“Buttercup can tell you’re afraid,” Mr. Platsky said. “He has to know you are in command.”
I held the reins a little more firmly, which seemed to help, but I was still nervous.
We rode around the farm until some of my skittishness evaporated.
The horses carried us along a trail leading into the woods. Katie was in the lead when her horse veered off course and went crashing through the brush.
“Katie!” I cried.
“Wait here,” Mr. Platsky commanded, and took off after her.
There was no way I was going to just sit there. “C’mon,” I said to Kellie. “But be careful.”
We followed them at a more sedate pace. Whatever had spooked Katie’s horse seemed to be gone now, because Buttercup plodded along, and stopped to chew grass as he went.
We caught up to them near a dilapidated old house. It must have been the one Poppy had told us about. It looked like something out of one of Eva’s favorite horror movies.
“Look, Jessica, it’s the haunted house,” Katie said. “Can we go in?”
“It’s not haunted,” I assured her. “Just deserted.”
“But I saw a ghost,” she replied. “A girl in a white dress. Up there.” She pointed to an upper-story window.
“There’s nobody there,” I said.
“Lesson’s over,” Mr. Platsky snapped.
He hurried us back to the stable. He and my sisters had already led their horses to the barn while I was trudging along. As I dismounted, I landed wrong on my left foot and it twisted hard. I tried to stand, but it hurt too much. The ankle was swelling rapidly.
“Hello? Mr. Platsky? Help!” I yelled, but there wasn’t any answer.
Even my horse abandoned me. He smelled oats and headed for the barn door, leaving me lying on the ground.
There was a flash of white and then a blond girl in a white dress appeared, peeking out from behind a barn door. “Hey, can you help me?” I yelled. “I twisted my ankle.”
The sound of my voice made her jump. She shied away and looked around fearfully, but when she saw I was alone, she crept closer. Kellie had said she saw a girl in white in the abandoned house. Could she really be a ghost? There was only one way to find out. I reached out to her.
“Can you help me stand?” I asked. “Please?”
She inched closer. The girl’s dress was faded and torn along the hem and her hair was a mass of tangles. Her skin was so pale I could almost see through it.
“What’s your name?” I held out my hand again, but she backed away. “I won’t hurt you,” I added. “My name is Jessica.”
“Sanja,” she whispered.
She helped me up with a hand that was warm and very real. Not a ghost, then. I leaned on her until we made it to the stable door. Sanja was shaking so badly she could barely walk.
“It’s okay,” I soothed.
“Jessica,” Mr. Platsky barked from the barn. “What’s taking you so long?”
The girl bolted. By the time Mr. Platsky had reached the yard, she was long gone.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked suspiciously.
“I was yelling for help,” I said. “I twisted my ankle.”
“Where is Buttercup?”
“He headed for the barn,” I said.
Mr. Platsky left me where I stood and rushed off after his steed. Kellie and Katie came out of the barn soon afterward.
“Jessica, what happened?” Kellie asked.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “I just twisted my ankle. Can you help me?”
Standing on either side of me, my sisters supported me while I limped over to the picnic table. I called Mom. “I think I sprained my ankle,” I told her.
“Have Poppy take you to Dr. Joyce’s,” she ordered. “Your dad and I will meet you there.”
When Poppy arrived, she helped me to the van. “Buckle up,” she said, “and put this on your ankle.” She handed me a Ziploc bag of ice.
“Did Mom call you?” I asked.
“No, Rose told me to bring it,” she said. “Now I know why.”
Rose? Then I remembered that Poppy’s sister was telepathic.
After what I considered to be too much fussing, the doctor confirmed that it was a bad sprain and wrote me an excuse note to skip soccer. I’d have to make a copy for Flo, since I’d probably have to miss a couple of weeks of virago training, too.
Chapter Five
Mom made me stay home from school the next day. I spent the entire time reading in my room with some comfort food for sustenance. It was the longest I’d sat still in years. I even dozed off for a couple of hours from boredom.
I was relieved when Eva came to visit me after school.
“How’s the invalid?” she asked.
“Bored out of my mind,” I told her. “Amuse me. What happened at school today?”
“Nothing much.” She brightened. “We did get a new art teacher.”
“It’s not creepy artist guy, is it? Jensen Kenton?”
She made a face. “Hardly,” she replied. “Mr. Martin is cute and young. And he carves these amazing marionettes out of pieces of scrap wood. Remember the ones at the library? Those are his. We’re even carving our own marionettes in his class. He’s so talented.”
“Does Evan have to worry?” I asked.
She giggled. “Gross. There’s nothing creepier than having a crush on a teacher. Unless it’s a teacher having a crush on a student.”
“Just checking,” I said.
“Anyway, I can’t stay long,” Eva said. “I’ve got to submit a sketch for my marionette by Monday.”
She handed me a stack of homework.
I groaned.
Mom knocked on the door. “Jessica, you have another visitor,” she said. “Are you decent?”
I hadn’t combed my hair all day and I probably had Cheetos breath. “Just a minute,” I called.
“Hand me my crutches,” I whispered to Eva.
“Why?”
“Because Mom never asks if I’m decent unless it’s a boy. It’s probably Dominic.”
Eva followed me to the sink and I brushed my teeth and combed my hair, and then swapped the ratty T-shirt I’d been wearing for something more attractive.
“All clear,” I called.
My boyfriend entered the room. “Raven told me you sprained your ankle,” he said. “So I thought I’d bring you something to cheer you up.” He was holding a bunch of balloons.
“I just remembered I was supposed to meet Evan,” Eva said. She jumped off my bed and headed out the door before I could say anything.
Dominic looked after her in amusement. “Was it something I said?”
“She was trying to give us some privacy,” I told him.
He bent down to kiss me, which made me glad I had brushed my teeth. “I like that idea.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” I said. “Because Katie will be in here within seconds.”
My prediction came true when my sister bounded into the room. “Dominic, I’m glad you’re here to visit me,” she said.
Dominic and Katie were great friends. He gave me a charming smile when she led him away to look at her dollhouse. “We’ll be back,” he said.
A few minutes later, I heard Katie shouting. I grabbed my crutches and hobbled down the hall to see what was wrong.
“The princess is missing,” she said.
“She’s probably just in a snit and hiding somewhere,” I told her.
“We’ll find her,” Dominic said soothingly. “I promise.”
We looked all over, but Princess Antonia had vanished.
Mom interrupted our search by asking, “Dominic, would you like to stay for dinner?”
“I’d love to,” he replied. “Raven’s at Andy’s and Aunt Katrina is out with her boyfriend.” He tried not to make a face when he said the last part. To everyone’s surprise, Katrina was still dating Brett, the terrible lead singer of a band called Hamlin.
The search for the princess wa
s called off for now. Katie led Dominic off to play cards in the living room while I helped with dinner.
I was sitting at the counter chopping vegetables for the salad while Mom cooked the rice. Dad was outside barbecuing chicken while Grace and Kellie played tag and Fiona finished her homework. I wasn’t sure what Sarah and Sydney were doing, besides avoiding work. I tried to pump my mom for information about the new residents of Phantasm Farms.
“There’s a little girl there named Sanja,” I said.
“Sanja is Anton Platsky’s daughter,” Mom said. “He mentioned her the first time he looked at the listing.”
“Katie and Kellie say they haven’t seen her at school,” I said.
“Maybe she’s homeschooled,” Mom replied.
“Maybe,” I said. “She seemed . . . untamed.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was like she didn’t even know how to talk to people.”
“She’s great with the horses, though,” Mom said. “She’s won blue medals and a whole room of trophies. Mr. Platsky showed them to me once. He’s very proud of her.”
That didn’t sound like the Mr. Platsky I’d met.
“She was scared, Mom,” I said flatly.
“Of what?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe I should cancel your lessons,” Mom fretted.
“No, don’t do that!” I said. “I’ll keep Kellie and Katie safe.”
“You’re a good big sister,” she replied.
I would keep them safe, but I also wanted an excuse to snoop around Phantasm Farms.
Sydney and Sarah finally came into the kitchen. Sarah was a high school freshman and Sydney was in eighth grade, but they were inseparable most of the time.
“Nice of you to show up now that all the work is done,” I said sourly.
“Ignore her,” Sarah said to Sydney. “She’s just worried because her hot boyfriend’s hot ex showed up.”
I glared at her. “I’m not worried. And keep it down. Dominic’s in the next room with Katie.”
Sarah lowered her voice but kept talking. “I heard Bethany Harris talking in study hall. She said that Tashya’s been hanging out at the band’s rehearsals.”
Mom overheard her. “Bethany Harris never just talks, she gossips. It’s not an attractive trait. Sarah, you would do well to remember that. Now I want you and Sydney to go set the table.”
I was hurt, even though Bethany, Eva’s sister, had never been very friendly. To me or Eva.
Mom waited to grill me until my sisters had left the room. “Is everything okay, Jessica?”
“Everything’s fine, Mom,” I said. “Dominic is here, remember? And since when do you listen to gossip, anyway?”
That shut her up, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about what Sarah had said. Tashya had been at band rehearsal? I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.
I didn’t have much hope of getting any alone time with my boyfriend, but after dinner, Mom rounded up all of my sisters and took them out for ice cream.
“Do you want me to help you to your room?” Dominic asked when they were gone.
I laughed. “Not if you want to live.” No one of the opposite sex in our rooms when my parents weren’t home. Of course, my brother, Sean, who managed to get the only bedroom on the first floor, had somehow been exempt from the rule. Or my parents never realized how many times Samantha had snuck in through his window.
“The living room it is, then,” Dominic said. He picked me up in his arms.
“Dom, put me down!”
“I will,” he said. “Eventually.”
He settled me on the couch and then propped up my ankle with a bunch of pillows.
“You’re good at taking care of me.”
He sat next to me and put his arm around me. “I try.”
We watched television in comfortable silence. “Hey, Jessica,” he finally said.
“Yes?”
“Tashya’s been to one rehearsal,” he said. “And I told her not to come again.”
“You heard Sarah?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. I think Tashya finally gets it now.”
“Gets what?”
“That I’m crazy about you,” he said. His kiss confirmed it.
By the time my family came back, I felt a lot more confident that Tashya wasn’t going to come between me and Dominic, no matter how hard she tried.
Chapter Six
The news spread around Nightshade High that there had been another murder. This time it was Tad Collins, a professor at the local college, UC Nightshade. He’d been found in his bedroom with his mouth stuffed full of cockroaches.
We were eating lunch when the subject came up. I pushed away my tray when I heard the details.
“That’s just gross,” Raven said.
“It sounds like something out of a horror movie,” Eva said.
“Or a nightmare.” I handed Eva my chips. “I want to take another look at Jensen Kenton’s artwork.”
Raven shuddered theatrically. “Why?”
“Tad Collins’s murder reminds me of one of his paintings.”
“Do you think you should be walking on your ankle so much?” Eva asked.
“I have crutches if I need them, but my ankle is a lot better,” I said.
“I’ll drive,” Andy offered. “Meet me at my car as soon as school is over.”
The lunchroom dismissal bell rang and Raven grabbed my tray. “I’ll take it. You head for class. We’ll catch up.”
It was true that they would catch up. My twisted ankle made me about as fast as Kellie’s pet turtle.
“Jessica, wait up,” Dominic called out. “I’ll walk you to class.” He grabbed my backpack, and I noticed Tashya staring at us as we passed her locker. I stared back.
“I didn’t see you at lunch today,” I said to Dom.
“Chess club meeting,” he said. “Evan convinced me to join.”
“Chess, huh? I didn’t know you know how to play.”
“I don’t,” he replied. “But I thought I’d learn so I’ll have something to pass the time on the road.”
I tried to pretend the mention of his tour didn’t bother me. “I’m glad you’ll have something to keep you busy.”
“So what song are we going to do for our duet?”
“Are you asking me to audition with you?” He’d taken long enough. Dominic was quick to catch the miffed tone in my voice.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “But I just assumed . . .” He trailed off, probably realizing he was only making it worse.
I finally took pity on him and laughed. “I was just kidding,” I said. “Do you have any ideas?”
“A few. Want to get together after school?”
“I can’t,” I said. “Virago stuff.”
We’d reached my classroom. “I’ll call you tonight, then.” He gave me a quick kiss right before the teacher got there.
“Mr. Gray, this is sophomore English,” Ms. Miller said.
“Just helping Jessica,” Dominic said.
I stuck out my bum ankle and tried to look helpless.
“Fine,” she said. “But the tardy bell will ring in approximately two minutes, so I suggest you get to class.”
After school, I hobbled out to the parking lot. I was the first one there but knew better than to lean against Andy’s car. She loved that car like it was a person.
I set my crutches on the ground and sat on the curb and waited. I was out of sight, but I was enjoying the sun on my face.
That was, until I heard Selena, Harmony, and Tashya talking. I peeked out and saw Connor and Noel trailing behind their girlfriends.
“Don’t you think you were kind of obvious just now?” Harmony asked. “Dominic seemed really uncomfortable. And he has a girlfriend.”
“You think that was obvious?” Tashya replied. “I haven’t even gotten started yet. And I have a plan for that little girlfriend of his.” Her screechy laugh set my nerves on edge.
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Connor cleared his throat nervously. “Jessica’s a friend of mine, Tashya. Leave her alone.”
I thought for sure Selena would get ticked off at Connor coming to my defense, but instead, she chimed in. “Connor’s right, Tashya. Jessica and Dominic are our friends, so leave us out of whatever you’re planning.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Tashya snapped. “I don’t need any help to take care of Jessica Walsh.”
They got into Connor’s car and drove away without seeing me. But I had a feeling it wouldn’t have mattered if they had. Tashya didn’t care who knew she was after Dominic.
The other v-girls finally showed up and we headed to the library.
The community room where the exhibit hung was closed.
“What now?” Raven asked.
“Let’s see if Ms. Johns is working,” I said.
We found her at the reference desk. “Ms. Johns, we need a favor,” I said. “We need to take a look at some of the paintings in the exhibit.”
“It’s open,” she said. “Until seven tonight.”
I shook my head. “The door was locked.”
She frowned. “That can’t be right. Let me get my keys.”
We walked back together to the door of the community room and Ms. Johns turned the handle to get inside. When she realized that the room was indeed locked up tight, she took out her keys and unlocked the door. We followed her inside.
Ms. Johns went from aisle to aisle checking on the paintings.
“I don’t think anything is missing, but I’ll check the sales list,” she said.
We were heading back from the far end of the room when a guy stepped out of the shadows and nearly ran into us.
“Mr. Martin!” Ms. Johns exclaimed as she skidded to a stop. “You scared me.”
I thought he’d had something in his hands, but he put them in his pockets, so I couldn’t tell for sure. “Nice to see you again,” he said, giving the librarian a charming smile.
“The door was locked,” Andy said. “How did you get in here?”
He shrugged. “It was open when I got here.”
Ms. Johns frowned. “I’m so sorry. You could have been stuck in here all night.”
“But I wasn’t,” he said. Mr. Martin was in his late twenties or early thirties. He was handsome, with untamed curly brown hair and deep brown eyes.
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