Dark Before Dawn (20 page)

Renee sat alone in the corner, a hump in her shoulders and her books unopened. She’d always been skinny, but today she looked downright anorexic. Dawn had rarely seen her without her entourage.

"Hey, Renee, where’s your face paint?" a football player cracked, brushing by her.

Renee’s glossy peach lips trembled and guilt slammed Dawn in the gut. She raised herself out of her chair, bewildered by an intense desire to approach Renee. Her feet directed her to the other girl’s table.

As Dawn neared, Renee’s cobalt blue eyes darkened and she gripped the seat of her chair as if bracing herself. Emotions spiraled around her like poisonous vapor. Anger. Depression. Confusion. Fear.

"What do you want?" Renee asked.

"Your mother didn’t kill herself. Someone murdered her."

Where, oh where, had that come from? Dawn faltered backwards, her body dripping with ice. The words had jumped past her lips, but she knew they were true. She’d had another premonition.

Shock slackened Renee’s face. "You’re lying. I can’t believe you’d be so cruel."

"First of all, you’re the cruel one," Dawn said. "All I’ve ever tried to do is help people. I would never lie about something this serious."

"Yeah, right. Why should I believe you?"

"Because my father died, and I know how much it hurts. Besides, I was right about Scott, wasn’t I? I have a strong feeling someone made your mom drink that poison."

"That’s impossible. How could someone force her to drink cyanide? Point a gun to her head? There wasn’t any sign of a break-in. She even left me a note." A mixture of anger and desperation twisted Renee’s features.

"She could have been forced to write it. Look, sometimes things pop into my head. That’s all I’ve got for you. I’m sorry."

Renee didn’t answer, and Dawn debated whether she should return to her seat. She should never have said anything. When would she learn that people would rather wear blinders, that the world didn’t value psychic insights?

Moistening her lips, Renee tapped a pencil against the table. She started to speak, broke off and then squared her shoulders. "What if you came to my house and I showed you her note? And some pictures? Would you be able to, like, get more information?"

"I don’t know. I don’t feel well today. Let me think about it."

Dawn asked the librarian for a bathroom pass and locked herself in a stall for the rest of the period. She’d worry about Renee later. She had other problems.

A few minutes before the bell, Dawn left her sanctuary to wait outside Jamie's biology classroom. At the class change, Jamie emerged in a sunflower yellow sweater. Her hair fell in even waves.

Jamie's eyes widened. "Dawn. Hi."

"Can we go somewhere? I’ve still got late passes, so we’ll be fine."

Her friend looked down the hall and then back to Dawn. "Um, okay."

They walked to the empty girls' locker room where the smells of strawberry body spray and sweat turned Dawn's stomach. They planted themselves on a wooden bench before the lockers.

"In case Candace didn’t tell you, everything’s all set," Dawn said. "I used mind control on my mom and Ken. It was the only way."

"What about your stepfather?"

"He came around on his own for some reason. He said he liked Serina." As Dawn voiced the words, it struck her how unlikely they sounded.

"It’s strange how he changed his mind," she murmured. "He was really against the idea." Her heart gave a tight squeeze. She curled a lock of hair around her finger and abruptly released it. "You don’t think Serina used mind control on Jeff, do you? She wouldn’t do that, right?"

A strangled noise escaped Jamie’s throat. "I think she might have. When Serina came into the house, she and Candace exchanged this look, like everything was taken care of. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I wondered."

"I was standing right there. I didn’t notice anything weird." Or had she? Dawn wrapped her thoughts around the meeting with Serina. She remembered getting out of the car. Walking to the porch. Jeff and Serina exchanging heated words. Going home. How had the conversation ended? Was something missing?

Jamie waited a beat, licking her lips. Shock waves rippled through Dawn as comprehension washed over her. "Oh my God, Jamie. You think she controlled me, too. That can’t be. I’m too strong for that."

"Are you sure?" Jamie asked. "Serina told us that spiritual or metaphysical people can be tougher targets, but not impossible."

Dawn stared at the row of gym lockers. During their telephone conversation, Serina had suggested influencing Dawn’s mother with mind control. Dawn declined.

What changed? What made her brain-jack her mother and Ken? The idea had popped into her head and she’d gone along with it, but why?

Serina had been patient and helpful, making Dawn feel as if she were worth something. They might not agree with each other every moment, but they shared mutual respect. Serina wouldn’t strong-arm Dawn into submission.

Or would she? Dawn toed someone’s dropped barrette and it skittered across the dusty gray floor. Why was it difficult to accept that Serina would stoop to mind control to get what she wanted? After all, she’d taught Dawn to do the very same thing.

"What’s the matter?" Jamie asked. "You look
—
"

Adrenaline surging through Dawn, she bolted upright. "How could Serina do this? I trusted her. If you’re right, then Candace knew, too. Some friend she is."

"I don’t think you should say anything to them. Serina won’t like how mad you are."

"I don’t get it. Why was it so important for me to stay? Why do they even care?"

Dawn couldn’t go to the cottage that afternoon, not when Serina had manipulated her so easily. She pressed a finger to her lips, thinking hard. Luckily, Candace knew she was ill. Dawn mentally thanked her spirit guide, Higher Self or whatever force had prompted her to inform Candace she was under the weather.

"I’m going to play sick and get dismissed," she said. "Tell Serina and Candace that I have a fever and got sent home. I read that crystals can be programmed with negative vibrations. I want to cleanse mine, see if I can figure out what’s going on."

Jamie’s face drained of color. "They’ll know I’m lying. What am I supposed to do?"

Dawn knew Jamie was right. It would take more than Jamie alone to face Serina and Candace. Dawn turned to her friend, slowly. I’m sorry, Jamie, but it’s for your own good.

She steeled herself, then brain-jacked her only friend
. Go to Serina’s house after school and tell them Dawn is very sick with a fever. This is the truth. Her mother had to get her from school. Dawn is sick, very sick. Be aware of anything suspicious. Call Dawn later today and report everything that happened with Serina and Candace.

Blankness replaced the terror on Jamie’s face. Dawn promised herself she would never, ever, control anyone again. Please don’t let me get that awful burning pain this time, she prayed. I didn’t want to do it. I had to.

This is different, her inner voice replied. This is survival.

Chapter Seventeen

A
s Dawn waited in the nurse’s office for her mother, she spotted Vicky leaving the guidance department across the hall. Dawn hopped down from her chair. She had to find out whose side Candace was on. Who better than Vicky to offer insight?

"Can I run to my locker?" she asked as Mrs. Tremont, the school nurse, took another girl’s temperature. "I forgot a book."

Mrs. Tremont ripped off a hall pass and Dawn bolted into the hallway.

She caught up to Vicky halfway down the corridor. "Can I talk to you?"

Vicky recoiled as if she had been touched by a python. Her black sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants could have been from Candace's closet, the effort to pick out clothes apparently too much for her. She elbowed past Dawn. "I’m busy."

Dawn hurried after her. "Did I do something wrong?"

Vicky halted near a glass display showcasing clay vases and bowls from the art class. "You tell me."

Paranoid, Dawn glanced around to make sure Candace wasn’t in earshot, but they were alone. "I need to know whether I should trust your sister."

"Why should I trust you? You’ve been her Siamese twin for weeks." Vicky laughed shrilly.

"Candace and I have been taking lessons from this psychic named Serina." Dawn spoke in calm tones, hoping it would ease Vicky’s hostility. "We’ve learned some intense stuff. Serina isn’t who I thought she was. Candace has been studying with her for a lot longer, so…"

"I’ve seen her car in that fortuneteller’s driveway. You want to know if Candace is evil, too. That’s what you’re leading up to, right? That Serina is evil?" Vicky folded her hands on her hips.

Evil. Dawn had been thinking manipulative. Cold. Yet Vicky was right. ‘Evil’ had entered Dawn’s head the first day she noticed Serina’s cottage.

"Why do you say that?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, come on. I’ve seen the cruel things my sister can do. She never did anything like that before she hooked up with Serina."

"What kind of things?"

"Don’t play innocent. Renee didn’t draw on herself because she was stressed out. You made her. I’ve seen the same intense look on Candace when she forces people to do things." Vicky backed away, her face paling as if she was afraid she’d admitted too much. She bumped into the display case with her elbow, rattling the glass.

Hearing Vicky’s disapproval, her fear, made Dawn’s stomach plummet as if she were on a thrill ride in Covington Center. Vicky must think she was a monster.

"You’re right, I’m not proud," Dawn said. "It’s called mind control. Serina wanted us to practice and we might have crossed the line getting experience. She’s had lots of influence on us, Vicky. Some things she’s taught us, like meditation, are great and others seem wrong. Candace might be confused. I sure am."

"Are you confused enough to kill a cat for practice, Dawn?" Vicky asked. "To kill a human? Is that ‘crossing the line?’"

Dawn’s voice froze in her throat. Heart pumping wildly, she stammered out in a hoarse whisper, "Vicky, I would never do anything like that. You have to believe me. I did some stupid things, but I wouldn’t hurt anyone. You’ve got to tell me everything."

"Why should I? How do I know..." Vicky’s words died, but Dawn filled in the blanks. How do I know you won’t hurt me?

"I risked my reputation to warn Scott. Remember?"

Vicky swallowed hard and nodded.

"I’m in over my head, Vicky. Way over. I think Candace is, too."

After a hesitation, Vicky’s eyes softened and she motioned for Dawn to follow her down the hall. She pulled Dawn into the vacant chemistry lab, leaned against a table of empty beakers and smoothed back her unwashed dark hair. "Where do we start?"

"Tell me about these killings," Dawn prodded.

Vicky twirled a beaker in a circle on the black lab table, her fingers wound tight around the glass. "It started with our cat. Candace let Diamond out one day in August, supposedly by accident. Diamond was a house cat. We never let her out alone. I searched for Diamond all over the yard, while Candace watched. Then a neighbor pulled out of her driveway. You've seen my street. It's not one that people drive fast on, is it?"

Dawn shook her head, a stale taste in her mouth. She had a suspicion where this tale would lead.

"My neighbor zoomed off like she was in the Indy 500. This woman is pushing seventy. She never drives like that. Diamond got to the end of the road, which was strange. She always stayed on grass. She was afraid of cars."

"What was Candace doing?"

Tears glided down Vicky's cheeks as she released the beaker from her grip. "She kept staring, as if she was concentrating. I saw the car heading toward Diamond. I screamed and ran toward them, but it was too late." Her voice dropped to a hush. "My neighbor was confused. She didn't remember where she'd been going, why she’d even started the car. She was as upset as I was."

Dawn's knees sagged. She scraped out a chair and fell into it. Scott had been run over too, and Candace had been there, pumping gas. Suddenly, the cat incident sounded like a trial run.

"What does this have to do with Candace?" Dawn wanted to hear Vicky say it, say the unfathomable.

"It seemed as if Candace was controlling the driver." Vicky braced her hands against the table and shot Dawn a stricken look. "I told myself it was impossible and let it go. But there were other times where things didn’t seem right. Like Candace would stare at my parents when they were hassling her, and they’d give in and let her do whatever she wanted. They reminded me of robots."

Vicky paused, her forehead wrinkled with fear. "I kept convincing myself it was my imagination, that everything was coincidence. Until..."

"Until what?" Dawn interrupted, crossing then uncrossing her legs. She couldn’t sit still.

"I was there when Tim was killed." Vicky recited her story in a dull monotone, but her piercing eyes didn’t leave Dawn’s face. "My friends were fooling around near the rides in the Center, walking down the street. Out of nowhere, Tim raced across the train tracks. I called out his name, but he was in a daze. Next thing I knew, the train was rushing toward him, and he just kept walking."