Part 20 (2/2)

We may never know, Dr. Fong said. Once the surgery was over, I wasnt allowed near the body”Nikkis body”anymore. I was only supposed to handle the medical waste.

Lulu inhaled, looking horrified. Nikkisbrain?

He threw her an appraising look, as if shed suddenly struck him as a lot more intelligent than hed previously given her credit for.

Thats right, he said. I was the one charged with disposing of it.

But, Steven said, you took an oath.

Do no harm, I murmured.

Why? Steven asked. He looked as horrified as Lulu. Why would anyone remove a perfectly healthy brain from a girls body?

I think I can tell you why, Christopher said.

But at that moment, there was thumping from the staircase”a familiar skittering sound that caused Cosabella to perk up her ears alertly.

And the next thing I knew, shed begun barking, and those barks were met by answering yips as two miniature poodles exactly like her”except one was black, the other cocoa colored”came bursting into the room. They rushed toward Cosy, whod leapt down from the chair and torn over to them, her tail whipping back and forth excitedly as she greeted what appeared to be two long-lost friends.

Harry! Winston! An older woman in a terry cloth robe hurried into the room after the dogs, clapping her hands. Down! Down!

Even though her hair was plastered to her head from sleep, and she didnt have any makeup on, I recognized her. Before Steven broke his stance by the doorway and cried in astonishment, Mom? I knew who she was.

Dee Dee Howard. Nikki Howards mom was living in Dr. Fongs house.

The thing was, Id sort of known it. From the moment Id put two and two together and Id realized what those e-mail messages Veronica had told me about really meant. Why else would she have left behind her business and everything else she knew, if it hadnt been to be with something”or someone”she loved a billion times more?

Steven! she cried when she saw him. She reached out to him joyously. He was so much bigger than she was that he had to hunch down to let her take him into her arms. His expression was one of incredulity. I didnt know you were here!

He seemed dazed. Mom, he said as she hugged him, Ive been looking for you. Everyones been worried sick”Leanne. Mary Beth. Didnt you see the news reports on TV? We thought youd been killed.

Oh, Mrs. Howard said. Im so sorry, honey. Yes, we saw those. But we a.s.sumed it was Stark, trying to trick me. I never thought it was really you. She glanced over at me. Then froze. Oh. Oh, my, she said as her eyes filled with tears. Her gaze swept over me with what appeared to be a mix of horror and fascination. II dont know what to say. Youyou look just like She couldnt go on. She didnt have to. I knew who she thought I looked just like.

The thing was, I knew I didnt just look like that person. I was that person. I mean, in a way.

Christopher came over to me then, and laid a hand on my shoulder. It was a supportive gesture, and I couldnt have been more grateful for it.

This must be very hard for you, Christopher said gently to Mrs. Howard.

Its Stevens mother shook her head. Her Southern accent was much more p.r.o.nounced than her sons. But it was pleasant, like her slightly faded good looks. Im sorry. I dont mean to stare. You just look so much like her.

Because I am her, I wanted to say. Or at least, Im inhabiting her body.

Its all right, I said instead. At my feet, Cosabella was still having a joyous reunion with her cousins”or brothers, for all I knew”Harry and Winston, happily cavorting on Dr. Fongs rug. I decided to change the subject. So youve been here the whole time?

Oh, yes, Mrs. Howard said. She had slipped her hand into Stevens, and was happily holding his arm. Dr. Fong called me and explained the situation. He told me how important it was not to leave a trail that Stark could trace. I came right away. Im so sorry to have worried you, honey, she said to Steven. But I didnt dare check in with Leanne, you know how she gossips. And Mary Beths just hopeless. But youre here now, and thats all that matters. Oh, Ive got so many things to tell you! How are you? Oh, Im so glad youre home!

Steven looked torn between wanting to laugh and to cry. I knew the feeling. Home. He was as far from home as he could be.

And yet, he was in her arms. So wasnt he, in fact, home?

From the chair where Lulu had sunk down, I heard a sound. When I glanced over there, I saw her twirling a curl of her blond pageboy nervously. When she saw that most everyone in the room was looking at her, she jumped, and said, apologetically, Sorry! I just She looked wan and delicate in the dim light of Dr. Fongs living room. I dont get it. What are we doing here?

Were here to find her, I said, nodding toward Mrs. Howard. But the real story is why shes here. Right, Doctor?

Dr. Fong sighed. He didnt want to talk about this. He didnt want to talk about it at all.

I needed her help. I took an oath, he said wearily. They told me to throw Nikkis brain away. But to do that when there was nothing wrong with itthat would have been murder. I owe a lot to Stark Enterprises. But Ill not be party to killing an innocent woman.

So if you didnt dispose of Nikkis brain, Steven said, looking confused, what did you do with it?

As if on cue, a side door opened, and a young woman Id never seen before, of average height and average weight, with auburn hair that was neither curly nor straight, came into the room wincing as if shed just woken up, even though the lamplight wasnt particularly bright.

G.o.d, she was complaining. Could you guys make any more noise? Some people dont wake up at the crack of dawn and are still trying to sleep, you know.

Then she seemed to realize that there were more people in the room than just Dr. Fong and Mrs. Howard, and her eyes widened a bit.

It was only when her gaze fell upon me that she fully reacted, however. Color rushed into her full, slightly cherubic face, and her eyes, which were green, flashed.

In a second flat, shed lifted her hand and brought it full across my face with as much force as she could.

Thats right. Shed slapped me.

You b.i.t.c.h, Nikki Howard said.

TWENTY-TWO.

MRS. HOWARD AND STEVEN JUMPED IN to separate us before things got really bad. I mean, Nikki tried to go to town on me”or I guess I should say, on her old body, as she began hitting and pinching me, pulling at my hair. Dr. Fong shouted at me that I couldnt hit Nikki back”after I tried to do so, entirely in self-defense”because her recovery hadnt been as speedy as mine, and she hadnt bounced back as quickly from her surgery as I had from mine. Nikki hadnt had the incredible technology of the Stark Inst.i.tute for Neurology and Neurosurgery to help her with her rehabilitation the way I had”only her mothers tender care and whatever help Dr. Fong could give her when he got home from work. Apparently, Nikki wasnt a hundred percent yet.

But shes still well enough to be e-mailing her ex-boyfriends, I pointed out snarkily. Im sorry, but that slap had hurt. And the subsequent pinches hadnt felt too good, either.

Mrs. Howard threw Nikki an accusing look. Shed been pretty angry with her over the slap and subsequent attack on me, yelling, Nicolette Elizabeth Howard! You quit hitting that girl right now, you hear me! It was the first time anyone had ever called me by my new full name.

Only she hadnt been addressing me.

Look at her, Mom, Nikki had shouted in reply, as Mrs. Howard dragged her daughter from me. Just look at her! Thats my dress! And my new Marc Jacobs boots! And look how shes making up my eyes. They look awful!

Mrs. Howard hadnt been willing to put up with any c.r.a.p from her daughter, despite her delicate state of health. Nikki, you apologize, she said. You know thats no way to behave. Especially in someone elses home.

Nikki, looking truculent, jutted out her lower lip and sneered. Sorry.

That, apparently, was all the apology I was to get for my throbbing cheek.

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