Don't Die Dragonfly by Linda Joy Singleton Page B

until her mother drove off before switching into dark clothes and finding a flashlight. I told Nona I needed to go copy some notes from a friend, and I crept outside and disappeared into the night.

Nona let me borrow her car, so it was just a quick drive to Taco Bell. A sliver of silvery moon shone through trees, exaggerating shadows into hidden threats. I kept having the urge to look around, as if someone were watching me.
    It’s just my imagination, I assured myself. Or was I sensing Opal? I always felt safer when she was nearby, a silent sentry watching over me. But when I tried to connect with her, I got nothing, and my uneasiness increased.
    When I reached Taco Bell, I found Manny and Thorn waiting outside by a beat-up yellow station wagon.
    “Hey, Beany.” Manny’s grin gleamed in the dark.
    “You made it.” Thorn sounded surprised, as if she’d expected me to bail.
    “I told my grandmother I wouldn’t be out long, so I hope this doesn’t take long.” I rubbed my sweaty hands on my jeans. “What’s the plan?”
    “That’s what we’re figuring out. I brought the complete list of stolen items,” Manny said, withdrawing a folded paper from his trench coat. Yes—a trench coat, just like a B-movie detective.
    Shining my flashlight on his paper, I skimmed the typed list. “Some of these things were taken by the janitor. At least that’s what Opal told me.”
    “Opal?” Thorn raised her pierced brows. “Oh, your spirit guide.”
    “Everyone has one,” I said a bit defensively. At least Thorn didn’t seem to judge me, maybe because she knew what it was like to be judged.
    Paper crinkled as Manny studied the list. “Mr. Watkins may have swiped a few office supplies. But what would he want with an engraved basketball trophy or the vice-principal’s chair?”
    “No wonder the Regis jocks were suspects,” Thorn said, as we started walking toward the high school. “They’ve pulled pranks before—like putting a plastic shark in the swimming pool.”
    “With a fake human leg sticking out of the shark’s mouth. The girls’ swim team sure had a shock that day.” Manny chuckled. “And the photo I took made a great front-page shot for the Shout-Out. But attacking the janitor wasn’t a prank,” he added. “And the Regis jocks had alibis.”
    “Alibis can be faked,” I said as we cut through the school parking lot.
    “But why call in an anonymous tip?” Manny asked.
    “To stir things up?” Thorn said.
    “Or throw suspicion on someone else.” A creepy feeling came over me, and I glanced around at the silent building and the empty parking lot but didn’t see anything unusual.
    “Whatever. We need to get moving. You’re on, Thorn.” Manny held out the list to her. “Do your stuff.”
    The paper shimmered like a small ghost in the glow of Thorn’s flashlight. She stared at it with a fierce concentration, energy surging around her in a stunning pink-yellow-white aura. I had the oddest sense of her flying up and going somewhere else. Not with her body, but with her soul. If I’d had any doubts about her ability, they quickly faded.
    Thorn was more psychic than even she knew.
    I could tell when Thorn returned. She blinked, disoriented, then gave a small shudder. Then she said simply, “Follow me.”
    She started walking, not toward the school as I’d expected, but the opposite direction, into dense woods beyond the school. She disappeared into shadowy trees with Manny, and I had to race to keep up. My feet crunched on brittle leaves and branches slapped my arms. I held tight to my flashlight; its slim beam bounced off tree trunks and uneven ground. We hurried over weeds, around rocks, avoiding holes, deeper and deeper into gloomy woods. When we reached a thick wall of berry bushes bordering a rushing creek, we couldn’t go any further.
    Thorn untangled a spindly branch, but it sprang back and slapped her. “Stupid bushes! We can’t stop now.”
    “But the path ends here,” Manny said.