“You don't really look like you should be driving.”
She wanted to shut him up, to blast him out of the car, but there was no time, and she was still adjusting.
Ranie shoved the car into gear, and her foot fell on the gas. The car lurched forward. The man fell into the dash. He jumped back and fastened his seat belt.
“Mina, you should probably buckle—”
She shot him a look, cold as death. She didn't have time for this. She shoved her foot on the gas. The car screeched as they headed down the road.
“You're obviously very emotional right now,” the man sputtered. “Or you've been taking something.”
She swallowed hard, wishing, and hating herself for wishing. In life, she'd often chosen it over her daughter. The temptation was just as strong now, and this flesh only made it stronger. But she'd had twenty-eight years of regret, anger, sorrow. It fueled her now.
“Just pull over and let me drive, Mina.”
“Not Mina.” Her eyes were stuck to the road, her concentration centered on her hands on the wheel, her foot on the gas. But when he'd said the name, this time, something jarred inside her. The woman was fighting to regain control of her mind.
A green sign came into view. She veered to the side and her foot jerked to the break pedal. It pressed down, and she was thrown forward into the steering wheel.
Chapter 25
You Are Now Leaving Auburn
Mina pulled her aching chest back from the steering wheel. She stared at the green sign. You are now leaving Auburn. The sight of it had been enough to help her regain control of herself.
“Are you okay?”
She turned to see Calvin staring at her, wide-eyed, from the passenger seat.
“Mina? Or ...”
She nodded. She would have worried about him thinking she was crazy, but that plane left the runway a long time ago. She stared at the green sign, at the road ahead, and back again.
Bernie had left without a goodbye before. But even the last time, Bernie must have needed help. No one had seen it.
Mina had promised she would watch out for her this time. Her thoughts had been muddled with Ranie's long enough to understand that Evan was even worse than she'd suspected. There was no way Bernie really wanted to be with him.
She needed to at least talk to her sister.
It was clear to Mina now that Ranie had a message for Bernadette as well, and she wasn't giving up until she'd given it to her, and until she knew her daughter was okay.
“Calvin, get out of the car.”
“I'm not going anywhere.”
“You're not tagging along so you can print tonight's events in your stupid paper.”
“I'm not coming for work. I swear. It's as hard for you to trust someone as it is to leave this place, isn't it? I get that.”
She sighed heavily. As much as she'd hate to admit it, Calvin was one of the few things she had left to lose. She had to talk him out of coming.
“What they say about my mom was true. If you baked something for her, she could tell you your future.”
He looked at her as if she's said her mother won ribbons at the fair for baking pies; like what she'd said was nice but in no way surprising.
“I made her something once while she was away. When she came home I told her it was from Mrs. Swensen. She wouldn't have done it for me. She always said it was risky, telling someone their future. She didn't want it controlling our lives.”
“But you couldn't resist.”
“Right. I was fifteen. As soon as she bit into that cookie the color drained from her face. She said there was going to be a terrible accident. She hurried to warn Mrs. Swensen. She'd seen the car, and barely a glimpse of who was inside, just enough that when she looked at my horrified face she put the pieces together. She knew what I'd done.”
Mina remembered running to her room. Huddled under her blankets, she'd torn all the pages from her favorite travel magazine.
“Is she the one that kept you at home?”
Mina shook her head. “She didn't exactly hand me the keys to the car. I know she was anxious about it.” She took a deep breath. She shouldn't be telling him this. But she was tired of keeping everything in, and tired of being afraid. “There was something that my mother feared more than anything. That black storm cloud chased her from place to place. It was why we took so long to finally settle down. She finally decided it wasn't worth it. Whatever the consequences, we had to live our lives. She wanted me to live mine.”
“And she didn't know when this accident would happen?”
“There was no way to know.”
“Then you don't know it's today.”
“It's not worth the risk. I—I don't want anything to happen to you.” She lifted her chin, frantically thinking of how to save her pride now that she’d said too much. “So you can continue to harass my sister when this is over.”
“But what if I've been waiting for something to happen to me?” The corner of his mouth tugged up, and his eyes caught the light of a passing car. “I used to get this thrill in my gut when I took a shot I knew was going to be great. Then, when it stopped being art, it got to be so with every click of the shutter a little of that passion drained away. But I had that feeling again when I saw you. All that starts coming back to me when you're around. So I'm going wherever you're going. And maybe I still have enough of the reporter in me to be really curious about whatever it is that's worth leaving Auburn for after all these years.”
“Getting my life back is worth it, and Bernie's. But you're not part of this.”
“You don't understand. I'm getting mine back too. If I died tonight it would be worth it, knowing I felt passionate about something again, or someone; that I felt like myself again.”
Mina swallowed. She believed him. Admitting it was the most frightening thing that had happened that day, spirit possession included.
“But I don't think I'm going to die.” He shrugged. “I'm a lucky guy.”
Mina couldn't argue with him any longer. Evan didn't know he was being pursued, but he still had a big lead. Besides, she had a feeling if she didn't hurry, Mina's mother would take control again.
Calvin wrapped a warm hand around her arm, and she felt like she knew that thrill Calvin was talking about.
“Are you sure about this?”
She probably wasn't a much better driver than Bernie's mother. Neither of them had been at the wheel in a very long time.
Mina breathed in. She breathed out, long and slow. She buckled her seatbelt, then punched the gas pedal.
They both lurched forward as the car skidded back onto the road.
Chapter 26
No Turning Back
Calvin meant all that stuff he'd said to Mina. But there was one thing he didn't mention—something was not right with her.
When she'd ordered him to get out of the car, it was like he wasn't really looking at Mina. The face was right. The expressions were all wrong. The posture was strange, and she moved oddly, like Bambi learning to walk.
He'd been so shocked by her presence, and intimidated by the power that somehow emanated from her, that he'd done as he was told. And, to be fair, he'd just woken up. He'd never been so out of it on the job. He could have kicked himself for not being awake when Evan showed up to see Bernadette. But then he wasn't the same reporter he was when he'd first arrived in Auburn. His focus was elsewhere.
When Mina had first started driving he wished he'd never given her the keys. The car jerked so badly that his seatbelt dug into his shoulder. He was almost certain that at one point she'd even said she wasn't Mina. He'd begun to think perhaps people were right about her questionable mental health after all. But then, when they hit that sign, she was herself again.
Maybe he should have tried to stop her from doing this. There was something about her, about that town, that made him believe what she'd said was true. In the early days of his career, when he'd been given the less desirable assignments, he'd interviewed
a man who said the vegetables in his garden could make you invisible. If that garden was in Auburn he'd believe it.
His stomach lurched as if he'd eaten that cookie himself. He felt like her mother must have felt, looking at Mina and knowing she was in danger. His fingers dug into the seat cushion as the car accelerated. She'd let him make his choice, and he had to let her make hers.
Mina had found the courage to leave town. That was a huge step for her. He remembered seeing her face in the window for the first time. She'd looked trapped, and he'd wanted to release her, but she'd done it herself.
He noticed her hands clenched around the steering wheel as they whipped around the other cars on the highway. Her eyes were hard and determined, studying the road, squinting at every car that came into view. She was different than when he'd first seen her but, if there had been enough light, he'd have photographed this Mina too.
After twenty minutes of feeling the vibration of the car, the bumps on the highway, of hearing the swish of cars around them, Mina spoke.
“Maybe we won't catch up with them.”
Her hands jerked slightly, and the car swerved.
She blinked and tightened her grip on the wheel.
“He'll get her in his impenetrable tower, and I won't even be able to reach her. She'll lose herself again.”
The car swerved again. This time Mina shook her head hard. She set her jaw.
“No,” she said firmly. Calvin could tell she wasn't talking to him. “Don't do this. I promised I would help her. You have to trust me. I'll get to her.”
His chest burned with protectiveness and curiosity. He hadn't imagined it. Something was happening to her.
She pressed her foot down, and they sped faster.
Calvin caught a glimpse of red and blue lights in the rear view mirror.
“Mina, we're going to have to pull over.”
She nodded.
Instead the needle moved from eighty-five to ninety. A siren blared behind them.
“We're not giving up,” he said. “But we can't get to her tonight. Trying to outrun the police is only going to make things worse. Do you even have a license?” He couldn't help but think of all the infractions piling up.
She looked at him, and he caught that expression again, the one that wasn't Mina's.
He remembered the images from outside the diner. Someone had been following Bernie around. Maybe they still were. The idea sent a chill through him.
Calvin watched her, her hands twitching, then holding steady, eyes blinking, as if she was fighting a battle within herself.
“Maybe there's no stopping fate,” Mina said quietly. There was resignation in her face.
“This doesn't have to happen tonight,” he said evenly, his voice carrying over the siren. “Just slow down.” But Mina was gone again.
“Mina? Mina, stay with me. I need you to stay with me. I need you.” He placed a hand on her arm.
She squeezed her eyes again, setting her face in determination. Her hands shook.
“Stop!”
A moment of calm hung in the air, long enough for Calvin to exhale.
Then the car jerked to the right. It flipped, and they were suspended in air. He caught a glimpse of Mina's horror-stricken face. Then it relaxed. There was no more fear of the future hanging over her head. It was here.
They were showered with coffee cups and diner napkins, loose change jangling every which way. Then they were right side up. Then another sickening spin and the crunch of metal and the roof rested on the ground, mangled materials and flesh and bones settling and sighing in relief.
Calvin's arm was positioned in a way that wasn't natural, and the side of his head, wet and raw, pulsed with pain. Before he let his eyes close, he gave Mina one last look. Blood trickled down her face, but her lips were curled up into half a smile. She was free.
Chapter 27
A Mother’s Love
She kept hearing that song, the haunting melody Bernie had sung in the kitchen. With it came the same image of little Bernie in the tub, her mother caressing her hair as she rinsed it. She spent so much time studying the woman's face; the strain, the exhaustion, the struggle, but undoubtedly the love that was written in the fine lines and features.
When she opened her eyes she didn't know where she was. She couldn't remember what had happened. Then she processed the narrow hospital bed, the saline dripping into her arm. It began to come back to her.
Bernie. Calvin.
She turned her head, and her neck ached.
Bernie sat in a chair in the corner. She looked small and more ragged than she'd ever seen her. Her head was tipped back in a way that looked uncomfortable. Her perfect chignon was pulled apart, hair streaming into her still face. A bunchy sweater was draped over the front of her silk shirt. It looked like something Gladys might have left behind.
“Bernie.” Urgency pushed the word through her dry throat.
Bernie stirred and opened her eyes.
“Calvin. Is he okay?”
Bernie straightened, the sweater slipping off her lap.
“You're awake.” A look of relief washed over her face. “Yes, he's okay.”
Mina didn't dare ask where he was. He'd probably run from this place as soon as he could get discharged.
“How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?” Bernie asked.
“You're going to get me something? Looks like I hit the jackpot.” The words came out a harsh whisper, but Bernie laughed.
“Well, don't get too used to it,” Bernie stood up and walked to the hospital bed, nudging Mina's feet aside so she could sit on the edge.
Mina tasted the disappointment, bitter on her tongue.
“So when are you going back?”
Bernie looked down at her hands folded in her lap. Evan Locke peeked in. When he saw Mina sitting up, he strode into the room. He placed a hand on Bernie's shoulder, a massive dark shadow who owned her. Bernie cowered under it, as if he was a power she couldn't fight.
He smiled, a bleak thing, beautiful on the outside but devoid of meaning.
“I'm glad to see you're improving, Mina.”
The insincerity made her stomach turn. Her eyes darted around him, because she found it so difficult to look directly at his empty grey eyes.
A radio on the bedside table crackled, and every eye shifted to it.
“That's strange,” Bernie said. “I didn't turn that on. It's never made a sound.”
If they all felt the sharp edge to the air, none of them but Mina knew the significance of it. She squeezed her eyes shut. She had failed, and Bernie's mother was not going to give up.
The static returned, clips of voices and melodies shuffling in the noise. Eventually it settled on an obnoxious pop song about a year old. Even Mina hadn't been able to escape hearing it several times.
Bernie stood, reaching for the radio.
“Horrible song.”
An image flashed into Mina's brain. Her hand shot out.
“Stop. Leave it.”
Evan gave Bernie a knowing look, one that said he'd known all along her sister was crazy. But they stood motionless as Mina let the memory wash over her. It was a conversation between Evan and his agent.
When it was over, she opened her eyes. They locked right onto Evan's, as if zeroing in on a target.
“You know Evan, every woman I know thinks that streak in your hair is very sexy.”
Evan chuckled, raking a hand through his hair.
“It's rare for a man to come by a look like that naturally.” She said it so there was no doubt as to her meaning.
He started. “What?”
“And did you say you never use body doubles in your movies?”
He crossed his arms. “Never.”
“Hmmm. I could have sworn you had a birthmark on your left thigh.”
Mina had never seen any of Evan's movies, but the birth mark was a prominent concern in the conversation with his agent. Someone had forgotten to fake it on the body double, and
it wasn't discovered until it was too late.
Evan's eyes narrowed, and they glinted, lightning in a stormy grey sky. He chuckled shortly.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know a lot of things, Evan. Maybe enough to fill a bank vault.”
Evan backed toward the door. He stumbled, reaching for the door frame. Then he was gone.
Bernie watched him disappear, then turned to Mina, stunned. “How did you—?”
“If he wasn't controlling you, would you still go back?” Mina asked.
Bernie sighed. Her hands clasped Mina's.
“He's not going anywhere, Mina. You don't understand.”
“Help me understand. I don't know what happened last time. You didn't confide in anyone. This time I want you to know I'm on your side. I'm not leaving you alone.”
Bernie smiled weakly.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me. But I can't escape it this time. He has me. He has Doug and he has you. He can ruin our lives.”
“Didn't you see his face? We own him now. You're free to do what you want.”
“You didn't even turn that radio on. How would you even know—?”
“Bernie, there's something I need to tell you. What just happened with the radio, it was your mom.”
Bernie looked at her, her brow creased, as if considering whether Mina might need another brain scan.
“Mom is gone,” she said gently.
“I know that. My head is fine.”
Bernie drew back, squinting her eyes.
“You're not communicating with the dead or something now, are you?”
“Not as well as you have been,” Mina said under her breath.
Bernie frowned. “Just tell me what you're talking about. What does this have to do with Mom?”
“Not our mom. Your mom.”
Understanding flooded Bernie's face. Mina struggled with what else she could say to make this easier as Bernie stared right through her.
Finally Bernie spoke.
“It makes sense. I really don't belong. I've never been one of you.”
The Stranger's Obituary Page 15