"It was such a pretty day," Melissa said, smiling. "Rachel and I have been having fun."

"You have to watch her really carefully outdoors," Erica said nervously.

"I can go outside by myself." Rachel insisted.

"No, you can't," Erica scolded. "You have to wait for someone to take you outside. Remember?"

Rachel frowned and didn't reply. She dropped the ball to the ground and kicked it toward the house.

"It was nice of you to watch her so I could go to rehearsal," Erica told Melissa. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Melissa replied. Then she added, "I saw Dave last night."

Erica paled at the sound of his name. She raised her eyes to Melissa's, her expression troubled. "What did he say? What did he want?"

"He says he knows who killed Josie," Melissa told her. "He's come back to clear his name."

"Who?" Erica demanded eagerly. "Who killed Josie? Who? Who stabbed me?"

Melissa frowned. "He wouldn't say. He just said he knew."

Rachel laughed suddenly, a loud, mocking laugh. "Someone hates Erica," she sang. Then she began to chant it over and over. "Someone hates Erica. Someone hates Erica. . . ."

"Come on," Erica said, putting an arm gently around Rachel's slender shoulders. "Let's get you inside. Say goodbye to Melissa."

Melissa called goodbye, then turned and jogged across the street to her house. The sun was a glowing red ball now, lowering itself behind the trees. The air had taken on an evening chill.

"Hey!" She was startled to find Luke coming around the side of the house.

"Hi," he said somewhat shyly.

"Hi," she repeated, staring at him curiously. "What a nice surprise."

"Well, yeah. It's a surprise for me too," he said, an odd grin spreading across his face. His glasses glinted, catching the red glow of the sun. "Guess what I did?"

She stopped and stared at him. "You won the lottery?"

He laughed dryly. "Guess again."

"I can't guess. Why do you look so sheepish?"

"I locked myself out," he explained with a shrug. "I must have left my keys in school or something." He rolled his eyes. "Dumb or what? I couldn't get into my house, so I came over here."

"Well, I'm glad you're dumb!" she replied, grinning. "I've been taking care of Rachel. Now I guess I'll have to take care of you!"

She reached into her coat pocket for her keys. Not finding them, she reached into her other pocket. Then, a disconcerted look formed on her face as she searched her jeans pockets.

"Guess what?" she wailed, holding up her empty hands. "No keys. I'm dumb too!"

"We're both dumb," Luke agreed, smiling.

"Come here, Dummy." Melissa put her arms around his neck and gave him a long, enthusiastic kiss. "We make a good team," she said, leaning against his chest.

She kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his waist.

When the kiss ended, she raised her eyes to his. "You know, I really do think we make a good team," she said seriously.

Melissa felt very happy. But to her surprise, Luke seemed very embarrassed and more than a little troubled.

A little after eleven that night, Melissa was studying up in her room. Hunched over her desk, the small desk lamp casting a circle of light onto her open textbook, she struggled to concentrate.

She yawned and rubbed her tired eyes. She stretched her arms high over her head.

Then she heard sounds down in the front yard.

A thud. Followed by rapid footsteps. Followed by the clang of a metal garbage can toppling over onto the drive.

Startled, Melissa leapt to her feet, knocking over the desk chair as she scrambled to the window.

Is it Dave again?

That was her first thought.

Is he climbing up to my room again?

Has he fallen out of the tree?

It was such a warm night, she had left her bedroom window open.

Tingling with fear, Melissa peered out. The roof over the porch blocked her view of the driveway, but she could see a figure running away from the house. Running toward the street.

"Who is that?" Melissa cried out loud, squinting into the darkness.

Melissa couldn't see the face of the girl running across her front yard. All she could see was the long red hair trailing behind her.

Chapter 27.

"NOT LUKE".

"I don't believe it!" Melissa muttered, squinting against the darkness.

She heard a car roar away, its tires squealing.

I saw Rachel, she told herself, the night air cold against her hot cheeks. I saw Rachel running across the yard.

But that's impossible.

And whose car sped away? Did Rachel get into it? Rachel can't drive.

And why would Rachel drive anyway? She lives right across the street.

Feeling confused and upset, Melissa moved away from the window. Her heart was pounding. She suddenly felt chilled all over.

Rachel? Running outdoors? By herself in the middle of the night?

As she pulled on her robe, Melissa realized that her parents were awake. "Melissa!" Her father's heavy footsteps thundered in the hallway. "Melissa, are you all right?"

He poked his head into her room, the door swinging open, the yellow hall light revealing him in pajama bottoms, his hair disheveled, his expression worried. "Are you okay?" he asked, surprised to find her standing by her closet. "I heard a prowler. I called the police."

"I-I heard it too," Melissa told him. She started to tell him that she saw Rachel running across the yard. But he was already halfway down the stairs.

Melissa tied her robe and headed to the stairway, nearly colliding with her mother on the stairs. "Your father called the police," she told Melissa, flashing a tense frown at her daughter.

They hurried down the stairs. The living room lights had been turned on. The hall and kitchen were also lit up. Mr. Davis had turned on all the lights in the house.

"The doors are locked," he called to them, sounding bewildered. "No sign of a break-in."

"Then what on earth-" Mrs. Davis started, following his voice to the kitchen.

Melissa's father was peering out the kitchen window at the garage. "Everything looks normal out there," he reported. "Garage door is closed."

Shivering, Mrs. Davis wrapped her arms around herself. "Weird," she muttered.

"I saw Rachel McClain outside," Melissa finally managed to say.

Both her parents turned to stare at her, squinting in disbelief. "What did you just say?" Mr. Davis asked, scratching his head.

"I saw her. I saw Rachel. She was running across the yard," Melissa insisted.

"But that's impossible," her mother said quickly, still hugging herself.

Mr. Davis stepped behind his wife and put an arm around her shoulders. "You must have been dreaming," he told Melissa, staring hard at her.

"But I saw her!" Melissa said shrilly. "I heard a noise. A crash. I ran to the window, and-"

"But Rachel isn't allowed out by herself," Mrs. Davis said. "She can't go out by herself."

"What would Rachel be doing in our yard?" Mr. Davis added. He shook his head. "Come on, Melissa-"

Melissa angrily pounded her fist on the kitchen counter. "I'm not crazy!" she shouted. "I saw Rachel out there!"

They didn't have any time to discuss it further. A loud knocking on the front door startled them all.

Melissa got to the front door first. "Who is it?" she called timidly.

"Police," replied a deep voice on the other side of the door.

Melissa pulled the door open to reveal two solemn-faced police officers. She stared at them in the harsh porch light. One was heavy, bald, and paunchy with an enormous, lumpy nose that resembled a potato. His partner was young and blond.

Melissa pushed open the storm door. The two officers stepped past her into the hallway.

"I called you because-" Mr. Davis started, stepping between Melissa and her mother.

"When did you discover the body?" the older policeman interrupted.

"What?" Mr. Davis asked, terribly confused.

"When did you discover the body?" the policeman repeated patiently, in a low, steady voice.

"What body?" Mrs. Davis asked, as bewildered as her husband.

"The body of the teenage boy on your driveway," the officer replied.

"No!" The scream burst from Melissa, more a shriek of horror than a word. "No! Not Luke! Please, don't let it be Luke!"

Chapter 28.

STABBED.

Erica yawned loudly as she pulled back the bedcovers. She glanced at the clock beside her bed.

I'm so tired. It's so late, she thought. I'll never be able to get up in time for school tomorrow.