Marilyn Kaye - Gifted - Now You See Me

She’d expected Carter to knock or ring a bell but someone must have seen him approach from inside. The door opened and Carter went in. Tracey raced forward but she was too late — the door had closed by the time she reached it.

Furious at herself, she raced around the house, looking for another way to get inside. There was a back door, but it was locked.

So she was in the same position she’d been in back at Carter’s home, and she was forced to do what she’d done there — look for a window that would give her a view of what was going on inside. Again, the people were in the dining room and sitting around a dining room table. But they weren’t eating.

She could identify all of them. Clare, the woman who’d been in charge of the bank robbery. Serena, the fake student teacher and medium. The man who called himself Stuart Kelley and claimed to be Jenna’s father. And Mr Jackson.

Carter was offered the chair at the head of the table. Serena seemed to be talking to him — at least, she was looking at him and her lips were moving. And then Tracey saw something she’d never seen before.

Carter’s lips were moving. With the window closed, Tracey couldn’t hear anything, but it was obvious that Carter was speaking. And whatever he was saying had the full attention of the others.

Clare was taking notes. Mr Jackson was nodding. Stuart Kelley appeared to interrupt at some point to ask a question. Carter responded.

At first, Tracey was stunned. Then, when she recovered from her surprise, she was furious. That weasel, that little fake — he was pretending to be a zombie and all the time he was perfectly capable of communicating. He must have an incredible memory too. She’d never seen him write anything down in class, but he was obviously able to remember everything he heard there so he could report to this evil gang. At least, that’s what Tracey assumed he was doing — telling the others what went on in the Gifted class. But what else could intrigue this band of conspirators?

If only she could read lips! What was Carter telling them? How were they going to use the information?

Oh, how she wished she could communicate right then and there. She’d call her classmates, she’d call Madame at home, she wouldn’t care if she woke them all up. She’d tell them where she was, they could join her, and together they could confront these people.

She couldn’t tell them, of course. She wasn’t physically capable of doing that. But maybe she could show them. From her bag, she drew out her mobile phone. In the menu, she clicked on the camera function.

The phone in her hand was invisible. Maybe any picture she took with an invisible camera wouldn’t be seen. But she couldn’t waste time pondering the logistics of invisibility. She manoeuvred the phone until she thought it was in the right position to catch the image of the table and the people around it, and clicked. In this darkness, it wouldn’t be a great picture, and it wouldn’t prove that Carter could talk.

But it would show that Mr Jackson was in league with those other villains. And that was a start.

AT TEN O’CLOCK ON Saturday morning, Jenna found herself facing Dr Paley in his office. Behind the desk, the round-faced man gazed at her steadily. Jenna stared right back at him.

The doctor wasn’t smiling quite as broadly this time. ‘I don’t usually come in to Harmony House on Saturdays,’ he said. ‘But I thought it was important to see you as soon as possible.’

Jenna affected a look of wide-eyed innocence. ‘Why?’

‘I think you know,’ he said.

Of course she knew, but she wanted to hear it from him. She couldn’t defend herself until she knew exactly what that creep Peter had said. So she simply shrugged.

Dr Paley gave in. ‘When I checked my messages this morning, there was a new and urgent report about you. You’ve been observed talking to yourself.’

Jenna said nothing.

‘And your expression indicated that you were listening to another voice. As if someone else was with you.’

Jenna remained silent.

‘You don’t deny it?’ he asked.

Jenna chose her words carefully. ‘I don’t remember doing anything like that.’

Dr Paley looked at his notes. ‘You appeared to be carrying on a conversation in the dining hall, and you were alone.’

Jenna shrugged. ‘I was probably daydreaming.’

Dr Paley studied her thoughtfully. ‘Who were you talking to, Jenna?’

What would he say if she replied ‘my invisible friend’? The thought made her smile.

‘This isn’t a laughing matter,’ he said.

Jenna shifted uncomfortably in her chair. ‘Sorry. I guess I was just daydreaming again.’

‘You don’t strike me as a daydreamer,’ he said. He looked at his notes again. ‘I see you’ve amassed a lot of demerits. Smoking, picking fights. .’

She tried to stop the fury from rising inside but it was impossible and she knew it came out in her voice. ‘I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life,’ she declared hotly. ‘And I haven’t picked any fights. Not here, at least.’

‘Then why do you have all these demerits?’

‘It’s all made up, I shouldn’t have those demerits. Someone’s out to get me.’ And then she wanted to kick herself. Now he was going to think she was paranoid.

‘Who’s out to get you? Mrs Landers? Other kids?’

She shook her head.

He looked at the file. ‘I see all these demerits were reported by the same resident assistant.’

She couldn’t stop herself. ‘Peter Blake.’

‘Is that who’s out to get you?’ When she didn’t reply, he asked, ‘Why would he make up these things about you?’

‘Because he’s a slime bucket,’ she muttered.

A brief smile flickered across the doctor’s face. ‘That may well be — I don’t know the young man. But why would he pick on you ?’

She was so sick of this, of beating around the bush, avoiding the questions. Of being Peter’s victim. ‘Because I wouldn’t tell my friends to bring me drugs so I could slip them to him. He’s punishing me by giving me demerits, thinking I’ll give in eventually. And it’s not just me.’ She hesitated.

‘Go on.’

‘I’m not paranoid. That’s what he does, you see. And if you do what he wants, he’ll even look the other way if you break the rules.’

Dr Paley’s bushy eyebrows shot up. ‘He’s doing this with other residents as well?’

She nodded.

‘You’ve seen him do it?’

She hesitated. ‘No, not exactly. .’

‘So they’ve talked to you about it? What do they say about it? Are they angry?’

‘No one talks about it,’ she told him, then realized her mistake.

‘Then how do you know this is going on with people other than yourself?’

She had known all along that it would come down to this. She knew because she could read his mind, but there was no way she could explain that, and now she was just sounding paranoid. ‘I–I just know. That’s all.’

His voice became gentle. ‘Jenna, if there’s something you’re not admitting you mustn’t be afraid to tell me. You have to trust me. Have you ever heard of doctor patient confidentiality rules? Anything you say in this office to me, anything you don’t want revealed to anyone else, remains strictly between us.’

Jenna looked away. A full moment of silence passed. Then Dr Paley sighed deeply.

‘Jenna, if you can’t offer any explanation for your behaviour, then I have no alternative. You’re demonstrating feelings of paranoia. You’re talking to yourself. You’re hearing voices. These actions are evidence of serious mental problems, the kind of problems we aren’t capable of dealing with here at Harmony House.’