Regina's Legacy (Sweet Valley High Book 73) Page 3

  Elizabeth forced a smile. "I guess."

  Todd continued to try to kid her out of her pensive mood. "I bet he was a celebrity, a movie star. You know how they hate the paparazzi."

  "This man was not a movie star!" Elizabeth declared with a giggle. "He was bald and totally unglamorous."

  "A movie producer, then." Todd had polished off Elizabeth's cone and was ready to start the BMW. It took a few turns of the key before the engine turned over.

  "Is there something wrong with the car?" Elizabeth asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

  "I'm beginning to think so. Probably something wrong with the ignition mechanism."

  Elizabeth sensed that Todd didn't want to admit that his new car might need repairs so soon.

  At the Wilkinses', Elizabeth and Todd settled comfortably on the rec room sofa with their books. Todd plunged right into a set of math problems, but Elizabeth couldn't concentrate on her history reading.

  She kept hearing Todd's sensible voice in her head. "He just didn't want you to take his picture."

  But Elizabeth could also hear the bald man's voice. "Mind your own business." That was all he'd said, and Elizabeth knew it didn't sound so scary in the retelling. That was because it wasn't the words so much as the bald man's manner that had been threatening. What would he have done if he'd caught her, if Prince Albert hadn't been there to protect her?

  Elizabeth shivered. She couldn't study. She couldn't forget how genuinely frightened she had felt that afternoon at the beach. Elizabeth trusted her instincts, and all her instincts told her that Todd was wrong. True, the bald man hadn't wanted Elizabeth to take his picture, but there was more to it.

  Still, she had no way of proving that. All she had was a feeling. And a roll of film.

  Four

  "I never thought the photography club would be so popular that we'd have to take turns using the equipment," said Jim on Wednesday afternoon as he and Elizabeth waited to use an enlarger. Jim beamed like a proud father. "Wonderful, isn't it?"

  "Sure is," Elizabeth replied without much enthusiasm. In her opinion, it was anything but wonderful. As a rule, she was a patient person, but today Elizabeth could barely sit still to wait her turn. It seemed as if Allen, Patty, and the others had been monopolizing the enlargers for hours.

  Elizabeth had shot and developed two rolls of film since Monday, one of Sweet Valley High faculty for the photo essay and one at the beach on Tuesday. She hoped her pictures of Ms. Dalton and the other teachers had turned out well, but it was the beach pictures she was most interested in. There was one in particular she couldn't wait to see.

  Andy Jenkins finished exposing an eight-by-ten print. Elizabeth looked at Jim. "It's all yours," he said. "I can wait a little longer."

  Good, Elizabeth thought, hurrying to the enlarger. Because I can't!

  There were thirty-six pictures on the roll of film, but Elizabeth didn't hesitate over which to print first. Looking through the eyepiece of the enlarger, she centered the negative and the printing paper. First she figured out the correct exposure by doing a test print. Then she proceeded to print the photograph at its correct exposure.

  When the correct amount of time had elapsed, Elizabeth flicked off the switch and rushed the print to the row of basins for processing. She immersed it in the first tray that held developer.

  Before Elizabeth's eyes, the image of the three men running on the beach slowly emerged. Elizabeth watched carefully, as the details sprang to life. She didn't want the picture to overdevelop. From the basin of developer, she slipped the print into the stop bath and then into the fixer and final water wash. Finally, she was done.

  Elizabeth held up the dripping photograph. There they were, in crisp black-and-white: the three men, just as she remembered them.

  A chill ran up Elizabeth's spine. The picture brought back the events of that afternoon so clearly. Too clearly.

  In a way, Elizabeth felt vindicated. The photograph proved that she hadn't just been imagining something strange about the three men.

  Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and studied the picture by the orange glow of the safelight. The man in the middle had a pained expression on his face, and the stiff posture of his shoulders made him look distinctly uncomfortable, as if he were being forced to run. And the men on either side of him—the bald man who had attacked Elizabeth and a third man, who was quite young and attractive—seemed to be watching the man in the middle very closely, as if they thought he might try to get away from them.

  The photo was like a cryptic message. And Elizabeth wanted to decipher it. She put the picture of the three men in the print dryer, and spent an hour printing some of the other beach shots, as well as a few photographs of her French instructor, Ms. Dalton, and a few of Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser for The Oracle and Elizabeth's favorite teacher at Sweet Valley High.

  Finally, she decided to call it a day. She crossed the darkroom to the adjoining room where the student photographers stored their film and pictures in cubbies along one wall.

  Elizabeth kept two folders in her cubby, one for prints and one for negatives. She slid the last negative she had printed into its protective plastic sleeve. Then she shuffled through the prints one more time, keeping the Sweet Valley High faculty photos separate from the beach series. There was the old man with the metal detector, the lone surfer, the young mothers—and the three men.

  As Elizabeth examined the photograph yet again, the distressing feeling she had experienced returned. But she still couldn't explain just why the picture disturbed and intrigued her so much.

  I don't know who these men are, she told herself reasonably. I don't know what they're doing or why, and I'll probably never know.

  But Elizabeth just couldn't put it out of her mind. She hesitated for a moment, then she put all but one of the prints into her cubby. The photo of the three running men, she slipped into her purse. Before turning away, she reopened the folder holding her negatives. She located the strip containing the shot of the three men and put that in her purse, too.

  "Nicholas is getting jealous," Jim heard Andrea tell Claire as they worked in the darkroom. "He looked in the folder I keep my pictures in, and there were about a dozen pictures of Max Dellon. You know, I decided to photograph Sweet Valley High musicians for the mural."

  "Who's Max Dellon?" asked Claire.

  "The lead guitarist for this rock band called The Droids. They seem to be pretty popular around here," explained Andrea. "And Max is pretty cute. So now Nicholas thinks I have the hots for Max! I was trapped. I couldn't give away the photo-essay project, and I couldn't think of another reason why I'd be following this guy and taking pictures of him!"

  Claire laughed. "It's lucky I don't have a boyfriend. My pictures are of the football team!"

  Jim saw that Elizabeth was getting ready to leave. "Can you stick around a little longer?" he asked her.

  "Sure," she said. "What's going on?"

  "A bunch of people have already gone home, but I thought before we lock up, the rest of us could take a look at what we have so far for the photo essay."

  A few minutes later Jim, Elizabeth, Claire, Andrea, DeeDee, Patty, Andy, and Tina had spread out their photographs on the big table in the room next door. Jim and Tina were working in both color and black-and-white; the less-experienced photographers were sticking to black-and-white.

  Jim was full of enthusiasm. It was pretty exciting to see everybody's pictures and start imagining what the finished project would look like. "We can pretend the tabletop is part of the wall space in the main lobby we'll be using for the photo essay," he suggested.

  "I'm going to have a lot more than this." Elizabeth put an eight-by-ten of Mr. Collins next to one of Ms. Dalton. Underneath them, she arranged five-by-sevens of science instructor Mr. Russo and of Mr. Fellows, who taught history, along with a few group shots she'd taken by sneaking into the faculty lounge.

  "Most of us probably will," Jim replied. "That's OK. We can fill the entire wall if w
e want."

  At that moment, the door to the classroom sprang open. Everyone looked up, and Jim jumped to his feet, trying to block part of the table with his body.

  It was Jessica, wearing her Sweet Valley High cheerleading jacket. She was obviously annoyed. "Here you are, Liz!" Jessica exclaimed. "I need the car keys, now. And this time, not just to go shopping. Mom wanted me to—"

  Jessica finally noticed how the photography-club members had reacted to her arrival. They were all standing with their arms held out, trying to hide the table behind them. "Hey, what's going on in here?" Jessica asked, her eyes widening with curiosity. She stepped forward.

  Elizabeth quickly intercepted her sister, wheeled her around, and pushed her toward the door. "Here," she said, pulling a set of keys from her purse and tossing them to Jessica. " 'Bye!"

  "But—"

  Jessica didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Elizabeth shut the door in her face.

  "Sorry about that," Elizabeth apologized to the others.

  "Don't worry about it. It's not the first close call we've had." Jim laughed. "And it won't be the last!"

  His prediction came true a few minutes later when the door bounced open again. This time it was Shelley, her hair damp from a shower, a big smile on her face.

  "Are you about done?" she asked brightly. "If not, I'll just hang around here with—"

  "No, you won't!" Following Elizabeth's example, Jim dashed to Shelley's side and propelled her through the door and into the hallway before she had a chance to see what was displayed on the table.

  "What are you doing?" she cried, her eyes flashing with indignation.

  "Sorry, Shelley." He smiled sheepishly. "But it's a secret."

  "I swear, you'd think this was the Pentagon and you had blueprints for the Stealth Bomber in there!"

  "One of these days—"

  "I know, I know. One of these days I'll get to find out what it's all about. Well, I'm not holding my breath!"

  "I'll call you tonight," he promised, shutting the door between them.

  Rubbing his forehead, Jim returned to the table. He had a feeling he had really ticked Shelley off this time. It was the first time since they began dating that he had kept anything from her. But he knew it was for a good cause. Sweet Valley High, and Shelley, wouldn't have to wait too much longer to discover the photography club's secret.

  "Maybe they're performing some kind of satanic voodoo rituals," Lila suggested when Jessica told her about barging in on the photography club meeting the day before. It was Thursday afternoon, and the two girls were driving to the beach in the Fiat. "Maybe they take pictures of people and then stick pins in them."

  Jessica knew her friend meant that as a joke. But the photography club was definitely up to something. "Hmmm." Jessica frowned. "Liz kicked me out of there pretty fast. They sure are a weird bunch. That drip Allen Walters, sneaking pictures of the cheerleaders the other day when we were practicing our pyramid. Hey!" A crazy thought struck Jessica. "Maybe he's going to jinx us! Fix it so that every time we try the pyramid, we fall down!"

  "Jessica, I was just kidding," said Lila. "Get a grip on yourself. Who cares about the dumb photography club anyway?"

  "You're right." Jessica raised a hand to adjust the rearview mirror. "Liz can do whatever she wants with her camera. I finally got the car away from her, two days in a row now. That's all that matters to me."

  Lila pushed a strand of windblown hair away from her face. "Me, too. That and getting to the beach before the sun sets. Can't you drive a little faster?"

  "I'm sorry, but I don't have a father who can arrange to have my speeding tickets fixed like some people I know," Jessica reminded her wealthy friend. "I have a father who'll ground me for life if I get caught speeding."

  Jessica braked at a stoplight, then made a right turn, aware of a car close behind her. A mile later, she glanced in the rearview mirror, scowled, and tapped her brakes. The light blue convertible behind the Fiat didn't seem to get the message. It was still tailgating her.

  Tailgating—or following her? Jessica made two more turns, and the car stayed close behind her. "Hey, Li," she said grimly. "Don't look now, but I think we're being followed."

  Of course Lila looked; Jessica knew she would. Turning all the way around in her seat, Lila lowered her sunglasses and stared blatantly at the driver of the other car. "He's pretty cute, Jess."

  From the rearview mirror, Jessica couldn't really see the guy. About all she could tell was that he had blond hair. But out of the corner of her eye she could see the smile Lila was flashing at him. "How cute?"

  "Extremely cute," Lila gushed. "Maybe you should pull over. I'm serious."

  If Lila said the driver of the light blue convertible was extremely cute, then he was extremely cute. Jessica and Lila clashed on a regular basis, but there was one thing they always agreed on: good-looking guys. Jessica pulled over.

  Sure enough, the other car pulled over, too. Jessica heard a car door slam. "Here he comes!" Lila whispered. "Wow, is he gorgeous."

  "Wow" was right. The boy walking toward the Fiat took Jessica's breath away. What a body, she thought, admiring the way his T-shirt fit a little snugly, making the most of his broad chest and muscular arms. His longish blond hair was almost white in the sun, and the eyes that were glued to Jessica's face were sky-blue. Jessica felt herself melting against the seat.

  "So, it is you," the guy said, bending over to rest his arms on the car door. "I'm glad you pulled over."

  His face was close to Jessica's. She could see that he was a little older than she and Lila were, maybe nineteen or twenty. And those eyes. They were absolutely riveting. I'm glad I pulled over, too! Jessica thought.

  "I just wanted to apologize," the gorgeous boy continued. He gave her a disarming smile. "For what happened at the beach a couple of days ago."

  Jessica went blank, but only for an instant. Of course. He'd mistaken her for her twin. It happened all the time.

  But what was he talking about? What had happened at the beach? Jessica glanced at Lila, who raised her eyebrows, clearly mystified. "Oh, well, that's OK," Jessica said with a shrug. "It was nothing."

  "I'm afraid my friend has a problem with his temper," the boy explained. "But he really didn't mean any harm."

  "Apology accepted," Jessica assured him, although she still had no idea what he was apologizing for. He and Elizabeth must have had a brief encounter at the beach. Whatever the circumstances, Elizabeth obviously hadn't capitalized on the opportunity, probably because she already had a boyfriend and she was unutterably loyal and dull. Lucky thing I'm not tied down like that! Jessica thought.

  "By the way, my name's Chad."

  The two girls introduced themselves. Chad gave Lila's hand a brief shake. Then he took Jessica's hand and held it for a significantly long moment. Chad was practically ignoring Lila, and Jessica loved it. His gaze hadn't left her face for a second. No doubt about it, he was flirting with her.

  "By the way, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of that picture, would you?" Chad asked suddenly.

  Jessica blinked. "Picture?"

  Suddenly the situation started to make some sense. Regina Morrow's camera and the stupid photography club! Elizabeth must have gone to the beach earlier that week and taken a picture of Chad and his friend, the one Chad said had such a bad temper. Well, Jessica certainly couldn't fault Elizabeth's artistic taste. Chad had to be about as photogenic as they came.

  "Urn . . ." She had to come up with something to keep this guy talking a little longer! "We just developed it," Jessica fibbed. "Didn't we, Lila?"

  "Oh, sure," Lila said. "It turned out really well."

  "Great." Chad smiled. "Do you have it with you? I'd sure like to see it."

  The second fib always came easier to Jessica than the first. "No, it's at school."

  "School?"

  "Sweet Valley High," Jessica elaborated. "I left the picture in the darkroom." Jessica tried to recall some of the photography terms she
had heard Elizabeth use. "Uh, it's drying."

  Chad didn't seem to suspect that Jessica didn't know what she was talking about. "Well, maybe when it's dry, you'll let me see it."

  Chad had just offered the perfect excuse to keep in touch and Jessica jumped at it. "In order to see the picture, you'll have to see me." She gave Chad an inviting smile.

  "Sounds fine to me," he said. "Why don't you give me your phone number?"

  Jessica was more than happy to satisfy his request. Taking a scrap of paper and a pen from the glove compartment, she wrote out her phone number. As she passed it to Chad, their hands touched again. An electric tingle brushed up Jessica's arm.

  "Call me in a day or two," she said as she turned the key in the ignition.

  Chad stepped back from the car. "I'll do that," he promised her.

  Jessica pulled back onto the road, a triumphant grin on her face. "You're not going to pout just because he picked me over you, are you, Li?"

  "He only picked you because he thought you were Liz and she'd already caught his eye somehow or other," Lila replied easily. "Otherwise, you know the Fowler charm would have prevailed."

  Jessica laughed. "Whatever you say, Li. It's me he's going to call."

  "Yeah, because he wants to see that picture your sister took!"

  "No problem. I'll just get it from Liz. She'll be more than happy to further the cause of true love!"

  Maybe the photography club is good for something after all! Jessica thought as she continued on toward the beach.

  Five

  "How about stopping at the Dairi Burger?" Lila suggested a few hours later as she and Jessica tossed their beach towels in the back area of the Fiat. "Napping in the sun always makes me hungry."

  "I could really go for some fries and a shake," Jessica admitted. "But I should get home. I'm supposed to cook tonight, and I have no idea what I'm going to make." Because Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield both worked, the twins took turns helping out with dinner a few times a week. "Besides, I can't wait to tell Liz about meeting Chad!"