him, because he cocked his head to one side and smiled. ‘Want to talk?’
She did – but not to him. Not to a cop. She didn’t care how much sympathy she saw in his eyes or read in his mind, she couldn’t trust him.
‘No,’ she said, and walked away. But just as she was about to turn the corner, she looked back at him. Somehow, she managed to get one more word out.
‘Thanks.’
C HAPTER N INE
I N THE KITCHEN AT home, Tracey sat on the counter – a position that was forbidden in the Devon home. But it didn’t matter, since her mother couldn’t see her.
Her mother stood just a few feet away, with the phone in her hand.
‘Tracey isn’t here, Emily,’ she was saying. She laughed nervously. ‘Actually, she might very well be here, but she’s not available, if you know what I mean. I haven’t seen her since she left for school yesterday.’
There was a pause, which Tracey assumed meant that Emily was responding. Then her mother spoke again.
‘No, I’m not worried. Not yet . I mean, this has happened before. I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually.’
Eventually. That was the key word. Tracey hadn’t gone this long without reappearing since – since the days before Amanda changed her. At least now her parents actually noticed that she wasn’t visible. That was definitely an improvement.
Her problem now was figuring out how to share what she’d learned from Amanda yesterday. The only person she’d be able to communicate with was Ken. But every time she’d tried to defend Amanda, everyone told her she was being silly. They all thought that just because Amanda had inhabited Tracey’s body and improved Tracey’s life, Tracey had some dumb notion that she owed Amanda something.
But there was one other possible connection – Jenna. Could Jenna read the mind of an invisible person? Jenna could read people’s minds when she couldn’t see them, but Tracey couldn’t recall any circumstance when Jenna had read her mind when she was invisible. Maybe if Tracey thought about what she’d learned from Amanda, Jenna would ‘hear’ her. Their gifts were constantly developing, evolving – she’d seen Charles display an aspect to his gift she’d never seen before. It was possible that her own gift, and Jenna’s too, had potential they hadn’t yet discovered.
But only if Jenna knew that Tracey wanted her mind to be read. Tracey had to get close enough to Jenna to give her some kind of signal, to let her know. And how could she get close to her when she wasn’t permitted any visitors?
Tracey had to laugh at herself. What an idiot she was! She was invisible, she didn’t need anyone’s permission to visit Jenna.
She had to take three buses to get to Harmony House, but her biggest problem was not the distance or the time it would take to get there. Her chief concern was getting on and off each bus; if no one else was waiting at the bus stop or getting off there, the bus wouldn’t stop or open its doors. Fortunately, this only happened once, and someone came along, which enabled her to get on the next one. The positive aspect was the fact that she didn’t have to pay for the ride – but being a basically honest person, she didn’t feel very good about this. Riding for free seemed like stealing. But she couldn’t waste energy feeling guilty about it – she had no other option.
Jenna’s residence didn’t look like a prison. The brick building was painted white, and it was set way back on a green lawn. The sign on the lawn read ‘Harmony House,’ not ‘Detention Centre’ or anything like that. There were bars on the windows, but they’d been painted white too and shaped in a design that made them look more like window decorations. Tracey suspected that the two men who were standing on either side of the front door were guards, but at least they weren’t dressed like guards, and she couldn’t see any guns. They could have been doormen at a hotel.
When someone came out, she slipped inside.
She did – but not to him. Not to a cop. She didn’t care how much sympathy she saw in his eyes or read in his mind, she couldn’t trust him.
‘No,’ she said, and walked away. But just as she was about to turn the corner, she looked back at him. Somehow, she managed to get one more word out.
‘Thanks.’
C HAPTER N INE
I N THE KITCHEN AT home, Tracey sat on the counter – a position that was forbidden in the Devon home. But it didn’t matter, since her mother couldn’t see her.
Her mother stood just a few feet away, with the phone in her hand.
‘Tracey isn’t here, Emily,’ she was saying. She laughed nervously. ‘Actually, she might very well be here, but she’s not available, if you know what I mean. I haven’t seen her since she left for school yesterday.’
There was a pause, which Tracey assumed meant that Emily was responding. Then her mother spoke again.
‘No, I’m not worried. Not yet . I mean, this has happened before. I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually.’
Eventually. That was the key word. Tracey hadn’t gone this long without reappearing since – since the days before Amanda changed her. At least now her parents actually noticed that she wasn’t visible. That was definitely an improvement.
Her problem now was figuring out how to share what she’d learned from Amanda yesterday. The only person she’d be able to communicate with was Ken. But every time she’d tried to defend Amanda, everyone told her she was being silly. They all thought that just because Amanda had inhabited Tracey’s body and improved Tracey’s life, Tracey had some dumb notion that she owed Amanda something.
But there was one other possible connection – Jenna. Could Jenna read the mind of an invisible person? Jenna could read people’s minds when she couldn’t see them, but Tracey couldn’t recall any circumstance when Jenna had read her mind when she was invisible. Maybe if Tracey thought about what she’d learned from Amanda, Jenna would ‘hear’ her. Their gifts were constantly developing, evolving – she’d seen Charles display an aspect to his gift she’d never seen before. It was possible that her own gift, and Jenna’s too, had potential they hadn’t yet discovered.
But only if Jenna knew that Tracey wanted her mind to be read. Tracey had to get close enough to Jenna to give her some kind of signal, to let her know. And how could she get close to her when she wasn’t permitted any visitors?
Tracey had to laugh at herself. What an idiot she was! She was invisible, she didn’t need anyone’s permission to visit Jenna.
She had to take three buses to get to Harmony House, but her biggest problem was not the distance or the time it would take to get there. Her chief concern was getting on and off each bus; if no one else was waiting at the bus stop or getting off there, the bus wouldn’t stop or open its doors. Fortunately, this only happened once, and someone came along, which enabled her to get on the next one. The positive aspect was the fact that she didn’t have to pay for the ride – but being a basically honest person, she didn’t feel very good about this. Riding for free seemed like stealing. But she couldn’t waste energy feeling guilty about it – she had no other option.
Jenna’s residence didn’t look like a prison. The brick building was painted white, and it was set way back on a green lawn. The sign on the lawn read ‘Harmony House,’ not ‘Detention Centre’ or anything like that. There were bars on the windows, but they’d been painted white too and shaped in a design that made them look more like window decorations. Tracey suspected that the two men who were standing on either side of the front door were guards, but at least they weren’t dressed like guards, and she couldn’t see any guns. They could have been doormen at a hotel.
When someone came out, she slipped inside.
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