“He doesn’t have to lead her anywhere,” Jake countered. “She knows exactly where we are.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t stay together, in that case,” Melissa suggested. “If we split into two teams she won’t know where two of us are.”
“We’re stronger as a foursome,” Allie said, worrying that her half of the twosome might not include Jake.
“As far as we know, McBitch has never seen me,” Daniel said. “I’m the only one who should risk trying to talk to either of the Joneses.”
“She probably looked at your photo from the surveillance she was running on us,” Jake countered.
“Still. She’s never seen me in person. I can dye my hair jet black and go Goth. Then I can apply for a summer job at Dr. Jones’s medical center and wear a wire. It worked when Ellie did that at ABTC.”
Allie shook her head. “He wouldn’t hire a Goth at his medical center. You’d scare off his patients.”
Daniel chuckled. “I’ll be a kinder, gentler Goth, then. I’ll wear sequins and sparkly shoes.”
While Allie took a moment to enjoy trying to picture what Daniel would look like, Melissa’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her purse. She furrowed her brow as she looked at her screen.
She held out her phone so they could see the screen. “Read this text. It’s from Dr. Jones.”
The three of them crowded together. The message read:
Hi Melissa. I’m in Albany. We need to talk.
“What should I do?” Melissa asked.
Allie’s heart started to race. Jennifer’s closing in on us! “We can’t tell if it’s really him, or if it’s Jennifer,” Allie pointed out.
“We’ll know one way or the other if I call him back and he answers,” Melissa replied.
“Not really,” Allie said. “Not if she forcibly injected her mind into Mark’s brain. Or if Jennifer’s standing right next to him while he’s talking to you.”
“We need to take that chance,” Jake said.
Allie chewed on her lip, edgy at how Jake, as was typical of him, was putting himself in charge. He wasn’t an infallible leader now that he was part Eric Sterling, whose reckless decision-making had put him in juvenile detention and led to his becoming a runaway—who one day wound up at the McGavins’s Alzheimer and Brain Trauma Clinic. Jennifer and her late husband had secretly gotten most of their guinea pigs from a supposedly charitable organization that sheltered runaways in Washington, D.C. Select candidates would be put into drug-induced comas so that the doctors could download and upload patients’ memory banks at will. Afterward, they would kill them.
Allie found herself clenching her teeth and fists at the thought of their sickening disregard for human life. She shook herself out of her miserable reverie as Melissa called a number, then put her phone on speaker. After four rings, it answered: “Hi, this is Dr. Mark Jones. I can’t take your call right now. If this is a medical emergency, please call nine-one-one. Otherwise, leave a message.”
Melissa ended her call.
“Was that his business line?” Allie asked. “It’s strange to have such an impersonal message on a personal-use cellphone.”
“I don’t know,” Melissa said. “It’s not the one contact number that he gave me. Which I think he told me was his cellphone.”
“Aren’t we at risk of having our location revealed when we call him?” Melissa asked.
Jake and Allie looked at Daniel; he was a computer wizard, and they tended to let him make all the technological decisions. “Call his contact number,” he said with a shrug. “A hit man knows to find us at Albany High. We’re already sitting ducks.”
Melissa cued up Dr. Jones’s number on her contact list and called. Once again, the automatic answering service picked up after four rings. This message said, “Hey, it’s Mark. Leave a message.”
Melissa hung up her phone. She searched Allie’s face and the others. For Allie’s part, all she knew was that she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Could mean nothing,” Daniel said.
“Or that Jennifer made the first call,” Jake countered, “from Dr. Jones’s landline in Brooklyn.”
No one spoke for a moment. The tension was palpable. “Let’s let Daniel put on a disguise,” Allie said. “That way, one of us can maybe escape Jennifer’s detection for a little while. When can we meet again?”
“Tomorrow morning, if we ditch school,” Melissa suggested.
The final bell sounded. Allie stamped her foot. “My mom’s probably already here, waiting for me out front. We’re too far away from the school’s front door for me to make it look like I’m leaving my classroom. She’ll get apoplectic with the possibility that I was with you,” she added, looking at Jake.
“You can always tell her you walked home with Fiona and didn’t happen to see her car,” Melissa suggested.
Allie shook her head. “Seconds from now, she’ll see Fiona walking by herself.”
“I can walk to your home with you,” Melissa said. “She’s never met me. She’ll assume we’re friends, and that Fiona had other plans.”
“That would work.” Allie had already told her mother about having troubles with Melissa, and now she couldn’t remember if she’d mentioned Melissa by name. In any case, her mother loved it when she patched up any troubles and made new friends. She glanced over at Daniel and Jake. “You two need to stay on the down-low for another half an hour, just to be safe. One of Mom’s friends could spot you, Jake.”
“I just thought of something,” Daniel said with a big grin. “Your parents have never met me. I can drop by later and show you my sparkly Goth look.” He wiggled his eyebrows. Allie laughed.
Jake gave her a plaintive look. She felt terrible. Here she was, acting at ease and happy to be with Daniel, when some three hours earlier, Jake had told her that he was going to erase his existence from Eric’s brain.
Allie threw her arms around Jake’s neck. “Keep the faith. Jennifer’s messing with our minds, but we’ll handle this.”
“Right.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Just...take care of yourself.” He nodded at Melissa. “Maybe I’ll see you at the Benton. You could maybe sneak some food into my room, so nobody from the neighborhood spots me in a restaurant.”
Allie glared at him, and he said, “On second thought, I can order takeout.”
Melissa blushed. “See you later, Jake.”
Allie and Melissa started to walk home, with Allie keeping an eye out for the sight of her mother’s Honda. “When you meet my mom, just be aware that she already knows you used to date Jake.”
“I didn’t used to date Jake.”
“Well, right, but Melissa Cooper did, and I already told my mom that.”
“So is she going to grill me on how Jake and I met? Will I have to make up stories?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Go with...a high school in Chicago. You met in a math class. That’s where Jake grew up. In Chicago, I mean. It’s just easiest for me if she doesn’t know about you being Elony, too, and all of that. Or that Jennifer is involved. If Mom hears Jennifer’s at the heart of a problem, Mom will enroll us in her own version of the Witness Protection Program by nightfall.”
“I’m kind of surprised you’re lying to your mother, Allie.”
She had a teasing tone, which annoyed Allie. “I haven’t lied to her all that badly. My parents know I’m Ellie Montgomery, and that the McGavins put me into their daughter’s body. Although, technically, Jake did that to try to save my life. I just don’t really want my parents to know too much.”
“Why not?”
“So they won’t get killed,” she answered bluntly. “Like my mother did. And Grammy.”
They walked in silence for half of a block. “Dr. Jones didn’t tell me much about that,” Melissa said at length, obviously emotional; she’d had less than two months to cope with the deaths of Elony’s parents and grandmother. “He said he only fo
und out about it later, and that was when he started to realize his wife was unhinged. Mom, Dad, and Grammy were killed because they knew too much about Jennifer McGavin?”
“Yes. At least I think that’s why. Or else it was just in order to torment me. You want to think that no one could truly be capable of—”
She broke off as Melissa’s cellphone rang. Allie assumed that Mark Jones must be calling again. Melissa had kept to herself since her arrival, so Allie doubted she’d given her number to many people.
Allie glanced over Melissa’s shoulder at the number on Melissa’s screen and said, “It’s Fiona.”
“How could she have gotten my number?” Melissa muttered. She answered the phone, then after a pause, she said, “Yeah, she’s right here.” Still listening to Fiona, Melissa gasped. A moment later, she said, “Sure thing,” then handed Allie her phone.
Allie knew in her gut that something terrible had happened. “Fiona?” she said into the phone.
“Allie,” Fiona said. The tension was rife in her voice. “I called Jake, and he said you were walking home with Melissa. I have really awful news.”
“What happened?” Allie asked. She turned away from Melissa, who was watching her with obvious concern.
“Mike Burns was in a hit-and-run accident.”
“Oh, my God.” Her mind’s eye flashed with images of Mike in class, at lunch, and riding his bike while crying—even though she hadn’t seen that happen for herself. “Is he going to be all right?”
“Nobody knows. Ackerton was driving home and saw him being loaded into an ambulance. Nobody would give him any information. He called Keith, and we’re on the way to the hospital now.”
Allie scanned the street in both directions, not really knowing what she was looking for—a passing car with a driver that she knew, maybe. “I want to go, too. But I’m getting close to my house. I can’t ask Jake to give me a ride there. Or Daniel. Did you see my mom’s car at the school? Maybe she could give me a ride.”
“I didn’t see her car out front of the building,” Fiona answered. “Things got chaotic pretty fast when the news spread. You should call your mom for a ride to the hospital before you call anyone else.”
“Tell Alexis to stay away,” she overheard Keith growl to Fiona. “She has no right to get anywhere near Mike.”
Chapter 11
“Allie?” Fiona said. “Are you still there?”
“I heard what Keith said just now. You can tell him that I feel like complete shit.”
“I’m really sorry, Allie,” she said. Her tone of voice made it clear that she was sending dagger eyes in Keith’s direction. “I’ll call you when we get to the hospital and—” She paused. “Oh, shoot. You don’t have your cellphone. I’ll call your house when I know anything. Okay?”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Melissa met Allie’s gaze with worried eyes. “What happened?” Melissa asked.
“Mike Burns was in a hit-and-run on his bicycle. Nobody knows anything, but he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.”
“That’s just horrible. Mike’s such a nice guy. I hope he’s okay.”
“Me, too.”
“Why do you look so guilty?” Melissa asked.
“Because I am. You heard what Jake said. Mike was riding all over the road because he was crying about me. Keith’s his best friend, and he hates me for making him so sad that he got hit by a car.”
“That doesn’t make the accident your fault. It’s the driver’s fault. Otherwise he or she wouldn’t have left the scene.”
“I’m sure Mike was distracted, thanks to me.” Allie stood frozen, unable to decide what to do next.
“We’re almost to your house. We can be there in a couple of minutes if we hurry.”
Allie was annoyed that Melissa knew where her house was. She’d probably staked out the place; she knew that’s what she would have done. “This isn’t a good time for you to come over.”
“Okay,” Melissa said.
“I need to use your cellphone again to call Jake.”
Melissa nodded in tacit permission, and she keyed in the number. “Jake,” she said to his “Hello?” “Mike was hit by a car. I don’t know any details. He’s in the hospital. This is Melissa’s phone. Can you give her a ride back to the Benton? I’m going to run home and talk to my mom. See if she’ll take me to the ER to wait and see if he’s okay.”
“I’m so sorry. Of course I’ll give Melissa a ride.”
“He doesn’t need to do that,” Melissa told her. “I can take the city bus.”
Allie waved her off. “Keith doesn’t want me there. He’s Mike’s best friend. Maybe I’d stir things up too much. What do you think I should do, Jake?”
“I...don’t know. Ask Fiona?”
Allie gritted her teeth. There was a reason girls tended to be more social than guys. “I’ll call you when I get my phone back.”
When Allie entered the door, she was surprised to see her mother’s purse and car keys in their typical spot. She could hear her mother moving about in the kitchen, and there was a faint aroma of sauteing onions. Her mother must not have driven to the school after all.
“Is that you, Alexis?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes, wishing her mom could remember to call her Allie.
“How was school today?”
“Not good.” She shed her backup and strode into the kitchen. “Mike Burns was in an accident.” She gave her mother a quick summary of her limited information and included how she’d overheard Keith’s cutting remark.
“Would you feel better if you went to the hospital?”
She sighed. “I think so. Can I borrow the car?”
“No, but I’ll give you a ride.”
“I’m not going to drive off to Jake’s place,” Allie snapped.
“I realize that, but you’re clearly upset, and I’d prefer that you didn’t get behind the wheel just now.” She dried her hands and shut off the burner. “That’s my best offer. Take it or leave it.”
Allie and her mother drove for a couple of minutes in total silence. “You were late getting home. Why didn’t you get a ride with someone else?”
“I was already halfway home when I heard the news.”
“How did you hear?” her mother asked.
“From Fiona. I was walking home with Melissa, and Fiona called her, to talk to me. Fiona got a ride from Keith.” Allie had to actively stop herself from fidgeting. She knew her story wasn’t adding up well. She didn’t want to expound on the logistics of an already strained explanation.
Allie waited through a massively awkward silence. “I know about Photoshopping, you realize,” Allie’s mom said.
“Pardon?” She studied her mother in profile. She didn’t look angry. She looked more tired and sad than anything else.
“I realize that I can’t trust Jake, but I was really hoping I could trust you to behave honorably.”
Honorably? “I have. I went to school today. Then I was walking home with Melissa. And Fiona called to tell me that Mike Burns was hit by a car. That’s why I was late. But, yeah, I didn’t feel up to going to my seventh-period class, so I cut it. I have an A-plus average. Next week, classes are over.”
“You’re trying to offer up your having skipped a class to shift the focus away from Jake not actually leaving town.”
“You don’t understand how I feel about Jake.”
“Yes, I do, Allie. I remember very well what first love is like. I realize that you’re a lot brighter than Alexis was. I also realize that you’re considerably more intelligent than both your father and I are. That doesn’t mean I’m incapable of knowing when you are making bad decisions. Sneaking around and being hurtful to the parents who love you is foolish, Allie.”
“Jake loves me most of all! The only reason I’m sneaking around and being hurtful to you and Dad is because you insist on separating us!”
Her mother smacked the top of the steering wheel with one hand. “But the only reason we’re i
nsisting on separating you two is because we know that a madwoman shifted you, Jake, and herself into other people’s bodies! Look at this from our perspectives! Jake arrives for a visit out of thin air, and next thing we know, you’re lying to us. You’re sneaking around behind my back to defy me and continue to see Jake.” She caught her breath. “What am I supposed to do, Allie? How am I supposed to handle this situation? It’s not as if I can commiserate with my friends and ask what they would do in my shoes. Or get professional advice. Nobody else in the world has these kinds of parenting challenges. I’m in a goddamned rowboat in the middle of the ocean!”
Allie sank lower into her seat. After a few seconds, she said, “You can trust that I’m making the best decisions I possibly can.”
“How? How can I possibly trust your decisions when the one and only thing that I know for certain is that you’re hiding something from me?”
Allie felt as if she was stuck in a vice that was being tightened more and more as each second passed. She couldn’t answer with even a partial truth, or her mother would drag the whole story out of her. That might get her mom and dad killed. It felt to Allie like any step she made to distance herself from Jake would only increase the likelihood that Jake would essentially commit suicide.
They were still several blocks from the hospital. “You have to realize that, if I’m choosing to hide something from you, I must have a really good reason.”
She shook her head. “The only good reason for not telling the truth is if the truth does more harm than good. But I’m the parent, you’re the child, so you’re wrong to protect me. You think Jennifer’s after you and that she’s going to kill your father and me.”
“Because I know that she killed my real parents!”
“Risking your life again in some crusade against a powerful madwoman is stupid, Allie!”
“Sitting back and doing nothing is morally wrong,” Allie countered. “More importantly, you’ve come to an erroneous conclusion. You’re saying that I’ve been wise to have ignored Jennifer completely for the past six months. But she’s still on the loose, hurting other teenagers. Hurting Jake. And my life is worse than ever! Everybody at school hates me.”
Mind Echoes (Book 2 in the Body Shifters Trilogy) Page 8