“There you are.” No one moved when Mark entered the room. “I have a bone to pick with you, Larry. I want you to—”

  “Yes, you’re right. Ms. Prichard needs to leave me alone, like you said.” That stopped Mark in mid-sentence when Larry spoke. He was sure that Hanna was promoting him to do that, so he didn’t move for fear of bringing attention to himself. “I’ve gone to the front office several times this week about the way she’s always around. I don’t know how she’s getting in the offices, but I’m ready to move on if this keeps up.” Larry looked at Mark and smiled. “You’ve no idea how much I appreciate you coming here and talking to me about this. I love teaching your children, and the oldest two have been really helpful in me having their younger brother in my class.”

  “I see. She tried to tell me that it was you coming on to her.” Larry said that he was widowed. “I’m not sure what that has to do with things, but she didn’t tell me that. I was getting an entirely—she said that you gave her a key that allows her to come into the back of the building so that you can have your tryst. I’m not sure how that would be coming about with you having twenty-something children around all the time.”

  Larry laughed. “Isn’t that the truth? I can barely go to the bathroom once a day without one of the little ones chasing after me. It’s been different, I have to admit, to be a teacher again. Not that I’m not enjoying it, but…well, Mark, your wife has cornered me—I have video proof if you need to see it. I made sure that the camera was on the both of us when she came into the teachers’ lounge, too. I like teaching too much to let something like this…well, it is getting in the way. Again, I appreciate you coming here and talking to me, giving me a chance to clear my name before you accused me of whatever your wife is telling you.”

  “It’s my pleasure.” Mark looked at him and smiled. “I was having the same trouble with Mr. Tate here when my kids started going to this school. I just couldn’t equate Mr. Tate doing the things that she said he’d done to her. Finally, I told her that we would move away, she hates to move and start fresh if things didn’t calm down. I should have dug deeper into what she was telling me, I suppose. Then you’d not be having the same issues as the last school we were at.”

  “She’s done this before?” Mark nodded at him and said that the reason that they’d moved to this area was because there had been trouble with her at the other district they’d been in. “We’re going to have to do something about her, Mark. If not, someone could get hurt or killed. I’ve heard of this sort of thing happening before. No, we’ll have to do something about it, and soon.”

  “I’ll press charges if that’s what it takes.” Mark asked if it could be done in a quiet way. He didn’t want his children to be caught up in their mother’s troubles. “I don’t know, to be honest. I mean, it’s already escalated to you having to hunt me down to get answers. What if you’d not been able to find me? Would you have… I don’t know, Mark. This makes me very uncomfortable. She’ll have to be barred from entering school grounds. I know that will cause you all kinds of trouble.”

  “I can talk to her again. But to be honest with you guys, I’m not sure that anything that I can say to her will make her stop. As you’ve figured out, this isn’t the first time that she’s done this. At least here, I’ve been able to keep on top of things, until today. She told me that you tried to press her into one of the desks in the classroom. The only thing that I could think of when she said that was how low to the ground those things are. You’d have to be bent in half.”

  For whatever reason, that made Jeremiah laugh. When Hanna stood up and began talking, all three of them watched as she seemed to float across the floor while tossing out one idea to the next on what needed to be done.

  “This is a sickness, I believe. She needs for someone, one of the children’s teachers, to be enumerate of her, I believe. Perhaps it has something to do with her age? Boredom? I don’t know. But I have a feeling that this is going to keep escalating until—like you said, someone is hurt badly. And I believe it will be the children.” Mark said he’d not thought about how it would affect his children. “She’ll begin to see them as…well, I hate to use this term, but someone who is aging her might be the next thing she tries if she can’t get a teacher to help her with her illness. I’ve seen how she dresses and comes to the school. Do you realize, Mark, that your wife is wearing things that are well inappropriate for her age? She’s trying to relive her teenage years. And what is she? Thirty-five? Forty? Not that I’m judging her—well, I suppose I am, but I am thinking of her older children now. How it must feel to them to have their mother dressing that way.”

  “Forty-nine. Beth is set to be fifty in about three weeks. I’d…I’d not realized that it was coming up so soon. However, now that you mention it, I have noticed her clothing. The other day, I came home, and she was sitting on the couch with Mary Beth’s friends, all teenagers about thirteen and down, dressed just like them. I mean, she had on the same outfit and colors as our daughter did. Neon colors that frankly made me ill. And I could tell that Mary Beth was embarrassed to have her mom acting like…acting like them. She wants to hang out with them, too. Have me drop them off at the mall together. I had to put my foot down the other day when Beth asked to borrow my car because it was big enough for her and her BFF’s could ride in. I had to look it up. Best friends forever? Really? was all I could say to her.”

  Jeremiah had a feeling that Mark was dealing with a great many things concerning his wife instead of just her clothing. If she was dressing like her daughter, it occurred to him that she may well be acting out like teenagers are want to do. He thought of the things that Lynn, Sauls and Chalina’s daughter was up to when she’d been acting out.

  Of course, it had been a tumor that had been pressing against her skull, making her act out, but she’d been like every other teenager that he’d been around—and he’d been around plenty of them when they were trying to be cool at school. He did wonder if Beth had started rolling her eyes and popping her gum but didn’t ask. Mark was stressed enough.

  Hannah was going to handle the situation that would keep Beth from the school in a nonthreatening way. Once all the locks were changed on the door, that would end her being able to come in when she wanted to. Jeremiah was going to have a talk with his staff and fire anyone who was telling Beth the schedule that Larry was on. There were other things too that he could do, and he made himself a list to make sure he got them all done on time, too.

  Larry did end up pressing charges. He had to do that in order for there to be a trail for the police to follow through with and to get Beth off the streets. Once that was done, Larry had been told not to leave the house for a few days until Mark could talk to his wife. But he was going to have to speak to his children first as they were already fed up with their mom.

  As if it had been scripted, not only did Beth show up at his home, but she also had pressed charges or had tried to press charges against Larry for sexual harassment. Mark had tried to reason with his wife, but she was adamant about it being all on Larry. Whatever came of that, he didn’t know, but he was nervous about being out and about, too. Thankfully, with the faeries helping them keep an eye on the other woman, they were never caught unawares for the next several days. Who knew what tomorrow and being a school day would bring? But he was hopeful that nothing happened that would test their immortality. At least he wasn’t the target, he told himself then felt terrible thinking that. Poor Larry was a nervous wreck.

  Chapter 5

  Beth didn’t understand what they were talking about—the two people in her head. Of course, she was crushing on Larry, she told them. He was the best-looking teacher that she’d ever had. Too bad that Mark was hanging around, too, she thought. The man was messing with her love life, and that was pissing her off. She didn’t know why he cared if the two of them were together. It wasn’t like he was older than Mark or anything.

  Looking at the newspaper in front of her, Beth looked around the room, wondering why she was reading the paper. Did she have a report to do or something? Wadding up the paper, she continued to look around the room she was in. Right now, afraid to say anything, she couldn’t remember where she was. Think, she told herself. Just think.

  Beth knew that there were times when she would just black out big portions of her day. But lately, it was getting harder and harder for her to stay focused on her daily life. As it was right now, she not only didn’t know where she was, but she couldn’t remember if she had done something that would get her into trouble again. Closing her eyes and getting a grip on her memories, she opened them and felt better. For now, anyway.

  It was a beautiful room, and she tried to remember when it was the last time things were updated. Her mom would know. The pain in her head caused the voices to start to speak to her again, and she stood up and decided that she wasn’t going to listen to them. She didn’t know anyone called Mary Beth but that girl from school who was in one of her classes. And there was no way that she was going to do what they told her to do. It wasn’t right.

  “Mom?” Turning, not bothering to close the refrigerator door when she did, Beth told the young girl that she didn’t know who she was looking for. “Ok. Right. I’ll play along. What are you doing in the fridge right now? You said no snacking before dinner. Come over here, and I’ll get you something to drink. You like sweet tea, right? I think I remember that.”

  The girl took two glasses from the cabinet like she knew the—Something occurred to her. Smiling, she put her hand on the other girl’s arm. Touching her seemed to be wrong, so snatching her hand back, she cleared her throat before speaking.

  “Am I at your home? Is that why I’ve never seen this room before?” The girl asked her what she thought of the room as she poured them both a glass of tea. “I was just sitting there reading the paper when I realized I didn’t know where I was. No biggie. It has happened to me a lot lately. Did you want me to fix your hair today?”

  “No. I have it the—can you tell me your name? I remember it, but I want to make sure that I say it right.” She told her. “Okay. My name is Mary Beth Prichard. I’m glad to meet you, Bethy James. I don’t think I remember you telling me your last name before. Gosh, you’re beautiful. Do you look like your mom or dad?”

  They talked for a little while. Mary Beth kept asking her questions like there was going to be some kind of test later, and she wanted to have all the correct answers. Stupid questions. Like how old she was. Did she have any brothers and sisters. So Bethy started writing down the answers that she got from the girl as Mary Beth was doing.

  “You have really pretty hair.” Mary Beth told her that it was the same color as hers was. “Oh yeah. I never knew that.” She looked at her reflection in the microwave that was just across from them. It was too dark for her to compare her hair to the girl, but she had no reason to disbelieve her. She put her hands to her face when she felt it heat up like someone was frying her face. “Do you think it would be all right if you gave me something for my headache? It’s so painful right now. It has my belly messed up.” Mary Beth said that she’d get some from her mother’s bathroom. “Can I come too? I’d love to see if she has a pink room. I don’t know why, but I think it’ll be bright pink.”

  It wasn’t anything close to pink. In fact, it was a dark brown color with some kind of greens in it. However, when she saw the bed, all she could think about was lying down on it. Covering herself up with the pretty afghan at the bottom and taking a nap. Not asking for permission, Bethy not only laid down but didn’t want to get up to even take anything that Mary Beth had gotten for her.

  Beth knew that, on some level, that she was in trouble right now. What she’d done or what she was going to do seemed just out of her reach. But Mary Beth was being so nice to her. No one had ever been this nice to her in all her life, she knew that she had to keep on her toes so that she’d not figure out what a bad person she was. Beth wanted a friend to talk to in the worst sort of way.

  “I have such a terrible headache, Mary Beth. I feel like my head is going to explode.” Bethy paused just long enough to hear one of the voices speak to her. “You should know that I’m supposed to kill you. That I’m to take the gun out of the safe in that closet and kill you all. Do you have sisters and brothers?”

  “I do. I have two sisters and three brothers. I’m the oldest. The others aren’t supposed to be home for another hour. Dad will pick them up and bring them home. Do you know where you live, Bethy? Someplace grand, I’m betting.” Nodding made her physically ill, and she’d only just gotten to the trashcan on her side of the bed before puking all over the nice, comfy bed. “You don’t look so good, Mom, I mean Bethy. How about I call someone to come here and see to you? I have my own cell phone. I think you might be sick with something. Can I make the call to get you some help?”

  “I just need a few minutes, then I’ll do what the voices are telling me. You won’t run off, will you? If I were to close my eyes for a little bit, you’ll stay with me, won’t you?” Mary Beth assured her that she’d not leave her side. But she thought that calling someone would help. “All right. But don’t run off. I have to do this, or I get a nosebleed. Sometimes for hours. You call, I know, you call Larry Turner. I think that he’s so dreamy. He’s going to be my husband soon. Then I can keep house for him and have lots of babies.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea.” She opened one eye and watched Mary Beth pull out her phone. “I’m just calling to have Larry picked up and brought here. That’ll be all right, don’t you think? Also, I need to let my dad know that we have company. Would you like to stay for dinner? We usually have pizza on Sunday nights. Is that all right?”

  Bethy listened to Mary Beth telling the person on the other end of the line that her BFF was really sick with a headache and that her name was Bethy James. Some of her words seemed messed up. Like at one point, Mary Beth told the person that there were people talking in her head or something like that. Then she told the person that she’d be right here on the bed with her. That she was keeping an eye on her friend.

  “I don’t know that we’re friends, are we?” Mary Beth pointed out that she was in her house. “I guess so. But the man in my head, he keeps telling me that I need to kill you all. I don’t know who the all might be unless it’s your brothers and sisters, but I have to do it, or I can’t let my head rest. There is a woman there, too. She keeps calling me nasty names. All the time. Also, that my time is running out. I’m only thirteen years old. How could time be running out for me?”

  “Does this man know the answers? Did you ask him that? I think I’d like to have that answer too.” Bethy noticed that the other girl was crying and that her face was blotchy with her tears. She asked her if she was all right. “Of course I am. I’d be better if you didn’t tell me all the time that you have to kill me, but I’m all right. You have a mission, right? To kill me? I just want to say that I don’t want you to kill my brothers and sisters. I suppose if you have to kill someone, then I’d rather it be me. They’re so little that…I love them dearly, Bethy, and I don’t want anything to happen to them. I think Dad would be so depressed.”

  “Yes, that’s right. It’s a mission. And I don’t want to kill anyone. It’s messy. Blood gets everywhere, and it takes me a long time to get it out of my clothing. Sometimes I just want to burn them, but the woman in my head, she says that I’ve wasted enough money being a…she calls me a whore.” Bethy tried to listen to the man more, but he was jabbering about how time was running out. “I don’t know what to do with him. He’s been bothering me for days now. I finally had to kill a person so that he’d shut his mouth.”

  “You did kill someone? Maybe it was just a dream. I have them sometimes, too. Where did you do that at?” Bethy couldn’t remember, but it was in a house, she told the other girl. The house had a big red door in the front of it. “That’s the Winchester’s house. Thomas and Caroline live there with their little boy, Ethan. Are any of those the names that you might have heard that you were to kill?”

  When her head suddenly stopped hurting, Bethy smiled at MB, what she decided to call the other girl. They were BFFs, right? And they needed to have cool nicknames. MB asked again who she had killed. She really didn’t want to talk about it, but she nodded, thinking that if she were to tell her, then she’d stop talking about it, and they could talk about Larry. Or was it Jeremiah? She didn’t care.

  “Tommy. He was the one that stood me up at the prom. I think. He told me that his family wouldn’t allow him to hang around with a spoiled woman. That’s another thing that my mom called me. Spoiled for everyone, she told me. Like I was nothing more than a gallon of milk that had been left too long. I’m not spoiled, am I, MB?”

  While her head was still silent, she got up and used the bathroom. Coming out, she didn’t know where she was at first but decided to get things organized for the killings. It was that, or the voices in her head, were going to keep at her until she did what she was told. She had been brought up that you always had to listen to your…she didn’t know who they were. Going to the closet, she opened the big doors to it and saw the safe. Instead of opening it, like she thought that she needed to, Bethy sat on the floor in front of it.

  “I feel like things are messing up. Did you do that? Did you make it so that I’m messed up?” MB told her that they’d only been talking and she didn’t know her plans other than that she was going to be killed. “I have to do that, MB. If I don’t, then I will go insane.” Some part of her thought that she was insane but let that flitter away with the other things in her head.