“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “You never mentioned a boyfriend during our therapy sessions.”
“I have lots of friends who are boys.”
Mark gave her a long look. “Well, perhaps you shouldn’t keep this one waiting.”
***
“Taj!” Aura hugged him so tightly it felt as if she completely consumed him. “Oh my Gandhi it’s good to see you.”
He grinned. She loved his grin. Even in the worst of circumstances, which was exactly where she was at present, that grin inoculated her with joy. “Good to see you, too, Skipper. How are you?”
She squeezed him again—and then a moment of panic spread through her. What if they were being watched at this very moment? What if Coutant found out about him? Would she use him against her? Her last visitor got chained up in an underground torture chamber.
She pulled away but kept smiling. She couldn’t help it. Taj looked terrific. Bright brown eyes and hipster hoodie rolled up to show off his budding biceps. He’d been working out. Guess he had to do something since she wasn’t around to suck up his spare time. “You cannot believe this place, Taj. It’s like the worst nightmare imaginable. And I’ve had some pretty awful nightmares lately. But this is worse.”
“Really? Cause I’m looking around at the pool and the palm trees and the sun rising over the Pacific, and I’m thinking, this doesn’t look that dreadful. More like Club Med for mutants.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Sorry, couldn’t resist. How are you? I’ve been worried. I tried to come sooner but they wouldn’t let me.”
“I’m coping. Like always.”
“By the way—love the uniform.”
She glanced down at the stupid black blazer and shivered. “That’s sarcasm, right?”
“Nah. You look good in everything. Are the people here treating you well?”
She decided not to go into the details. “The people running this joint are dreadful. They’re—” Choose your words carefully, girl. “They’re not nice to me.”
“How can that be?” She adored the way he squinted one beautiful brown eye, but not so much that a little light didn’t creep out, illuminating his tan face. His hair was a mess, but somehow, on him, that was endearing. “I can’t imagine anyone disliking you. Anyone who knows you, anyway.”
“Some of the other girls think I’m smug.”
“Smug? You’re like the least smug person on earth.”
“I know, right? But they still hate me.”
“They shouldn’t.”
“They blame me for what happened in Seattle. Which led to them all being locked up here.”
Taj gave her hands a squeeze. “In the first place, it’s not fair to blame you for what happened when you were…you know.”
“Under the influence of Shine?”
“Not intending it. And in the second place, what you did or did not do isn’t the same as who you are. How could anyone dislike who you are? You’re beautiful.”
No wonder he was her best friend. Taj might be the only person she had ever known who understood the concept of unconditional love. He didn’t hold anything against her. She wondered if he would ever hold anything against her.
Funny that Mark thought he was her boyfriend. Taj must’ve said he was her friend, and he was a boy, so Mark got the message tangled. Or just assumed. Or maybe Taj upped a long-standing friendship to get himself through the door. “Thanks for coming.”
“You think I’m gonna let them lock up my best bud and not even visit her? No way. Second I got the approval, I was on the choppercar.”
“I really appreciate it. Just like I appreciate you.”
His eyebrows danced. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. You’re like…like…”
“An awesome Adonis of breathtakingly studly proportions?”
“Like the best friend I ever had.”
“Ah. That.” He nodded. “Well. I feel the same way about you. And then some. I brought you something from home.”
He reached into his hoodie pocket, then passed her a strip of photos from Knott’s Berry Farm. They were clowning around, wearing cowboy hats and chaps and holsters. She pointed a six-gun at the camera.
“We look pretty goofy,” she said.
“I look goofy. You look dangerous.”
“Mmm. Maybe you’d better keep this. I wouldn’t want the other girls to see it. They might refuse to room with me.”
“Can they do that?”
“Probably not. But just the same.” She passed the photo back. “Thanks for the reminder. That once upon a time, my life was fun.”
“And will be again.”
She smiled faintly.
He leaned in closer. “I really have been worried. Some of those SSS creeps are getting out of control.”
“Tell me about it. I had to cross through a gauntlet of them down on the Promenade. They would’ve taken me apart if the cops hadn’t been around.”
“Was my dad there?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he talk to you?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Maybe he’s forgiven you.”
“I don’t think so. But he was relatively nice, given the circumstances. Tried to help me out.”
“He likes you, Aura. I know he does. Deep down.”
“Must be waaaaaay deep down. Like somewhere near the center of the earth.”
Taj grinned. “What did he say?”
“Nothing new. Told me to keep my nose clean. Fly right.”
“He wouldn’t say that unless he liked you.”
“Or unless he liked his son. And he was afraid I might drag you down to the pits of Shine degradation.”
“Or at least to Burbank. Whichever is worse.”
It felt so good, having a piece of her normal life back. “Thank you for making me laugh.”
“That’s part of my job.”
“It is?”
“You know. My, um, best-friend job. I’ll come as often as they’ll let me.”
“Don’t get in trouble. If you come too often, you might end up on the SSS watch list.”
“I’m not afraid of those losers. Besides, they don’t have the stones to tangle with a rugged customer like me.”
“No doubt.”
“Did you notice the biceps? I pity the man who tries to mess with me. Those SSS dudes come, I give them the Sharma Death Grip and they won’t know what hit them. Those pathetic losers will—”
“Taj?”
They both turned their heads.
Lieutenant Sharma, Taj’s father, stood behind them. He wore jeans and a jumper, but she could tell he was packing.
“Dad?” All the energy drained out of Taj’s voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you, obviously.” He adjusted his gaze slightly. “Hello again, Aura.”
She wiggled her fingers at him.
Taj shot up to his feet, brushed himself off, tugged at his hoodie. He looked as if he were preparing for military inspection. “How did you know where I was?”
“You know I’m on Shine detail. The DA pulled us off SSS surveillance, closed that whole investigation. The second you stepped onto this property I got about fifty simultaneous reports.”
“I just arrived.”
“And if we’re lucky, maybe you haven’t shown up on the SSS radar. Yet.”
“I’m not gonna hide from those criminals.”
“They’re not criminals. They’re concerned citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.”
“Must be nice to have those,” Aura murmured.
“Dad, those people are crazy dangerous. They almost attacked Aura the other night.”
“Bringing Shines to the Promenade was a mistake, in hindsight. We should have handled the interrogations at the station. But that’s not really your concern, son. Let’s go.”
Aura rose. “Lieutenant?”
“Yeah.”
“Could I talk to you for a minute?”
“
About what?’
“Privately.”
His brow furrowed. Apparently he couldn’t think of any reason why they needed to talk and didn’t relish the prospect. “Make it quick.”
They stepped out the back door and walked till they found a private spot near the fountain at the north end of the pool. She wasn’t so concerned about Taj overhearing. But she hoped the noise of the crashing water would interfere with whatever eavesdropping devices might be around “So what is it?”
She swallowed. What she really wanted to tell him about was those bastards torturing her mother, but she knew that would be unwise. She had to steer him in a direction where he could be useful. “I think I saw something. At the crime scene, I mean. In Santa Monica.”
“If this is about those SSS members—”
“It isn’t. It’s about the crime. The deaths.”
“The murders, you mean. The implosion. What could you possibly know about that? I asked you then and you said—”
“Everyone is talking like they think Perfume used her ability to hurt someone or to do something she shouldn’t.”
“Any use of Shine abilities is forbidden.”
“But my point is, I don’t think that’s what happened.”
“So pray tell what did happen?”
She drew in her breath. “Perfume was murdered. I think the whole so-called implosion was a cover-up to mask the murder. After Seattle, they thought this would be something the public and police would buy.”
“And you know this how?”
“Perfume had the ability to trigger the sense of smell. There’s nothing explosive about that.”
“Shine abilities often have unforeseen side effects. You should know that better than anyone. Little girls start doing Shine irresponsibly and there’s no telling what will happen.”
She tried to contain her anger, but she knew she did a poor job of it. “Perfume wouldn’t have ripped her own head off.”
“In the midst of a violent Shine implosion—”
“There was no Shine implosion. It’s a frame.”
“Why would anyone want to kill Perfume? She wasn’t even supposed to be free.”
“I know. But somehow she escaped, and she had dangerous information, and they took her out.”
“Nothing personal, Aura, but if someone wanted to take out Shines, they would start—”
“—with the girl who could smell an explosive device if it were anywhere nearby. Who could expose a planted bomb masquerading as a Shine incident.”
“Are you suggesting that Santa Monica was faked? Or worse, Seattle? I know you’d like to shake off all responsibility, but creating crazy conspiracy theories—”
“I think Perfume had information someone didn’t want leaking out.”
“Who would have the ability to fake a disaster on that scale?”
“Maybe someone who’s researching Shine. Studying Shine. Maybe, say, a nationwide Shine Surveillance System.”
Lieutenant Sharma stared at her for the longest time. His face was professionally inscrutable.
“And your basis for all these assumptions is…?”
“I can’t say anything here.”
“Because there’s nothing to say?”
“I just know. That’s all.”
“Great. That’ll look impressive in my report.”
“I’m trying to help.”
He pursed his lips. “Would you be willing to come down to the station? Maybe look at some of the evidence?”
“I’m not allowed to leave here.”
“I can get you out. Will you do it?”
She didn’t have to think about it long. Skip a few sessions with Dr. Hope and play cops and robbers with Taj’s dad? “Sure.”
“I’ll get the paperwork started.” His eyes hardened. “This is serious business, Aura. I hope you’re not just messing with me. Or looking for an excuse to play hooky.”
“I’m not.”
“Good. Because at this point in time, you and your fellow Shines have a lot of enemies. A lot of dangerous powerful enemies. You really don’t need to make any more.” He paused. “You’ll be damned lucky if you survive the ones you already have.”
31
Aura sat in the waiting room outside the downtown LA police station waiting to be called. She’d waited for more than half an hour. She wondered if she’d made a mistake. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut instead of blabbing to Lieutenant Sharma. But she knew something was going on, something larger than the police realized. Maybe he could help her figure out what it was.
Plus, leaving the island gave her a chance to carefully observe all the security protocols, the dock, the choppercar garage. She was certain she could get in and get out. If she could get past the wall surrounding TYL.
Coutant was not pleased when she issued the day pass.
“Do I need to remind you,” Coutant said, “of the terrible price that will be paid, should you violate your promise? The price paid by you—and your mother? And all the others down there?”
“No,” she replied. “You do not.” She had an eidetic memory for threats.
“If you say a word, if a single officer asks the wrong question, if I catch an investigator on the premises—your mother will be dead and disappeared before anyone can so much as open the stable doors. And believe me, I will know. We have many eyes down at the police station.”
“Got it,” she replied through clenched teeth.
So she couldn’t risk telling Lieutenant Sharma about the underground torture chamber, or her mother, much as she wanted to. But if she could lead the police to what was really going on, or figure it out herself, maybe they’d start investigating the SSS like they should. And then maybe TYL would be next.
A middle-aged woman sitting opposite her had been crying continuously since she’d arrived.
“Need a tissue?” she said. “I could get one from the bathroom.”
“Don’t bother.” The woman pressed her fingers against her forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me.”
“It’s just so hard.” The woman turned away. Her face was flushed and her eyes looked as if she’d been crying her entire life. “They talk about her as if she were some…thing. She’s not even a person to them. So they drag me back here, day after day after day. Do they not understand how much it hurts?”
“You probably don’t need the reminder,” she guessed.
“As if I could ever forget. I don’t need to see the pictures. Or to be interrogated like a criminal. The mother of a runaway freak.” The woman looked up, wiped her red eyes, and seemed to focus for the first time. “You’re wearing the uniform. You’re there too, aren’t you?”
No point in lying about it. “I’m at TYL.”
“You’re a—”
“Yes. And your daughter—?”
The woman looked both ways, made sure no one was listening, and replied. “Merena.”
Her eyes ballooned. “Are we talking about Perfume?”
“That’s what they called her there, I’ve been told. I was her mother. I am her mother.” Her head tilted to one side. “So you’re…”
“Yeah. I’m a Shine.”
The color drained from her face. “Then the same thing could happen to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have to be careful. At all times.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Did you know Merena?”
She decided not to go into the details. “Just barely.”
The mother closed her eyes tight. “She escaped, you know.”
“From a hospital, I heard. Do you know how she did it?”
The mother glanced back toward the police offices. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “She had help.”
“From whom?”
“I don’t know for sure.”
Her heart fluttered. “Ohm?”
“I don’t know. Someone…wanted her for something. Wanted her to do something. I don’t know what. They
were pestering her even before she went to TYL.”
“Did Merena contact you after she escaped?”
“She tried. She knew my lines were monitored. Surveillance cameras throughout the house. I found a note slipped under my back door.”
“What did it say?”
“She disguised the message with a lot of nonsense. Made it sound like a text from an old teacher friend of mine about Junior Service League. But she used words no one else would, words that told me it was my daughter. She was smart like that.”
“But what was the point?”
“This was how the message ended: IT REMINDED ME OF THAT OLD MAPLE TREE DOWN BY THE CREEK WHERE WE USED TO MEET AT MIDNIGHT.”
“Ooo-kay.” Was she just stupid or what? “I’m not getting the signif.”
“Merena was telling me to meet her at the old maple tree at midnight. I knew the one she meant. She used to play there when she was little.”
“Did you go?”
“Of course I did. I knew she must be in trouble or she wouldn’t have contacted me. Took forever to give the police the slip, and to avoid all the cams. But I got there.” Her head dropped. “She didn’t. And by the time I got home, it was all over the news. That she was…gone.”
Someone wanted Perfume eliminated, either because of what she knew or what she could do. Or both. That was they broke her out of TYL. And that was why they killed her. This was this even more complicated than she realized. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how you must feel. And you never heard from her again?”
The woman glanced both ways before she spoke. Small wonder the police kept calling her in. Lieutenant Sharma must realize she was holding back information. And didn’t trust the police.
“Merena knew she was in danger. She worried that I was too. I think she wanted us both to run away together. Before it was too late.” She drew in her breath. “That’s why I’m telling you this. Even though I’ve never told anyone else, including the police, and I never will. But I’m telling you now, and I hope you’ll tell all the other Shines. Because you’re all in danger. And I don’t want what happened to Perfume to happen to you.”
32
Aura followed Lieutenant Sharma down the central corridor. Took him forever to come get her. And now apparently he was taking her to meet someone else. Didn’t exactly make a girl feel treasured. She wanted to break his case for him, and he wanted to shuttle her off to underlings.
Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1) Page 14