I Know Lucy (The Fugitive Series) (3 page)

“And then there’s the stalker of 2010.” Elliot winced.

“Lest we forget.” AJ used his deep dramatic voice.

“Hey, she was sweet.” I pointed at them both.

“To start with, yeah, but then the checking in every three seconds began. The whole making sure she knew where you were and what you were wearing.” AJ made a face.

“Insisting that you didn’t go anywhere without her.” Liesl tipped her head.

“And then the spying. Yikes.” Jaeda’s nose wrinkled.

“She wasn’t a spy,” I sputtered.

“Dude.” Elliot squeezed my shoulder. “She sat outside your house for like a month after you dumped her. Secret agent, most definitely not. Creeparoonus? One hundred percent.”

I grimaced. “Okay, so it wasn’t great.”

“You mean to say, thank the Lord her family moved to Australia.” Jaeda’s ringed fingers spread wide. She always talked with her hands, particularly when she was exasperated.

“I just don’t understand your obsessive desire to protect women all the time.” Elliot frowned.

“Maybe it’s because you’re short.” Jaeda looked completely serious. “You know, looking after girls makes you feel taller and more powerful or something. Feeds into your knight in shining armor desire. Makes you feel more manly.”

I’d never wanted to throttle her more.

“I’m not that short,” I said between gritted teeth.

“Okay, the girl you’re crushing on is taller than you, but whatevs.” She flicked her hand and raised her eyebrows.

Thank God I was taller than the say-it-like-it-is redhead or I’d never hear the end of it.

“Jae, you know you’re not supposed to talk about his height.” AJ put on his father figure voice. “Zach is very sensitive about his height or serious lack of it.”

“Thanks, Goliath.” I threw my sandwich crust at my six foot, two inch friend. He bashed it away with a chuckle.

“I hate you. I hate you all.” I pointed my other crust in their direction. “And Dani is not taller than me, we’re the same height.”

“Until she puts on a pair of heels,” Jaeda mumbled and then sputtered when I shot her a glare. “Which she doesn’t look the type to even wear, so you’re sweet.” She slapped my arm and winked at me, putting on her cutsie grin, which I found impossible to resist.

My lips twitched.

“We’re serious though, Zach.” Liesl tipped her head as she reached for my hand. She laid her delicate fingers over mine. “We just don’t want to see you get stalked or cried on…”

“or Bambi bitch slapped again.” Jaeda finished for her.

I had no choice but to finally let my smile show. I’ve never denied I was an idiot in the love department.

But…

Looking across to the tree Dani was nestled against, I took a second to watch her lick a drop of apple juice off her lower lip. She seemed oblivious to the world as she read the book in her lap…or did she?

“This is different, you guys.” I shook my head. “I’m mean yes, she is gorgeous. And yes, I’m attracted to her, but it’s not just her looks. There’s something about her. She’s intriguing. It’s like she’s not all she appears to be or something.”

“You can tell that after two minutes of interacting with her? Give me a break.” Elliot balled up his napkin and threw it on the table.

Liesl snaffled it up before it flew away and with a motherly look of reprimand made him take it back. He snatched it with a grumble, tucking it under his lunch tray.

“I realize that I don’t know her at all yet, but I can tell there’s something more there.” I rubbed my bottom lip.

“She looks normal to me.” AJ shrugged.

“I think she’s pretty. She looks sweet, but…” Liesl turned to spy her quickly. “AJ’s right. She looks like any other transfer student. What makes her so different?”

“It’s something about her eyes. There’s a story in them. I can’t even explain why I think that. I just feel like she’s got a lot of layers and I want to peel back every single one of them.”

“I bet you do.” Elliot raised his eyebrows.

“Not like that.” I threw him a droll look. “I just want to solve the mystery that is Danielle Harrison.”

“Dude, there is no mystery.” Elliot slapped his hand lightly on the table.

“Yes there is. I can feel it.”

“Careful, Zachy, your Nancy Drew is showing.” Jaeda’s green eyes were large and round as she gave me a playful look.

“I don’t care.” I shrugged, confident in my perceptive abilities. “That girl over there has secrets and I’m gonna figure out what they are.”

She suddenly looked my way, piercing me with those blue eyes of hers. Even with the distance, they affected me. My breath was snatched away before I could raise my lips to a smile. The edge of her mouth quirked to the side as she closed her book and packed her things into her bag. She didn’t look at me again as she rose, brushing off her jeans and heading away from our table. I kept my eyes on her, stupidly unabashed. Part of me wanted her to know I was studying her.

Flicking her fine hair over her shoulder, she politely made her way through a group of students. Her manners were impeccable. She was self-assured and capable. All those things made her different from the girls I’d made the mistake of falling for in the past.

Not that I was falling for this one, I reminded myself quickly.

I couldn’t deny that tug though. It always started as an urge to protect the girl. I could easily figure out why I’d ended up dating all my past errors, but what had me stumped this time was why I was so captured by a girl who didn’t look as though she needed any kind of protection. Why did I feel an overwhelming urge to hide her away, tuck her in my arms and tell her I wouldn’t let the world hurt her?

My friends were laughing over AJ’s latest culinary class. He told the best stories about his teachers. Everyone was in hysterics except me. I was too busy watching Dani disappear around the corner.

Watching.

Wondering.

My parents always said that they found out more about a student during parent/teacher conferences than any other time of the year.

“To some degree, everyone is a product of their upbringing.” That’s what Mom always said.

I couldn’t help wondering what Dani’s parents said about her.

Chapter 4

February 2009

The table was set, the meal was cooked. Lucy’s mom placed the plates of hot food at each setting and they were all pulling their chairs out to sit down when Lucy couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“I got the part.” She beamed.

“The part of Milly?” Edith Tate’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

“Uh-huh!” Lucy’s head was bobbing stupidly, but she didn’t care. The look of pride on her dad’s face would keep her happy for weeks. He stepped away from his chair and enveloped her in one of his bear hugs. She nestled her head against his chest and squeezed back.

“So, so proud of you, Lulu.” He kissed the top of her head and pulled back, holding her at arms length to give her a wide smile.

She grinned back and bit the edge of her lip.

“Let’s eat before the food gets cold.” Her mother pulled out her chair and sat down. Flicking out her napkin, she laid it over her lap and clasped her hands together. They said a quick grace and as soon as everyone had said Amen, Edith touched Lucy’s hand. “Have you got the script? We can start practicing tonight.”

“Yeah, it’s in my bag.” Lucy picked up her fork and pierced a carrot slice.

“So how did you find out? Tell us the story.” Her father cut off a square of meatloaf and smothered it with mashed potato.

Forgetting about her food, Lucy dove into a lengthy story, not leaving out one detail. She even talked about how Patrick congratulated her at the end of the day. She was sure she was blushing up a storm. Her parents both grinned at her, obviously trying to hide their laughter.

“Shut up, you guys.” She flicked her hand.

This set them off and they were all soon laughing.

At the end of the meal, Lucy’s mom suggested they treat themselves to ice-cream to celebrate.

“Sweetie, run down to the freezer and grab it for me, will you?”

“Sure.” Lucy jumped up and headed for the basement stairs off the kitchen, listening to the clink of cutlery being gathered up for rinsing.

She never liked the basement much. It was always so dark and creepy. That was probably because she never bothered turning on the light when she was down there. Her priority was only to run to the chest freezer and back out again so she didn’t see the point of fussing with the string light switch that dangled in the middle of the room.

Above the freezer was one tiny window that was never opened. A large cobweb covered the left pane of glass; she couldn’t see a spider in it, but yuck! She shivered, dashing over the cold concrete on her bare feet.

Most of the surfaces were covered with dust. Her parents often talked about gutting the area, re-walling it and putting carpet in. They had plans to make it a fun rumpus room area for Lucy and her friends. They had plans…and that was all.

Still on tiptoes, Lucy lifted the chest freezer lid, wriggling the ice cream tub free from beneath a loaf of bread and a frozen meal. Holding it with her finger and thumb, she slammed the freezer closed and looked up at the little window. With another shiver, she raced out of the room and up the stairs.

She was about to swing the door open, but the tone of her parents’ conversation made her pause. The cold ice-cream container was freezing her fingertips, but somehow she just knew she couldn’t interrupt this conversation. She shifted, spying her mother through the crack in the door. She was stacking the dishwasher with the last plate. Shutting the door with a concerned frown, Edith turned back to Lucy’s father.

“Well, have you gathered enough evidence?”

“I think so.” He rubbed his forehead. “I guess I’m just worried if I jump too soon that it’ll get squashed. I need to play this right.” Her dad sighed.

“Sweetie, you will,” Edith placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing gently. “You can’t ignore what you’ve found. You have to expose him.”

“I know. I know.” He ran his finger down the chain of her necklace, squeezing the emerald pendant he’d given her two weeks earlier. She’d swooned over the birthday present every day since. “But I’m only an analyst and he’s…”

“He’s a criminal.”

“People don’t see him that way, Eddie.”

“I don’t care what his job title is, he’s acting like a criminal and therefore he is one.”

“Not until he’s caught and convicted. If he finds out what I’ve been doing.” Her father shook his head.

“Honey, he’s breaking the law. It’s your duty to stop him.”

Lucy couldn’t see her father’s face, but she guessed his expression was grave. Her mother’s forehead wrinkled with sympathy as she touched his face.

“I fear the risks. The implications it might have on all of us. If this goes wrong…”

“We can handle it. We’re a strong family unit and Lucy and I will stand beside you all the way.”

“I just want you to be safe.”

“You’ll play this right and we will be.” Her smile was sweet as she pulled him into a tight embrace, but Lucy spotted a glimpse of fear in her hazel orbs.

She had no idea what her father was up to or what he had discovered, but her heart was pounding. Whoever they were talking about sounded really dangerous.

The ice-cream was about ready to slip from her fingers and she knew it was time to reveal herself.

The doorbell rang as she eased into the kitchen. Her father put on a brave smile as she plonked the ice-cream onto the counter, but his blue eyes didn’t sparkle like they usually did. On reflection, they had actually been dull and tense for several weeks now. She knew something was up at his work, but he never talked about his job with her. Ever.

Lucy tried to pretend she hadn’t heard a thing, pasting on a grin as she listened to the front door open.

“Hello.” Her mother’s greeting was clipped and strained, making her father frown. He squeezed Lucy’s shoulder and peeked a look in the entranceway.

His skin turned a pale grey, his eyes lighting with instant terror.

“Hide,” he whispered.

“What?” Lucy frowned.

“Go. Now.” Her father pointed. “Hide.”

Lucy stumbled back towards the basement door, totally confused until she heard the front door slam shut and her mother scream.

“Get your hands off her!” Jack’s yell was followed by a silenced gunshot. He fell to the kitchen floor with a wail, clutching his shoulder. With the other hand he grappled for the phone in his pocket. The intruder walked into the room, his hand around Edith’s throat. He slammed her against the kitchen wall before letting her go and stamping on Jack’s hand. His fingers crunched around the phone.

Lucy crouched on the top step and covered her mouth, squashing her rapid breaths. Her eyes were large and filling with tears as she listened to her father’s cry and then watched blood spurt from his mouth as he was kicked in the face.