A masked sultan and harem girl glided by on the dance floor. Their costumes gleamed in an unnatural blaze of orange and yellow satin. Again, Elizabeth felt a chill come over her. Something about the combinations of wild, colorful costumes all around her was profoundly frightening.

  "Oh, Fred Mertz!" Winston called to the sultan, who suddenly turned into Bruce Patman. "Come hear me sing baba-loo!"

  "Ba-wooo," Daisy added firmly.

  Bruce began steering his date, Pamela Robertson, toward the far side of the dance floor. "If we pretend we don't know him, maybe he'll go away," Bruce said in a loud stage whisper.

  Enid laughed. "Has anyone ever noticed how people run in the other direction when Winston's around?"

  "Speaking of running away, I think we're supposed to be mingling," Olivia said, nudging Harry.

  "There's never any rest for the host!" Harry said with a smile. "Come on, Mona. Or is it Lisa? Let's go be sociable. The rest of you should be ready to put your masks on, if you've taken them off," he added. "The costume judging will start soon, and the winners will be announced sometime after ten thirty."

  "Well, I'm running, too," Rosa said. "I will die of starvation if I don't try some of those appetizers within the next two minutes. Anyone want anything? I could eat a horse!"

  Todd turned to Elizabeth. "See how popular we'd be if we'd come dressed as a horse?"

  "This is getting ridiculous!" Winston complained. "I work my fingers to the bone, doing my best to keep up the title of class clown, and suddenly I'm surrounded by amateurs. These days, everyone's trying to be a comedian!"

  "Ba-wooooo!" cried Leetle Ricky, clapping her hands.

  Elizabeth walked by herself along a garden path outlined by glowing luminaries.

  She turned back toward the dance floor, where Todd was dancing with Enid to a fast rock-and-roll song. Elizabeth had pushed them together, claiming that she wanted to take a better look at the gardens. Todd had seemed reluctant to leave her alone. But Elizabeth knew he would assume that her need for solitude was an excuse for making sure Enid was having fun, too.

  Enid did seem to be having fun—so did Todd, Elizabeth noticed approvingly. It was too bad that she, Elizabeth, was feeling too spooked to enjoy a really great party.

  Just then a fair-haired boy Elizabeth had never seen before moved onto the dance floor, blocking her view of Todd and Enid. The boy was dressed in a hastily thrown-together Sherlock Holmes outfit—jeans and a T-shirt, but with a hat, cape, pipe, and oversized magnifying glass.

  Somehow, the fair-haired boy didn't seem to fit in with the party atmosphere. He was looking away from Elizabeth, but she could see enough of his expression to know that he was frowning.

  Elizabeth chastised herself for thinking there was something odd about the fair-haired boy. After all, she herself wasn't smiling or talking to anyone, either. Maybe Sherlock Holmes had come with a friend and didn't know anybody else at the party. Or maybe he just didn't feel sociable tonight. He wouldn't be the only one, Elizabeth reminded herself.

  She turned and walked in the opposite direction, down a flagstone path that led in a wide curve around the perimeter of the garden. Ducking under a small, pretty arch, she found herself alone in a separate courtyard, isolated from the main garden by tall boxwood hedges. The music and laughter from the party seemed to recede, as if absorbed by the dark shrubbery.

  A gust of wind surprised Elizabeth. She glanced up and stifled a cry. Sharp points of light jerked wildly overhead—as if the black sky, littered with stars, were tilting wildly. She felt as if she was about to lose her balance, and she sat down hard on a stone bench. As she did, the breeze lifted the filmy veil from her hair, and floated it down slowly over her face.

  "There's nothing to be afraid of," she told herself aloud. "The stars aren't tilting. It's just those funny little lights moving in the breeze."

  She stood up and planted her feet firmly on the flagstone path. Then she took a deep breath, causing the veil to flutter in front of her mouth. She looked around the small courtyard to prove to herself that there was nothing to be afraid of.

  A marble fountain spattered limply in the center of the patio, its water glowing an acid green in the strange light. Opposite the pretty entrance arch, two tall boxwood hedges loomed over a dark, narrow passageway into the unlit part of the garden. She hadn't even known it was there until she was almost on top of it.

  Elizabeth turned and walked past the fountain and across the courtyard toward the pretty latticework arch where she'd begun. She breathed deeply of the floral-scented air, reminding herself sternly that she wasn't afraid of the dark.

  Then she froze. Somebody was standing outside the arch, looking in at her.

  The figure stepped forward to face Elizabeth, and she breathed a giddy sigh of relief. The girl's long, full gown was pale pink, and her shoulders were draped with a shimmering shawl exactly like the one Elizabeth was wearing. It was a girl in a Cinderella outfit that was almost identical to Elizabeth's. It was Jessica.

  "You scared me, Jess," Elizabeth said, too relieved to remember that she was angry at her sister.

  Jessica stared at her for a moment without saying a word. Then she turned and disappeared through the archway in a whirl of pink, her large rhinestone earrings flashing brilliantly as she turned.

  Elizabeth inhaled sharply. Rhinestones? She was sure she remembered which earrings Jessica had been wearing that evening—the teardrop-shaped pearls that Sam had given her.

  Elizabeth ran to the archway to look for her sister. Jessica was nowhere to be seen.

  Suddenly, Elizabeth recalled the recurring nightmare that had plagued her in the weeks following the accident. She was standing in the brittle sunlight on the shores of Secca Lake, staring at a girl who looked exactly like Jessica—a girl who moved toward Elizabeth in slow motion, clutching a gleaming butcher knife.

  Elizabeth shook herself as if to dissolve the image. Then she lifted the veil from her face and quickly made her way back to the party, crossing her arms tightly in front of her. In the last few minutes, the air in the garden had become much colder.

  Josh knew he was getting warmer. He stared intently at the dancers. Margo is here somewhere. He could practically taste her presence in the air.

  But picking her out might be more difficult than he had anticipated, among all these young people in costumes. The costumes were more elaborate than he had anticipated. In fact, he felt a little underdressed in the Sherlock Holmes outfit he'd thrown together at the last minute. But he hadn't wanted to spend much time or money on it, and the detective seemed like a natural choice.

  So far, the costume wasn't giving him much luck. If Margo was here, Josh didn't know where. Which of the dancers could she be?

  The gypsy fortune-teller was too tall, he decided quickly. A girl of about the right height was dressed as Amelia Earhart and dancing with a prince or duke or something. Josh's heart began to pound. He wasn't certain, but the prince looked a lot like the boy he'd seen with Margo in the mall parking lot—handsome, tall, and well-built, with dark, wavy hair.

  The couple turned and Josh got a glimpse of the aviator's round, pretty face. Even through her heavy flight goggles, Josh could see that she was nothing like Margo.

  He exhaled slowly and narrowed his eyes. He would find Margo tonight, he vowed grimly. He would unmask her.

  Todd was elated. He loved the feel of Elizabeth's hand on his shoulder as they danced. He loved the way her eyes showed turquoise through the pale wisp of a scarf that partly hid her face. The weeks of their separation had been miserable ones, and he blamed himself for the entire misunderstanding. Todd smiled down at Elizabeth and vowed silently that he would never doubt her again.

  "Are you feeling better now?" he murmured into her ear, feeling a twinge of concern about something he'd seen in her face when she had returned from her walk alone in the garden. She had seemed disturbed about something—afraid, actually. But she had insisted that nothing was wrong.

  "I'm feeling great," she said now, smiling up at him. "Except that I'm really parched. I think I'll go grab a cold drink. Do you want anything?"

  "No, thanks."

  "In that case, Todd, Winston looks like he could use some adult company over there. Why don't you give him a hand until I get back?"

  She pointed to Winston, who was apparently pleading with a red-faced Daisy to stop crying. Todd laughed and good-naturedly sauntered over to lend a hand.

  "Have you seen Maria?" Winston said desperately. "She's supposed to be here to take Daisy for a while." He looked past Todd, and continued. "Speaking of our better halves—"

  Todd felt a hand on his shoulder. Elizabeth was back already, looking like a blur of pink gauze as she grabbed his arm, whirled him around, and dragged him onto the dance floor. He waved at Winston and followed her willingly as the band started a slow, romantic song.

  The moment Todd turned to face his partner, he realized that he'd been mistaken. It wasn't Elizabeth he was dancing with at all. This had to be Jessica.

  Jessica was known for dramatic gestures. They had dated only briefly, while he and Elizabeth were apart, but both of them knew that there was nothing between them. This was probably some sort of peace offering, he figured.

  Still, Todd had no idea what he should say to her. After a minute, he realized that it didn't matter. For once, Jessica seemed content with silence. In fact, she hadn't spoken a word.

  Todd's eyes widened when he felt Jessica's hand slip from his shoulder and slide around to the middle of his back. He pulled away as far as he could without being impolite, but she swiveled her hips forward to follow the line of his body.

  Why was she doing this to him, after everything they'd been through? Todd prayed that the song would end soon.

  When Jessica's hands began caressing his back in soft, slow circles, Todd began to feel panicky. He couldn't figure out what had gotten into her. He had known right away that this Cinderella wasn't Elizabeth, but now it hardly seemed like Jessica. She'd always been one of the biggest flirts in town, but he'd never seen her come on to anyone like this—let alone to him.

  "Jessica—"

  She put a finger to her lips—barely visible beneath the pink scarf that covered her face. Her embrace grew tighter, and Todd was so nervous that he didn't think he could have spoken at all, even if he'd wanted to.

  When the song finally ended, Todd ducked out of her arms before the echo of the last note had died down. In his haste to get off the dance floor, he bumped into another couple, mumbled something apologetic, and scrambled away to find Elizabeth. Somebody behind him began making an announcement about the costume contest winners being revealed soon, but Todd barely heard. All he knew was that he had to get away—and that he couldn't look back.

  As he ran from Jessica, he felt her intense, cold eyes boring into his back like ice picks.

  Margo sighed dreamily. She hated to see her dance with Todd end. It had been so romantic—how lucky she was that a slow song had come along, just when Elizabeth had left Todd to get a drink.

  Nothing is luck, said the low, raspy voice in her head.

  "Of course," Margo whispered aloud, surprised that she hadn't realized it before. "The stars are helping me tonight."

  The stars had come down closer to earth and were hanging all over this party, sitting in the trees and lining the little wooden archways that led party guests from one area of the garden to another. The slow song had not come because of sheer luck. It was part of a plan. Everything was part of the plan.

  And soon, the best part of the plan would unfold. Cinderella would become the princess. And Todd would be her prince.

  "Jessica!" said a voice behind her. Margo felt a hand on her shoulder. She whirled, groping for the switchblade she wore strapped to her thigh.

  Then she saw who it was, and relaxed. Margo recognized the pretty, brown-haired girl from the wedding she'd attended at the Fowler mansion.

  "I haven't seen you all night!" said Lila, dragging her off the dance floor. "Where have you been hiding?" A tall, gorgeous boy—Italian, Margo decided—followed Lila with a worshipful look on his face. Someday soon, boys would follow her that way, Margo promised herself.

  "Are you having a good time?" Lila asked. "I was kind of worried. You weren't exactly the life of the party at my house this afternoon. . . . Oh, Tony, this is one of my favorite songs. We've got to dance to this one. See you after this dance, Jess—"

  "Bye," Margo said with a wave. This was great, she thought. Both Lila and Todd had instantly recognized her as one of the Wakefield twins. Okay, so they had thought she was Jessica, not Elizabeth. But that was a minor point. It wouldn't be long now before she had her Elizabeth act down perfectly, and then . ..

  "Hey, Jess!" called Steven Wakefield, strolling over with an arm around a pretty girl. Both of them were wearing large, black mouse ears. "Great costume, little sis," he said, swatting her playfully on the backside as he walked on.

  "I can't believe I'm wearing this thing in public, Jessica," Amy Sutton complained, joining her a minute later. "I'm not supposed to tell, but I can't stand it anymore. I lost a bet with Winston."

  Ahhh, thought Margo. The skinny kid with the thick glasses and the screaming brat of a baby. ..

  The baby Elizabeth loves, said the voice in her head. The baby who doesn't deserve so much good luck, when other babies had nobody at all to love them.

  "Well, you know Winston," Margo said in response to Amy's comment.

  Amy nodded. "Unfortunately."

  "Hi, Jessica!" called a girl whose name Margo didn't know. She smiled broadly as the girl walked on.

  It was wonderful to be so popular. Margo couldn't remember when she'd had a better time.

  "Yo, Wakefield!" called one of the best-looking guys in the place. He was dressed as a sultan.

  "Isn't it about time for you to turn into a pumpkin?" Bruce asked Margo loudly, from across the dance floor.

  "Looks like you beat me to it!" Margo called back, pointing to his orange robes.

  "Good one, Jessica!" yelled another handsome boy she didn't recognize.

  This is fabulous! Jessica Wakefield knew every good-looking guy in town. For the first time in her life, Margo felt as if she really belonged.

  "Glad to see you're feeling better, Jessica!" said a tall girl who was dressed as a witch.

  "Have you heard who the judges have picked for the costume contest?" Amy asked.

  "No," Margo said. "I didn't think they'd announced the winners yet."

  "They haven't," Amy explained. "But I heard a rumor that Steven and Billie are going to win in the category for Best Couple!"

  "That's great!" Margo said, genuinely pleased. A lot of things were great, Margo thought. She was one of the most popular girls in town, from one of the most popular families in town. And everybody here loved her. Everybody—

  Suddenly, Margo spotted a disturbingly familiar face.

  "No," Margo said under her breath. Not now. Not when everything is so perfect. But Josh hadn't seen her yet. Margo still had time to get away.

  "I'll catch you later, Amy," she said quickly. "I'm, uh, going to look for James."

  Josh scanned the crowd one last time, almost ready to call it quits for the night. He had been at the costume party for hours, slipping around the clusters of cheerful, excited, innocent people, as he searched for one who was not so innocent.

  Had his instincts been wrong? Perhaps Margo hadn't come to the party tonight. Perhaps she sensed he would be there, and had stayed away.

  Just then something registered in the corner of Josh's eye. A girl wearing a pink, frothy-looking gown seemed to be hurrying away from him. She looked about five-foot-six, and slim. A pink veil cascaded gently back over her blond hair.

  Was it Margo?

  He began dodging through the crowded garden in pursuit. At one point, the girl turned to duck under an arch, and Josh caught sight of her face, pale between large earrings that flashed like stars. It was Margo. The golden hair was wrong, of course, but she'd been a blonde when he'd spotted her in the parking lot of Valley Mall, too. It had to be a wig, or a dye job.

  Josh was running now. His weeks of searching were about to pay off. He skirted a tall boxwood hedge and dashed through the latticework arch, into a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle of it. He stood just inside the archway, panting, as he stared around the flagstone patio. The courtyard was empty.

  He stomped back through the archway into the main part of the garden. Then he began scanning the party guests once more, not really expecting to see her.

  Miraculously, she was there. About thirty feet away from him, past the refreshments table, Margo stood by herself in the pale pink princess costume. She was gazing toward the dance floor and didn't even seem to notice Josh.

  Josh marveled at Margo's composure. She had even more nerve than he had realized. Perhaps Margo knew exactly what she was doing, and was tracking him carefully out of the corner of her eye.

  Josh shook his head and began stepping toward Margo slowly and deliberately, keeping an eye on her profile.

  He waited until he was only a few feet away from Margo, then he sprang, grabbing her roughly around the shoulders.

  The girl screamed and began to struggle, but Josh knew that he was physically stronger than Margo—and that her movements were hampered by her heavy ball gown. He held her firmly around the shoulders, ignoring the pain of her high heels stabbing him in the legs as she kicked him.

  "What are you doing?" demanded an angry voice. A tall boy about Josh's age, appeared out of nowhere, wearing a blue tunic and a makeshift crown.

  "I'm all right, James," the girl replied breathlessly. "Get away from me!" she screamed at Josh, elbowing him in the side.

  James grabbed Josh from behind and tried to pull him off of the girl. Then Josh fell, stunned, from a sudden blow to the side of his head. He looked up to see a skinny boy of about sixteen wielding a set of bongo drums.

  James pulled Josh up from the ground and held him securely.

  "Are you okay, Jessica?" the skinny boy asked, helping her up from where she had fallen when Josh went sprawling. "Who is this creep, anyway?"