Part 14 (1/2)

'What? You heard what? I knew Id made a tactical mistake when her mouth clamped tight.

When she finally answered, the tone was frosty. 'Im not sure thats any of your business, Willow.

'Well, anyway, youre out of luck, Seth said, pulling me close to him. 'Shes not home.

Her disbelieving gaze sc.r.a.ped over us, almost drawing blood with its intensity. Still we didnt move, and finally with a very unladylike comment she dragged the car into gear and screeched out of the cul de sac, leaving us swathed in the acrid smell of burning rubber.

Back in the car, Seth threw his arm around me and leaned in to rest his head on mine. And I loved him even more at that minute, because hed saved Kristie from Teahna. 'You okay? he whispered.

I nodded. 'Its Kristie I feel sorry for.

'Yeah, I know what you mean. But we got somewhere, right? I mean, if nothing else, we know JoJo had a tight hold on Kristie, and if Kristie was telling the truth then we can scratch her off the list.

'I think she was telling the truth. I dont think anyones that good an actor. Which made me think of the other visiting Angel. 'What do you think Teahna was doing here?

'I dont know.

'Seth, did you get the feeling she knew about Kristie? Like, knew what we know?

'I know you want to believe that, Wills, but it could have been anything. Still, it was a bit weird. I mean, its obvious Kristie hadnt invited her over. Ever. The sigh he blew ruffled my hair. 'This is crazy.

'At least your fake girlfriend/boyfriend story will get around, I said. 'Did you see her scrutinising us? And she didnt look happy. At all. An idea occurred to me and I stalled. 'Seth? Does Teahna, like . . . Are you and she . . . ?

He shook his head. 'Never. At least, not on my part. Shes dropped some hints . . .

And just like that Teahna shot to the top of my list, because thats where I wanted her to be. I wanted her to be the bad one. My heart picked up speed. I wanted to . . .

'Wills? Does it worry you that she . . .?

There was a teasing light in his eyes, which brought me back with a thud; reminded me that I had no real claim on Seth Pentecost.

'Me? Why would it worry me? The only thing worrying me is that this could take forever. And Mrs Negerson was right. Your exams start in like, basically, weeks! And youve got all those a.s.signments that you were telling me about last week. Theyre part of your a.s.sessment. Shouldnt you be studying? It was an improvisation but it had occurred to me, more than once.

The teasing light died. 'Got it covered. Besides, what else can we do?

'Funny you should ask, actually. I dont know why it never occurred to me before. I flicked him a nervous glance. 'Kristie said they all think Ive got the phone which we already knew so maybe we should use that somehow. Maybe make them really believe its true. My mind was ploughing ahead. 'Theyd all be curious, and it might force someone to let something slip.

'Are you serious? Thats insane! Its way too dangerous. Willow think about it. If JoJo is right, someone might really have murdered her!

'You got any better ideas?

'No, but yours is too crazy. Besides, weve just told Kristie we dont have the d.a.m.ned phone!

'She wont spill, I told him. 'Shes got too much to lose.

He was still looking totally shocked, but you know? I honestly didnt think we had any other choices.

Besides, I only had one thing to lose and she was something I really wanted to lose.

Chapter Twelve.

Back at my house we found Macey waiting downstairs. I knew she wouldnt be happy but I hadnt expected her to be this bad. Every time her dad left, she went through this major misery and I totally got that. Id thought getting the newspaper column deal would help her, but amazingly, this time instead of being a bit better, she was worse than normal. She had trouble sitting still, almost like she was ready to explode. Of course, I have to admit I didnt completely register the scale of her aggro for a while because the first thing I did was a quick recon of the house to try to find my phone.

I tried to ring the number and got nowhere but there was a good chance it was flat, so it wasnt exactly a fail-proof plan.

I couldnt find Mimi or Dad or Simon, for that matter but lets be honest, I hadnt really expected them to have picked it up. Not that I could actually speak for Simons neat-o-meter, but I knew the other two never picked up anything. Ever. Suzy was my big hope, but she looked totally blank.

Okay, now I was completely clueless. I was so sure that Id put it in my bag, and I hadnt been anywhere else except Macey and Seths and I hadnt taken it out of my bag there . . .

That left my room, so we all headed up there where my plan was to pull it apart; it was my last hope. If the phone wasnt there, then Id have to admit that Id lost it.

In more ways than one.

As soon as Macey put one foot over the threshold she froze. On a little s.h.i.+ver, she rubbed her hands over her bare arms and completely stalled. 'So, where is she?

'Where is she always? On the bed.

That was all Macey needed; she sauntered, the way only Macey can saunter, straight for the bed. Then she flopped backwards. Hard. So hard she almost bounced. 'This is for playing G.o.d with my brothers life, you s.k.a.n.k! She looked up at me hopefully. 'Tell me I crushed her. Painfully.

Seth said nothing, but his narrowed eyes scoped the room.

I looked at my ghostly guest, who had Macey in her sights. And wow if looks could kill . . . 'Dunno what youve done this time, Mace, but theres a lot of venom headed your way.

I expected a comeback from Macey, something to shoot JoJo out of the water, but strangely it didnt come. And that surprised me more than JoJos fixation. Even stranger was the odd look that momentarily pa.s.sed across Maceys face. A look of regret? Sorrow? For what? But before I could say anything, it was gone, and gone so quickly and thoroughly that I even wondered if Id imagined it. Instead, Macey a.s.sumed her bored expression and shrugged as if she couldnt care less.

Shaking my head, I glanced back at JoJo. Id started to notice that she flitted in and out of sight when there were other people around. It had something to do with energy and them sucking hers. Or was it vice versa? Today shed stayed tuned-in for longer than usual.

When she spoke microseconds later, the hate-haze had lost none of its venom. 'What are they doing here?

'Theyre here because theyre helping me, which means, I added with more than a touch of frustration, 'that theyre helping you.

Seth became very still, but Macey jerked to a sitting position. 'What did she say?

I sighed. 'Nothing. I dont want to deal with her I want to find my phone. It has to be somewhere!

'You lost your phone? JoJo rubbed her forehead, confusion underpinning every word. To be honest, I was so spooked by her rapid mood change that I almost missed her next words. And maybe it might have been better for my sanity if I had. 'I lost my shoe . . . And I lost my phone too. . . . Maybe the same person has both our phones . . .

A chill rippled through me, and trust me, when youve been living in a perpetual state of frostiness, this was big. 'What?

JoJo shrugged, starting to fade like that last thought had taken too much out of her.

Macey stared. And Seth moved closer. 'Wills? What is it?

'It was something JoJo said that, like, maybe someone stole my phone. I flicked my gaze from one face to the other. 'She said maybe the same person who has her phone has mine.

Seth looked thoughtful.