by Jo Gibson
There was a big stack of mail in the box, and Jessica carried it inside. She spread it out on the counter and let out a whoop of pleasure as she saw the postcard notice from Ivert’s Footwear. Her shoes were here, and she could hardly wait to drive out to the mall to get them.
Jessica went through the rest of the mail, sorting it into piles on the counter. There was a hunting and fishing magazine for her father, a letter from her grandmother in Arizona, a book of recipes her mother had ordered, several bills, and a whole stack of ads. But when Jessica saw the envelope that had been hidden at the very bottom of the pile, she gasped in fright.
It was a red envelope with no stamp and no postmark, but her name was printed on the front. Was it another Valentine from Cat? She wished she’d paid more attention when Brett was discussing his printing.
Jessica’s fingers trembled as she picked up the envelope. She had the urge to toss it in the big wastebasket under the counter, but perhaps it wasn’t from Cat. It could be a Valentine from someone else. Most Valentines came in red envelopes.
Slowly and carefully, almost as if she were dealing with a rattlesnake that was ready to strike, Jessica loosened the glue on the flap. Then she drew out the card inside, and shivered. It said, Violets are blue, roses are red. An unworthy queen is better off dead.
“No!” Jessica stuck the card back in the envelope and resealed it quickly with the glue stick that her father kept on the counter. She still didn’t think that Cat was a killer, but a card just like this had brought bad luck before. It was almost like the curses that the ancient witches had put on people, and she had to get rid of it quickly.
Jessica picked up the envelope and hurried back out the front door. She stuck it back in the mailbox and closed the lid with a bang. Perhaps she could break the curse if she put it back where she’d found it, and no one knew that she’d read it.
She felt a little better as she went back inside and took her place at the counter again. She didn’t actually believe in curses, but it never hurt to play it safe.
Jessica reached for the phone to call Michele and ask her to come down to the store to keep her company. But then she remembered that Michele was no longer her friend, and she hung up before it could ring. There was always Neal.
Basketball practice was over by now, and he would be at home.
But he wasn’t, and Jessica sighed as she hung up the phone. Where was Neal? He was supposed to be her bodyguard, and she was here all alone.
It was getting dark inside the store, and Jessica got up to turn on the bright overhead lights they used at night. The daytime lights had to be shut off first. The old wiring was overloaded, and the fuses would blow if both sets of lights were on at once.
Jessica flicked the switch behind the counter and frowned as the daytime lights went off. It was really getting dark fast.
The switch that controlled the overhead lights was on the wall by the storage room door, and Jessica shivered slightly and headed for the tool aisle. It was even darker back here, and the blades of the hatchets and axes gleamed in the reflected light from passing cars on the street. They looked sharper and more menacing than they ever had in the daylight. Every time a car passed on the street outside, and its red taillights were deflected on their shiny metal surfaces, it looked almost as if they were covered with blood.
Jessica walked a little faster, but she was careful not to stumble. The tool aisle was crowded. They’d just received a new shipment, and there were still boxes of things to be shelved.
It was getting very dark now, and Jessica wished she’d thought to turn on the lights earlier. As the rush-hour traffic increased on the street, the headlights from the almost steady stream of cars swept the interior of the store, making the shadows of the tools and implements sway and move in crazy and frightening patterns.
She took a deep breath and told herself that no one had ever been hurt by a shadow; but her heart beat faster, and her legs began to shake. The moving shadows made the big scythe seem to swing from side to side, as if it were ready to drop from its overhead hanger. And the dark shadow of the hedge clippers resembled a huge pair of scissors with wickedly sharp blades. Even the shadow of something familiar and ordinary, like a garden rake, seemed to turn into a lethal weapon with its elongated, sharp points.
Just then the bell on the front door tinkled, and someone came into the store. Jessica whirled to look, but it was too dark to see who it was.
“Mr. Ford? Jessica? Is anybody here?”
A voice called out in the gathering darkness, and Jessica gave a huge sigh of relief as she recognized it. “I’m here. Stay right there and I’ll turn on the lights.”
“Do you need some help?”
“No. I know where they are. I just have to get there.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Jessica heard him chuckle. “This is a hardware store, isn’t it?”
Jessica winced as she stubbed her toe on the edge of a wheelbarrow, and her voice was much sharper than usual. “Of course it is. You know that.”
“Doesn’t Ford Hardware carry flashlights?”
“Very funny!” Jessica gave an exasperated sigh. He was right. She should have thought to grab a flashlight while it was still light enough to see. But he didn’t have to remind her of that.
“Do you want me to find one for you? There’s a display right here, by the front door.”
“No, thanks.” Jessica began to frown. His voice had sounded closer, but perhaps that was just her imagination. She hoped he wasn’t trying to come back here. He’d probably trip and hurt himself, and then he might try to collect on her father’s insurance. “Stay right there. I can manage just fine on my own.”
A few more moments of groping in the darkness, and she’d made it to the back wall. The wall switch was right in front of her, and Jessica was about to flick it on when she heard the sound of breathing behind her. She’d told him not to come back here, but he hadn’t listened to her.
“I told you not to come back here!” Jessica turned toward him with a frown. It was so dark that she couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was there. She could hear him breathing. “It’s too dark to see. What if you’d tripped over something?”
He laughed, and Jessica gasped as he grabbed her hand, pulling it away from the light switch. It was a laugh she’d never heard him use before, scary and menacing.
“Don’t you know, Jessica? A Cat can see in the dark.”
“But you’re not a . . .” Jessica couldn’t finish the sentence. Her vocal cords were suddenly paralyzed with fear. He was Cat! She was alone with Cat! And Cat had threatened to kill her!
“I’ve got a little present for you. It’s something you really deserve. Hold still while I put it around your neck.”
Jessica struggled, trying desperately to pull away, but he was much stronger than she was. And then she felt something cold on her neck, and she reached up to grab it. It felt like a chain, a thin gold chain, and she screamed as she realized that it was a half-heart necklace, just like Tanya and Gail had been wearing.
“Wait! Please! You made a mistake! You can’t—”
But Jessica never finished her thought. There wasn’t even time to scream before something sharp and pointed smashed into her head, knocking her into a sea of perpetual darkness.
Eighteen
They were all gathered around a table in the lunchroom when Danny and Amy came in. Michele and Colleen looked very sad, and Neal’s eyes were red, as if he’d been crying. He sat between Brett and Kevin, and Amy was glad that he had friends to comfort him. Neal had been the one to find Jessica in the back of the store, and he’d have to live with the memory of that grisly sight forever.
Amy went straight to Neal and hugged him. It must have been awful, finding Jessica dead. Danny patted him on the back, and then they sat down in the two vacant chairs. Everyone knew the details, and there was no need to talk about that. Jessica had been reaching for the light switch when she’d stumbled and fallen, striking her
head on a sharply pointed shovel.
When Neal had left basketball practice, he’d gone down to the Hungry Burger, where he’d planned to meet Jessica. Michele had been there, and she’d told him that Jessica was working in the store. Neal had been angry, at first. Why hadn’t Michele gone with Jessica? There was supposed to be someone with her every minute. But Michele had explained about the fight they’d had, and how Jessica had told her to get lost.
Neal had decided to patch things up between the two girls, and he’d called the hardware store to talk some sense into Jessica. But Jessica hadn’t answered, even though he’d let the phone ring over ten times. That was when he’d driven down to the store, and found it dark with the front door open.
There had been a flashlight display by the front door, and Neal had grabbed one. He’d walked through the store, calling Jessica’s name, getting more and more worried with each step. And then he’d found her, and when he’d realized that she was dead, he’d called the authorities.
The sheriff had promised that there would be a full investigation. There always was when someone died all alone. But he’d told Neal and Jessica’s parents that it looked like an accident to him.
Amy didn’t agree. There was the half-heart necklace that Neal had found around Jessica’s neck, the same type of necklace that Tanya and Gail had been wearing. And even though Jessica had admitted to receiving only one Valentine from Cat, Jessica’s mother had found the pieces of another Valentine in her wastebasket. If there had been two Valentines, there could have been a third, one that Cat might have taken with him, after he’d murdered Jessica.
They all sat in silence for a moment, and then Danny nudged Amy. “You’d better tell them what you decided, Amy.”
“Yes.” Amy sighed deeply. As president of the Senior class, she had an obligation to be frank. “Let’s look at the facts. You all know about the Valentines from Cat and the half-heart necklaces. Maybe the sheriff thinks that’s just coincidence, but three girls who were in line for the throne have died. There’s something going on, and we’ve got to stop it. I’m going to Mr. Dorman’s office, right after lunch, and I’m going to ask him to cancel the contest.”
Michele began to frown. “That’s not really fair, Amy. I’m next in line. If you cancel the contest, I’ll lose my chance to be queen.”
“But you’ll be alive.” Danny reminded her. “Think about it, Michele.”
“I have thought about it. I know you and Amy think that Cat murdered Tanya and Gail, and Jessica. I did, too . . . until I went to see Madame Zane. Madame Zane knows everything about the past and the future.”
“You went to a fortune-teller?” Amy was surprised.
“That’s right. But Madame Zane’s not just a fortune-teller. She’s also a psychic, and she told me exactly how they died.”
Amy glanced at Colleen, and she could tell that her friend was trying very hard not to laugh. And then she turned to look at Danny, who wasn’t quite as polite as his sister.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Danny shook his head in disbelief. “Do you really believe in stuff like that?”
Michele glared at Danny. “Madame Zane is entirely legitimate. She’s not like those fake fortune-tellers you see at the county fair. She uses channeling to actually communicate with the dead.”
“Channeling?” Neal didn’t look quite as dubious as everyone else. “What’s that?”
“It’s sort of like an interpreter. You see, it’s impossible to speak directly with the dead. Madame Zane got in touch with White Feather. She’s an Indian princess who died over two hundred years ago. And White Feather carried my questions to Tanya, and Gail, and Jessica.”
“Wait a second . . .” Brett held up his hand. “If it’s impossible to speak directly with the dead, how did Madame Zane speak to White Feather?”
“That’s different. Madame Zane can communicate with White Feather because she’s accepted the fact that she’s passed over to the other side.”
Colleen nodded, and Amy could tell she was trying very hard not to giggle. “Go on, Michele. Tell us what happened.”
“It’s very simple. Madame Zane went into a trance, and she asked White Feather my questions. Then White Feather interpreted them for Tanya, and Gail, and Jessica.”
Neal started to grin for the first time that day. “Hey, Michele . . . that sounds just like the United Nations.”
“That’s true, in a way.” Michele nodded. “But the interpreters at the United Nations work instantaneously, and this took a long time.”
“How long?” Kevin asked the question that was on all their minds.
“Almost an hour. But finally, White Feather contacted Madame Zane again. She gave her the answers, and then Madame Zane told me.”
Danny snorted. “Let me guess. Madame Zane gets paid by the minute?”
“Of course not!” Michele looked very offended. “I told you she was legitimate. There’s a minimum charge for every session, but that’s entirely reasonable. Channeling is extremely exhausting work.”
Danny looked like he wanted to laugh, and Amy gave him a warning glance. And then she turned to Michele. “Which questions did you ask?”
“I asked them if they’d been murdered, and they said no. And then I asked if Cat had anything to do with their accidents, and they said yes.”
“Did Madame Zane tell you what that meant?” Kevin leaned forward.
“Yes. Tanya said that the Valentines got her so nervous, she tripped while she was running down the stairs. And Gail said that she was so busy thinking about Cat’s messages, she took the curve too fast.”
“How about Jessica?” Neal looked anxious. “Did she say anything?”
“Yes. She said the same thing happened to her. She was stressed out because of Cat’s Valentines, and she stumbled when she went to turn on the store lights. And then she apologized for fighting with me, and she promised that she’d always be my best friend, throughout eternity.”
Colleen nodded. “Okay. Let me get this straight. You’re saying that all three of them were so nervous about Cat that they got careless?”
“Exactly!” Michele looked around the table and smiled. “That’s all there was to it. They just stressed out.”
Amy frowned slightly. “You didn’t ask about the half-heart necklaces?”
“No . . . I forgot. But I’m going back to see Madame Zane tomorrow. I can find out then.”
“That’s it?” Neal looked disappointed. “That’s all you asked them?”
“Well . . . there was one other thing that I asked Jessica, but it’s personal. And it doesn’t have anything to do with her death. It . . . uh . . . it has to do with the contest.”
“Then you’d better tell us.” Amy’s voice was firm. “Come on, Michele . . . what was it?”
Michele started to blush, and she looked very uncomfortable. “I told her that you wanted to cancel the contest, and she said not to let you do it, that the school book fund needed more money. And then she told me that since she couldn’t be here, she really wanted me to be the Valentine’s Day Queen.”
“Oh, brother!” Danny muttered under his breath, and Amy poked him again. But Michele heard him, and she gave him a glance that was full of venom.
“Sorry, Michele.” Danny sighed deeply. “I really didn’t mean to make fun of you, but I just can’t swallow this whole psychic thing. Don’t you realize that Madame Zane was conning you? She made up the whole thing out of thin air, so that she could get money from you.”
“No, she didn’t! I know Madame Zane’s not a fake. She’s told me things in the past.”
“Like what?” Amy was curious.
“Like the time I was afraid I’d flunk my chemistry test. Madame Zane told me that if I’d go to a tutor every night after school, I’d pass. And I did!”
“Yes, but—” Amy stopped abruptly as Danny poked her. And then she sighed deeply. Danny was right. It was a waste of breath to argue with Michele.
“That’s the real reason I
don’t want you to cancel the contest.” Michele looked at Amy with tears in her eyes. “Jessica really wanted it to go on.”
Amy nodded. There was no use trying to convince Michele that Madame Zane was a fake. She’d already made up her mind. “Look, Michele. I’m just worried about you. If we go on with the contest, you could be in danger. Cat’s Valentines made the other girls so nervous, they died.”
“But they won’t make me nervous.” Michele shook her head. “Jessica warned me, and so did Tanya and Gail. I’m prepared.”
Danny squeezed Amy’s hand, and Amy squeezed back. She knew exactly what he meant. Michele’s mind was made up, and nothing she could say would change it.
“Okay. I guess it’s your decision.” Amy nodded. “But you will be careful, won’t you, Michele?”
“Of course I will. And thank you, Amy. This means so much to me!”
Michele gave Amy a radiant smile, but Amy couldn’t smile back. She was convinced that Michele was wrong, and the other girls had been murdered.
She couldn’t help feeling that someone very evil and sinister was about to strike again.
It was close to eight o’clock when the doorbell rang, and Amy got up to answer it. A delivery man from the mall was outside, and he handed her a dress box.
“Amy Hunter?”
“Yes.” Amy nodded. “But I didn’t order anything from the mall.”
The delivery man shrugged. “It’s got your name and address on the slip. If you didn’t order it, it’s probably a gift.”
Amy was puzzled as she carried the box inside. The delivery man was right. Her name and address were written on the slip, but the sender’s name was blank. But then she remembered Danny’s promise, and she grinned. Danny had gone to the mall and picked out her dress. She could hardly wait to see it!
“Who was that, dear?” Amy’s mother called out from the kitchen. She was baking brownies, one of the healthy foods on the diet sheet that Amy and Danny had fabricated.