Twisted (13 page)

Amy's blush grew even hotter as she slipped out of the black dress and folded it carefully in a piece of tissue paper. She placed it high on her closet shelf, and sighed happily. Danny was wonderful, and she knew exactly what he meant. When he'd given her the dress, he was telling her that he thought she was desirable and sexy. And by warning her not to wear it to the dance, he was telling her that he didn't want the other guys to think of her that way.

There was a third message in Danny's note, a message that came through loud and clear. Danny had promised he wouldn't take advantage of her. But if she ever changed her mind and wanted him to, all she had to do was wear the sexy black dress.

M
ichele laughed as she drove down the street toward the Hungry Burger. Madame Zane had been a stroke of genius, and she was proud of herself for thinking of it. There was no such person, but she was the only one who knew that. And Amy had agreed to go on with the contest.

She'd convinced them all that she wasn't worried about Cat, and they had believed her. Of course that wasn't true. But Michele had a plan to keep herself safe, and being crowned as Valentine's Day Queen was worth a little risk.

All the other girls had changed when they'd realized that they were in the lead for queen. Tanya had become even more obnoxious, Gail had ignored everyone else and made a fool of herself over Brett, and Jessica had forgotten who her friends really were. If Cat had killed them, as Amy seemed to think, Michele could understand why he'd done it. He'd even warned them to behave themselves in the silly little rhymes on his Valentine cards, but they'd all been too dumb to listen.

Michele was determined to do everything right. She remembered every one of Cat's warnings, and she wouldn't make the same mistakes the other girls had made. It would take some effort, but she was sure she could convince Cat that she was the best choice for queen. All she had to do was act sweet and kind for the next five days, and Cat would approve of her. Michele knew she could do it. She was the best actress in the Senior class.

What should she do first? Michele sighed as she pulled up to the curb in front of the Hungry Burger and got out of her car. Treating all her friends to a platter of fries would be good. She had the money. Her mother kept the grocery money in a teapot on the counter, and Michele had snitched five dollars. Her mother would never miss it, since she usually asked Michele to do the shopping.

Michele didn't bother to lock her car. It was so old, no one would steal it anyway. And then she headed into the Hungry Burger with her head held high. She'd make the rounds today, and be friendly to everyone there, even if she couldn't stand them. A queen was supposed to treat all her subjects equally.

The Hungry Burger was almost deserted, and it didn't take her long to say hello to everyone who was there. When she had fulfilled that duty, Michele headed back to their usual booth, the big round one in the back. She ordered a Coke and told the waitress to put on a platter of fries when everyone else came in. And then she sat there, planning out all the little lies she'd tell to make everyone think she was wonderful.

 

“What do you think we should do, Karen?” Cat turned toward the empty passenger seat as he asked the question. He was the only one who could see that she was riding next to him. “She lied to me. I checked, and no one's ever heard of Madame Zane.”

The motor purred, the heater hissed out warm air, and the cold wind whistled through the vent that didn't quite close all the way. The tires made a swishing sound on the snowy highway, but Cat heard his dead love's voice perfectly.

There was a long moment while Cat listened, blocking out all sounds except the sweet cadence of her voice. And then he nodded. “All right. I'll warn her, and then I'll give her a chance to tell the truth. Her car should be in front of the Hungry Burger. She skipped out of school early.”

Cat's hands were trembling slightly as he parked and opened the glove box. There was a red envelope inside, the Valentine card he'd prepared for Michele. “What if she lies to me again, Karen? What do you want me to do?”

There was another long silence, a silence so long that his breath began to cloud the windshield. And then Cat smiled, and picked up the envelope. “I love you, too, my darling Karen. And you're absolutely right. A queen should never lie to her subjects. If Michele keeps on lying, I'll kill her for you.”

 

Michele waved and smiled as she got into her car, but the moment her face was hidden behind the frosty windshield, she frowned deeply. Running for queen was a lot of work! Being nice wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and she'd had to bite her tongue constantly to keep from saying the wrong thing.

“Oh, well . . . it'll be worth it.” Michele started her car, and put on her smile again as she got out to scrape her windshield. Then she climbed back inside and drove toward home, maintaining what she hoped was a friendly expression all the way.

She didn't see the red envelope on the passenger seat until she'd pulled into the garage. Perhaps that was a blessing. She probably would have plowed straight into a snowbank if she'd noticed it while she was driving.

Michele picked up the envelope and carried it into the house. And when she was inside, she opened it. There was a poem inside, signed with Cat's name, and her eyes widened as she read the rhyme he'd written.

Roses are red, violets are blue. Let this serve as a warning to you. Not one step toward the throne will you take, unless you admit that Madame Zane is a fake.

She didn't stop to think. Michele just hurried to the fireplace and turned on the gas. She struck a match and lit the logs. And then she tossed the envelope into the flames. She'd enlarged on her Madame Zane story around the table at the Hungry Burger. She'd told everyone that Madame Zane had advised her to burn any Valentines that she might receive from Cat, so that the flames could cleanse their negative energy and render it powerless.

Michele began to feel better as the flames licked through Cat's message and turned it into ashes. She almost believed her own lie. It sounded good enough to be true, but she still had to take some precautions.

What, exactly, did Cat's rhyme mean? The news of her encounter with the psychic had spread like wildfire, and everyone at school had heard her story about Madame Zane. She'd just spent an hour at the Hungry Burger, telling more lies about the wise old psychic, and it would be terribly embarrassing to have to admit that she'd made up the whole thing.

But she didn't have to admit it! Michele began to smile. All she had to do was admit that she might be wrong about Madame Zane. From this moment on, whenever anyone asked her about it, she'd say that she was having doubts about whether the messages she'd received through the psychic were true. That should take care of the problem. And if Cat was really crazy, and he sent her a second warning Valentine, she'd make a public announcement that she was dropping out of the contest for personal reasons. That was bound to satisfy him, and then she'd be safe.

Just then the telephone rang, and Michele raced to answer it. It was a good thing her mother had ordered a long phone cord, because she received six calls from her friends while she was putting the chicken in the oven and peeling the potatoes. Most of the calls were about Madame Zane. Everyone wanted to know more about her sessions with the psychic.

Michele was very careful about what she said. She made sure that every single caller knew that she was having second thoughts about Madame Zane's abilities. And she admitted that her desire to hear from her dear, dead friends again might very well have clouded her judgment. There was really no way to tell whether Madame Zane had been in touch with Tanya, and Gail, and Jessica. That was why she wasn't going back for any more sessions. It was expensive, and as Michele's friends had pointed out, Madame Zane might be nothing more than a very good actress.

When she'd finished setting the table, Michele glanced at the clock. It was almost six, and it was time to walk the dog. She always walked Happy, their old collie, before her parents came home. When they'd bought Happy, over twelve years ago, she had promised to faithfully walk him every morning and night. Of course, she had been only six years old, and she hadn't realized that walking Happy would turn into such a chore. Thank goodness it was almost over! There was no way Happy could last much longer.

“Happy! Come here, boy!” Michele whistled, but Happy didn't come. That wasn't unusual. Happy was going slightly deaf, and he was already blind in one eye. She went looking for him and found him in his favorite spot, curled up next to her father's recliner in the living room. She woke him up, dangled the leash, and watched as he got slowly to his feet.

“Come on, Happy. Time to go out.”

Happy plodded along at her side as Michele got her coat and mittens, put on her boots, and snapped on his leash. Then she opened the door and led him outside.

It was a cold night, and Michele shivered as she walked down the sidewalk. She took the same path she always did, around the corner and down the alley, to the burned-out house on the corner. Happy liked to nose around the debris, and that was where she snapped off the leash and let him wander for a few minutes.

The burned-out house had belonged to a family who'd gone bankrupt. Everyone thought they'd started the fire so that they could collect on the insurance, but no one had been able to prove it. The family had moved away, and the house was still sitting there, waiting for someone to buy the land, tear it down, and rebuild. Michele's mother worked for a real estate company, and she had the listing on the property. She'd told Michele that she didn't expect any offers until spring, when demolition and construction could start.

“Here you go.” Michele snapped off Happy's leash and walked to her usual spot, next to two existing walls that protected her from the cold wind. She rubbed her hands together and stomped her feet to keep warm. Happy was taking his own sweet time, but she had to wait until he was ready to go home. There was no way she wanted to clean up a mess on the rug!

There was a sound above her, and Michele looked up. She could see the stars through the burned-out rafters, but nothing was moving. And then Happy growled, deep in his throat, and stared up at the rafters, too. That made Michele a little nervous. Happy didn't growl very often.

“What is it, boy?” Michele called out. “Is there a cat up there?”

Happy moved surprisingly fast as he plodded through the snow to her feet. He growled up at the rafters again, and Michele laughed and shook her head. Happy had been quite a cat chaser in his day. He'd been a car chaser, too, but those days were gone forever. Now it was all he could do to walk around the block.

There was another sound from the rafters, and Happy did something he'd never done before. He nipped at her sleeve and pulled. Michele pulled back and swatted him across the nose. “Bad dog! No, no!”

But Happy lunged for her sleeve again, and Michele began to get a little nervous. Happy was a collie, just like Lassie, and she'd watched every one of the old Lassie movies on television, when she was a little girl. Lassie had always pulled little Timmy away from danger. Was Happy trying to protect her from something ?

And then she heard it again, a noise that sounded like footsteps over her head. They were to heavy for a squirrel or a cat. Happy was right! Someone was up on the rafters!

But before she could turn and run, there was a crack like a gunshot as a heavy beam fell, smashing her into oblivion.

T
he next day at school was horrible. No one could believe that Michele was dead. When her dog had come home, dragging his leash, Michele's parents had gone out to look for her. They'd found her at the burned-out house, crushed by one of the heavy rafters that had fallen under the heavy weight of the winter snow.

Even the sheriff had admitted that something strange was happening in Clearwater. Four girls had died, and Clearwater had never had so many accidents in such a short space of time. But there was no proof that Michele's death was suspicious, even though she'd been wearing a half-heart necklace just like the ones that Tanya, and Gail, and Jessica had worn. The sheriff believed that if Michele had received a Valentine threat from Cat, she would have mentioned it to one of her friends who'd called just minutes before her death.

To make matters even worse, Colleen was gone. Danny had explained it to Amy this morning, when Colleen hadn't shown up for school.

Colleen had been terrified when she'd heard that Michele was dead, especially since Michele's death had put her in the lead for queen. She'd been so upset, her parents had asked Danny to drive her to their grandmother's house in Madison, over sixty miles away. There hadn't been time for a phone call, but Colleen had left a message for Amy, begging her to drop out of the contest. Now that Colleen was gone, Amy might take over the lead.

Amy was sorry her friend was gone, but Colleen had promised to come back, right after the dance. And she wasn't very worried about the contest because she was sure that some other girl would take over the lead. There was no way she'd get enough votes to be queen, since Cat was the only one who'd ever voted for her.

Now it was sixth period, and it was time to count the votes that had been cast at lunch. Amy and Kevin walked down the hallway, accompanied by Brett, who was taking Colleen's place.

“I really don't see how we can go on with the contest.” Amy pushed open the door to the faculty lounge. “Four queen candidates have died already. And Colleen was so scared, she left town!”

Kevin nodded. “What you're saying is true. But how about the book fund? Mr. Dorman told me that if we keep on for just a few more days, we'll have enough money for a complete science section.”

It didn't take long to clear off the table and put the teachers' dishes away. When they were through, Brett turned to Amy. “How about you, Amy? If you end up in the lead for queen, will you drop out, like Colleen did?”

“I . . . I really don't know.” Amy sighed deeply. “I know that the library really needs a new science section, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to risk it. I guess I'm just hoping that someone else will take over the lead, and I won't have to make a decision like that.”

“Okay. Are we ready?” Kevin set the box on the table. “It's really heavy today. I think the book fund made a lot of money.”

Amy took out her lists of names and sat down at the table.

“I'm ready. If we finish fast enough, I might have time to go to the library to review my notes for the big History test.”

“I'll join you.” Brett nodded quickly. “It's going to be a tough test. I really hate essay questions.”

Amy gave a wry little grin. “Me, too. Multiple choice are much easier, and so are true and false. If you don't know the answer, you can usually make an intelligent guess. But you can't guess on an essay question. Either you know it cold, or you don't.”

“But you studied, didn't you?” Kevin turned to Amy.

“Of course. I've been studying all week. But there's a lot of material to cover, and it's hard to remember it all. How about you? Have you been hitting the books?”

“Every night.” Kevin looked a little sad. “But it used to be a lot easier, when I had someone to study with.”

Both Amy and Brett were silent for a moment. They knew who that someone was. Kevin had always studied with his twin sister, Karen. And ever since Karen had died in the auto accident last year, Kevin had been studying alone.

“Why don't you do the review with us?” Amy suggested. “We could really use the help.”

Brett nodded. “Good idea. The more the merrier, and maybe your notes are better than ours.”

Kevin began to smile. “Hey . . . thanks for inviting me. It never hurts to review everything one more time.”

“When are they going to post the results of the test?” Brett turned to Amy. “You found out, didn't you?”

As Amy nodded, she felt her stomach churn. She'd studied last night, but she still felt unprepared, and this test was very important. It counted for fifty percent of their final grade. “They're going to post them tomorrow night.”

“Hold on a second.” Kevin looked confused. “Tomorrow's Friday. If they're posting the results tomorrow night, how are we going to see them before Monday morning?”

Amy laughed. “That's exactly what I asked Mr. Dorman. And I talked him into giving me a key, so I can come in and copy down the results. The scores will be posted by initials, right inside his office door.”

“That's great!” Kevin looked very relieved. “I don't think I could have waited until Monday. The suspense would have killed me.”

Brett nodded, and reached into the box to pull out a vote. He handed it to Kevin, and Kevin unfolded it.

“It's for you, Amy. And it looks like Cat's printing. He's still voting for you.”

Amy sighed. “Lucky me. Next?”

“This one's for you, too.” Kevin unfolded another heart. “And it looks like the same printing.”

Brett took the second vote and compared it to the first. “That's right. It's a second vote from Cat.”

“That's strange.” Amy began to frown. “Cat's never voted for me twice in the same day. I wonder why he did that?”

As Kevin continued to read the votes, and the marks by her name began to grow into double digits, Amy's hands started to shake. It was almost like Cat was deliberately trying to put her into the lead!

“Here's the last one.” Kevin unfolded the vote, and read it. “It's for you again, Amy.”

“But . . . I don't want to be queen!” Amy couldn't keep her voice from trembling. “I never wanted to be queen!”

Brett slipped his arm around Amy's shoulders, and gave her a little hug. “Maybe you didn't want to be queen, but it's pretty obvious that you're Cat's choice. You're in the lead, Amy.”

“But, why does he want me to be queen? So he can send me threatening Valentines?” Amy shivered.

“Maybe not.” Kevin looked thoughtful. “I think Cat likes you, and he thinks you'll make a good queen. And I bet he won't send you any threatening Valentines.”

Amy turned to Kevin with fear in her eyes. “But, why did he choose me? I'm no better than any of the other girls. And look what happened to them! I'm going to tell Mr. Dorman to take my name off the list of candidates.”

“Don't do that, Amy.” Brett looked worried. “Kevin could be right. Cat must like you, or he wouldn't have voted for you. Just try it for a couple of days, and see if you get any Valentines. We really need more science books.”

Amy was shocked, and it showed on her face as she turned to stare at Brett. “Do you really think that science books are more important than my safety?”

“Of course not! If I thought you were in any danger, I'd run right down to Mr. Dorman's office and take your name off the list myself! But I really think that Cat is trying to tell us something by casting all these votes for you. And Kevin does, too. Right, Kevin?”

Kevin nodded. “That's what it looks like to me. You're the only person that Cat has ever voted for.”

Amy sighed. It was true that Cat had never voted for anyone else. But she didn't like the idea that someone like Cat had hand-picked her for queen.

“Will you stay in the contest, at least until tomorrow?”

Brett looked anxious, and Amy shook her head. “I don't know. I just don't like it.”

“Come on, Amy.” Kevin smiled at her. “We'll all take turns guarding you, if it makes you feel better. And you won't be sorry you stayed in the contest when you see all the new books the library fund can buy.”

Amy thought about it for a moment, and then she nodded. “All right. I'll stay in until tomorrow. But if I get just one threatening Valentine from Cat, I'm out of the running for good!”

 

Cat smiled as he passed the bulletin board and saw Amy's name at the top of the list. He'd spent a lot of money putting her there, and now he had to make sure she didn't get so nervous, she'd withdraw from the contest.

“What do you think, Karen? Would she make a good queen?” Cat whispered the words. He didn't want to take even a remote chance that he'd be overheard.

But Karen didn't answer, and Cat began to get very nervous. Amy was his choice. Wasn't she Karen's choice, too?

“I don't have to test her, do I, Karen? I mean . . . she's perfect! And I know she never gossiped about you.”

And then he heard Karen's sweet voice floating in the stillness, and he smiled as she reassured him that Amy would make a perfect queen. Karen agreed that Amy was kind, and sweet, and good, and she told him that Amy had never once gossiped about her.

As Karen went on speaking, Cat began to frown. It seemed that Karen had plans for Amy . . . big plans. She was Karen's choice for much more than queen.

“Are you sure, Karen?” Cat shivered as a cold draft seeped around his ankles and snaked its way down the hall. “What if Amy doesn't want to go?”

Cat listened for a moment, and then he put his hands over his ears. What Karen had told him to do was so dreadful, he wanted to block out the sound of her voice. But blocking his ears did no good. Karen's voice was still loud and clear. Her words resounded up and down the hall with so much force, that he could hear them right through the hands that were clamped tightly over his ears.

“THEN TAKE HER AND BRING HER TO ME. IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU'LL DO IT. I WANT AMY HUNTER WITH ME, FOREVER!”