*
After a thorough inspection of the alarm system, Dad and I discussed Mom and Vi while Seth tapped away on his laptop. He claimed he was doing homework but he seemed too happy, and the typing was ripping along at a social-media pace rather than a boring-essay pace. If he stayed much longer, I figured I’d have to get involved in policing his homework situation. Grace had convinced his school to forward three weeks’ worth of homework. That would get us to Thanksgiving break. I hoped it wouldn’t take that long to figure out what was going on with him and to come up with a long-term plan that didn’t include the boy and the dog showing up on my front porch without notice.
Dad was just getting wound up for a good Vi vent when my phone vibrated. I had set the text-from-Vi alert to the unmistakable Twilight Zone theme. All three of us watched the phone buzz on the table and I realized they were waiting for me to answer it. I clicked open the screen and was greeted by a blurry photo of Lucan getting into his truck. Another picture rapidly followed of the pickup pulling away from the curb, then an even fuzzier image of the vehicle on the road. I could only assume that Vi and Mom were in pursuit. I groaned and handed the phone to my dad. He stabbed at it with his index finger and handed it to Seth, who showed him the pictures.
The phone buzzed again. Seth held it up for me to see.
we r in pursuit. stnd by
I put my head in my hands and hoped Lucan wouldn’t call the police about the erratic orange smart car that was tailing him through his day.
I took the phone from Seth and dialed Vi’s number.
“What are you doing?” I said when she answered.
“Didn’t you get my texts? These phones are so slow. I sent you pictures.”
“I know. I got them. What are you doing?”
“We’re tailing Lucan, what do you think?”
“Vi, you can’t just go around following the citizens of Crystal Haven. Mac is not going to be so lenient this time.”
“Mac will never know. I’ve been reading up on techniques. We’re staying well back from him, and blending into traffic. He won’t even notice.”
I doubted that. There wasn’t nearly enough traffic in Crystal Haven, or Detroit for that matter, to hide two little old ladies in an orange smart car.
“Vi, tell Mom to turn around and you can come here.” Dad’s eyebrows shot up and he started shaking his head violently. I turned away from him and said, “We’ll talk about it and come up with a plan.”
“What? I can’t hear you—you’re breaking up.” Click. Vi had used my own tactics against me.
“Are they coming?” Dad asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. They had better not cause too much trouble.”
I was treated over the next couple of hours to pictures of Lucan going into the grocery store, filling up his car at the gas station, and getting lunch at Everyday Grill. The only interesting shot was of Lucan going into the police station.
Dad had finished with the alarm system and began checking out the plumbing. He seemed to have a checklist of things to do in the house that he’d never gotten around to when we’d lived there while I was a kid. Vi’s warning echoed in my mind, but as with many things Vi says, I ignored it. Seth moved on to some sort of explosion-y game on his computer.
I called Rupert and tried to get information on Diana. Straight to voice mail. I hoped that meant he was busy getting her out of prison.
It was midafternoon when the urgent summons arrived on my phone.
25
Vi had texted that I should come immediately, but stealthily, to Message Circle. Seth and I left the dogs with Dad and jumped in the Jeep. I wanted to ensure no one got arrested. Seth seemed most interested in perfecting his surveillance skills. I spotted Mom’s orange car from the road and drove into the lot to park. There was a truck there—a Ford pickup—I recognized it from the photos as Lucan’s. Mom and Vi were absent. I sent a “where are you” text and waited.
halfway to mc. come quietly
I showed my phone to Seth and we set off down the path toward Message Circle. The circle would be quiet this time of year. Outdoor gatherings for messages ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We were partway there when I heard hissing coming from the woods to the right of the path. The city had planted burning bushes and other shrubbery along the walkway and I spotted Vi and Mom crouched behind one clump that hadn’t lost all of its leaves yet. Message Circle was just past the turn in the path. I walked to Mom and Vi and bent over the bush.
Vi squatted like a duck and slowly lifted her head over the bush to watch the path. Mom sat on the ground, knees to her chest, shivering, and casting mutinous glances at Vi.
“We need to spread out and keep an eye on him,” Vi whispered. “When I sent you the message I thought he was heading back to the scene of the crime. But then he went to Message Circle instead.”
Mom sighed.