Clarity (23 page)

I dashed down the hallway and hurtled myself into the room, careful not to let the door slam behind me. Justin lay on the bed, eyes closed, face gray. His shirt was off and a large white bandage covered the left side of his abdomen. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose. The relief was overwhelming. It was almost as if I couldn’t believe that he was all right until I saw it myself.

“Clare,” Justin said.

I rushed over to the side of the bed. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah, I was just resting my eyes. I’m so happy to see you. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“How are you feeling?”

Justin inched up a bit on the bed and winced. “Being shot sucks. I’ll be honest. But it was worth it if it saved you.” He smiled weakly.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” I said.

“You’re just saying that because I nearly died saving your ass.”

I laughed. “I’m not. I realized it when I kissed you on the boardwalk.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“But that doesn’t mean I want to get back together.”

“We will,” he said, crossing his arms on his lap. “It’s just a matter of time now.”

“You’re very confident.”

“Maybe I can see the future.” He winked.

“Is there room for two more in this lovefest?” Perry asked, poking his head into the room.

“Absolutely, dude,” Justin said.

Perry and Gabriel sauntered in.

“Dude,” Justin said, laughing at Perry. “Nice headband.”

“It must be on too tight.” Perry reached up and fingered the bandage. “I have quite the headache.”

“I’ve got to thank your dad, man,” Justin said to Gabriel, shaking his hand. “The doctor said if I’d been lying there much longer, I would have bled to death.”

I watched the small talk continue between Gabriel and Justin. My eyes darted from one to the other, and I felt so conflicted. I decided it was time to go. Too many butterflies for me in this room.

I backed out into the hallway, careful not to trip over a gurney someone had left beside the door.

“Clarity.”

I turned and found Madame Maslov hurrying down the hall toward me. “Your mother said I could find you here. I had things to say to her, and I need to say them to you as well.”

“You were the one,” I said.

She stopped short. “What is it you speak of now?”

“You slashed my mom’s tire before we were about to go to the Clayworth house the first time. Then you called in with a fake appointment before I left the next time. Why didn’t you just tell me I was in danger?”

She put her hands on her hips and gave me a look.

“Oh yeah.” I smirked, remembering. “You did tell me.”

“As I said before, you’re not good with the listening.”

“But you didn’t give me any specifics.”

“I did not know the who or the why. I just felt when you were about to be in trouble. I did what I could.”

“Thank you for that.” I grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry my family hasn’t exactly been welcoming to you. That will change now.”

“Now?” She cackled. “Just as I am leaving?”

“You’re leaving town? Why?”

“The purpose I was brought here for, was not nice.” She did a tsk-tsk motion with her finger.

“What do you mean?”

“I was … what is the word in English? Recruited. Someone paid for my rent, paid for my advertising, and all I had to do was my readings and please my customers. I thought this was a great deal. What a wonderful country, this America, with these investors. But now I have realized that I was part of plan to make revenge on your family. I do not agree with this.”

It all made sense now. Why Stephen was in Maslov’s shop that day on the boardwalk. Why I saw Cecile walking
toward it before our argument. “It was Cecile Clayworth who paid you.”

“Yes,” she answered.

It was payback for my snitching on Stephen in school. Damn, vengeance was like a hobby to that family.

“I am sorry for this trouble I have helped with.” Maslov patted me on the cheek and turned to go.

“Wait,” I said. “Before you go … can I have tomorrow’s lottery numbers?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “No. No numbers of the lottery. But I will leave you with a quick reading.”

She sidled up next to me, as if sharing a secret, and clasped my hand tightly between hers. She made a clucking sound and shook her head slowly. “I see two things in your future. One soon and one later. Soon, your brother will injure his ankle. And, later … someone’s love for you is not genuine … their feelings are not born of affection, but of sickness …” Her eyes snapped open and she dropped my hand. “Be wary.”

“Okay … thanks.” I gave an involuntary shiver. Maslov had known when I was in danger before, sure, but this didn’t mean anything. Right? She was probably fifty-fifty, hit or miss. I hoped.

“One more question.” I looked both ways down the hallway to make sure my mother wasn’t hanging around. “The man you saw who looked like my brother. Was he old enough to be my father?”

Maslov’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask this?”

“I haven’t seen or heard from my father in fifteen years.”

She frowned, her lips pressed tightly together. “He could be. The comparison in looks was uncanny. But …”

“But what?”

“If he is your father, be glad he’s not here.”

Before I had a chance to digest that nugget, the door to Justin’s room opened behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Perry saying his good-byes to Justin. When I looked back, Maslov was already halfway down the hall.

“Crap,” I said.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

I whirled around in time to watch Perry trip over the gurney, twist sideways, and land on the floor. He yelped like a little girl.

While holding his ankle.

Later, when Mom finally allowed me to be out of her sight for a minute, I strolled down to the beach and sat on the warm sand. I scooped up a handful and let the grains slip through my fingers and drift away on the wind. Foam-tipped waves rushed forth and back, to the delight of squealing children, running with their pails, not a care in the world.

I thought about Justin and Gabriel and my confusing feelings for both of them.

I thought about Maslov’s grim words about the man who could be my father, and her dire warning about someone’s intentions toward me.

And finally, I thought about Stephen and what he had done. In a twisted way, I could understand his motives. I
knew about loyalty, about putting family before all others. I’d already learned some things I’d do to protect my own. I’d withhold information from the police. I’d use people. I’d lie.

If pushed harder … how far would I go? Stephen had found that out.

Hopefully I’d never have to know my own limits.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My heartfelt thanks to:

Scott Miller, my agent, for taking a chance on me.

The entire Scholastic team. You are all made of awesome. Especially Aimee Friedman, editor extraordinaire. You had me at
Veronica Mars.

Susan Happel Edwards, for the title. And for being a hilarious, thoughtful, generous, smart, and fantastic friend. And a Hooplehead.

Ted Curtin, for security camera info. Maybe in a future novel I’ll use something more high tech!

The creators of the Xbox 360, for keeping my husband and son busy while I write.

The Poker Crew, for Friday night laughs.

The LOC girls, for many years of friendship.

All the teen and adult readers, bloggers, booksellers, and librarians who have shown early enthusiasm for the book … thank you, thank you, thank you!

Many other friends, old and new, too many to name, who I adore and appreciate. Thanks for your support and for all the good times.

My parents, Dan and Barbara Harrington; my “outlaws,” Ann and Tony; and my entire extended family — all of you crazy people — from Massachusetts to Ireland. I love you!

Mike and Ryan, who make me smile, laugh, and feel loved every day. I’m the luckiest chick on the planet. Except for that lady who won the lottery five times. But I still wouldn’t trade places with her.

About the Author

KIM HARRINGTON
lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son. When not writing, she’s most likely reading, watching one of her favorite TV shows, or fantasizing about her next vacation. She has no psychic powers and is cool with that. Clarity is her debut novel. Visit her online at www.kimharringtonbooks.com.

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 by Kim Harrington

Cover art © 2011 by Ingrid Baars
Cover design by Lillie Howard

All rights reserved. Published by Point, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920.
SCHOLASTIC, POINT, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Harrington, Kim, 1974–
Clarity / by Kim Harrington. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Clare Fern, a member of a family of psychics, helps the mayor and a skeptical detective solve a murder in a Cape Cod town during the height of tourist season — with her brother a prime suspect.
ISBN 978-0-545-23050-6 (alk. paper)
[1. Murder — Fiction. 2. Psychic ability — Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters — Fiction. 4. Interpersonal relations — Fiction. 5. Cape Cod (Mass.) — Fiction.
6. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.H23817CI 2011
[Fic] — dc22
2010009402

First edition, February 2011

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher

EISBN 978-0-545-34178-3