“Because part of my soul remains in my body when we soul-share. Only a complete soul—a dead person—can control another body.”
“And why do I have to drive now instead of just driving us back here?”
“It’s a practice run. I thought it would make you more comfortable. And if you suck as bad as you say you do, I can take over and we’ll call a cab for the return trip. I’d rather not do that because it’s just one more witness.”
As much as I hated it, that made sense. I held my breath and turned the key in the ignition. At least the Audi was an automatic.
After averaging around twenty miles an hour, I finally pulled into Alden’s driveway, managing not to take out the mailbox in the process. Go, me.
“Maybe we’d be faster walking next time,” Alden kidded as he got out and opened my door. “Mom’s at a conference, and Dad’s working the ER shift tonight, so Aurora is home with Izzy, who should be asleep if we’re lucky.”
“Aurora is the woman you left her with earlier.”
“Our housekeeper. She spends the night when my parents are out of town or on call. She won’t give us any trouble.”
I followed him into the entry hall. “Wait here,” he whispered.
I could hear his warm, rich voice as he spoke with Aurora from somewhere in the back of the house. He apologized for coming home late and told her that he would see her in the morning. Then he grabbed my hand and ran up the stairs, dragging me behind him. After he closed and locked his door, he grinned at me and took off his shoes. “Exciting, isn’t it?” He slid under the covers of his bed.
It certainly could be. “Uh, yeah,” I murmured. “Exciting.” What in the world was he up to?
He held out his arms. “Come here, Lenzi.”
Now, this looked promising. “What do you want, Alden?”
“What I want and what I’m going to do are two different things. I need to transfer my soul to your body. Take my hands so it won’t hurt as much.”
When I grabbed his hands, a jolt of energy surged from him through me—not the calming kind of energy. He was feeling the same way I was. Warning or no warning, I leaned down to kiss him. Before my lips touched his, his soul entered my body.
Stop, Lenzi. I told you to think first.
“Ow! That hurt . . . and I
did
think.”
Obviously not. What you were about to do was impulsive and emotional. We don’t have time for that right now. Miss Black will be leaving in less than five minutes. Climb out the window. There’s a trellis that’s easy to climb. I do it all the time.
I slid the window open and peered out. I crawled onto the sill and poked around with my foot to explore the vine-covered wall for the trellis he had mentioned. After some fumbling, I managed to climb down the side of the house without hurting myself. The dense vine left my hands sticky. I wiped them on my pants.
Alden gave me driving pointers the whole way to Georgia’s sister’s house, which was beyond irritating. Driving was traumatic enough as it was. His backseat driving from inside my head made it a nightmare.
“Now what?” I snapped as I turned the car off.
We’re going to break in.
“Fantastic. My mom will be so proud.”
Let’s hope Georgia’s right about the spare key under the back doormat.
I crept around to the back of the house and lifted the mat, knocking over a ceramic bowl full of water that had GOOD KITTY painted on it. I pulled out the key. “Now what?”
Unlock the door. When we’re in, I’ll give you the alarm code.
I entered the code he gave me on the keypad inside the door. All the lights were out, but from the faint light coming in through the windows from the streetlights, I could tell the house had been ransacked. Paper was everywhere, and the smaller pieces of furniture were overturned. “What happened in here?” I whispered.
Georgia, most likely. She’s here somewhere. If you call her, she’ll come.
“No, thanks. One disembodied voice is enough right now. Where’s the necklace?”
In her bedroom. Third drawer down in the tall dresser by the window. It has a false bottom. The necklace is underneath.
The hardwood floor groaned under my tennis shoes as I tiptoed down the narrow hallway toward Miss Black’s room at the back of the house. The silence was painful. The only other noise was the rhythmic ticking of a clock somewhere in the house. I found myself creeping along in rhythm.
Tick-tock, creak. Tick-tock, creak.
The phone rang, causing me to jump and nearly wet my pants. I flattened against the wall and held my breath until it finally stopped ringing. My skin was prickly all over, like bugs were crawling under the surface. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down enough to get a full breath. I wasn’t sure whether Alden could feel my panic while we were soul-sharing. But if he could and my fear really turned him on, he must have been having a great time.
Once my legs weren’t Jell-O, I continued down the hallway to Miss Black’s bedroom.
I wrinkled my nose when I entered. The small, cramped space smelled like mothballs, hair spray, and Chanel No. 5.
I crept to the tall dresser and gave the third drawer a pull. It was stuck. Why couldn’t something be easy just once? After a couple of sharp tugs, I cracked it open just enough to slip my arm inside. I shoved the folded clothes aside and found a lift hole in the center of the bottom. I pulled it up and felt around with my trembling fingers. Stupid drawer. I would have been out already if it had opened all the way. Ah, cold metal.
“I’ve got it!” It was an opal pendant on a heavy gold chain. Hard to believe one little thing could be the cause of so much trouble. I needed to pocket it and get out before the old woman got back. I shoved the drawer closed and folded the chain in my hand.
“Yes! That’s it. It belongs to my daughter.”
Georgia’s voice from behind my shoulder freaked me out so much I almost dropped the necklace. It took a moment for me to stop shaking enough to cram the necklace in my pocket. Now, I just needed to get out and drive to Alden’s house without totaling his car. Piece of cake.
I reset the alarm. Almost out.
As my fingers wrapped around the door handle, blue and red lights pulsed and flashed through the windows at the front of the house.
Cops! “Oh, no, Alden . . .”
Don’t panic, Lenzi
.
Call out for Georgia, I need to talk to her.
I couldn’t control my trembling. This was bad. As bad as it got. My mom was going to ground me for all eternity.
Lenzi. Concentrate. We need Georgia.
I called her, and through me, Alden explained the game plan. She was supposed to scare Ms. Black before she ever got out of her car—like, really freak her out. That was fine with me if it worked, but who knew if it would?
Say as little as possible to the police, do you understand? Don’t answer a single question; don’t even give them your name. I’ll prompt you from in here. Try not to act schizophrenic because I’m in here. This is why we did it this way. If I had come in my own body, they would have separated us. This way, we stay together.
“I’m scared, Alden.”
I know. I’m sorry. It’ll be okay. Walk out the back door and down the driveway. Move slowly and keep your hands visible. Do everything they tell you to do, but don’t answer any questions.
I took a deep breath, stepped out onto the driveway, and without incident found myself, along with Alden’s soul, sitting in the back of a police cruiser, trying not to break down, hoping to heaven that Mom didn’t find out I’d been arrested for burglary.
NINETEEN
H
andcuffs are the most uncomfortable contraptions ever. I’d been in the back of the police cruiser for what felt like a lifetime. Through the window, I watched Miss Black’s neighbor talking to the police officers. The woman gestured wildly as she spoke, causing the belt on her lime-green bathrobe to come untied repeatedly. She would jerk it back in place and go right back to talking and flapping her arms like a giant, green flightless bird. She was the woman I’d seen peering out the window at us earlier. Probably the one who’d called the cops.
It appeared the police were waiting for Miss Black. This was going to be bad. Alden had nearly given the old woman a coronary when he hassled her through the door. She would love to see us locked up.
“My mom’s going to kill me,” I moaned for the millionth time.
She’ll never know it happened. If we’re lucky, my plan will work. If not, the IC will have it cleared up in no time
.
“Are they going to lock me up?”
No. This kind of thing happens all the time to Speakers. The IC has a great relationship with the police. We’ve helped them solve several highprofile murder cases in this city over the past two years. So, even if we get taken to the station, nothing will happen to you.
“Wait a minute. You said the whole Speaker-Protector thing was a secret.”
I said it was need-to-know. We have a symbiotic relationship with upperlevel law enforcement, sort of like a paranormal secret service. Most cops don’t have a clue. We’ll call the IC if we get taken in, and they’ll know who to talk to and will clear it up. Please trust me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.
“Too late. You did, Alden! I’m sitting here in handcuffs like a criminal. You let something bad happen to me!”
Lenzi, calm down, or they’ll think you have a mental illness. From their perspective, you’re sitting here alone, remember? Get control of yourself.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one going to jail.”
You’re not going to jail, either.
Miss Black pulled up in front of the house in her old-model Cadillac. The two police officers abandoned bird lady and strolled toward her car. Before they got to the curb, though, the old woman, who was still behind the wheel, began waving her arms over her head as if fending off a swarm of wasps. The lights inside the car flickered as the windows rolled up and down.
Atta girl, Georgia!
Alden cheered from inside my head. Maybe the plan would work.
Her car rocked back and forth as if being pushed by an invisible force. Miss Black covered her ears and screamed while the radio cranked an elevator version of an Elton John tune at full volume.
It was a full-on multisensory bogeyman boogie, courtesy of Georgia, who didn’t hold anything back, including flashing headlights and a blasting horn. If I hadn’t been just one policeman’s phone call away from the longest grounding in history, it might have been funny.
The cops stopped a few feet away from the car, unsure of what to do.
As quickly as it started, the craziness came to a halt. Miss Black sat panting behind the wheel for a few moments until one of the police officers ran around to open her door and help her out. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she pointed at me repeatedly.
After a few tense minutes, in which I was positive my heart would stop beating, Miss Black signed a paper on a clipboard the officer handed her. He then gave her an envelope and walked over to lean against a tree while he finished filling out the piece of paper. The other cop opened the back door of the police cruiser.
“Well, young lady, it appears this was all a mistake. You should have told us you were Miss Black’s niece and that the necklace was yours. I guess that makes sense, considering you knew the alarm code and everything. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I was scared,” I answered honestly.
“Well, you are free to go. Please turn your back to me so that I can remove the handcuffs.” The officer unlocked the metal cuffs from my wrists. He handed me Alden’s car key and my cell phone, but not the necklace they’d taken at the same time when I was arrested.
Ask him where the necklace is, Lenzi. We need to get it back,
Alden prompted.
“Um, sir? Where is my necklace now?”
The officer put the cuffs in a holster on his belt. “We just released it to your aunt.”
Oh, no! This is bad.
“Hush! I know it’s bad!”
The officer studied me. “I beg your pardon?”
I made a show of rubbing my wrists where they’d been cuffed. “Oh, um. I was talking about my wrists. I said, ‘They hurt bad,’ that’s all.”
“Sorry about that,” the officer said, turning my wrists over to examine them. “They look okay to me. You’re free to join your aunt now. Stay out of trouble, okay?”
“That’s my goal.”
“Oh, and be sure your aunt gets that car checked out. Looks like it has an electrical short or something. Probably not safe.”
“I sure will. Thanks.” I stepped onto the lawn and watched with relief as the two police officers got in their car and drove away.