Convicted

by Megan Hart

  It was the first time he'd said it. Thankfully, he didn't wait for her to reply. Terry checked the entire house with his swift and purposeful manner, and pronounced it secure.

  "I'll call you tomorrow." He left her sitting on the couch.

  Tomorrow. She'd have to deal with everything tomorrow. Lisa looked at the clock, and realized with a groan, that midnight had come and gone. She no longer had until tomorrow; tomorrow had become today.

  With aching head and whirling thoughts, she went to bed and fell instantly into a deep and blessedly dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 9

  * * *

  Lisa was working in a forge. Clang. Clang. Clang. She struck the metal bar with her hammer over and over, but it wouldn't bend. Wouldn't shape itself into anything useful. She tried to toss it aside, but it clung to her hand like it had been glued.

  Clang. She struck it again, frustrated. Clang. Clang....

  With a gasp, she woke. She'd been dreaming after all. The clanging she heard was real, and coming from downstairs.

  Bright sunlight flooded through her window, casting dappled patterns from the tree outside onto her lavender comforter. The clang came again, but this time she recognized it. Somebody was trying to get in.

  Allegra! Terry had insisted Lisa bolt the door after him last night, and Allegra was locked out. Lisa flipped off the light summer covers and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

  "It's about time," Allegra groused when Lisa finally opened the door. "Why is this locked?"

  "Terry made me do it."

  Allegra winked. "Ah... Didn't want to be interrupted?"

  "I got a prank phone call last night," Lisa said.

  Allegra pushed past her and into the kitchen. She pulled open the fridge and scrambled around inside, pulling out a jug of orange juice. Without bothering with a glass, she glugged the juice and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

  "Heavy breather? Kids asking if your refrigerator's running?"

  Lisa shook her head, watching in distaste as Allegra put the juice back in the fridge and pulled out a jelly jar. She stuck her finger in and licked off the glob of jelly, then stuck her finger back in.

  "Allegra!"

  Allegra stopped, her finger in her mouth. "What?"

  "Use a knife!" Lisa's entire body wanted to tense, and she forced herself to relax. "You're not the only person who lives here, you know."

  "Duh." Allegra rolled her eyes and put the jelly back in the fridge. She looked at her sister, pausing to really pay attention for once. "You okay?"

  "No, I'm not." Lisa went to the coffee maker and began preparing a strong brew. She felt like she needed it this morning. "I'm freaked out."

  "Really?"

  Allegra's speculative tone made Lisa turn. She caught a glimpse of sly mischief in her sister's eyes, then Allegra bent back into the fridge, hiding her face. Her shoulders shook briefly as though she might be laughing.

  "It's not funny, Al," Lisa said. To her dismay, tears coated her voice.

  Allegra's head popped up from behind the fridge door. Now the look in her eyes was concern. Seemingly real, but Lisa could never be sure. "You really are freaked out."

  "Yes." The coffee pot burped behind her. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

  Allegra took Lisa's hand and pulled her to sit at the kitchen table. "So why'd you stay here all alone last night? I thought Terry'd stay with you. He likes doing that sort of thing, doesn't he? Being all protective and stuff?"

  "Terry and I broke up last night."

  Allegra seemed shocked. "What?"

  Lisa met her sister's eyes. "Despite what you've been telling Mom, Terry and I were not that serious. At least I wasn't."

  "It's that jail geek loser, isn't it?" Allegra said grimly. She rapidly peeled an orange and popped a piece into her mouth. "Campbell."

  Lisa sighed. "That's only part of it. Coffee's ready. You want some?"

  Allegra glanced at the coffee pot and waved her sister to stay sitting. She got two mugs and the sugar bowl and rapidly fixed two cups of heavily sweetened coffee. She plunked one down in front of Lisa.

  "You're an idiot," she said flatly. "Deacon will only mess with your head and get you in trouble. He's a criminal!"

  Lisa held up her hand. "Don't start with me today. My love life is my business."

  Allegra looked hurt. "Fine."

  Lisa winced at the too-sweet drink and pushed it aside. "I'm going back to bed for a while."

  "It's nearly noon," Allegra said, stunned. "You never sleep in like this!"

  "I had a rough night, okay?" Lisa snapped. Seeing her sister's pout should have made her feel contrite.

  Allegra sniffed. "Go back to bed if you're going to be such a grouch."

  She got up from the table, leaving her used mug where it was. Of course. She flounced from the kitchen and headed up the back stairs to her room. Lisa heard the door slam.

  She looked at the clock, then at the phone squatting on the counter like a toad. When would it ring and who would be on the other end? Deacon? Terry?

  Or somebody worse--the person who saw everything she did?

  * * * *

  Deacon fiddled with the air conditioning knobs in his mother's car. The tiny vehicle was already sweltering, even though it wasn't quite noon. At last a blast of cooler air sputtered out of the vents. I'll have to do some work on the car for Mom, he thought, still fiddling. Even though she could no longer drive herself anywhere, it didn't make sense for her car to go to junk.

  Bertha opened the passenger door and slipped inside. "Sorry," she puffed, wrestling with her purse and a large plastic shopping bag. "Had to get some more things."

  "Mom," Deacon said in exasperation. "Paula can go to the grocery store for herself."

  Bertha snorted. "This is stuff for the kids, Mr. Smarty Pants."

  Deacon's sister's two boys and two girls looked forward to Grandma's visits because she always brought cookies and sweets. Deacon smiled, shaking his head. For Bertha to go someplace without taking along something she'd baked would be sacrilege.

  He shifted the bag onto the back seat. "Let me put it in the back for you.Ready to roll?"

  Bertha nodded. "Thank you for driving me to Johnsonburg, honey. I know you have other things you'd rather do."

  Deacon glanced at the dashboard clock. "It's early, Mom. I'll be back in plenty of time."

  To call Lisa, he thought. He hadn't wanted to do it earlier with his mother puttering around in the kitchen. If he could get Paula to agree to drive Mom back home later this afternoon, he could leave right after lunch and have the whole house to himself.

  He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say to her. Last night still seemed like some sort of dream. Had he really kissed her? And had they really talked about starting over?

  "Your mind's in the clouds today," Bertha remarked.

  Deacon grinned. "I guess so."

  "You gonna tell me why?"

  "Nope."

  Bertha laughed. "It's just good to see you smiling again, honey."

  It feels good to be smiling again, Deacon thought. He wasn't smiling two hours later, though, with a quartet of kids screaming in his ear and Paula telling him she couldn't drive Mom home after all.

  "Joey has soccer practice later," Paula said. She and Deacon huddled in the kitchen, not wanting Bertha to overhear. "And the kids have plans with friends tonight. Bob's out of town until Wednesday. I just can't be running back to St. Mary's today, Deacon. I thought you were going to take her! That was the plan."

  Deacon scowled, watching his sister fuss with the platter of cold ham she was serving for lunch. "C'mon, Paula. I have some things I need to do."

  Paula pulled a tray of warm buns from the oven. She set the platter on the stove top and brushed her hair from her sweating forehead. Her expression was not pleasant.

  "I can't," she said in the warning tone he recognized. "And don't push me on it. Those kids are already driving me bonkers and this heat is just pla
in nasty. I'm about ready to lose my temper, so please don't...."

  "Okay," Deacon said, resigned. He patted Paula's shoulder. "Chill."

  She flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Deacon."

  She pushed past him with the platter, indicating with a nod that he should take the rolls. Deacon put the bread in bowl and followed her into the dining room, but he didn't have much appetite.

  He'd just have to call Lisa later.

  * * * *

  Lisa had gone back to bed, but she didn't get much sleep. She just kept waiting for the phone to ring. Finally, just to pass the time, she decided to shower and get dressed.

  She was glad again, that when she and Allegra had moved in together, she had snagged the only bedroom with its own bathroom. Allegra had to use the hall bath, and they didn't need to share. Lisa relished the privacy of having her own bathtub, especially with her sister's less- than-stellar cleaning habits.

  She ran the water cool, since even with the fans on, the house was warm. The pounding spray felt good on the back of her neck and shoulders, almost like a massage. She closed her eyes, trying to let the tension drain away.

  She nudged the water a little warmer and squeezed handful of her favorite shampoo into her palm. The bottle was nearly empty, and she frowned, trying to remember. Hadn't she just bought a new bottle? She lathered up her hair, scrubbing her scalp and letting the water rinse her clean. Her conditioner was the same--nearly empty. Now Lisa began to be annoyed. She was positive she'd replaced the expensive brand of conditioner just last week. She didn't use that much of it.

  One disadvantage of having a shower connected to the claw foot tub was lack of wall storage. Because of the way the showerhead connected to the wall, she couldn't even hang one of those wire shelving units from it. Consequently, she kept all her bath products in a plastic crate that fit precariously between the edge of the tub and the wall.

  Now Lisa searched the whole crate finding that nearly all the bottles were missing their contents. Allegra, she thought angrily. Her sister must be borrowing her things without asking.

  The shower's soothing properties were useless now. Lisa rinsed and turned off the water. She bent to retrieve a towel from the small bookcase she'd set up between the door and the tub. Her questing fingers found only one.

  "What is going on?" she said in frustration. She'd done laundry only a few days ago, including a load of towels.

  Now she pulled out the worn yellow towel she'd had since living at home. Where were her purple-and-green striped towels? She wrapped the threadbare towel around her hair and stood naked in the breeze from the window. Her eyes scanned the bathroom finding the pile of towels heaped in the corner next to the toilet.

  She muttered a curse and bent to pick up the first towel. It felt heavier than normal as though saturated with something. And it smelled, too, like her shampoo. Cautiously, Lisa pulled the heavy cloth away from the others and gasped out loud. Her entire supply of towels, all four of them, lay soaking in a glutinous mess of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

  She dropped the top towel back onto the pile and washed her hands frantically at the sink. Her eyes kept finding the pile even as she scrubbed. Lisa forced herself to look away, but catching sight of her face in the mirror was no more reassuring. She looked terrified.

  Had Allegra done this? But Lisa could not imagine her sister doing such a vengeful thing. Using her things, certainly, especially since she considered anything Lisa had to be up for grabs. But wasting it like that? No, Lisa thought, trying and failing to calm herself. Somebody else had been in her bathroom.

  With shaking hands, she opened the medicine cabinet and found something else to frighten her inside. Her carefully lined up bottles of medicine and beauty products had been moved around. The changes were subtle. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. Upon closer inspection, though, the pain reliever she usually kept on the top shelf had been moved to the lower shelf. Several other bottles had been shifted, too. It was possible she'd done it herself without thinking about it, but she didn't think so.

  She shut the cabinet with a click. Someone had been in her house. Someone had been in her bathroom.

  She felt violated. Lisa pulled on some clothes and went out into the hall. "Allegra!"

  She heard the music from her sister's room, so she knew she was in there. Lisa went through the empty bedroom and knocked on Allegra's door. The music became softer.

  "Yeah?"

  "Let me in," Lisa said.

  "Door's open."

  Lisa pushed through, ready to tell her sister everything. What she saw stunned her to silence. Allegra's room was blanketed in clothing.

  Allegra stood in front of the mirror wearing a cocktail dress. She twirled around, admiring her reflection from all sides. Lisa saw two more nearly identical dresses hanging from the closet door. Shoes lay piled in mismatched pairs all over the floor. Jeans and shirts fought each other for space on Allegra's bed, and piles of lingerie lingered on doorknobs and dangled from dresser drawers. It looked like a suitcase had exploded in the room.

  "Where'd you get all this stuff?" Lisa cried, her bathroom experience forgotten for the moment.

  Allegra stopped twirling, the dreamy look on her face turning hard. "Around."

  "Around where?" Lisa picked up a brand new jacket. She glanced at the price tag and sticker shock hit her. "And with what?"

  Allegra grabbed the jacket out of Lisa's hands. "I deserve some new things once in awhile, Lisa."

  "Once in awhile, sure," Lisa said. "But this...this is a lot of new things, Allegra. Where'd you get the money to pay for this stuff?"

  Allegra's pretty face turned dark. She unzipped the cocktail dress, letting the pretty gown fall unnoticed to the floor. She didn't even bother stepping over it to pick up the next one. She tugged that one on over her head, wrinkling it.

  "That's my business," she answered Lisa.

  "What do you even need four black cocktail dresses for?"

  Allegra was busy staring at her reflection again. "This one makes me look fat, doesn't it?"

  Allegra wouldn't look fat in a sumo suit. Lisa watched her sister pull off the second dress leaving it crumpled in a pile, too. Allegra didn't bother with the other dresses. She held up a pair of jeans to her waist. She slipped on leg in, then the other. The waistband gaped, clearly too large.

  "Those don't even fit you," Lisa said as Allegra shimmied out of the jeans and added them to the heap on the floor. "Why'd you buy jeans that don't fit you?"

  A sudden thought struck her. She felt like slapping her forehead, so clear was the insight. Bits and pieces that hadn't made sense over the past few months now suddenly fell into place.

  "You didn't buy these."

  Allegra paused while pawing through a stack of shirts. "Of course I did."

  "You stole them, didn't you?" Lisa watched her sister's face carefully for any sign she was right, but Allegra was good. She didn't even flinch. "Allegra?"

  Allegra pulled on a t-shirt that said "Princess" on it in glittery letters. "Don't be an idiot."

  Lisa touched a dangling bra from Victoria's Secret. The price tag hadn't been removed. "You didn't buy any of this, did you? You stole all of it."

  Allegra whirled around, her mouth skinned back in a grimace. "Shut up, Lisa!"

  Lisa took a step toward her sister. "Al, what's going on with you? Talk to me?"

  "With me?" Allegra scoffed. "Let's talk about what's going on with you, Lisa. Lost anything else lately? Like maybe your mind?"

  Lisa looked around the room feeling sick. "You need help."

  "No, you need help," Allegra snapped. She pulled on a pair of shorts. "I'm not the one who's going looney."

  The insult stung. Lisa pulled back. "Where would you find the money to buy all this stuff?"

  "Why should I tell you?" Allegra said. "You obviously want to believe I stole it. You want to think your sister's a thief!"

  "I don't want to think that," Lisa countered. "But tell
me why I shouldn't. I know what you earn, Allegra."

  Allegra smirked. "Tell me something, sis. Why are you so eager to believe I'm a thief when you won't even believe that lover-boy is really a thief? He's the one sent to jail, not me."

  "We're not talking about Deacon. We're talking about you."

  "It's pretty sad when you let a good lay come between you and your only sister," Allegra said haughtily.

  "Where did you get all this?" She didn't want to believe her baby sister could have stolen it.

  "Did it ever occur to you that I might have a boyfriend, too?" Allegra asked. "Is that too hard to believe?"

  Looking at her beautiful younger sister, Lisa did not find that difficult to believe, at all. "You've never mentioned one."

  "Who could with you yapping all the time about your love life?" Allegra asked.

  This was completely unfair and completely untrue. "You're crazy."

  Allegra flew into a rage. "Don't you call me that!"

  Lisa fell back against the doorframe under the force of her sister's anger. "You're crazy and you're selfish!" It felt good to let it out.

  "Selfish?" Allegra cried.

  "I came in here to tell you how worried I was about something I found in the bathroom," Lisa yelled back. "And all you care about is yourself. That's all you ever care about, Allegra! It's always the Allegra Show. And I'm sick of it!"

  "How can you say that?" Allegra put her hands on her hips. "I stayed out last night on purpose just so you and Terry could have some time alone. I'm always doing stuff for you!"

  "Stop assuming you know what I want," Lisa said. She hated fighting, especially with Allegra, who always ended up turning the tables.

  "You didn't want to be alone with Terry last night?" Allegra asked, her voice clearly indicating she wouldn't believe a negative answer.

  "No," Lisa said anyway. "At least, not for the reason you think."

  "For what, then?" Allegra asked.

  "Not everything is about sex."

  Allegra laughed. "Sure, it is. It's all about sex. Why even bother with men if it isn't?"

  Lisa rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's a healthy attitude."