“It’s okay,” she said.
“No,” said Ethan, “it’s not. I don’t know how to talk to girls, and I really like you. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
She cleared her throat. “I like you, too, Ethan, and it is okay.”
“Thanks. Look, I just hope you know this isn’t your fault.”
“No, it’s Corinda’s fault.”
“Huh?” he said.
“Screwing up what we were doing. She heard me talking to Melissa, and that’s where she got all the stuff to say.”
“Dana, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about what happened tonight. I thought that was why you called.”
“What do you mean? I’m confused. I … I was afraid and … wanted to make sure you were okay and to see if your uncle came down on you. So … are you okay?”
“Me?” Ethan said. “Wait, you didn’t call about Karen?”
“No, why should I? Karen’s safe now. Angelo’s in jail and—”
“Dana, don’t you even watch the news?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s all they’re talking about. They just broke the story an hour ago. They found Karen Allenby in the school soccer field. Dana … she’s been murdered.”
CHAPTER 80
Scully Residence
8:35 P.M.
Dana slammed the phone down and ran to Melissa’s door. She knocked but there was no answer, so she tried the knob, and the door opened. Melissa was on her bed with her feet propped up on the wall, ankles crossed. She turned her head with a great show of uninterest.
“Go away,” Melissa said.
“Listen to me,” barked Dana. “Someone just killed Karen Allenby.”
Melissa swung her legs over and stood up, eyes wide. “What?”
“It’s true, it’s on the news. Ethan told me.”
“How? Wait, you called him?”
“Yes, I called him. So what? Karen’s dead. Don’t you understand what that means?”
“I—”
Dana grabbed Melissa by the upper arms. “If Angelo’s in jail, then he couldn’t have done it. It means Corinda was lying. It means this is Corinda’s fault. She got the cops to arrest Angelo instead of looking for the real killer. God, how could I be so stupid? I should have done something about this.”
Melissa looked as dazed as if she had been hit by a stun gun. “Was it another car accident?”
“No,” said Dana. “She was stabbed on the soccer field.”
The horror of that—both the way Karen was killed and where she was killed—sucked all the air out of the room.
“We have to call Corinda,” gasped Melissa. “Maybe Angelo had an accomplice and she can find out who it is. She’ll help us and—”
“Gah, you’re useless,” growled Dana.
She shoved Melissa back onto the bed, spun on her heel, and ran from the room. She was halfway down the stairs when she realized that her parents were still on the porch. Then a figure stepped out of the shadows of the den. Gran. Smiling a strange and distant smile.
“You used to like to ride your bike, Margaret dear,” asked Gran. “Why don’t you ride your bike anymore?”
Dana blinked. “Bike? Great idea. Thanks, Gran.”
She kissed her grandmother and took a step toward the backyard, but the old woman caught her arm and held her with surprising strength.
“Be careful, Dana Katherine Scully. So many people love you. So many people need you. Even some you haven’t met yet.”
“What?”
The clutching hand lost its strength and Gran gave her an empty smile. “You always loved your bike.”
She let go and wandered back into the darkened den. Dana wanted to ask her what she meant, but there wasn’t time, so she headed out the back door, grabbed a heavy hood-sweater off a peg by the door, took her bike from where it stood against the shed, and walked it quickly through the gate and down the back alley. She mounted it when she reached the cross street, and then she bore down and flew into the night.
It took no time at all to reach Main Street, and she cut right and raced in and out of traffic. It was after nine and there were only a few cars. She saw the sign for Beyond Beyond ahead of her. The window lights were off, and her heart sank, but as she skidded to a stop, Dana saw Corinda inside, standing beneath a single light, totaling the front register. Dana dropped her bike in the middle of the pavement and jerked open the door.
“Sorry, we’re closed,” said Corinda without looking up.
“Believe me,” said Dana, “I’m not here to have my aura read.”
Corinda looked up. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s what I’m here to ask you,” Dana fired back. “Did you hear the news?”
“What news? Did you go to the TV people to say that it’s all you and that I’m nothing but a fraud? Isn’t that the story you’re telling people?”
“I want to punch you right now. No. I mean the news about Karen Allenby.”
Corinda sighed impatiently. “What about her?”