Free The Accident by Diane Hoh Page B

the way they had the night before, an army of attackers could surround them and they wouldn’t notice until it was too late.
    By the time Justin arrived, Juliet, in a full white skirt and a silky red long-sleeved blouse and red sandals, Was waiting at the front door. Her makeup was still slightly exaggerated, but she looked very pretty.
    The look on Justin’s face as Juliet came down the stairs depressed Megan. Would he wear that same expression when she was herself again?
    When Justin had learned from Mr. Logan that Megan’s mother was okay and sleeping comfortably, he and Juliet left, hand in hand.
    Megan left, too. The only advantage to this horrible feeling of separation from the world was her ability to watch and listen without being seen or heard. She might as well use it. But it didn’t take her long to realize that she wasn’t going to learn anything on a dismal, cool Sunday afternoon in a village whose residents were too scared to venture from their homes.
    The town was virtually deserted. A damp gray mist fell steadily on a lake empty of boats, on streets bare of automobiles and bicycles, on lawns free of children and pets, on deserted tennis’ courts and pools. Curtains and blinds were drawn on every house, gates closed and locked, garage doors firmly latched.
    And Megan had no idea what to look for. A stranger with maniacal eyes skulking through backyards seeking out victims? Or someone familiar who seemed no different — but on the inside was sick and twisted?
    It had to be someone she knew, someone who knew her. Someone who knew which art cubbyhole was hers, since there were no names on the boxes, someone who knew that denim shoulder bag belonged to her.
    All kinds of people had been in the lake area last night. Which one of them had attacked her mother? And who did they intend to attack next?
    Vicki Deems had been out on the lake. But if Vicki wanted Justin Carr for herself, how would hurting Connie Logan help her get him?
    Maybe Vicki just hates everyone in Lakeside. That was a scary thought. But, picturing Vicki’s cold, dark eyes, Megan found it easy to believe that the girl could hate someone enough to hurt them.
    Discouraged because there was nothing to see or hear, Megan explored the lake for a while, then moved through the cool gray mist toward home.
    She arrived to find Justin’s red car parked in the driveway, facing the lake. That was no surprise. What was a surprise was finding Juliet and Justin still in it, seated so close together they looked like one person.
    And they were kissing. Intensely.
    Justin had kissed Megan before. But never like that. It had been more of an I-like-you-Megan-and-I’m-glad-we-know-each-other kind of kiss. Not a Wow-are-you-ever-terrific kind of kiss, which was what he was giving Juliet this very minute.
    It was so hard to remember that Justin believed he was with her, Megan. She wanted so much to tell him the truth, to shout, “Justin, it’s me, Megan, over here. That’s not me you’re kissing, it’s a ghost named Juliet!”
    But he wouldn’t be able to hear her.
    Justin pulled Juliet even closer. Mist clouded the windshield and the windows, obliterating the outside world. The pair didn’t seem to mind.
    Megan fled.
    Twenty agonizingly long minutes later, when Juliet entered the bedroom, a dreamy smile on her face, Megan was waiting for her.
    “Juliet,” Megan said, “someone could have come up behind that car and pushed it straight into the lake, and you and Justin wouldn’t have known it until your shoes started to get soggy. I don’t call that being careful!”
    Juliet threw herself across the unmade bed, rolled over on her back, and thrust a lace-edged pillow under her head. “Sounds to me like somebody’s jealous,” she said with a grin. “Gosh, Megan, I don’t see why. Justin thinks that was you he was kissing.” Another grin. “And kissing and kissing and … listen, I was doing you a big favor. Jump starting his motor for