Part 29 (1/2)
”I guess,” Mich.e.l.le agreed. ”Actually, at first I thought they were the same, too. But they're not. Amanda's real, and the doll's not.”
”What do you and Amanda do together?”
”Talk, mostly. But sometimes we go for walks together.”
”What do you talk about?”
”All kinds of things.”
Tim decided to try a shot in the dark. ”Was Amanda with you the day Susan Peterson fell off the bluff?”
Mich.e.l.le nodded.
”Were you in the graveyard?”
”Yes. Susan was saying mean things to me, but Mandy made her stop.”
”How did she do that?”
”She chased her away.”
”You mean she chased her off the bluff?”
”I don't know,” Mich.e.l.le said slowly. The thought had never occurred to her before. ”Maybe so. I couldn't see-it was foggy that day.... Mom said it wasn't, but it was.”
Tim leaned forward, and his face grew serious. ”Mich.e.l.le, is it always foggy when Amanda is with you?”
Mich.e.l.le thought a moment, then shook her head. ”No. Sometimes it is, but not all the time.”
Tim nodded. ”What about your other friends? Do they know Amanda?”
”I don't have any other friends.”
”None?”
Mich.e.l.le's voice dropped. Her eyes seemed to cloud over. ”Ever since I fell off the bluff, n.o.body wants to be my friend.”
”What about your sister?” Tim asked. ”Isn't your sister your friend?”
”She's just a baby.” There was a long silence, but Tim was reluctant to break it, sure that Mich.e.l.le was about to say something. He was right.
”Besides,” Mich.e.l.le added, her voice little more than a whisper, ”she's not really my sister.”
”She isn't?”
”I'm adopted. Jenny's not.”
”Does that bother you?”
”I don't know,” Mich.e.l.le hedged. ”Amanda says...”
”What does Amanda say?” Tim urged her.
”Amanda says that ever since Jenny was born, Mom and Dad don't love me anymore.”
”And do you believe her?”
Mich.e.l.le's face took on a belligerent quality. ”Well, why shouldn't I? Daddy hardly even talks to me anymore, and Mommy spends all her time taking care of Jenny, and-and-” Her voice trailed off, and a tear slid down her cheek.
”Mich.e.l.le,” Tim asked gently. ”Do you wish Jenny had never been born?”
”I-I don't know.”
”It's all right if you do,” Tim told her. ”I know how mad I was when my little sister was born. It just didn't seem fair. I'd had my parents all to myself for so long, and then all of a sudden there was someone else. But I found out my parents loved me just as much as they ever did.”
”But you weren't adopted,” Mich.e.l.le countered. ”It's not the same.” She stood up. ”May I go now?”
”Don't you want to talk to me anymore?”
”No. At least, not right now. And not about Jenny. I hate Jenny!”
”All right,” Tim said soothingly. ”We won't talk about Jenny anymore.”
”I don't want to talk about anything anymore!” Mich.e.l.le glared at him, her face set stubbornly.
”What do do you want to do?” you want to do?”
”I want to go home,” Mich.e.l.le said. ”I want to go home, and find Amanda!”
”All right,” Tim said. ”I'll tell you what-I have to talk to your parents for a few minutes. Let's get you a c.o.ke, and by the time you finish it, I should be done with your father and mother. How does that sound?”
Mich.e.l.le seemed about to argue with him, but suddenly her anger dissipated, and she shrugged. ”Okay, I guess.”
Tim opened his office door for her and smiled encouragingly at June and Cal. ”We're going to get Mich.e.l.le a c.o.ke,” he told them. ”You can go in-I'll be right back.”
”Thank you,” June murmured. Cal made no response at all.
They were waiting when he got back, June sitting nervously in the chair Mich.e.l.le had occupied a few minutes earlier, Cal standing at the window, his back stiff. Even though his back was to him, Tim could sense Cal glaring. He sat down in his chair and fingered Mich.e.l.le's file.
”What happened?” June asked.
”We had quite a conversation.”
”And do you agree with my wife? Do you think Mich.e.l.le's crazy?”
”Cal, I never said that,” June protested.
”But it's what you think.” He faced Tim. ”My wife thinks both Mich.e.l.le and I are crazy.”
The expression on June's face, a combination of exasperation and pity, told Tim everything he needed to know.