Mind Over Easy (12 page)

"Because you're a librarian?" Ted shook his head.

The woman's face darkened. "You're never going to find them. There are hundreds of rooms here and millions of books."

Erica held her hands a few inches apart. A burst of blue lightning went between them.

"Mind control," Erica said. "It's a two-way street."

After the librarian gave Erica the exact directions to the books from Page's, along with her phone number, they attempted to sneak their way in there.

"Whoever messed with their brains might have done the same thing to anybody who works here," Erica said. "Tread carefully."

Ted proceeded to knock over a potted plant, though he caught it before it could completely tip over.

"Sorry."

Erica rolled her eyes and directed him into the elevator. When the door closed, Ted went back to his standard volume.

"Is this mind control guy like you? Is he a light soul?"

Erica shook her head. "I should be the only one on your world right now. But I have a theory."

Before Erica could share it, the elevator doors opened. There were five librarians and a security guard waiting for them.

Erica glanced over at Ted. "Looks like your fantasy come to life."

"One librarian gets you a little excited and people think you have a fetish or something."

Ted and Erica clenched their fists and sprung into action.

Chapter 19

The feeling of the European boy's lips against her neck caused Jennifer to shift her legs against the leather backseat of her father's truck. Jennifer loved the familiar, grungy smell of the vehicle, which grew more intense as the windows started to fog up. Both of them knew her dad would likely be home from his weekly poker game within a few minutes. She'd chosen the truck because of the danger factor and the lack of childhood dolls watching her.

"Does that feel good?" the boy asked.

Jennifer nodded as he moved down to her collarbone. When he shifted his hand to her chest, she considered trying to stop him, but he was a much better kisser than the others had been. Jennifer wondered what her father would do if he caught the two of them. Perhaps he'd throw the guy to the ground. Erica's parents never got physical with her boyfriends, though Mr. LaPlante would often threaten legal action.

Jennifer closed her eyes and let out an audible sigh when his other hand moved up her leg. But when she opened her eyes, she didn't see the European anymore.

The sudden image of Deputy Daly caused her to move backward way too fast for the confined space, and she hit her head hard on the car's interior. Jennifer scrunched up her face and tried to deal with the sudden pain.

"Owww." She rubbed at the tender area on the top of her head.

Her companion squinted at Jennifer. "Did I go too far?"

His European accent was a quality the old Erica would have put on her "must do list" during late evening people-watching sessions at the mall. Jennifer would typically respond with a stern face as Winny, Beth and Erica laughed themselves silly. Jennifer wished the voice were enough to snap her out of the hallucination that continued to present itself. She started to snicker at the situation.

"No." Her laughter grew more intense. "I'm just losing my mind."

Her companion grimaced. "I can see this."

Jennifer took a deep breath to get the final chuckles out of her system. Her phone buzzed from inside her purse. Ignoring the confused facial contortions in front of her, she took a look at the message. Her mouth opened as soon as she read it. "I should go."

When Jennifer's eyes fell on the European again, the apparition of Daly had disappeared. The lanky foreign boy who'd wanted to kiss her up and down was back.

"But this is your house?" He focused his rich, blue eyes on Jennifer's.

If she hadn't gotten the exact text she'd been waiting for, she might have relented. After all, it's hard to pass up a guy who's still interested after such a demonstration of crazy.

"Alright. Then you can go." She unlocked the truck and opened the door closest to him. "Um. It was nice."

The European let out a short laugh and left the vehicle.

She didn't even wait to see where he went before she dashed inside and ran up the stairs. Jennifer opened the Daly file to a half-filled page titled "Leads." She dialed a number from the text.

"Hey, can I speak to Cheryl?" Jennifer affected a southern accent, though she wasn't sure why she chose southern. "Thank you, dear."

Cheryl picked up on the other end.

"Hey there, Cheryl." Jennifer had her pencil ready to take notes. "I just got a text that said you spotted my deadbeat ex-husband shopping at your store?"

Her father's office hadn't gotten far on the Daly case. She blamed the Nigel situation and the precinct attack for the lack of devoted resources. Jennifer had made much better progress on her own once she'd learned that Daly had a prescription medication for his thyroid that he couldn't live without. Working state by state, she'd been calling every pharmacy she could find. Several thousand calls later, she had her first lead, in upstate New York.

"I saw him, alright," Cheryl said. "We aren't really supposed to give out this kind of information, but you said it's been two years since he's given you a dime?"

Jennifer affirmed the lie. She couldn't very well tell people that she was looking for someone who murdered her friend when her friend was alive and kicking. The child support story seemed to elicit a lot of sympathy among female employees.

"Give me your number one last time, honey." Cheryl seemed to share Jennifer's pain over the phone. "He's using a fake name, but I'm sure it's him. I'll send you over his address right now. I hope you catch the bastard."

Jennifer hoped she would to. After she got off the phone with Cheryl, Jennifer plotted out the directions on her computer. As she did, she spied the last picture of Erica she had that wasn't sitting in a box on the top shelf of her closet. The framed photo was from just last year. Erica, Beth, Winny and herself were pretending to hold weapons as they tried to look cute.

Jennifer opened the same drawer the Daly file came from and reached all the way in the back. She took out a gun.

"I can get there tomorrow morning. Scope him out all Saturday. This could be all over by the end of the weekend."

Jennifer checked the clip and put it back into place.

"Let's go for a little drive."

Chapter 20

Natalie felt a little more comfortable at the next GHA meeting than she had at the first. After all, this one had a different vibe, with many of the participants preparing to join in some field games. When sports were around, she couldn't help but feel like she was in her element. The parking lot had been transformed into a carnival atmosphere with bright colors, games and life replacing the rows of cars she'd spotted last week. 

Natalie tried to suppress the image of Ted shaking every tray in the cafeteria when he saw her with Travis. He hadn't so much as blinked when he saw over a hundred protestors earlier that week. She was the one who made him upset. Natalie knew it was proof that Ted cared about her, but she wasn't the kind of person to back down from her commitment. As soon as Natalie was about to join in on a game of horseshoes, Travis grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind a booth set up for a softball toss game.

Travis smelled like a man to Natalie. There was no hint of detergent or fruity shampoo, as there had often been with Ted. It was like the difference between white and dark meat. His scent was richer, somehow. More dangerous. She started to become self-conscious of how she smelled when Travis had them sit down on the concrete base of a tall lamppost.

"Can we play a game?" Travis had a crooked smile with a reputation. Natalie could see why.

"You mean like softball toss?"

Travis stood up and faced her. "This one is more mental than physical. I'm going to examine you and tell you exactly what you're looking for in a relationship, and then you'll do the same for me."

Natalie scrunched her face. "Okay."

Travis waived his hands. "No, I swear, it's going to be great. I'll start."

Natalie leaned back against the metal post and folded her arms. She gave Travis a look that said she was ready for his impending subpar performance. "While we're young."

Travis cleared his throat. "You want someone who can keep up with you, both physically and emotionally. You want a guy who listens to what you say and what you aren't saying. A person who is sweet, sensitive and strong all at the same time." Travis focused on Natalie's eyes. "And you deserve all of that and more."

Natalie tried not to betray how she felt, but her shallow sigh gave it away. Travis knew exactly what she felt like she needed in a man.

Words are easy
.
I'm not.

"Are you trying to say that you have all these qualities?" Natalie pursed her lips to suppress the laugh.

Travis opened his mouth wide. "I would never talk of myself so highly."

Natalie couldn't help the giggle from slipping. "Uh huh. I've only been here since 7th grade, Travis, but I'm not blind or deaf."

Travis blushed. Natalie didn't even know he was capable of such a thing. She hoped she hadn't gone too far.

"Fair enough." Travis shifted and straightened his shoulders. "But I'll tell you this much: I'm working on it. I want to be better, and I want to be this ideal guy. Both for myself and for you."

Now Natalie was blushing. She tried to look away and hide it, but it was pretty obvious that Travis spotted it. The smile on his face declared victory.

"That was smooth, Travis." Natalie stood up and circled around her suitor. She gestured for him to sit down. "Now it's my turn."

Travis sat and took the pose of a cherubic angel.

"Alright. You want someone who will believe all your horsecrap and sleep with you on the first date."

Travis opened his eyes wide and Natalie sat back down next to him. After a few moments of silence, they burst out into laughter.

"That was good." Travis laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. "I deserved that. Man, you're amazing."

Natalie wiped away the tears from Travis' face. "I'm not going to disagree with you."

Travis took Natalie's hand and leaned into her. He bent his head to plot a collision course with her mouth. Natalie felt her stomach flutter as she closed her eyes and waited for contact. It never had the chance to come.

"Hey!" The voice of Nick, the classmate from the other day, rang out. "You're wanted in the command center."

Natalie had given some dirty looks in her day, but none as angry and intense as the one Travis gave to Nick. Natalie touched his shoulder to try to lessen the ire.

"It's alright." Natalie looked at Travis' lips. "I'll still be here when you get back."

"No, they want both of you to come."

Natalie had been as relaxed as she'd felt in weeks before Nick told her what was coming. She held her breath.

"That's great." Travis gave Natalie's shoulder a squeeze. "You're in the inner circle."

Natalie scrunched up her face. "Just when I was getting used to the outer circle."

"Come with me." Nick waved them inside.

Natalie suppressed her nervousness and followed.

Going from the color and noise of the outdoor activities to the cold, lifeless interior of the command center felt like going from day to night. Something about it made her feel unwelcome, as if she should turn around and try to escape.

This is a bad idea. A really bad idea.

She continued forward anyway. When they reached the door, a pencil of a man held out a tray and collected Travis and Nick's cell phones.

"And who are you exactly?" The man's eyes zipped from left to right with alarming speed.

Natalie gulped before sharing her name.

The man's countenance brightened. "Ah, Ms. Dormer. We've been expecting you. Phone, please."

When she hesitated, Travis put his hand on her back. "Don't worry, it's just while you're in the room."

Like most teens, she felt strange parting from her phone for any time period other than sleep. The reassuring look in Travis' eyes gave her the strength to pass it over. When she let the device go from her hands, she had a strange feeling that she might never see it again. The stick of a man placed the phone in the container beside the others. Travis smiled as he led Natalie forward.

The room was filled with giant TV screens, most of which were turned off. The one that wasn't looked like it was displaying the first slide in a presentation. It read "Operation Home Front." She watched a few other people file into the room, most of them older than Travis and herself. She recognized Thomas Cobblestone right away. It took her a moment to place the man he was speaking with, but then she realized it was none other than David Torello, the father of Jason and Phil.

Cobblestone took out a long, rolled-up sheet of paper and placed it down on the room-length table. As the paper unfurled, Natalie could see that it was a blueprint for a house. She spied the downstairs area, the bedrooms and the backyard all very clearly. Alarm bells started to go off throughout her brain.

I've been in that house.

A few other people filed into the room and gathered around the blueprint. Travis followed and Natalie stayed by his side. She could feel herself beginning to sweat.

You've made it this far. Keep it together.

Travis glanced over at her, and Natalie did her best to relax her face and smile. She felt confident she'd kept up appearances well enough when he grinned back.

"As you all know, we're only a few hours away from Operation Home Front." Cobblestone cleared his throat. "The equipment is in place nearby, as are our operatives."

Nick's long-fingered hand rose into the air. Cobblestone nodded in his direction.

"If we're gonna wait till Ted's asleep and everything, why don't we hit him with something harder? We could just kill him."

Natalie couldn't help the sharp inhale. She looked back over at the tray of phones. There were at least three people between her and contact with the outside world. When she glanced back to the table, Cobblestone caught her eye for a split second before he answered the question.