“He just frustrates me sometimes. He’s brilliant. I really wish he’d help with the Class Project.”
Crud. Mason was as annoying as ever, but I was learning nothing. I needed to get into his head. Andy was right, I couldn’t risk scanning him. My only option was to keep him talking. Maybe he’d slip and reveal something. I wasn’t sure why Andy thought I could pull this off, because the Adam and Eve thing totally wasn’t working for me. Maybe if I’d worn fig leaves.
I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder. “What’s that door labeled SSA?”
Mason sighed. “Tammy Angel’s dad fronted the money to build this arcade. She talked him into building a back room just for her. It’s called the Star Ship Angel. Members only.”
“How do you get to be a member?”
“Invitation only.”
Like the Psi Fighters. Go figure. “And who does the inviting?” As if I didn’t know.
“Angel, naturally. She rules the cool, right?”
“Right. What goes on behind the door?”
“Nothing much. Mostly storage. Angel sits at that table outside the SSA door selling her wares.”
Ha! Now we were getting somewhere. School wasn’t the only place Angel pushed drugs. “Wares?” I said, in my dumbest blond accent. “You mean like Tupperware?”
Mason shook his head. “No, she’s into health food. Powders, natural herbs, other stuff that tastes like crap. Her dad owns Nature’s Nutrients. It’s a health food supplement processor in town.”
Wait, did he mean… “She actually sells supplements? All natural nutrients?” Then Angel was telling the truth in the locker room. She had threatened Erica with an improved diet? That meant Tammy was just a twisted, health-conscious bully, not a Psychedone 10 pusher.
Of course, that’s what a lying, corrupt friend of a Knight would want me to believe, wasn’t it?
“Yeah, if you think I’m obsessed with the Class Project, Angel is way overboard with being healthy. She even tries to get Dr. Captious into the machines when he’s here.”
“I heard he hung out here with you.”
“Yeah, the Capster’s awesome. We have an arrangement. I let him know what goes on in the school. Who’s into what. Dr. Captious is sort of a counselor.” Mason pointed to the wall. “See those posters for workshops on Self-Esteem and the Golden Rule and all that? He teaches them.”
“I thought he was a math teacher.”
Mason nodded. “He has two doctorates. The other one is in psychology. He helps kids sort out their lives. I talk to him all the time. Helps me think through problems.”
“What sort of problems could you possibly have, Mason? Your dad’s the mayor. It’s a well-known fact that you can get away with anything. You harass kids, treat teachers like dirt—must be nice.”
“Not really. I don’t see my dad much. He’s always working. And when he’s home, he’s always preoccupied. He’s really into his political career. Not so much into his son.” Mason lowered his eyes. “That’s why I hang out here. At least there’s somebody to talk to. Somebody to eat dinner with.”
If I’d had a Spider Sense, it would have been tingling all over. What normal boy would give somebody like me this type of personal information? Mason was trying to suck me in. I decided to play along to see where he was going with this. “You have dinner here? With who?”
Mason looked at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes. “Whoever.”
Did he mean… “You eat alone? Every night?”
“The food’s good.”
Aww. His mother was gone, his father ignored him…at least I got to have supper with my family every evening before I went to the Academy. I had Mom and Dad and Susie. I had Kathryn. I even had Andy. Mason didn’t have anybody. Suddenly, no matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn’t hate him.
New tactic. Can the mission. “What’s on the menu? I’m kind of hungry. I mean, if you are.”
Mason’s face lit up like a new sunrise. “I am.”
After we dined on the best pizza I had ever had, I said good night to Mason. I had learned absolutely nothing useful for my mission. I was still certain that Tammy Angel was the criminal I had suspected her to be. But I saw a totally different side of Mason—sweet, caring, and lonely. He didn’t say much during dinner. He just seemed content. Maybe a ruse, but it was also possible that he was not the total creep I thought he was.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t my main connection to Scallion, though.
Chapter Eleven
Dalrymple