Robin sat back and sighed. “Whew. That’s pretty strong. Sitting here talking about personal stuff like this when I don’t even really know you well enough to …” She saw Claudia lower her eyes sadly, and she rushed on. “It is possible, isn’t it?”
“But … why?”
“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”
“Hate? Is that reason enough? Jealousy?”
“How so?”
“Father usually pays more attention to me than to Parker when he’s home. The two of them have never gotten along very well—Parker was always closer to his mother. But his grandfather has always favored Parker. So really, if you look at it that way, that makes Parker and me sort of equal.”
“Some other reason?”
“Well … money?”
Robin looked interested. “What about the money?”
“An inheritance.” Claudia seemed uncomfortable. She hesitated and plucked nervously at her skirt. “What money that should have gone to my mother will go to me on my eighteenth birthday.”
“And does Parker stand to inherit anything?”
“Yes. His mother’s share, of course. But …”
Claudia fell silent. The quiet dragged on for so long that Robin finally reached out and shook the girl gently.
“But what?” she urged.
Claudia’s look was half reluctant, half sad. “Father wants to divide up the rest of the money—his and grandfather’s shares—evenly between Parker and me. But Grandfather refuses. He wants Parker to have it all. And he’s the one who still controls the money.”
“And how does Parker feel about it?”
“I don’t know. But sometimes I hear them talking—arguing, really—Father and him behind closed doors. I can’t hear what they’re saying. And if I come into the room, they get quiet. And then Parker usually looks upset and leaves.”
“So what you’re saying is …”
“What I’m saying is, that if I wasn’t here, then Parker would get it all.”
“All of it? Like … a huge amount?”
“The whole family fortune,” Claudia said wryly. “It can’t get much bigger than that.”
“Wow.” Robin hugged her knees to her chest and thought a moment. It was Claudia’s voice that finally broke into her reverie.
“If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, then don’t,” Claudia said firmly. “Parker has nothing to do with this at all. It’s my mother who’s after me, not Parker.”
Robin’s first instinct was to ask Claudia how she could be so sure, but instead she kept quiet.
“Just the money we inherit from our mothers is more than Parker or I could ever spend in a lifetime,” Claudia went on. “And since Grandfather’s opinion is really the only one that counts in this family, Parker has no reason to be jealous—or afraid—of me.”
Robin shrugged. “Money does strange things to people.”
“I don’t believe it,” Claudia said tightly. “Parker and I may not get along most of the time, but I can’t see him trying to hurt me or drive me insane just for some extra money he’ll probably get anyway. No, I don’t believe that.”
“He showed up right after you fell at school yesterday,” Robin ventured cautiously. “He could have been in the house last night setting up that scene in the attic.”
“No.”
“And after the lights went out, he could have rearranged the bathroom—”
“No!”
Claudia clamped her hands over her ears, and Robin drew a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Claudia. I should never have brought it up.”
Claudia got to her feet, clearly flustered.
“Let’s go. We can talk on the way.”
They started off down the street, neither of them speaking. The morning was thick with fog, and houses crouched far back on the lawns like living, watchful things. Robin suppressed a shudder as the wind moaned through the dead trees. The girls reached the corner and started across to the other side.
Robin saw the car slipping out of the fog, but she didn’t pay too much attention.
She saw it cruise noiselessly to the corner two blocks away and idle there, alone. She saw it start to move again, and as it began to pick up speed, she had one fleeting thought that it was driving too fast. But when it squealed around the corner, she suddenly realized it was heading the wrong direction down a one-way street.
“Claudia,” she called, “look out for that car over there.”
But Claudia didn’t seem to hear.
She had stopped and was staring, her eyes wide, her mouth locked in a silent scream.
“Claudia!” Robin shouted. “Get out of the way!”
But Claudia stood frozen, like a small, pale statue in the middle of the street.
“Claudia!”
Robin lunged toward the girl and in her panic caught just a glimpse of the driver as the black car bore down relentlessly on top of them.
What she saw paralyzed her, every bit as stonelike as Claudia.
The figure behind the wheel wasn’t human.
It had no face.
It stared straight ahead out of black hollow eye sockets, and what little flesh remained on its gleaming skull hung there in long bloody strips.
Robin screamed in horror.
She saw Claudia spread her arms wide … step into the path of the car … and smile.
Claudia!” Robin shrieked. “Look out!”
At last she was able to move again. She dived for the other girl, but out of nowhere a blur flew past her, slamming into Claudia as the black car gunned its engine and peeled off down the street. Robin fell to her knees beside the sprawled, tangled bodies on the curb and looked down into Walt’s angry face.
“Walt—my God—”
“Wait here,” Walt ordered. He jumped to his feet and raced to the middle of the street, but the car had long since disappeared. He ran back again to the curb and knelt down beside Robin, who was trying to roll Claudia over onto her back.
“Did I hurt her?” Walt asked anxiously. “Is she breathing?”
“Robin?” Claudia looked dazed. “What happened?”
“Did you get a look at the license number?” Walt asked, but Robin shook her head.
“No—it happened so fast. But I saw the driver—”
“Mother’s car.” Claudia closed her eyes and didn’t see the other two staring at her.
“What did you say?” Robin whispered.
“My … mother drove a car like that. It was my mother’s car.”
“Your mother’s car? That must have been some fight you two had this morning,” Walt mumbled, more to himself than to Claudia.
“What do you mean, your mother’s car?” Robin demanded.
“I … I mean … she drove a black car.…”
“Come on, there are millions of black cars around,” Walt said offhandedly, throwing a mildly curious glance in Robin’s direction. “Someone was just late for work and they weren’t watching where they were going.”
“You don’t understand,” Robin said impatiently, nudging him aside. “Claudia’s mother happens to be dead.” She ignored the stare he fixed upon her, and she leaned in closer to Claudia. “Do you still have your mother’s car?”
“No. Grandfather sold it after she died.”
“Is there something about all this I should know?” Walt asked calmly.
“We need to report this,” Robin said, rocking back on her heels, putting her hands on her hips. “Shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we report this to the police?”
Walt sighed and stood back up. “I’d sure like to read this report.”
Robin gazed up at him. “I’m serious.”
“I can see that. So what exactly are we reporting? The part about the car or the part about Claudia’s mother? Or the part about—”
“This, of course,” Robin broke in. “This car trying to run Claudia down.”
“We can’t prove the car was trying to run Claudia down. The d
river might just have been having a bad day.”
Not this driver, Robin thought grimly, but instead argued, “You saw it! You saved her life!”
“We can’t prove anything,” Walt said again patiently, and Robin bit her lip in frustration.
Claudia raised tearful eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was shaking.
“Did you see who was driving?”
Robin stared at her. “No,” she said, turning away. “It happened too fast.”
She ducked her head and saw Walt throw her a curious glance. Together they helped Claudia to her feet and brushed her off.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Robin worried, but Claudia managed a feeble smile.
“I think so. What about you? And … you?” She glanced almost shyly at Walt, and he gave an absentminded nod.
“My adrenaline’s in fine working order for the day, thanks very much.”
“What were you doing here anyway?” Robin wanted to know. “Not that I’m complaining or anything.…”
“I just stopped by Jim’s house to see if there was any news about Vicki,” he said, and Robin frowned.
“And is there?”
Walt shook his head. “Not a word. Not even a clue. It’s like she just walked off the face of the earth.”
Robin shuddered and handed Claudia her books.
“Who’s Vicki?” Claudia asked.
“A girl in our class,” Walt filled her in. “Her brother Jim’s on the debate team with me. Apparently she sneaked out the other night and never came home. Nobody knows where she is.”
“Maybe she got run down by a speeding car,” Claudia murmured.
Robin glanced at Walt. “Faye thinks she ran away.”
“Faye just wishes Vicki ran away so she can sink her claws into Parker Swanson,” Walt said amicably. “Anyway, her family’s pretty upset. The police were there when I left. They’re probably going to question a bunch of us at school today.”
“That really gives me the creeps.” Robin shivered. “Let’s go.”
The three walked along in silence until Robin let out a sigh.
“Well, what are we going to do about this? I keep thinking we need to tell the police.”
“Tell them what?” Walt asked. “Obviously more than you’ve told me.”
“That we nearly got killed, that’s what.”
“We don’t have a make or a license plate, much less a description of the driver,” Walt said, and Robin suppressed another shiver.
“And who would believe us anyway, right?” Robin mumbled. “They never believe kids. They sure won’t believe us.”
Claudia’s eyes were huge and sad. “You’re right, of course.” She glanced at Walt and added softly, “Thank you for what you did back there. I’m Claudia.”
“Walt.” He gave her that halfway smile of his, and Robin broke in quickly.
“Sorry, that was rude of me. I should have introduced you.”
“It seems to me you have a lot on your mind.” Walt’s glance was meaningful, but then he turned back to Claudia. “Parker’s sister, right?”
Claudia nodded but said nothing.
“Sorry. I’m not one to go by labels.” Walt smiled lazily and shifted his books to his other arm. “I don’t know Parker that well. He’s in my drama class. Pretty good, too.”
“He loves to act,” Claudia said dryly. “It’s one of the things he’s best at.”
“Yeah?” Walt sounded interested.
“He always had leads in the school plays where he used to live,” Claudia said. “My mother—” She broke off, caught her breath, and tried again. “My mother always said he was very good. Very talented. She said he had a way of taking on the personalities of the people he played … so that he was totally believable.”
Robin frowned. She stared down at her shoes scuffing along the pavement, and when she glanced up again, Walt was staring at her with his eyebrows raised. She flushed and looked away, relieved when they finally got to school. After homeroom, on her way into math class, Walt suddenly appeared and touched her on the elbow.
“I want to talk to you,” he said.
“About what?”
“I don’t know. But I think you do,” he said, and Robin purposely kept her eyes averted from him all during class.
She managed to avoid Walt by ducking into the bathroom when the bell rang, and the rest of the day she was so busy with her usual routine, she practically forgot about what had happened that morning. Gossip of the day centered on Vicki Hastings and her strange disappearance—everyone had a theory about what had happened, from demented stalkers to ransom money, but the general consensus seemed to be that Vicki had finally hitchhiked off to California where she’d always threatened to go. Robin felt bad for Jim and his family but didn’t have much time to dwell on it—she had enough things on her own mind.
She hadn’t had a chance to really talk to Faye. There’d only been time for quick chatter between classes, and when Robin searched for her at lunch, Faye had been eating with Zak. She has no idea how crazy my life is right now, Robin thought glumly as she walked down the hall to her locker—and I’m not sure I can even begin to explain it. She barely glanced at the bulletin board as she passed it, but then, as something caught her eye, she stopped and backed up.
The cluttered confusion of junk still covered the wall, but as Robin’s gaze fell on the class picnic photos, she noticed that several were missing.
Vicki’s.
And mine.
Robin glanced around the hallway and rubbed a sudden chill from her arms. It doesn’t mean anything, she told herself firmly. Someone probably took Vicki’s down because of her disappearing, got rid of it so it doesn’t upset people to see her smiling there on the bulletin board. And mine could have fallen or maybe gotten trashed—nobody would want a picture of me.
She wondered if anyone had even noticed it besides her. So much more stuff had been added to the board, the photos were practically hidden now anyway. Maybe Jim took Vicki’s picture down. To give to the police or something.
She opened her locker and traded her books for her gym suit. She was so deep in thought that at first she didn’t even notice Claudia standing there waiting for her.
“Claudia!” Robin exclaimed. “Is anything wrong?”
The girl looked exhausted. Her face seemed even paler than it had that morning, and her eyes had a haunted, bruised look that spoke silently of tension and fear. As Robin stared in concern, Claudia managed a brave smile.
“I … I was just wondering … if you were going—you know—to the house today after school?”
She doesn’t want to go home alone, Robin thought grimly. And I don’t blame her.
“I plan to,” Robin said. “At least for a little while.”
“I thought maybe you’d have a date,” Claudia said. The two of them headed for the outside door and started across the yard toward the gym.
“I never have a date.” Robin sighed. “But you certainly shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“Parker tells me I’m so strange that no one will ever ask me out.”
“Oh, what does Parker know?” Robin threw back at her and was glad to see Claudia smile again. “I’ll introduce you to some of the guys, if you want. In fact, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” She gave Claudia a scolding look. “You were pretty antisocial yesterday.”
Claudia flushed. “I know I was. I just wasn’t ready to meet people.”
“Well, I’m telling you, today’s volleyball day, and I’m picking you for my team.”
“I’m not very good,” Claudia warned her, but Robin laughed.
“That’s a relief. I thought I was the only one.”
The class went by quickly. To Robin’s surprise, her team won for a change, and afterward she spent half an hour ushering Claudia around from one friend to another. The locker room had nearly emptied by the time introductions were over, and as the two girls began to undress, Robin gave Claudia a victory sign.
“You
did great. See? No one bit you.”
“No,” Claudia agreed, smiling tiredly. “They all just want me to get them a date with Parker.”
“Let them get their own dates.” Robin tossed Claudia’s towel at her and led the way into the showers. “Come on, I’ll race you. I can’t stand smelling like dirty socks.”
“What are all these signs?”
“Oh,” Robin grunted. “Out of order again. You’ll get used to that here, Claudia. Only a few of these showers almost ever work at one time. Let’s try these two at the end.”
The hot water felt good and soothing, and as Robin let it flow through her hair, she concentrated on emptying out her mind as well—all the troubled thoughts sloughing off and swirling down the drain. Claudia was actually beginning to act a little bit normal; at least she’d made an effort to talk to the girls just now, and she seemed to want Robin’s company. It’ll just take time, Robin thought to herself, and why shouldn’t it, after all Claudia’s been through.…
She raised her voice a little so it would carry to the stall next to hers.
“You okay over there?”
For a moment there was silence. Frowning, Robin started to call again, when Claudia’s voice answered.
“How long does it take this water to get hot?”
“I don’t know. Not too long.”
“It’s kind of creepy in here, isn’t it?”
“No creepier than any other afternoon, except it’s Friday and it empties out faster. Don’t worry—Miss Nelson’s office is just down the hall,” Robin reassured her. “And so is Coach Marvin’s. They never leave till everyone’s out.”
She closed her eyes and tilted her head back beneath the running water.
“Robin?” Claudia called softly.
“What?”
“Something’s … weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Like …” Claudia’s voice rose. “Like … someone’s watching me.”
Robin’s eyes flew open. Instinctively she turned around, her eyes quickly scanning the area outside the shower stalls.
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