Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls (14 page)

What was I going to do? In my eagerness to escape, I’d paid no heed to what stop the train was at. Now, in the street, I realized that I was totally unfamiliar with this neighborhood.

Rushing along the sidewalk, pushing through crowds of people, I remembered something that freaked me out even more—something that I’d totally forgotten. Sally Hansen had talked to Berlin Silver on the night of the Many Handsomes show.

It was too strange to be coincidental. Sally Hansen, I instantly felt sure, had to be Berlin Silver’s killer and the girl on the phone, too. Now she was coming after
me!

I glanced over my shoulder without breaking stride. Sally Hansen wasn’t ten feet behind me. How could she move so fast in those six-inch heels? Did she wear them on the treadmill at the gym?

My skin broke out in goose bumps at the thought of her shoes. If Sally cornered me, she’d be able to do some serious bodily harm with the spikes on her feet.

Death by high heel. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

Sally was bearing down on me, and I needed to get away!

It had grown dark out and everything in the neighborhood seemed to be on my evil pursuer’s side, from the garish, fun-house faces of the tourists on the street corners to the spiderwebs of hissing power lines that hovered low over my head. Everything in my path seemed to be whispering to me, telling me to give it up, saying that I’d be joining the shark girl in no time at all.

I made a hairpin turn onto a dark side street, hoping that Sally would just speed past. But she was right there, in hot pursuit, attempting to catch up. There was nothing else to do. I broke into a run.

The clatter of galloping heels sounded behind me. Sally wasn’t giving up. I needed someplace to hide. And fast!

I turned sharply at the next corner—and a feeling of amazement washed over me. I recognized this place! Somehow, without knowing what I was doing, I’d made it to the heart of Marisol’s neighborhood. Her apartment was no more than a block away.

True, she couldn’t exactly be considered a friend, but she’d been nice enough to me the last time I’d shown up on her doorstep, and she surely would take pity on someone who was marked for death. All I had to do was outpace Sally Hansen.

It took every ounce of fortitude that I had, but I ran faster—then even faster. My muscles burned as my feet pounded the cement. When I finally stumbled into the doorway of Marisol’s building, I’d managed to put quite a bit of distance between myself and the murderess. I could only pray that I’d have enough time to get buzzed in before meeting my demise at the tip of a designer stiletto.

Thank goodness for the casual goodwill of Marisol’s hippie family. Like last time, the door clicked open with a blessed snap just seconds after I rang the buzzer. I slipped breathlessly through the entry and pressed myself against the wall. Through the small window in the front door I watched Sally Hansen race by with a confused look on her face. She hadn’t noticed me enter the building.

With my heart about to give out, I took the stairs to Marisol’s apartment two at a time, spiraling upward to safety.

Sunny, Marisol’s mom, greeted me at the top of the stairwell with a questioning expression.

“Are you here to see Marisol again?” she asked.

“I am so glad to see you,” I said breathlessly, not quite answering her question. “I have just had the worst day ever.” I was trying to sound casual, but when I looked down, my hands were shaking.

Sunny didn’t say anything—she just reached out and gave me a big hug.

Then and there I decided that hippies are the greatest people on earth. Sunny didn’t seem to think it was weird that an almost stranger had shown up out of nowhere, looking for hugs. She just gave them. And believe me, it helped.

“It’s going to be okay,” Sunny said. Her voice was the warmest sound I’d heard in a while. “Come inside. We’ll work it all out.”

When I followed Sunny into the apartment, I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed. I was usually known for being unflappable, and here I was, having a total freak-out in front of Marisol Bloom’s mother.

As if by magic, Sunny already had the teakettle boiling, and she told me to sit. I slid onto the couch and she brought us each a mug—with a third for Marisol, who had emerged from her bedroom and perched next to me on the couch. She didn’t say anything, but she was obviously brimming with curiosity.

Half-assedly, I attempted to clean myself up, but it was pretty pointless. I was soaked with sweat, and my hair—let’s not even get into my hair.

“Tell us everything,” Sunny said, settling down into a big wicker chair, tucking the heels of her bare feet under herself.

I recounted the entire frightening story while they listened in horrified astonishment. When I was done, I felt exhausted all over again, limbs aching and brain throbbing.

“Wow,” Marisol said. “That’s so messed up. I wish I’d seen who took your purse, but I know for sure it wasn’t Rachel.”

Sunny was biting her nails. Slowly she spoke. “I’ll help as much as I can,” she said, in her awesome earth mother drawl. “But the best I can do is a little psychic counsel.”

“You’re psychic?” I asked.

“Of course I am,” she replied. “Couldn’t you tell?”

I had never believed in that stuff before, but that night, in Marisol’s apartment, I was ready to take what I could get. And with the incense, the tall yellow candles, and the hippie artwork everywhere, a little mystical mumbo jumbo didn’t seem that far-fetched.

“Let me get my tarot cards,” Sunny said, and hopped up with a new purpose. She came back from the bedroom, carrying a red silk bag, which she dumped out onto the low circular coffee table. “Shuffle,” she said.

I looked over at Marisol. She had a funny red-faced smile, like she couldn’t decide whether to be embarrassed or proud.

Unsure of what to expect, I gathered the cards in my hands and slowly shuffled. I thought about trying some of my fancy card shark moves but figured it might mess with the voodoo. I kept it simple.

“Now, while you’re shuffling, think about the events of the past week or two,” Sunny instructed. “Silently ask your subconscious for clarity and understanding.”

I closed my eyes and thought hard about everything. I focused on Berlin and Sally Hansen, on Alfy Romero and the dead body, the shark tattoo and the phone call and the chase I’d just been through. For some reason, I thought about Charlie, too, and about my purse. I was totally zoning out when from nowhere, the image of that shiny, rhinestone-studded necklace popped into my mind and stuck. HATTIE. Up until now, I’d forgotten all about it.

I couldn’t say how long I shuffled those cards. It could have been ten seconds or it could have been ten minutes. I had drifted into a trancelike state when the deck seemed to just spring from my hands onto the table.

“Good, good,” Sunny said when I opened my eyes. “I’m getting some excellent vibes from you.”

She picked up the cards and began dealing them faceup in the shape of a cross. As she did it, her eyes widened.

“Don’t freak out,” she murmured. “This is pretty intense.”

She didn’t have to tell me that. I was looking at the cards as she dealt them, and let me tell you, it didn’t seem like anything good. I knew that tarot cards could be freaky, but from the top of the pile, through Sunny’s hands, cards with gory pictures and names like Death and The Devil were appearing in my reading. I had to remind myself to breathe.

Marisol put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lulu. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“You are the Princess of Swords,” Sunny said. She pointed at a card in the middle of the layout, which pictured a girl with a huge saber in her hand, ready for battle. “It’s in the identity position of your spread, but I knew you were her the minute I saw you. Before you ever said a word. It’s an amazing card, Lulu. It doesn’t really tell us anything that we didn’t already know, just that you’re powerful. It’s a card of wisdom and determination. You have a lot of knowledge, sometimes more than you can handle. And more than others can handle too. You have a tendency to rub people the wrong way.”

Marisol was covering her mouth, trying to hide some kind of amusement.

“So I’m a smart, overbearing bitch?” I asked, feeling insulted. What was so great about that?

“Your spirit makes people uncomfortable,” Sunny corrected me. “But it’s an incredible weapon. You can always rely on it, and you have to remember that. As long as you know your own strength, you can be unstoppable.”

Now Marisol was laughing out loud.

“What?” I asked her testily.

“You and Rachel have the same card,” she said. “Rachel’s the Princess of Swords too.”

“Why is that funny?” Sunny asked.

“Rachel and Lulu hate each other.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me,” Sunny said with a smile. “Two princesses in the same room? It can get messy.”

“O-
kay,
” I said, trying not to be crabby. With the events of the day, not to mention the whole last week, Rachel was the last person on my mind. “What about the
mystery?
”

Sunny studied the cards some more, squinting hard in thought. She took a deep breath. “Now the bad news. You’re in danger, Lulu. That’s clear. Death, the Tower, the Devil, the Moon. The trouble you’re facing isn’t in your imagination. But just so you know, this Death card, it doesn’t really mean anyone is going to die. It’s about the end of one thing and the start of another. Imagine a door closing and another opening. Rebirth. It’s actually a good card a lot of the time.”

I couldn’t tell if she was for real or if she was just trying to make me feel better. These New Age people think they can turn anything into something positive. Like they stub their toe and consider it to be spiritually cleansing or something.

“Now the Devil card and the Moon; the Tower. Those are another story. None of them are terrible by themselves, and they’re not necessarily terrible now either, but they show me that trouble and secrets are surrounding you. You’re caught up in something that you can’t control or understand. The Tower foresees disaster and destruction. A tumble. Things are going to get worse before they get better.”

I groaned. I couldn’t really imagine how things could get much worse.

“Do you want to see what you’re up against?”

“Maybe?” I said weakly.

“It’s a big one. The Magician. He’s the master of deception, Lulu. He’s an expert at every trick there is. You’ll need to marshal all your courage and intellect—all your fierceness—to defeat him.”

“Are you kidding me?” I looked at Sunny incredulously. Her tarot reading was foretelling nothing but bad news.

“I’m not going to lie,” she told me. “It’s a tall order. Everything I see shows that you have a hard road ahead. But the cards are also telling me that it’s something you have to face. You’ll come out of it bigger than before. Can I give you some advice, Lulu?”

I nodded, still unconvinced. I briefly considered picking up and moving someplace very remote, like Greenland or Boston. But, I reminded myself, if I did that, I would never find out the truth. And that was the most important thing of all.

Sunny pointed, with her thumb and pinky, to two adjacent cards: Judgment and the Ten of Cups. “These are the cards that you need to keep in mind if you’re going to get through this. I know you can do it, and the cards know it too. First, the Ten of Cups. It’s the card of friendship. You’re strong on your own, Lulu, but you’re far stronger when you’re surrounded by friends. You won’t be able to accomplish anything without the help of others.”

That made sense, but it wasn’t really anything new. I’d always relied on Charlie and Daisy for everything, and that wasn’t about to change.

“Now Judgment. See the picture on this card?”

It showed eight naked people rising up out of their graves toward an angel in the sky. I made a face. The naked people were kind of ugly—in that medieval way, with a bit of pudge—and really, who wants to see that?

“This card is telling you not to be deceived by outward appearances,” Sunny explained. “Your own or anyone else’s. It’s about inner sight. Remember yourself always—who you are and why you are. More importantly, though, remember who others are. People are more complicated than they look on the outside and it’s easy to forget that. Use your intellect. See past falseness. You have all the tools you need, but you can’t just let them lie there. Pick up the sword, Lulu. It’s lying right next to you.”

I didn’t know what to say. It was hard to interpret what Sunny had actually told me. Maybe it meant everything—maybe nothing. Like I say, this New Age business is mostly junk, right?

“I—I’ll try,” I finally said, noncommittal.

“You can do it,” Sunny said. “You’re the Princess of Swords.”

I had to admit that even if I didn’t know about the rest of the reading, that sword part was kind of cool. Being a princess seemed fun, especially a princess with a big fancy weapon. Maybe I could solve this mystery after all.

“Thanks,” I said, and moved to stand.

“Hold on,” Sunny told me. “One more thing. How’s your love life, Lulu?”

I snorted. “Deceased,” I said.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” Sandy pointed at a card. “This is the Knight of Cups—right next to the Ten of Cups, reversed. The Knight of Cups is someone, a boy, usually, who is generous and kind and more than a little naive. Really, he’s someone who can balance you. The fact that it’s in this position, upside down, tells me that there’s potential for great love but that there is some obstacle in the way. I think the obstacle is probably you—you’re not seeing things properly. You’re closing yourself off.”

I thought about it. Was she talking about Alfy Romero? That didn’t make sense. I was totally open to going out with Alfy.
He
was the one who wasn’t seeing things properly. I was about to tell Sunny that maybe the obstacle was the fact that Alfy was too dim to even remember my face, but despite the fact that I’d spilled my guts to these two, there were some things that I still wanted to keep private.