place. I didn’t think anything was wrong until I couldn’t find my phone.”

“And Zonker didn’t act strange when you came in?”

“Nope. Not until he sniffed out the gum wrapper.”

“And you’re sure Chels didn’t leave the wrapper the other night?”

“I don’t remember her chewing gum, but, well, maybe, I can’t be sure.” Aimee leaned up against the wall concentrating on a couple nights before when Chels dropped by to hang out. “And I know Dylan didn’t have any gum when he was here,” she added. “Dad, this is totally weird. I’ll call Chels and check, but I really think I would have noticed.”

“Okay, sweetheart, I believe you. It’s just I don’t want to call the police in when there really isn’t a lot to go on here. I tell you what. I have a friend, Levi Woolsey, he’s a detective with Medford. I’ll call him in a bit and see what he has to say.” He gave Aimee a reassuring hug, then handed her the bat. “Besides, we’ve touched everything so much any chance of getting prints is screwed.”

She sighed, and then disappeared into her room. Aimee stopped and hollered as Dad
headed for the kitchen with his cell phone in his hand, “Dad,
PLEASE
, make sure the backdoor is
locked!” She plopped down on the bed. “Geez, who would have taken my phone?” She couldn’t wait until tomorrow to ask. She jumped up and ran into Dad’s room and grabbed his cordless phone. She dialed Chelsea’s number.

Chels picked up on the first ring. Her cheerful voice buzzed through the phone. “Hey, what’s up? Why are you calling on your house phone?”

“Not much, and I can’t find my phone at the moment. Hey, Chels, are you doing anything?” Aimee suddenly was unsure how to ask about the wrapper without divulging any details.

“Nothing that can't wait. You wanna hang out?”

“I just wanted to check in and say hi. Oh, hey, by the way, I have the pack of gum you left the other night.”

“What are you talking about, Aimee? I didn’t leave any gum.”

“Uh, well, I found some on my desk, and I think Zonker might have eaten a piece. Sure it wasn’t yours?”

“Aimee, you’re so weird sometimes. Nope, not mine. I hope Zonker didn’t eat it. You know gum isn’t good for dogs.”

“Yeah, I know. Hey, did you get your homework done for class?” Aimee asked hoping to change the subject.

“Working on it now. So, you don’t want to come over?”

“Sorry, can’t. I’m waiting for Dylan to get here.”

“Hmm. I guess I’ve been replaced as your best friend.”

“Chels!”

“Calm down. Just giving you a hard time. I’ll see you in the morning. Tell Dylan hi for me.”

“Okay. See ya in the morning.”

Aimee tossed her father's phone on the bed.
Kinda sucks,
she seethed,
I guess I’ll have to dig
into
my savings for a new phone. Geez, if I find out who wanted my phone bad enough they would
break in I’m gonna…
As Aimee ran her fingers through her damp hair, she felt fear bubbling up in her
stomach again. She didn’t know who wanted her phone, but she was positive someone had been in this house today. Nothing else seemed to be taken, but Aimee had a sick feeling someone was searching for something of hers when they lucked out and found the phone. The random calls, and now this. Could there be a connection?

Her brain was churning ideas around when she heard the comforting sound of Dylan’s FJ pull into the driveway. Aimee sprinted to the front door and opened it before he could hit the porch.

“Wow, you always seem to beat me to the door before I can ring the bell.”

“I promise I wasn’t waiting on the other side,” Aimee said in a humorless tone. She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the house behind her. As soon as they were in the entry, she tethered her arms around his neck. Her cheek brazed his throat.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked while he swiftly cradled Aimee in his arms. She felt safe.

“I know I’m being stupid, but I’m a little freaked out right now.” Aimee released her clutch and pulled him along to her room. Dad glanced up from the kitchen and waved at Dylan, and then continued his conversation on the phone.

“What’s going on, Aimee?” Dylan asked after he shut the bedroom door behind them. Aimee sat down on the bed and picked up the metal bat. Dylan’s eyebrows scrunched together into one long line. “What’s with the bat?”

“I think someone broke in today. I got scared so I got the bat out in case I needed to protect myself.”

His voice raised an octave. “Whatha
hell
?! How did they break in?”

“Well, we’re not sure. When I got home the door was locked, and all the windows, too. My phone was the only thing taken. I put it on the bed this morning, and now it’s gone, and someone left a wadded gum wrapper behind my trash. Zonker found it. Nothing else in the whole friggin’ house was taken that we can tell, just the phone.”

“Have the police been here?”

“No, I think Dad’s talking to a friend who is a detective with Medford. Dad doesn’t think there’s a whole lot to go on so the cops probably won’t get involved.”

“Humph,” Dylan muttered. Aimee could tell by his frown he wasn’t pleased with the situation.
“So, do you think
you
might know who broke in? If the only thing missing is your phone I bet they
were looking for something of yours, and the cell phone would give them a bunch of information.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Aimee sighed. “It’s creepy though. Whoever jacked my phone left this clue.” She showed him the gum wrapper. “I don’t chew gum, and Chelsea didn’t leave it. And I know it wasn’t there this weekend when I vacuumed.” Dylan took the wrapper. His lips pursed and his eyes narrowed while he straightened the winkled remnant. “Spearmint” was stamped on the foil. “What’s wrong?” she asked cueing into his sudden change in body language.

“Nothing, probably, but this is Brandi’s favorite gum. She’s usually smacking on a piece all of the time.” Dylan stopped suddenly as he stared at the wrapper. Finally, he said, “Brandi is really pissed at me, but I don’t think she would go this far to get even. She’s just not smart enough, or hopefully, stupid enough to break into your house, but I’ll be glad to check into it for you.”

“If it was Brandi, what would she want with my cell phone?”

“Not sure, but the word is she can’t stand you. She knows you’re the reason I broke up with her. She’s having a hard time letting go. Hopefully I’m wrong about this. I’d hate to think she did this. Besides, whoever broke in couldn’t have known you forgot your phone. They were in here for something else when they found it. I’m just thankful you weren’t here when they got in.” Dylan placed the wrapper down on the desk. He grabbed Aimee's hand and pulled her effortlessly off the bed into his arms. “If your dad’s friend doesn’t get involved, I’ll make sure to take care of what I can. Don’t worry. I don’t think you’re in any real danger, even if this is Brandi’s doing.”