Free Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan Page B

learned so much about him from his girlfriend that she didn't have to use much that was in Kyra's notes.
     
    For the third client, though, it was different, because she knew almost nothing about Debbie Rice except that she was regarded as a femme fatale and, according to Leanne Bush, had a 38-D bust. After Danny left the room, Sarah snatched at the fragment of tune she had before Debbie entered to reverse the tape in the player and study the information Kyra had provided. It was evident that Kyra had no warm feelings for this girl, for her notes about her were vicious:
     
    Debbie's a slut who comes on to every guy that breathes. She's even made a play for Eric. She's president of the Drama Club and also a cheerleader. The cheerleader bunch sticks together, so they act like they love her, but underneath they're all scared she's going to snag their boyfriends. Her older sister, Grace, is no better. She'll put out for anybody. If you want to send Debbie into orbit, mention her sister and a bodybuilder type named Buzz Tyson. Debbie had her eye on Buzz, and Grace snatched him away from her. Now Debbie's trying to get him back.
     
    Well, that's just great, Sarah thought as she reread the notes. There's nothing here I can use, it's all just cat scratch. She already knew that Debbie had a reputation for being a flirt, so she might get by with mentioning that, but the other material was malicious and unsupported slander.
     
    When Debbie entered the room, Sarah regarded her tentatively, hoping that enough of her inner self would be exposed to supply the material for an impromptu reading, but there was little to work from. The girl who sat down across from her was dark-haired, big-busted, and sultry-looking, but there was nothing in that to give a clue about her background.
     
    In desperation Sarah decided to take what she had learned from Leanne Bush at the carnival and work from that.
     
    "I see you surrounded by adoring young men," she began, staring intently into the ball. "Other girls are jealous of your popularity. There is one in particular, a pretty blonde, who is very possessive. She is attached to a particular young man—I think he's a football player—but he looks past her, and his eyes are focused upon you."
     
    "That's all?" Debbie asked in unconcealed disappointment. "For what this is costing, I expected something sensational. You haven't told me anything you couldn't have learned just from going to the same school with me. That's not what I came for."
     
    "What did you come for?" Sarah asked, taken by surprise.
     
    "To try you out," Debbie said. "I know you're a fake, but there are people around here who believe in this crap. They're even saying you can do it—I mean, really do it. I came here to prove you're a con. You're not able to tell people anything that you couldn't have picked up just from hanging out in the school rest room."
     
    She was right, of course. But the challenging attitude irritated Sarah. After all, this was just a game, and everyone knew it; it wasn't as if she were actually supposed to perform magic. She found herself feeling sorry for Leanne Bush, who was threatened by the prospect of losing her beloved Bucky to such an obnoxious competitor.
     
    "Wait," Sarah said impulsively. "I do see something else. Another woman steps into this picture. She's a little bit older than you are, but"—she took a stab at this one—"she looks a bit like you. I think you may be related. There are similarities, but she has something... more to offer. There is one particular man, very muscular and handsome, who once was looking at you and now turns to look at her. The images are starting to fade now.... I cannot continue...."
     
    "You're making that up," Debbie said belligerently. "You don't see anything."
     
    The crazy thing was, though, that suddenly Sarah did see something. She saw a man and a girl entwined in each other's arms. And she saw where they were. For a moment the shadows lifted and there