Part 17 (1/2)

”But all those people are half crazy-”

Kelly's eyes fixed on him. She did not speak. She didn't have to.

Michael said nothing for a few moments, Kelly's words echoing in his mind. Was that where the strange image in the mirror had come from? Some dark place in his own mind that he knew nothing about? When he finally spoke, he couldn't look at Kelly. ”Do you ever see a face in the mirror?” he murmured, more to himself than to her. ”An old man, who looks almost dead, and who's reaching for you?”

Despite the cloying heat of the afternoon, Kelly felt a chill race through her. ”He's over your shoulder,” she breathed. ”Staring at you. But when you turn around, there's no one there.”

Michael turned to her, his face ashen. ”You have have seen it.” seen it.”

She nodded.

”It's what I saw yesterday,” Michael went on. ”When I fell off the motorcycle. It wasn't the car that scared me. It was that face. It was in the mirror of my bike.”

”I saw it the night I tried to kill myself,” Kelly said quietly. Slowly, haltingly, she told Michael exactly what had happened that night, about how she'd seen the man in her dreams since she was a little girl, and how terrified she was of him. ”I thought he'd made me pregnant,” she finally admitted, telling Michael what she'd been too frightened even to tell the doctors. ”That's why I did it. I thought I was going to have his baby.”

Michael gazed at Kelly. ”But that's not it, is it?” he asked.

Kelly shook her head. ”It's something else. He wants something from us.”

Michael's voice went hollow. ”What if he doesn't?” he asked. ”What if he already has it? What if he already has it, and is afraid we'll try to get it back?”

Kelly's hand tightened in his. ”But what?” she breathed. ”What could he have taken?”

For that question, Michael had no answer, but his fingers unconsciously moved to the mark on his chest.

Craig Sheffield glared at his son as Michael came into the dining room and slid into his chair, then he looked pointedly at his watch. ”You were supposed to be home an hour ago,” he said. ”The rest of us are almost done with supper. Would you like to tell me where you've been?”

Michael thought quickly. After last night, when his parents had been fighting about Kelly Anderson, he certainly didn't want to tell his father he'd been with her again.

”I was doing some overtime,” he said. ”There were some things I wanted to finish up.”

Craig's eyes narrowed. ”I'm going to have a talk with Phil Stubbs. Either you're not doing your job right, or he's overworking you.”

Michael felt a knot of fear form in his stomach. If his father called Stubbs, his boss would be certain to tell him what had happened yesterday. ”I-I wasn't really at work,” he said. Better to tell the truth and get it over with. ”Kelly Anderson was waiting for me when I got off, and we were just talking. I'm sorry I'm late, but-”

Craig didn't let his son finish. ”Didn't I tell you I don't want you getting mixed up with that girl?” he demanded.

”Yes, but-”

”But nothing. I want you to stay away from her, do you understand?”

Michael's temper began to rise. ”Jeez, Dad! You don't even know her!”

”No, but I know about her!” Craig shot back. ”And don't raise your voice to me, Michael. You may be sixteen, but I'm still your father.”

”Oh, for heaven's sake, Craig,” Barbara said. ”Michael's right! You don't know a thing about her except what you've heard, and if you met her, you'd like her!”

Craig's attention s.h.i.+fted from his son to his wife. ”And I a.s.sume you know something about her that I don't?” he inquired coolly.

Barbara inclined her head, winking at Jenny, who tried not to giggle, but failed miserably. Instantly her father's eyes fixed on her.

”What's going on?” Craig demanded.

”Kelly was here today,” Jenny blurted out. ”And Mommy dyed her hair.”

”You dyed Kelly Anderson's hair?” Craig echoed blankly, turning back to Barbara.

Barbara nodded. ”She showed up looking for Michael, and we got to talking. And before you know it, we'd decided to change her hair color.”

Craig pursed his lips. ”Was there a reason?” he asked. ”I mean, isn't it a little unusual for a girl you've never met to come wandering in, introduce herself, and ask that you dye her hair?”

Jenny giggled. ”It was pink, Daddy,” she said. ”You should have seen it!”

Craig's eyes remained fastened on Barbara. ”You're going to tell me she's a very nice girl, aren't you?” he asked, his voice indicating that he was prepared to argue the point with her. ”Just a little mixed up, right?”

Barbara sighed. She hated it when Craig took on a patronizing tone, even though she knew it was one of his best a.s.sets in his practice. If Craig wanted to, he could always make anyone feel as if he had just made a fool of himself. But as she saw the anger blazing in Michael's eyes, she knew she couldn't let it pa.s.s. ”Yes,” she said coolly, ”that's exactly what I was going to say. I was going to sound exactly like a social worker, which I'm sure is the next thing you were going to point out.”

Craig opened his mouth, but Barbara gave him no chance to speak. ”And it seems to me,” she went on, ”that you might want to examine the evidence before you make up your mind, counselor.”

Craig's expression took on a defensive quality. ”I didn't mean-”

”But you did,” Barbara interrupted. ”You've made up your mind about Kelly Anderson even though you've never met her. Well, you're wrong. Michael likes her, and I like her, and Jenny likes her. And we've all met her.” Her eyes darted as though for rea.s.surance toward Michael, but immediately returned to her husband. ”I'm not saying she doesn't have problems. She does. She has next to no self-confidence, and it's a little hard to talk to her, but underneath, she seems like a very nice girl.”

Craig surveyed his family, who suddenly all seemed to have lined up against him. ”All right,” he said finally. ”I'll tell you what we'll do. I'll call Carl Anderson and set up a barbecue. We'll have the whole family over, and I'll meet this girl you all seem to think is so wonderful. But in the meantime,” he went on, his voice hardening and his eyes fixing once more on Michael, ”I want you to start taking some responsibility for yourself. No more overtime, and no more hanging around with Kelly or anyone else without calling to let your mother know where you are and when you'll be home. Is that understood?”

Michael nodded silently.

For a long time that night, he stared at his reflection in the mirror on his closet door, willing the hideous face to appear, certain that his knowledge that Kelly, too, had seen the strange image would make it less frightening.

Tonight, though, there was nothing.

The darkness surrounded her, but she could feel that she was no longer alone. There was a presence close by, a presence of something evil.

It was him, coming after her again.

She couldn't see him yet, but she could sense him there, hovering in the night, reaching out toward her.

She saw him.

Just a glimpse at first, a shadowy form in the blackness.

The face began to emerge.

A skeletal face, the skin stretched tight now, drawn back so the eyes-glowing, red, hungry eyes-shone brightly.

The lips were stretched back, too, and in his mouth she could see his rotting teeth.