Regina's Legacy (Sweet Valley High Book 73) Page 6

  "Then I'll pick you up at seven."

  "Sounds great. See you then!"

  She was about to hang up the phone when Chad spoke again. "By the way, Jessica," he added. "Don't forget to bring that picture you took of my friends and me, OK? I'm psyched to see it."

  "Oh, right." Jessica bit her lip. She had been so wrapped up in the prospect of seeing Chad again that she had completely forgotten about the element that had brought them together in the first place—Elizabeth's photograph. "Sure," Jessica told Chad. "I'll bring it."

  That dumb picture. Why did I have to be so stubborn? Jessica asked herself as she hung up the phone. If she had just told her sister about Chad, Elizabeth would have given her the picture. Jessica checked the clock on the oven. She had no idea where the picture was, but she had an hour and a half to find it.

  Jessica paused for a moment in the doorway of Elizabeth's bedroom. But she quickly overcame her conscience and stampeded in, ready to search. She would start with the table Elizabeth used as a desk.

  Elizabeth had stacked things neatly on the table: letters, homework assignments, recent issues of The Oracle. Jessica shuffled through these papers, scattering them on the floor in the process. No photograph there. Recently Elizabeth had put a file cabinet under the table. Jessica sorted through the drawers. Still no photograph.

  Not bothering to close the drawers, Jessica crossed to Elizabeth's night table and yanked open the drawer. "Bingo!" she cried as she spotted a whole pile of black-and-white photographs.

  Sitting on the edge of her twin's bed, Jessica flipped through the pictures. Then, with a disappointed groan, she tossed them back in the drawer. They were all of Todd, every last one!

  There was a photograph tucked in the edge of the mirror over Elizabeth's dresser, but of course that too was of Todd. Jessica dumped out Elizabeth's jewelry box. No pictures in there. It didn't seem likely that Elizabeth would store photography-club stuff with her clothing, but Jessica figured it was worth a try.

  Jessica worked her way down Elizabeth's dresser, disarranging the neat piles of underwear, nightgowns, T-shirts, sweaters, and shorts. Next she ransacked the bookshelves and the closet.

  "It's just not here!" Jessica concluded in frustration. She flung herself on Elizabeth's bed. Then she had a funny, desperate thought. Jessica pulled back the bedspread and tossed the pillows onto the floor. She giggled. No, Elizabeth wasn't sleeping with the picture of Chad under her pillow!

  Jessica lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She had turned her sister's room upside down. The photograph definitely wasn't there. Maybe she didn't even develop it yet, Jessica speculated unhappily. After all, Elizabeth hadn't been able to use the darkroom at school since it had been vandalized.

  Jessica sat up and looked around. Elizabeth's room looked as if a cyclone had torn through it. Actually, it looked like her own room!

  I could clean it up—or I could start getting ready for my date. It wasn't a hard decision. Chad would be arriving in just an hour. Jessica headed for the shower. She would leave a note apologizing for the mess. This was going to be the date of her life. Elizabeth would understand. She always did.

  Forty-five minutes later, Jessica was ransacking her own closet. She had already tried on three different outfits, and none of them had seemed quite right. Chad was a little bit older so she wanted to look more sophisticated. But not too dressed-up. Chad struck her as the casual type. Something sexy and fun . . .

  Jessica finally got it right with a silk tank top and a miniskirt. She pirouetted in front of the full-length mirror and admired her reflection. Now for some jewelry and makeup.

  Jessica was in the bathroom dabbing mascara on her eyelashes when the door bell rang. Chad was here already! Jessica flew back into her bedroom and stuck her feet into a pair of flats, then grabbed her purse and her Sweet Valley High cheerleading jacket. As she walked down the hall to the stairs, she thought of Elizabeth's room and the mess she had left it in. She had meant to write a note. Well, she didn't have time now. Chad pressed the door bell again.

  Jessica hurried downstairs and opened the front door. Chad looked down at her, his light blue eyes glinting and a sexy half-smile on his lips. "Ready to go?" he asked.

  Jessica stepped outside. Was she ever!

  "I just want to change into long pants," Elizabeth told Todd as he parked the BMW in the Wakefields' driveway. "Then we can go on to Rick's Place, OK?"

  "The sooner the better. Even if we don't solve the mystery of the three men on the beach, we can get something to eat. I'm starved!"

  They reached the front door. "Poor baby," Elizabeth teased, feeling around in her purse for her house key. "All this sleuthing really takes it out of you, huh?"

  "It's open," Todd commented as he turned the knob and gave the door a push.

  "Jessica must be home then. I know my parents were going out straight from work." Elizabeth hung her purse over the banister and shouted up the stairs. "Hey, Jess!" There was no answer. "Jessica!" Elizabeth called again. Silence.

  "That's funny," Elizabeth remarked. "She's not here. But the door wasn't locked." Suddenly the back of her neck prickled. "Todd, you don't think someone—"

  "I think someone just forgot to lock it," he interjected, nipping Elizabeth's suspicion in the bud. "Probably Jessica. She's always forgetting to lock it."

  "Not always." But Elizabeth knew Todd was probably right.

  She took a deep breath and tried to shake off the irrational whisper of fear. She had been a little jumpy ever since that afternoon at the beach when she took the photograph. "I'll only be a minute," she said as she went upstairs.

  "Take your time. I'll wait down here."

  By the time she got to the top of the stairs, Elizabeth was laughing at herself for being so ridiculous. Just because the front door was unlocked, she was ready to think the worst! Todd thinks I'm paranoid, and he's probably right.

  The door to her bedroom was ajar. Elizabeth nudged it all the way open.

  She blinked. Was her paranoia making her see things? Clothes pulled out of the dresser drawers, pillows tossed about, her desk and closet in total disarray . . .

  Elizabeth clutched the door. Her knees were weak. She tried to call Todd's name, but no sound came out. They were here, she thought, terrified. I'm not imagining this. It's happening.

  For a moment, Elizabeth couldn't move. Then she unfroze and ran back down the stairs.

  "Liz, what's the matter?" Todd asked when he saw her pale face and wide, startled eyes.

  "My room," Elizabeth gasped. "It's been ransacked! It was the men from the beach, I just know it!"

  "Hold on. Take it easy." Todd put his hands on her shoulders. "What do you mean, ransacked?"

  "I mean ransacked!" Elizabeth cried. "Come see for yourself!"

  "OK, let's check it out." Todd's tone was soothing and sensible. He held his arm around Elizabeth as they walked up the stairs together. With Todd close to her, Elizabeth felt safer. But even so, her heart wouldn't slow down.

  "It's a mess," Todd had to admit after taking a look around Elizabeth's bedroom. "But, Liz, I don't think anybody broke into your house. Why would they ransack your room? I was just in the living room where there are a lot more valuables, and nothing in there was touched."

  "Because they were looking for something of mine."

  "Maybe it was Jessica, looking for something to wear," Todd suggested. "Maybe she had a date tonight."

  "But why would she have gone through my file drawers and bookshelves?" Elizabeth countered.

  Todd shrugged. "I don't know."

  Elizabeth went over to her night table. Her pictures of Todd had obviously interested the intruder. Some of them had been thrown back in the drawer while others had been dropped on the floor.

  "It's just like what happened to the darkroom at school," Elizabeth said with quiet conviction. "They were here, or one of them was, anyway. The men from the beach, trying to find the photograph. When they didn't find it in the darkroom, t
hey tracked me home somehow." It was an awful thought. She hadn't found them yet, but they had found her! Elizabeth crossed her arms, hugging herself to keep from shaking.

  Todd considered Elizabeth's theory. "I don't know, Liz. To tell you the truth, I still think you're overreacting. But if you really think somebody broke into the house, we should call the police."

  Elizabeth scooped up the spilled jewelry from the top of the dresser and returned it to her jewelry box. "I don't think anything was stolen. No, let's not call the police. Let's just go ahead with our plan."

  "To check out Rick's Place?"

  Elizabeth nodded. "It's just this feeling I've had from the start. I know this is all connected somehow to the photograph. But you're right. A feeling isn't enough to go on. That's why we've got to find those men!"

  Nine

  "So, tell me all about yourself, Jessica," Chad said as he hit the gas to pass a car on Route One.

  Jessica pushed a strand of windblown hair out of her eyes and glanced with uncertainty at Chad, who was lighting up another cigarette. It was a perfectly normal first-date question. It was just the way Chad asked it. He didn't sound interested.

  "Well, I'm a junior at Sweet Valley High," Jessica said brightly, watching him for a reaction. Was he going to think she was too young? Because after getting a closer look at Chad, Jessica realized he was a few years older than she had estimated during their short conversation by the side of the road the other day.

  "That's it?"

  "Of course not," Jessica replied, with a playful toss of her hair. "I'm a cheerleader, I play tennis . . ." Just don't raise the subject of photography! she reminded herself. Chad hadn't mentioned the picture yet, and she hoped he'd forgotten about it. "I belong to a sorority at school, Pi Beta Alpha. I have a pretty typical family—parents, a sister, a brother—"

  "And a dog," said Chad.

  "Yeah." Elizabeth must have had Prince Albert with her that day at the beach, Jessica guessed. She had better divert Chad's attention from that particular recollection. "What about you?" she asked. "Do you go to school or work or what?"

  Chad took a drag on his cigarette. Jessica saw his lips curve in another half-smile. Or was it a smirk? At first, she had thought that the look was sexy but now she was starting to find it annoying. "I work."

  "Doing what?"

  Chad glanced at her. "I'm an entrepreneur."

  He didn't offer any further information, and Jessica got the feeling he wasn't planning to. If he's not really interested in talking to me, then why did he ask me out? she wondered, gripping the armrest as Chad speeded up to pass another car. Out of the corner of her eye, she studied his profile. Was he the strong, silent type, or was he a washout? Well, even if he turns out to be a loser, he's still incredibly good-looking, Jessica thought. As usual, she didn't have too much trouble seeing the bright side. Chad would be all right for one date. When she recapped the evening for her friends, she could always make it sound more exciting than it was.

  "So, where are we going?" she asked him.

  Chad tossed the cigarette butt out the window. "I thought I'd take you to some of my favorite places."

  Jessica smiled happily. That sounded promising.

  A moment later, Chad hit the blinker and pulled the light blue convertible off the road. Jessica stared in disbelief. Valley Bowling? This was one of Chad's favorite places? Was he kidding?

  Apparently not. Chad got out of the car and waited for Jessica to let herself out and walk around to join him.

  I did not spend an hour putting my hottest look together to go bowling! Jessica thought. She climbed out of the car, expressing her displeasure with an exasperated sigh.

  Chad didn't seem to notice. "This'll be fun," he said through a cloud of cigarette smoke.

  "Yeah, fun."

  Valley Bowling looked tacky from the outside, and on the inside, it was even worse. It didn't exactly draw the most glamorous crowd either, Jessica observed. "Do you come here often?" she asked. This really couldn't be his idea of a special date. It wasn't too late for him to slap her on the shoulder, say it was a practical joke, and tell her he really planned to take her out for dinner and dancing.

  "A few times since I got to the area," Chad answered. He walked over to a counter where shoes could be rented. "Here. What's your size?"

  Jessica shook her head. There was no way she was going to put on a pair of those hideous two-toned bowling shoes. Who knew whose feet had been in them before? "Those really aren't my style," she said. "I'll stick with the shoes I'm wearing."

  "They won't let you on the lanes in those."

  Fine with me! Jessica was about to make an ironic remark to that effect, but something in Chad's expression stopped her. He stood watching her, smoking and not smiling. Where were the flirty looks he'd given her the other day when they met at the side of the road?

  Jessica reluctantly told him her size. Then, after he handed the bowling shoes to her, she sat down on a bench and put them on. OK, I'll bowl, she thought. And then inspiration struck. But that doesn't mean I'll bowl well! Maybe she could get the message across to Chad that there were other things she did a whole lot better.

  "This ball is so heavy," Jessica complained as she and Chad walked to the lane they had been assigned.

  "It was the lightest one they had," he remarked, not sounding particularly sympathetic.

  Chad bowled first and got a spare. Jessica wound up and rolled her ball. It bounced right into the gutter. "Oops!" she exclaimed. The ball returned to her. This time, she aimed so that it got halfway down the lane before ending up in the gutter again. "I'm getting closer!" she said cheerfully.

  Chad recorded her zero on the score sheet. Then he bowled a strike.

  Every couple of turns, Jessica knocked down a few pins for variety's sake. She went all out on her last turn of the game, flinging the ball right into the gutter and then clutching her shoulder. "Ouch!" She grimaced theatrically. "I think I dislocated something."

  Chad put a hand on her shoulder and massaged it, none too gently. "I don't think so."

  "Well, I'm not up to another game. Sorry."

  "That's all right. I was just going to suggest getting something to eat. Ready for dinner?"

  Jessica wasn't sure. What did he have in mind? A truck stop? A hot-dog stand? "I guess so," she answered unenthusiastically.

  "I know a good place in Big Mesa," Chad told her as they returned their balls and shoes and walked out to the parking lot. He slung a heavy arm around her shoulders. "Right on the water. You'll like it."

  Jessica looked up at Chad, and he smiled down at her. There was still something in his eyes she couldn't quite read, but maybe that was a plus. She had always been intrigued by guys with a little mystery about them. Maybe Chad would turn out all right after all.

  Jessica brightened considerably as they drove toward Big Mesa. It was a pretty classy town. A restaurant there was bound to be better than Valley Bowling. It could hardly be worse!

  "Does this look like the kind of place where one of the men in your photograph would hang out?" Todd asked Elizabeth as he parked the BMW in front of Rick's Place.

  The restaurant was shingled and quaint. Elizabeth could see a deck to the side, strung with colored lights. Far below them, the Pacific Ocean glittered orange in the setting sun.

  "I'm not sure."

  Todd scanned the menu posted near the door and summed it up. "An upscale hamburger joint. Sounds good to me!"

  "But before we eat, we have to do some sleuthing," Elizabeth reminded him.

  The restaurant was only half full. Elizabeth glanced around the interior quickly. The decor was nautical, and it was dimly lit, but even so Elizabeth was able to determine that none of the three men from the photograph were at the bar or seated at any of the tables or booths.

  The hostess greeted Todd and Elizabeth with a smile. "Table for two?"

  Elizabeth nodded. "Can I ask you something first, though?" She pulled the photograph from her purse and showed
it to the hostess. "I took this picture at the beach near here the other day and right afterward, I realized that one of the men had dropped his wristwatch. I'm trying to find him so I can return it. Do you recognize any of them?"

  The hostess tapped the photograph with a long fingernail. "This young blond guy," she said. "He's been in here before."

  Elizabeth's pulse quickened. "Recently?"

  "A couple times in the past week or so," the hostess confirmed. "I've never seen the other two guys, though."

  "The blond man," Elizabeth pressed. "Do you know anything about him? His name, or where he lives or works?"

  "Can't help you there," the hostess replied. "You could ask Steve, the bartender, though. If anybody would know, Steve would."

  But the bartender had no more information than the hostess. Seated at a booth near the rear of the restaurant, Elizabeth and Todd conversed in low voices across the tops of their open menus.

  "Isn't it frustrating?" Elizabeth was excited and disappointed at the same time. "I feel as if we're really close to finding out more about those men and their possible connection to the drug inquiry in Washington. I just wish we could do something! It's so hard to wait."

  "We have to, though," Todd said. "We don't have any more leads on this blond guy. The most we can hope for is that he'll show up tonight."

  "I hope he does."

  "Well, since we have some time to kill, let's go for broke," Todd proposed with a grin. "Start with an appetizer and work our way right through the whole menu!"

  Through the next hour and a half, Elizabeth and Todd managed to polish off a plate of nachos, two salads, two burgers, an order of onion rings, and a pitcher of soda.

  "I can't eat another bite," Elizabeth groaned as they examined the dessert menu.

  "You have to order something if you want an excuse to sit at this table awhile longer."

  "Maybe it's not worth it," she admitted. "If the blond man hasn't shown up by now, he's probably not going to. And what would we say to him if he did? Maybe I am just overreacting to all these events and coincidences."