Dead, Actually Part 14

'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 shiver, 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.

Macey didnt. 'Thats c.r.a.p. Shes just messing with your head.

Was she? Or did JoJo have a point? It was one I wanted to explore more, but she was drifting out again. That girl had the worst timing.

'What are you thinking, Wills?

I looked straight back at Seth and blew out a huge sigh. 'Too much. But for starters, what if shes right? I shuddered. 'This whole thing is way too creepy, Seth. Lets get this over with. Give me your phone.

He shook his head. 'Dumb idea.

'Unless youve got something else, its our only idea. I softened my tone to try to make him see reason. 'Look, we simply send out a text saying I really do have the phone. Its got to make the blackmailer nervous, right? Push them into action? Come on, Seth, its our only shot.

His mouth was tight, his tone hard. 'Well youre going to have to block the sender info, because theyll never believe I started a rumour about you.

'Oh, thats right. The fake girlfriend thing, I answered flatly.

His eyes narrowed and he stared at me for a few moments. 'Yeah, that.

Macey sprung to her feet and started towards my bathroom. Halfway there she spun back. 'Willow? Your idea? Stupid. Totally dumb. My G.o.d! Dont you guys ever watch TV? Tell them JoJo left a note, for Christs sake! Her arms smacked down against her sides. 'Tell them it held a list of names the police should look at if she suddenly died. Or something.

You know, it made sense. I went to tell her, but as Macey stomped off to the bathroom the words stalled. This was one of Maceys moods; the ones youre just better off ignoring. They didnt come often, but it was always best just to weather them. Still, the suggestion was good. And when I turned to Seth it was evident the idea had grabbed him as well.

'Think it could work? I asked quietly.

'Could. He shrugged. 'I can send the message, say my dad heard a rumour . . . Maybe that the cops spoke to us?

'And maybe were playing with fire, too. I sighed. Trouble was, we were scrambling for choices. It wasnt like the Ghostbusters were going to race to my rescue any time soon. 'But I guess we can only hope it makes someone freak and maybe admit what theyve done?

'Long shot, but I suppose its worth a try?

At my nod he sank down on the bed, flipped open his phone and started composing a message. He flicked me the phone before he pressed send: Looks like JJ left a letr. Things about to explode big time.

It was only after I watched him press send that I fully thought about the risks. Was there really a murderer in that group? What the h.e.l.l had we done?

Long slow breaths . . . That was what I needed.

And to find my phone; that was the other thing I needed. Surely JoJo could not be right. I made a beeline for the closet. Maybe the phone was in there?

And found the mess.

All my shoes were out of their boxes and tossed across the floor. JoJo must have a new trick: she could touch things. I just wished shed build her repertoire on someone elses time! Obviously shed been looking for her shoe. I bit back the added frustration and crossed my fingers that our plan would work. I needed her gone.

It didnt take long to fix the shoe-mess and get on with my original plan. My search. I was a few minutes into it when the voice startled me, just like it always did. She was back 'in.

'I have no idea why youre friends with her.

'Sounds like jealousy to me. Met your match, JoJo?

JoJo scoffed, but I heard the uncertainty in her voice. 'As if! Look at her so cool shes hardly got a pulse! You can tell her from me- I threw more sweaters off the shelves and frowned. 'Okay, you can stop the hate-fest right there. This time I gave her all my attention. 'No, I wont tell her anything; I am not your messenger service. You know, Id appreciate it if you could focus your energies on actually communicating with her directly. In case you havent noticed, Im a bit busy here.

'Wills? Macey slowed on her way out of my bathroom and leaned against the doorjamb. 'Talking to yourself? Or have you got company? Poor you.

A pile of pants joined the sweaters on the floor. 'Yeah, she said you think youre so cool you hardly have a pulse.

'Ha! Me? Has she even tried to take her own pulse lately? She narrowed her gaze and scoped the walk-in closet that was now looking like a war zone. 'Ever heard the term flat-lining, JoJo? That stopped JoJo, who amazingly seemed to shrink back, but then Macey turned on me. 'And what are you doing, anyway?

'Oh duh! Looking for my phone! I told you that!

'Oh, for G.o.ds sake, she said, and in one sweep she cleared the entire top shelf.

I slumped back on my haunches and looked at the now bigger pile of clothes. 'Like that helped! If the phone was there, its now in that pile on the floor. That means going through it all again!

'Get over yourself, Willow, she answered. 'Its just a phone.

I scrambled to my feet to follow as she stomped back out of the closet. 'Macey? Whats your problem? Is this all about your dad?

She whirled. 'I do not have a problem! Got it? I can totally take care of myself!

Seth closed his phone and was watching carefully. 'Mace? You okay? You werent this b.u.mmed this morning. What happened?

She lowered herself onto the bed, crossed her legs and started swinging the top one. I knew that pose well and it usually meant trouble.

'Nothing I cant handle, she answered.

So, something had happened . . .

'Mace? I sat beside her, but she pulled away from me. This was so not Macey.

Seth took up the other side of her. 'Macey? What the h- Her answering look didnt need words but she spat them out anyway. 'h.e.l.lo? Do I look like I want to talk?

Okay, that was it. Time for tough love. 'Give it up, Mace. Somethings obviously crawled up your b.u.t.t so give it up or get over it. If weve done something, then tell us.

But she still wouldnt give; just sat there in her own silent, stubborn way. Giving up, Seth swore and clomped downstairs to get a drink. Okay, brothers might do that, but I wasnt giving up so easily.

'Mace, youre not leaving till you spill.

Her mouth did the p.u.s.s.y-b.u.m thing. 'I told you its noth- She was cut off by a noise in the hallway and we both looked up to see Simon bound past on his way to his room. Seconds later he bounded back out again, mumbling something about having to pick up something hed forgotten. Then he was gone again.

Apart from feeling ill just because he existed, it was no big deal.

Or it shouldnt have been.

But the look on Maceys face was telling a different story.