Part 23 (1/2)

I can talk you out.

”I knew it! I knew you had to have an agenda. Save it, Anna. I have nowhere else to go.”

It's hard to stay positive in the face of so much negativity. It's hard to feel love for this girl who has so much hate within her. It's hard to see her as a victim when she seems so intent on hurting others. It's hard to forgive her, but that's exactly what I have to do. If I can't replace her negativity with something positive, I'll never be able to summon the light.

You do have somewhere to go, I type, and then I think back to the cradle of the willow, to the feeling of harmony and peace. I apologize to the light for bothering it yet again for another false alarm, because I know she's not ready to cross over yet, but I want her to know it's there. We're taking baby steps here, Light, I tell it. Please work with me.

”Anna, what are you doing? You look ... weird.”

And then I hear her gasp and I know even before I open my eyes that it's worked, that she sees the light and when I open my eyes, there it is, illuminating the room in all its glory.

You do have somewhere to go, Taylor, and this is how you get there.

CHAPTER 34.

Think this looks okay to wear to court? I stand in front of Rei, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles on the puddle bunny T-s.h.i.+rt I've worn since Taylor pirated my body. The big plus in this dimension is you never get dirty and you never sweat, so there's no need to shower. What would Rei do with all that free time?

Rei has on his trusty beige chinos and white polo s.h.i.+rt. I swear, if I ever get my body back, I am taking that boy shopping.

”Who's going to see you besides me?”

You never know.

Rei looks at me. ”What are you up to?” he asks suspiciously.

Nothing.

”Really!”

I smile innocently at him. I'll see you in court.

”Hey, Anna?”

I look up at him.

”Stay close to Taylor today.” His voice is a little too casual. Something is up.

What are YOU up to?

He doesn't smile back at me. ”Maybe nothing. Maybe something. I haven't decided yet. Just try to stay close to her, okay?”

I nod. After she saw the light last night, she sort of freaked out on me and told me to get out of her room and take that light with me. I'm not sure what her mood will be like today, so I was planning to shadow her all day, anyway.

”Anna?”

The seriousness of his expression scares me. ”It's your body. Don't forget that. Okay?”

I nod.

”Promise me,” he insists.

I nod again. I feel like a bobblehead.

There are so many people here for the trial, the police have actually blocked off the street. Yumi and Robert closed the store for the day so they could be in court with Rei, and they end up parking in a garage two blocks away. There are television reporters snooping around the crowd and inside the courtroom people have to squeeze together on the long wooden benches in the gallery to make room. Yumi may be tiny, but she has sharp elbows and she's not afraid to use them. I float around the judge's chair and watch everyone a.s.semble and wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Yawn. There are official court procedures that must be followed. I notice Taylor sitting between my mom and her parents. She looks very ... grown up. She's wearing a modest navy skirt and jacket, with a scoop neck white s.h.i.+rt underneath it. Even her shoes are conservative, navy pumps with a two-inch heel. Her hair is down and hides the hardware in her ears, although even if they saw it, it would in no way make her any less credible as a witness. I wish I could wiggle the jacket off her so they could see that tattoo, though, because only a psycho would permanently ink their arm with the portrait of a dead girl she barely knew.

Keys rattle and a door cranks open. At first I think, Yay! It's the judge, but then I see, Boo! It's Seth with his ankles and wrists shackled. He's accompanied by two police officers with really big guns in their holsters. What's left of Seth's aura is the color of cement, and it clings to him in a thin layer. I make the mistake of checking to see if Rei saw Seth come in, and of course he did. Seth makes eye contact briefly with Rei, and their shared misery takes on the same gray hue. The two armed police officers direct Seth to a table where his lawyer is already seated, and once he's settled, the officers stay nearby.

”All rise!” The bailiff sounds the same as the one on Law & Order. They must all sound the same, like sports announcers and the ladies on the phone who tell you to press one for English.

The crowd stands mechanically. The judge comes in dressed in his solemn black robe. I scoot away from his seat before he sits on me and swoop to the back of the room. I wonder if he can see way back here with those gla.s.ses sliding down his nose.

He is making a speech about the grave nature of this trial when I decide to put this question to the test. When I materialize, it would appear I'm actually standing on the back of one of the bench seats while leaning against the back wall, all suitably attired in my gym shorts and T-s.h.i.+rt.

He sees me. He's panning the audience as he makes his speech, and when his eyes reach mine, he slides his gla.s.ses up his nose which, intentionally or not, gives me the finger, and his mouth sinks into an intimidating frown. ”Would the young lady in the...” I vanish. He stares at the s.p.a.ce where I was, where I still am floating, invisibly, and his jaw goes slack. ”Er, never mind.” He notices Taylor sitting between the mothers, and his frown reaches epic proportions. He takes one more quick look at the back of the room before he removes his gla.s.ses and polishes them on the baggy sleeve of his robe.

”All right, then, Defense, you may call your first witness.”

That would be Rei.

They make Rei swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him G.o.d, and he does just that, despite the district attorney's best efforts to trip him up by asking the same question phrased just a little differently every time. Rei is a rock, and he refuses to get tangled in the district attorney's web of obscure questions.

Taylor's friends are less successful with Seth's attorney.

”She didn't really steal it,” Vienna testifies. ”She just borrowed it as a joke. She was planning to give it back to him.”

”Just answer the question, yes or no. Did Taylor Gleason take Seth Murphy's cell phone without his permission?”

”Well, yes, but...”

”That's all.”

”But...”

”I said, that's all.” Seth's attorney picks up the wrinkled note and shows it to the jury, then reads it out loud before he holds it in front of Vienna. ”And did she ask you or one of your friends to tape this note to Seth Murphy's locker?”

Vienna bursts into tears. ”She's dead! G.o.d! Can't you just be nice to her?”

They take a break mid-morning. Everyone stretches, shuffles to the end of the benches, and goes off in search of bladder relief, caffeine, a quick smoke, whatever.

Rei appears to have something else in mind.