Gallows Hill (11 page)

"Word does get around fast!"

"Well, it took place out in the hall, so it wasn't exactly private. Sarah, you can't do that, not with Debbie."

"She's the one who started it."

"It doesn't matter who started it, you just can't do it. Not with one of the cheerleaders. That cheerleader bunch may bicker among themselves, but they're a tight-knit group; actually it's kind of unnatural," like they have a bond of some sort that goes back to another lifetime. And except for Eric Garrett, who's in a league of his own, the cheerleaders and the guys on the football team pretty well run the school. Cindy Morris—"

"She seems nice enough," Sarah broke in. "There's no reason for Cindy not to like me."

"She's the minister's daughter," Charlie said. "And Kyra's mom is church secretary. That's reason enough right there."

"Does that mean it's impossible for me to make a friend in Pine Crest? I'm only here because my mother lost her senses. If anybody's guilty of bewitchment, it's Ted who bewitched my mother!"

"I knew you were going to be mad."

"I'm not mad, I'm just... confused," Sarah said. "What did you mean about Eric being 'in a league of his own'?"

"I just meant he's not a jock, even though he hangs out with them," Charlie said. "His dad doesn't want him to 'waste his time' on athletics, so he's on the edge of that crowd, but not really one of them. He goes to their parties, and a lot of the girls have crushes on him, but he's got his own agenda. I wouldn't trust Eric Garrett as far as I could throw him—which wouldn't be far, even if I didn't have this cast on."

"So what exactly are you trying to tell me?" Sarah asked him.

"Don't do anything to irritate the cheerleaders, and cut out the fortune-telling."

"Anything else while you're handing out advice?"

"I think that's enough for one morning," Charlie said tonelessly.

It was a strange conversation, and Sarah tried her best not to dwell on it, but as the day went on, it kept clawing at the corners of her mind. Charlie's round face had been so earnest, and his voice had held a disturbing note of somberness that seemed totally out of character. At the end of the morning, when Eric intercepted her at her locker to tell her about the next week's appointments, she found that she had serious reservations.

"I've set you up with four clients for next Friday," he told her, obviously expecting her to be pleased.

"I don't know," Sarah said hesitantly. "There was one that didn't go so well last time. I'm starting to wonder if we shouldn't think twice about going on with this."

"What do you mean, one didn't go well?" Eric asked her. "As far as I know, they were terrific! Jennifer and Danny have talked you up to the point where kids are standing in line to make appointments. I'm thinking of raising the price so that we can all get rich on this."

"But Debbie was so angry—"

"That's the greatest promotion she could give you. She's spread it around to everybody that you can really see the future. What you told her about her sister running off with that bodybuilder—how did you ever come up with a gem like that?"

"There was information about Buzz Tyson in Kyra's Cliffs Notes," Sarah said, skirting the question. "How does she know so much about so many people?"

"She's a wannabe," Eric said. "Wannabes are like that."

"A 'wannabe'?" Sarah repeated blankly. "What sort of 'wannabe'?"

"A wanna-be-all-of-the-things-that-she-isn't," Eric said. "Cheerleader, star of the Drama Club; big-busted sex symbol; a beautiful, mysterious crystal-gazer who tells heart-stopping fortunes. Wannabes soak up information about the people they envy, and now Kyra's got the chance to spout it all out again. The poor kid takes after her mom, who's a wannabe career woman, though now, I guess, she's switched back to being a wannabe housewife."

"Everybody's a wannabe something," Sarah said.

"But some of us make things happen, while others just sit there. You and I are among the movers of mountains, and that, my lovely soothsayer, is why you can't back down on me for Friday. All your clients have paid in advance, and, like I said, you're going to have one more than last time. Actually I could have scheduled triple that number, but I didn't want to wear you out. Besides, if people can't get what they want immediately, it makes them a lot more eager, don't you agree?"

Without waiting for a response, he proceeded to take her books from her hands and walk her down the hall to her next class, just like Jon used to do at her school back in Ventura. Eric even walked like Jon, with super-long strides, so Sarah had to do a double-time trot to keep up with him. She was acutely conscious of the curious glances they were getting, glances that asked, "Is there something romantic going on here?" Despite her irritation that he had taken her agreement for granted, it was an ego trip to be escorted to class by the Sun God. And to be honest, she had to admit that her enjoyment was intensified by the sight of Kyra, who was trudging past them in the opposite direction, carrying her own books and glaring.

"So, what's with you and Sarah?" Kyra demanded as she scrambled into the passenger seat of Eric's car. "I saw you trotting down the hall like her pet puppy dog. The two of you looked like you were headed for the altar."

"Don't be silly," Eric said. "I'm just doing my job. The goose that lays the golden eggs has got to be pacified. I may even take her to a movie or something to keep her happy. Do you know how much we're going to be charging on Friday? Twenty-five dollars per reading!"

"You're kidding!" Kyra exclaimed.

"Nope. And nobody's complaining. Four people at twenty-five bucks per head is one hundred dollars. That's fifty for Sarah and twenty-five for each of us. That's not bad for an hour's not-so-hard labor."

"Why does Sarah get more than we do?" Kyra demanded.

"Because she won't do it for less, and it won't work without her. Don't bring it up to her, okay? It'll piss her off, and we don't want her bailing out on us. She's already starting to get edgy, and that's not good."

"I work as hard as she does," Kyra complained. "Digging up all that information isn't easy."

"You're a miracle girl, Carrot Top," Eric told her, ruffling her hair. "I loved that stuff you got on Debbie's sister and the bodybuilder. Where did you come up with that anyway?"

"I overheard it in the school rest room," Kyra said. "I was in one of the stalls, and Misty and Leanne were gossiping while they combed their hair."

"The more personal stuff like that you get, the better," Eric said. "Nobody will ever guess it's coming from you. It's common knowledge that you and Sarah can't stand each other. For this Friday night I want stuff that is really intimate, stuff that nobody knows, and I mean nobody. Think you can manage that?"

"I don't know," Kyra said doubtfully. "There's just so much you can get by eavesdropping on conversations. I don't want to look suspicious. And the really hot stuff doesn't get talked about in public."

"You're right," Eric said. "That's the stuff people talk about to shrinks. Or to doctors. Or to religious counselors, like Reverend Morris. He probably keeps notes on the people who come to him for counseling. Is there any chance those might be on file at the church?"

"Possibly," Kyra said uncomfortably. "But I wouldn't have access to it."

"Your mom is church secretary, right?"

"She doesn't sit in on counseling sessions. They're private."

"But I imagine she types up the notes?"

"Yes, probably," Kyra said.

"I bet your mom knows things about the residents of Pine Crest that would curl your hair. Who knows, between now and Friday, she might slug down a few glasses of vino and pop out with the answers to questions that were put to her just right by her loving daughter. It's always a possibility, don't you think?"

He leaned across the space between them and brushed his lips against hers.

"What do you say, babe?"

"Who knows?" Kyra said, trying to act nonchalant and hoping he couldn't hear the pounding of her heart. "I guess anything's possible."

CHAPTER TEN

Sarah knew she should get the book read so that she could swap with Charlie, but she couldn't seem to make herself do it. After all, she told herself, Thanksgiving was still two weeks away, and there were more immediate demands upon her time—other homework to do, letters to write to Gillian and Lindsay (she restrained herself, with effort, from writing to Jon, as she had already written to him twice since receiving his last postcard), and a good deal of housework and cooking, since Rosemary still had only limited use of her arm and Ted insisted that he didn't "have the touch for women's work." There was an algebra test to study for, and even some social activity, as Eric invited her to the movies Wednesday evening. She found it a bit disappointing that he took her straight home afterward instead of stopping at the Burger Barn, where the high-school crowd gathered after dates, but Eric was quick to veto that idea when she suggested it.

"You can't afford to get chummy with the same lads whose fortunes you're telling," he said. "We don't want Madam Zoltanne to lose her mystique."

On the plus side, he kissed her good night when he brought her home.

"Did anybody ever tell you that you're a knockout?" he murmured, holding her close for a moment, his cheek pressed to hers as if he didn't want to lose contact.

"Not for a while," Sarah answered softly. "I mean, never here in Pine Crest."

"Then let me be the first," Eric whispered, giving her a quick, tight squeeze before releasing her. "I bet you'll look like a movie star in a prom dress."

It wasn't exactly a promise of things to come, but it did suggest that there might be nice times in store for them.

Two nights later, when she informed Rosemary that Eric was again coming by to pick her up, Rosemary naturally assumed it was another conventional date like the one on Wednesday.

"Looks like you two are beginning to be a regular item," she said with a note of teasing in her voice. Ted had taken Kyra out to dinner at a restaurant, and Sarah and Rosemary had had a comfortable, no-frills meal together, which reminded Sarah of the ones they had shared in California.

"Don't get me wrong, I think it's great," Rosemary added quickly. "Eric seems like a lovely young man, and thank God he was here and knew what to do when I burned myself. I couldn't be happier that you're starting to have a real life here."

"I wish you had one," Sarah said, feeling suddenly guilty about deserting her mother for the evening.

"I could have gone with Ted and Kyra," Rosemary said. "Ted would have been glad to have me, but I thought it would be good for him to have some private time with his daughter. He was so happy when Kyra called to suggest they spend the evening together that it made me realize how terribly much he misses her."

"I didn't mean with Ted," Sarah said. "You see plenty of him. I was thinking about your doing things with friends like you did in California. Back there you were always so busy going to lectures and concerts and art shows, and here you don't have anything, not even a job."

"I went over to the school the other day and applied for work as a substitute," Rosemary said. "They said they'd call me if they need me, but they weren't too encouraging. They said they've already got a long list of substitutes."

"A substitute!" Sarah snorted. The woman who received the Teacher of the Year award at one of the best high schools in California is groveling for work as a substitute? Give me a break!"

"There aren't many teaching jobs available in a town with one high school," Rosemary said. "Besides, Ted likes the idea of being married to a homemaker."

"Isn't that unrealistic for a man paying child support?"

"I'm not exactly a pauper," her mother said stiffly.

"You can't dip into the investments you made with the money from Dad's life insurance!" Sarah exclaimed. "You've always said you would only do that in an emergency!"

"I'm not going to do anything hasty," her mother assured her. "I do have other savings. And I'm sure I can find a part-time job doing something that will get me out of the house and bring in a little money. And as for friends, I'm sure that Ted and I will make plenty of friends as a couple—after we're married."

The sound of the doorbell saved Sarah from having to respond.

Ted's apartment was exactly as they had left it. The sofa cushions were plumped and undented, the kitchen appeared not to have been used, and when Sarah went into the bathroom to put on makeup, the hair shavings still decorated the sink and the towels on the racks were draped in the exact same way they had been the previous week.

"He hasn't been here once," she commented to Eric as she exited the bathroom to find him arranging candles on the bureau top. He had already moved in the end table and set up the paperweight.

"Where's your costume?" he asked in surprise. "I thought you were getting changed!"

"I decided not to wear it," Sarah said. "It was too small. Where's my cheat sheet? I'd better get busy cramming."

"Here," Eric said, digging a sheaf of papers out of his back pocket. "You'd do best to read them one at a time so that you won't get the stuff mixed up. You've got enough time between readings to prep yourself on each person."