We rode the tiny elevator back to the ground floor. At least I had a name. Mercedes Lloyd-Chambers.
“Thank you for trying to help me,” I told him at the door. “And I’m really sorry that I set off your alarm.”
“Like I said, it’s real touchy. Besides, it goes with the territory. The other guy did the same thing.”
I stopped on the carpeted hall and fought to keep the tone of my voice relatively sane. “What other guy?”
“A kid from your school, I think. He was in yesterday morning. Set off the alarm the same as you did.” He smiled as if unaware that my heartbeat was suddenly out of control.
“He did?”
“About the same time as you did it. He was looking for information about Sean Baylor too.”
My mind was on fire, blazing from one fact to another. Jeremy had been here yesterday and then had the nerve to flirt with me at the beach party. We had agreed to exchange books. All the time, he’d been one step ahead of me, caring only about his own paper, his obsession with Sean Baylor, and his music.
“Who’d he talk to?” I asked.
“No one.” He grinned. “You got farther than he did.”
“Good.” I reached out my hand. “I’m Logan.”
He shook it and said, “Richard.”
“Would you ask Mercedes to call me? I need to talk to her.”
“That other kid, he left his number too. You two aren’t working together, are you?”
“No.” I owed him this much of the truth. “Let me give you my cell.”
I retrieved a piece of paper from my bag, and printed my number on it, along with: MERCEDES, PLEASE CALL ME. I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT SEAN BAYLOR.
“Thanks,” I told the guard. “If you have any influence, please ask her to call me first, okay?”
“I guess I could try,” he said. “But my boss is due any minute right now. You’d better haul.”
NOTES TO SELF
I hauled. Richard, my new friend, has already helped me more than he can ever imagine. Maybe Mercedes will call me. If not, I’ll contact her. At least, Jeremy doesn’t know about her. He may have beaten me here, but I beat him to the source. And, yes, I can’t wait to see him in class and mention my visit to the newspaper. I’m in the backseat of a taxi that’s been metering me longer than I’d planned. I hope my Virgo dad can understand that effect on my allowance. I’m going to be late to class, but it’s worth it. Now I know that, no matter how friendly Jeremy acts, he sees me only as competition. Maybe even the enemy. Next goal—figure out his sign—starting with immovable Earth.
7
A REMINDER ABOUT EARTH SIGNS. THEY ARE NOT ALL
STATIC, STUBBORN PEOPLE, WHO REFUSE TO CHANGE.
YES, THOSE TAURUS, VIRGO, AND CAPRICORNS ARE
LIKE BOATS THAT ARE HAPPIEST CLOSE TO PORT. BUT
WHEN THEY VENTURE AWAY FROM HOME AS MANY
EARTH SIGNS DARE TO DO, THEY MOVE FORWARD WITH
CONFIDENCE. DON’T EVER WORRY ABOUT THE PACE OF
AN EARTH SIGN. IT MAY ARRIVE BEHIND THE BLAZING,
SELF-INVOLVED FIRE SIGNS, THE NONSTOP TALKING
AIR SIGNS, AND THE LONG SUFFERING WATER-MARTYR
SIGNS. BUT IT WILL GET THERE. AND WHEN THAT
EARTH SIGN ARRIVES, IT WILL MAKE ITSELF KNOWN,
AND ONLY THEN, DROP THE ANCHOR.
—Fearless Astrology
Earth signs. Yes, I was certain Jeremy was one. And now that I thought about it, maybe others in this group. Candice, for sure. And Tati, with that perfect hair? Maybe her, too. Was it possible that I was surrounded by Earth signs? Was that why I felt so overwhelmed? Was my Air being smothered by too much Earth?
I didn’t know what sign the cab driver was—something passive-aggressive, for sure. He stopped at every yellow light and seemed to be taking the longest route to the college. I began to get nervous.
Jaffa had been known to kick out students who didn’t show up on time. He was also supposed to have flushed someone’s cell phone down a toilet, but that had to be an urban myth. I was going to be late, and not just five or ten minutes. More like twenty or thirty.
Finally, the driver pulled up in front of the college. I shoved some bills at him, jumped out, and ran the rest of the way into the classroom.
Dirk was the first one I spotted. His ponytail, that is. He sat, with his back facing the door, in the front row between Tati and Candice.
Jaffa stood at the podium, reading from Love and Murder. When I came in, he stopped. Most of the kids turned to stare at me. All but Jeremy, in the back row, who was focused on Jaffa. Or pretending to be.
“Good morning, Logan,” Jaffa said. “I’m pleased that you could join us.”
As soft as his voice was, I sensed major irritation.
“I’m really sorry.” I made a point to look at Jeremy, who was making a point not to look at me. “I was doing some research at the newspaper office, and I had to take a taxi back here.”
Jeremy tensed in his chair, and I knew I’d managed to surprise him. At the moment, though, that was a minor victory.
“Henry.” Vanessa shot her hand up in that irritating way of hers. “Does that mean it’s all right for us to take off from class if we’re doing research and can’t find a taxi to get us back in time?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not. As I’m sure you’ve all heard, I have little tolerance for tardiness, cell phones, or people who cut class. But not to the degree that has been exaggerated by some of my former students.”
“I didn’t know I was going to be this late,” I told him. “You said it was my job to find out about Sean Baylor. I thought I’d have enough time to visit the newspaper and get here, but I ran into some problems.”
“What kind of problems? And, please, take a seat, Logan. Perhaps you’d care to share what you found out this morning.”
“Sure.” My voice sounded scratchy, but I forced myself to walk to the front and sit down next to Candice. “Well, I started by talking to a security guard at the newspaper about Sean Baylor.” I turned and smiled into Jeremy’s face. “The same guard you talked to yesterday, Jeremy.”
“And that made you late?” His doubtful attitude was pure Earth. “No one could make it past the front door at that place.”
“I did,” I said.
“You did?”
“Made it past the front door, into the editorial department.” It was all I could do to stop short of mentioning Mercedes.
“No way.”
“And what did you learn?” Jaffa said.
“That there is a possible source who might have known Sean Baylor. A source the guard believes might talk to me.”
“Who?” Jeremy asked.
“Who cares?” Vanessa said. “Baylor’s spirit is at the restaurant. We don’t need a source to connect with him. Too bad you missed most of Henry’s reading, Logan. It was awesome.”
I glanced at the book on Jaffa’s podium and asked, “Was it the section about the man and woman in Santa Fe who were so convinced they were past-life lovers that they both murdered their current spouses?”
“This book published only last month,” Jaffa said. “When did you read it?”
“A couple of weeks ago. I hope you’ll tell us how you researched the guy who poisoned all three of his wives.” That should shut up Vanessa Aries Mouth for a minute.
“You have read it,” Jaffa said.
“Your other books too. I’m really sorry I was late.”
“Logan, you have a source, and that is the beginning.” Jaffa’s eyes gleamed. “Tell me, class. Should she have come here or have gone there? If you are serious about writing, these are the questions you need to ask yourself.”
“I think she should have gone,” Tati said. “Because she got results, and results are all that matter.”
“I agree with Tati.” Dirk said in his cute accent. “Logan is familiar with your books, and you can tell how much she wanted to be at this reading. Yet, she put her own work first.”
“Well done, Logan.” Jaffa seemed to regard me with new respect. “You’ve helped me prove the point I wanted to make to all of you today. Break the rules when the end justifies the means. Put your story first. Who else in this room, other than Logan, put your story first today?”
A nervous silence filled the room.
Next to me, Candice slowly lifted her hand. “I did research last night,” she said.
“Me, too.” Tati raised her hand, as well.
“Yeah,” Dirk said. “I did a little work myself.”
Nothing from Vanessa. Nothing from Jeremy.
“Tell her, Henry,” Vanessa piped up in that nervous squeak of hers. “Tell her about the ghost-seeking session.”
“Vanessa is referring to our field trip.” Jaffa’s sigh sounded a little annoyed. “We are planning to visit Stokes tonight before the TV people leave. It’s mandatory that everyone in class attends. And now, if it’s all right with you folks, I’d like to finish my reading.”
“Finally,” Vanessa muttered. “I was starting to wonder if . . .”
An irritating chiming from my backpack interrupted her.
“Whose phone is that?” Jaffa demanded.
“Mine. I’m so sorry.” I ripped open my pack tried to find it. “I don’t know how . . .”
“Well, turn it off.”
I didn’t know what to do.
Finally, the chiming stopped. I found the phone and lifted it from my bag. The caller ID was still lit, and I stared at the name still showing there.
MercLC.
Make that Mercedes Lloyd-Chambers.
Still clutching the phone in my hand, I looked into Henry Jaffa’s eyes. “It’s my source,” I said. “The one from the newspaper.”
NOTES TO SELF
Back there in the classroom, I had what my gram would call a moment of mini-redemption. I’d come off like an absolute flake, but then that phone call from a legitimate source kind of made everything okay. Until I tried to call her back, that is. Mercedes had not answered her phone. It just rang and rang as I just looked stupid and more stupid. At least, Jaffa didn’t flush my cell phone down the toilet. Instead, he began reading again. The man is amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does at the restaurant tonight. In the meantime, I need to get away from all the drama and try to digest a large helping of Fearless Astrology.
8
CARDINAL. FIXED. MUTABLE. EACH OF THESE IS A
QUALITY, AND EVERY SUN SIGN HAS ONE. DOMINANT
SIGNS ARE CARDINAL, CONSISTENT SIGNS ARE FIXED,
AND FLEXIBLE SIGNS ARE MUTABLE. THIS IS JUST
SHORTHAND FOR EXPLAINING WHICH SUN SIGNS ARE
MORE LIKELY TO TAKE CHARGE, HANG ON, OR QUICKLY
ADAPT TO CHANGE. ARE YOU DEALING WITH ARIES,
LIBRA, CANCER, OR CAPRICORN? WELCOME TO THE
LAND OF THE CARDINAL QUALITY. THESE PEOPLE
WANT TO TAKE CHARGE AND WILL DEFINITELY TRY TO.
THE FIXED SIGNS OF TAURUS, LEO, SCORPIO, AND
AQUARIUS ARE SLOWER TO MOVE AND DON’T LIKE TO
BE WRONG, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE. MUTABLE GEMINI,
VIRGO, SAGITTARIUS, AND PISCES DEAL WITH CHANGE
IN MANY WAYS THAT VARY FROM EMBRACING IT TO
IGNORING IT. BUT ALL OF THEM HANDLE IT. SO, DON’T
JUST LOOK AT THE SUN SIGN. LOOK ALSO AT THE QUAL-
ITY OF THAT SIGN.
—Fearless Astrology
I already knew that I was a Fixed sign, and I didn’t need Fearless to tell me that. Now, I realized that Henry Jaffa and Jeremy were Fixed too. And Vanessa, of course, was Cardinal, so she had not only the me-me-me of Aries, but the mistaken idea that she was a leader. Tonight should be fun.
Candice had dared me to guess her sign that morning, and was shocked when I said, “Virgo.” She wasn’t a detail freak like my dad, but she did like everything in its place. And she had that calm, serene personality.
As I had hoped, Jaffa was on the bus. And, of course, Jeremy was not. Neither were Candice, Dirk, nor the dreaded Vanessa. Since Dirk was the only one with a car, the four of them were probably riding together. If that were the case, I didn’t blame Candice. In spite of her boyfriend back in Colorado, I could sense that she liked Dirk. As for Jeremy and Vanessa—they deserved each other.
Although I was hoping to sit by Jaffa, he was in the back, dressed for a snowstorm, as usual, and scribbling in a notebook. Only the boldest of Fire signs would have dared to distract him. Just then, Tati waved at me, and I took the seat beside her. She seemed a little quiet, and I wondered if it was because Dirk was clearly elsewhere.
The bus parked beside the restaurant, and we got off.
“Logan, wait.” I turned, and there was Jaffa, that thick wool navy scarf flying behind him as he caught up with me. “I want to hear about your source,” he said. “The reporter at the newspaper. What did she have to say about Sean Baylor?”
“We haven’t spoken yet, but I left several voice mails. She’s worked at the newspaper a long time. The guard told me she probably knows about Baylor.”
“Back then, the performers at the pop festival were completely accessible to the press. If your source was working at that time, she may well have interviewed him.”
I felt a chill and knew he was right. Mercedes might actually have spoken with Baylor.
Just then, a group of four swept in front of us: Candice and Dirk, Vanessa and Jeremy. All of them were laughing and talking. The Aries wore another of what must have been an endless assortment of plunging tops. This one was black velvet, and there was enough going on above and below that deep neckline to keep Jeremy interested. Candice and Dirk were far less blatant, both in the way they dressed and the distance they kept between them.
“Hey, Logan.” Vanessa was immediately in my face. “Candice said that you guessed her sign. How’d you pull off that little trick?”
Thanks, roommate. “No trick. I figured it out the same way I figured out that you’re an Aries.”
“Well, that had to be a major no-brainer. All you did was ask my birthday.”
Jeremy chuckled, and I fought the urge to shoot him a nasty look.
“Vanessa,” I said, “you are textbook Aries. I only asked your birthday to confirm what I had already guessed.”
“Textbook? What’s that supposed to mean?” She took a quick look back at Jeremy and heaved such a heavy sigh that I probably wasn’t the only one wondering if she’d stay inside that top. “Since I’m stuck with writing that boring astrology paper, you could at least tell me where to find out more about Aries.”
“The other eleven are pretty interesting too,” I said.
“Eleven what?”
Eleven freaking signs! Isn’t that what we’re talking about?
Before I could translate that initial reaction into an unemotional Aquarius response, I realized that Jaffa had moved closer.
“Were you really able to guess her Sun sign by just observing her?” He peered at me intently, and I no longer cared whether or not Vanessa thought I was a fake.
“Appearance is part of it,” I told him, “but behavior is a major factor. Aries can be one of the easiest to identify because so many of them have, well, I guess you could say an intense interest in themselves.”
“What a crock,” Vanessa snapped.
“Really?” Jaffa asked, as if he hadn’t heard her.
“Oh, yes. In some books, they’re referred to as the babies of the Zodiac, although some of them are extremely evolved.” I shrugged as if to say that no Aries in this group necessarily qualified for that designation. “They’re also Cardinal signs. Not Fixed, the way you and I are.”
“We’re the same sign?” he asked.
“Yes, we are. Fixed and Air, which means that in spite of all our great intentions, we Aquarians can get stuck trying to figure out which intention is the most import
ant at any given moment. I know I do.”
“So do I. And you figured out my sign, how? Just by evaluating my appearance and behavior?”
“No.” I smiled into that squinty-eyed face of his. “Your birth date is all over the Internet. I looked it up my first night here.”
He laughed. “I figured as much, and I’m impressed by your honesty.”
“I wouldn’t lie about looking up someone’s sign,” I said.
Vanessa giggled and whispered something to Jeremy.
Jaffa didn’t seem to notice. “The zodiac is fascinating, isn’t it?” he said. “Once I finish this book, I am going to spend some time researching astrology. Perhaps you . . .”
Just then, the door opened, and in walked Emily and Doug, the Ghost Seekers researchers. Behind them was a bald older guy carrying a camera.
“Hi, kids,” Emily said. “Thanks for joining us.” She seemed more positive than she had the night before. “Even though we haven’t been able to document anything, there have been several reports of activity, so we’re giving it one last shot.”
“I knew it,” Vanessa said, and squeezed Jeremy’s arm.
He looked pretty unhappy. I started to feel sorry for him and then told myself that no one had forced him to come here with Vanessa.
“Let’s get started,” the camera guy said. “Where to, Emily?”
“Up there.”
She walked up the narrow staircase, with Doug, the camera guy, and Jaffa right behind them. I stood below with Tati and the others.
“What are we supposed to be doing?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Tati said.
“Go looking,” Vanessa said. “The ghost is Sean Baylor’s. I told you that I sensed him the first night, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“Of course, I did.” I forced myself to smile. “It is pretty difficult not to listen when you speak.”
She pondered that one a moment and whispered something else to Jeremy. He shook his head and moved away from her toward the stairs.
“I was just telling him that he was right about a certain person exaggerating her abilities,” Vanessa said.
Taurus Eyes Page 5
