Gifted Touch (19 page)

/Cynda and me/

—behind her. God, where to start first. Under the bed, she decided. She grimaced as she stretched out on her stomach on David’s carpet. There were dirty clothes everywhere, and they all had that funky over-ripe guy-who-badly-needs-a-shower smell. She jammed both hands under the bed and felt around.

/get condoms/dog food/friggin’ group therapy/

Nothing useful. Rae shoved herself to her feet and took another look at all the crap. There was a Coke can on David’s dresser that seemed out of place. Only because it was standing upright in the midst of a pile 208

of junk. On impulse, she headed over to it. She’d seen a Coke can in a joke store once that was fake—it twisted open in the middle. She could see David as the kind of guy who would think that was cool.

Using the very tips of her fingers, Rae twisted on the can. It opened. And there was a stash of gray powder inside. She took a sniff. Yes! Gunpowder. Rae closed the can. Lightly, very lightly so she wouldn’t leave any fingerprints of her own, Rae stroked the can.

/tons o’ cash/get out of here/won’t ever get caught/

That’s what you think, bud, Rae thought. She slipped the can into her big canvas bag, which she’d emptied out for evidence gathering.

“I have the crackers,” she heard Mrs. Wyngard call from down the hall.

“Leave them outside the door, please,” Yana answered. “And if you have some 7UP, I think that would really help.” Loud ralphing sounds followed.

Then Rae heard footsteps heading away from the bathroom—and David’s room. Thank you, Yana, she thought, even though you don’t want to be thanked.

Rae did a quick dresser drawer search. They were almost empty, which was no surprise since it seemed like every article of clothing David owned was on the floor. She crouched down and checked under the dresser. There was half a dog bone and a partially 209

chewed-up piece of wood. Wood that looked like the same size as the piece that had been with the pipe bomb stuff. With a sigh Rae got down on her stomach again. She slid her arm into the tight space under the dresser and snagged the wood with her fingertips.

/hope I really know how to do this/

As she pulled her hand back out, it snagged on something rough. “Damn it,” Rae muttered. “That took off a layer of skin.” She let go of the piece of wood, curious what she’d gotten caught on. It looked like a ragged piece of floorboard. She gave it an experimental tug, and a thin piece of wood came away in her hand.

“I feel another bingo coming on,” Rae whispered, her stomach feeling like it had gotten onto a down elevator, one that was moving with superspeed. She twisted onto her side, then wriggled her fingers into the little hole that had been hidden by the wood. She felt something soft against her skin. Maybe it’s more of the tissue paper, she thought. She managed to squeeze a clump of the paper between two of her fingers, then she pulled it out of the hole.

It wasn’t tissue paper. It was money. A whole wad of hundred-dollar bills. Rae pulled the money free.

Then she ran her fingers lightly across the metal of the heavy silver money clip.

An involuntary gasp escaped her throat. She hadn’t been expecting this. None of them had.

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*

*

*

Rae didn’t get up from the park bench when she saw Anthony walking toward her. It was just a little too weird seeing him here. Not in the detention center. Not in the group. Just in your basic real life.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Rae said back. “You going to sit down or what?” The words came out kind of surly sounding, as if she didn’t want him to get anywhere near her.

Which wasn’t true. At least it mostly wasn’t true. It was just that this guy knew way too much about her.

You know stuff about him, too, she reminded herself as he stiffly took a seat. Like how he feels about his dad.

“Jesse’s not here yet?” Anthony asked, sounding equally uncomfortable.

“No. I mean, do you see him?” Rae asked. God, she was being a bitch. And Anthony definitely didn’t deserve that. But besides being nervous around him, she was still creeped out by what she’d found at David’s house.

“That stuff you sent to Ms. Sullivan worked fast,” Anthony commented. He rested one arm along the back of the bench, then immediately lowered it back to his side.

“Yeah. Well, I’m sure the cops figured out that the wood and the gunpowder were the same,” Rae 211

answered. “Plus David’s hands were all over the money and everything else. I told them to check the fingerprints in the note I put in the envelope.”

“We have to figure out a way to prove that David was really trying to kill you,” Anthony said. “He’ll probably get put in youth prison for the bomb. But he’ll get out—and not all that long from now. You’re not going to feel safe when that happens.” The discovery she’d made at David’s hit her full force again. But she wasn’t going to mention it to Anthony. It wasn’t his problem. She’d helped put him in the detention center, and she’d helped get him out. They were all even now. And that’s how she liked it.

“I’m not trying to freak you out or anything,” Anthony added. “It’s not like you’ll have to worry about David right away. It’s just something we should be thinking about.”

“I’m not worried about it,” she told him, shooing a bee away from her face. Why had she even agreed to meet up with him and Jesse for this little celebra-tion? It was ridiculous. She had much more important things to do. Like figure out how to save her life.

“You’re not worried about it,” Anthony repeated.

“Look, I’ll handle it when I have to handle it,” Rae said sharply. “And I won’t need any help to do it.” Anthony shoved his hands in his pockets. “Okay.

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I get it. You can run along now. You wouldn’t want one of your prep school friends to see you with me and Jesse.”

“Oh, please,” Rae muttered. “Get dramatic, why don’t you. Like you said, David’s going to jail. So I don’t have to worry about—”

“Bull,” Anthony interrupted. “You have to be scared crazy at the thought that the guy who tried to kill you is going to be wandering free in Atlanta in a few months. But you hate the idea of spending one more second around a guy like me, so much that you’re willing to risk getting killed instead of letting me help you.” He picked her backpack up off the ground and thrust it toward her. “Here. Don’t bother waiting for Jesse. You don’t have to do us any favors.” Rae didn’t pick up the backpack. She stared at Anthony until he reluctantly met her gaze. “Aren’t you gone yet?” he asked.

“Don’t do you any favors? Is that what you said?” Rae’s voice got louder with every word. “What have I been doing all this time except friggin’ favors for you? ”

“Just because you felt guilty,” Anthony shot back.

“Which you should have. Because if you hadn’t opened your big mouth—”

“This again?” Rae sprang to her feet. “You know what? I think I will take your advice just this once.

I’m outta here.” She grabbed her backpack.

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/FREAKIN’ CARDINAL GIRL/

Rae spun back to face Anthony. “What’s a Cardinal girl? Is that some kind of code or something?” Anthony’s head jerked slightly, like he’d been slapped. “Keep your fingers out of my head, you mutant,” he barked.

Mutant. That’s what he really thinks. Of course he does. Marcus. Lea. Jeff. They all think I’m a loser or some kind of scary freak. And they don’t even know about the fingerprint thing. Why should Anthony be any different with everything he knows about me?

Rae pulled on her backpack, ordering herself not to cry. She got only one step away from the bench before Anthony snagged her by one of the straps and hauled her back.

“You said you wanted me to leave. Now you won’t let me,” Rae muttered, turning toward him again.

“I don’t think you’re a mutant,” he confessed. His voice was harsh, but his eyes searched her face as if he was actually worried he’d hurt her.

“You said it. You must have meant it,” Rae answered.

“You going to believe what I said? Or you going to believe what I thought?” Anthony asked. He raked his hands through his hair. “A Cardinal girl is, you know, one of the elite.” He used the toe of one sneaker to wipe a spot of mud off the other one. “You know, 214

smart, pretty, classy. All that.”

“Oh,” Rae muttered. She knew he meant it. She just wasn’t sure what to say in response. You can’t let him go on believing that you wouldn’t want to be seen with him because you’re so special, because you’re a Cardinal and he’s a Bluebird or whatever he called himself that day at Oakvale.

Rae reached out and gave Anthony’s sleeve a little tug as she searched for the words. “It’s not that I’m embarrassed to hang out with you—or Jesse. But there’s no reason for either of you to get all involved with my problem. I mean, it’s not something you need to take responsibility for. It’s not like me getting you sent to the detention center. You didn’t have anything to do with—”

“You think I’m just going to walk away and let some maniac come after you because it’s not my problem?” Anthony sounded outraged. “What the hell do you think I am? Anyone who would do that doesn’t deserve to take up space.” He sat back down and slapped the spot on the bench next to him. Rae hesitated, then sat back down, too. It would be so good not to have to go through this alone. And even though she’d known him only a couple of weeks, Anthony was definitely the guy she’d want at her back.

“So are we going to come up with a way to prove David tried to kill you or what?” Anthony asked.

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“It’s not David we have to worry about,” Rae admitted, relieved at the chance to let out her secret, to stop holding this terrifying thing inside her.

“Then who?” Anthony asked, his dark brown eyes intent.

Rae pulled a small paper bag out of her purse.

With her fingertips she removed a silver money clip.

“I found this at David’s. It was holding together a wad of cash. When I touched it . . .” Rae heard her voice tremble a little. She pulled in a deep breath, trying to keep it together.

“When you touched it . . .” Anthony prompted.

“I got a thought from David,” Rae admitted.

“Anthony, somebody paid David to kill me. I don’t know who. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know himself. But whoever it is is out there somewhere. And—” She swiped viciously at her eyes. There was nothing worse than crying in front of people. “And how am I even going to know when they’ll try again? Or who they’ll pay next time?”

Rae glanced over her shoulder, suddenly completely creeped out. Even now, while she was sitting in the park with Anthony, someone could be watching her, waiting for their chance to strike. She shivered in the warm September sun, realizing just how dangerous her world had become.

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turn tthe p

page

for a

a p

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of

fingerprints #2:

haunted

Chapter 1

Rae Voight’s clock radio started blaring.

Without lifting her head off the pillow, she reached over and jammed the snooze button.

/I’m watching you, Rae/

Rae scrambled out of bed, her heart scraping up against her ribs. Someone had been in her room. A stranger. The thought she’d picked up when she touched the snooze button didn’t feel familiar. It wasn’t from her dad. It wasn’t from Alice, the woman who cleaned their house. It wasn’t from anybody who had any reason to be there.

Okay, okay, she told herself. First thing you need is information.

“Come on, you freak, tell me who you are,” she muttered. She ran her fingers lightly over the radio, then over her nightstand, including the little lamp.

/I’m watching you, Rae/
I’m watching you, Rae
/
I’m watching you,
Rae
/
I’m watching you, Rae
/
I’m watching you,
Rae
/

The thoughts were full of hatred—hatred and fury.

She could feel the emotions rush through her body, starting the acid pumping in her stomach, making her knees shake, increasing the temperature of her blood.

No. This can’t be happening, Rae thought, her heart now ramming into her ribs. A whole . . . a whole team of people couldn’t have been in here. It was impossible.

Impossible? Like someone planting a pipe bomb in a bathroom to kill you? Rae asked herself. ’ Cause that kind of impossible, it’s possible, and you know it.

It hadn’t even been that long since it had happened.

Slowly Rae backed way from the nightstand, her eyes locked on it as if it was going to hurl itself off the floor and attack her. She stumbled into her desk chair and grabbed its soft leather back to steady herself.

/
I’m watching you, Rae
/I’m watching you, Rae/
I’m watching
you, Rae
/