Bad Moonlight

  “Now,” Aunt Margaret coaxed, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Tell me what’s troubling you.”

  Danielle poured soap powder into the dishwasher. “I’ve just been feeling so strange,” she replied. “And I keep having these horrible fantasies—people fighting, tearing each other to bits. Dying!”

  She slammed the dishwasher closed and turned it on. “I love being in the band, and I hate to let the others down. But maybe I should quit.”

  Aunt Margaret raised a heavily penciled eyebrow. “You’re not a quitter, Danielle.”

  “I know!” Danielle cried. “But I keep thinking if I went to college now, instead of next year, then maybe things would change.”

  Aunt Margaret blew on her coffee and took a sip. A film of bright red lipstick came off on the cup. “Here’s what I think,” she announced. “You should take it easy for a while. When’s your next show?”

  “In a couple of days.”

  “Good. Then you’ll have some time to clear your mind,” Aunt Margaret declared. “Of course, you’ll have to rehearse. But no traveling. So do some shopping, go to the movies, sleep till noon if you want. Then see how you feel.”

  “I already know how I feel!” Danielle exclaimed. “Scared. No, not scared—terrified! Aunt Margaret, these fantasies keep getting more and more violent. And I keep thinking about Mom and Dad. A lot.”

  “Didn’t Dr. Moore say that was to be expected?” Aunt Margaret asked. “That it would take time to get over what happened?”

  “Yeah, but it’s taking too much time,” Danielle insisted. “I don’t just miss them, Aunt Margaret. I could stand that, I guess. But I keep seeing them—picturing the car flying off the cliff. Why? Why can’t I get it out of my mind?”

  Aunt Margaret frowned sadly and shook her head.

  “Tell me again about the accident,” Danielle begged. “I want to know exactly what happened. I want to know every single detail. Maybe I need to keep hearing about it until I’m sick of it or something.”

  Aunt Margaret clicked her tongue. “It isn’t good to keep dwelling on these things.”

  “But—”

  “No buts.” Aunt Margaret crossed to Danielle and put her arm around her. “I’m no expert, but I simply can’t believe that hearing about your parents’ accident over and over again is going to help you one bit.”

  Was she right? Danielle wondered. Maybe. But not hearing about the accident wasn’t helping, either. She couldn’t stop thinking about it, no matter how hard she tried.

  “Oh, look at the time!” Aunt Margaret exclaimed. “I’ve got laundry to fold and errands to run, and it’s already two o’clock.”

  “I’ll fold the laundry,” Danielle offered.

  “Absolutely not! I forbid you to do anything but relax and enjoy yourself.” Aunt Margaret squeezed Danielle’s shoulder. “It’ll be the best thing for you.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right, young lady!” Aunt Margaret said sternly. “Now. Didn’t you and Caroline make plans to go to a movie later?”

  Danielle nodded.

  “Good. Why don’t you go out on the patio and relax until it’s time to go.” Pushing back her dyed red hair, Aunt Margaret bustled out of the kitchen.

  Danielle rinsed out the coffee cup and wiped off the table. She glanced out the window. Clear and sunny. But she didn’t feel like sitting on the patio.

  She didn’t feel like going to the movies, either.

  Caroline would understand. She knew what Danielle was going through.

  Danielle wiped her hands on the dishtowel and reached for the wall phone next to the refrigerator.

  Aunt Margaret’s voice came over the line. Danielle started to apologize, but Aunt Margaret must not have realized that Danielle had picked up the extension.

  Before Danielle could hang up, she heard her own name.

  “It’s Danielle,” Aunt Margaret declared to someone on the other end of the line. “I’m very worried about her. Very worried!”

  A pause. Then Danielle heard the second voice.

  “Come over right now. We must talk about her,” the voice insisted. “I’m worried, too.”

  Danielle stared at the phone in shock.

  The second voice belonged to Dr. Moore.

  Chapter 16

  A BIG SECRET

  “Come to my office right now,” Danielle heard Dr. Moore repeat.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Aunt Margaret replied. Danielle heard a click as her aunt hung up the receiver.

  Stunned, Danielle hung up too. She stared blindly at the telephone, her thoughts racing.

  She had no idea that Aunt Margaret ever talked to Dr. Moore. Had she been talking to him all along, ever since Danielle started seeing him? They sounded as if they’d spoken before.

  Aunt Margaret thinks I’m getting worse, Danielle thought.

  The sound of heels clicking down the hall made Danielle jump guiltily away from the phone. When Aunt Margaret entered the kitchen, she found Danielle peering into the refrigerator.

  Aunt Margaret clicked her tongue. “I thought I told you to go outside and relax in that sunshine.”

  “I am. I’m just getting something to drink.” Danielle grabbed a Coke and turned around. Her aunt was ready to go, a big purse slung over her shoulder and her lipstick freshened.

  She looks really tense, Danielle thought. “Did you fold the laundry already?”

  “The laundry can wait,” Aunt Margaret declared. “I want to get to that white sale at Brady’s. Everything is probably picked over by now, but maybe I’ll get lucky.”

  “Sure,” Danielle said. “See you later.”

  “You relax,” Aunt Margaret called back over her shoulder as she hurried out of the room.

  When Danielle heard the front door slam, she sank down on the nearest chair. She shut her eyes, tried to stop the room from spinning.

  Aunt Margaret had lied to her!

  After her parents’ accident, her aunt had moved all the way across the country to take care of Danielle and Cliff. Aunt Margaret had always been there whenever they needed her.

  Danielle trusted her.

  Until now.

  Aunt Margaret hid the fact that she talked with Dr. Moore about Danielle.

  Was she hiding other things?

  Danielle rose from the table and gazed out the kitchen window. Cliff and his friend from down the street were playing in the cardboard fort. They’d be at it for hours.

  Danielle had the house to herself.

  Time to find out if Aunt Margaret had any other secrets.

  Danielle stuck the Coke back in the refrigerator and crept out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

  Her aunt’s room overlooked the front yard. The door was closed.

  You shouldn’t do this, Danielle scolded herself. Aunt Margaret deserves her privacy.

  But I deserve to know if I can trust her.

  She turned the knob and pushed the door open.

  The small room used to be the guest room. Her aunt refused to take over Danielle’s parents’ bedroom. That was one of the things Danielle loved about her.

  Danielle crossed the room and started with the desk.

  The shallow top drawer held pens and pencils, scissors, rubber bands.

  The second drawer contained checks and stubs of paid bills, a box of stationery.

  Danielle moved down to the third drawer. Deep, with folders jammed in tightly. She pulled one out. Yellowed recipes clipped from magazines and newspapers.

  Another folder held blank typing paper. A third was filled with Consumer Reports articles about computers. Cliff wanted one for his birthday, Danielle remembered. Aunt Margaret obviously wanted to find the best one.

  Danielle searched through folder after folder, but found nothing interesting or surprising. No secrets.

  Good, she thought. Now put this stuff back and get out of here before you get caught.

  As she gathered a stack of folders, something
on the bottom of the drawer caught her attention.

  An envelope, way at the back. Danielle dropped the folders and carefully pulled it out.

  The envelope contained a wrinkled newspaper clipping. Dated two days after Danielle’s parents had been found dead.

  The headline leaped out at her: CAUSE UNKNOWN IN MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF SHADYSIDE COUPLE.

  A mysterious death? Danielle’s hands started shaking so badly she was afraid she’d rip the paper. Her parents’ death wasn’t a mystery! They died in a car accident!

  Or did they?

  Was this another secret? Another lie from Aunt Margaret?

  Danielle crossed the room and sat down in the rocking chair. She didn’t want to read the story, but she had to. She had to find out what really happened to her parents.

  Smoothing the paper out on her knees, she began to read:

  The bodies of Shadyside residents Michael and Abigail Verona were discovered early Wednesday morning in a rock-strewn ravine twenty miles from town. The couple had been returning to Shadyside in their car.

  It is thought that a flat tire caused them to stop. What happened after that remains a mystery to local police.

  All that is certain is that they were clawed to death, their bodies torn apart.

  When questioned by reporters, a highway patrolman on the scene stated grimly, “It looks like the work of a wild animal.”

  PART THREE

  HOWLS

  Chapter 17

  OUT OF THE BAND

  “Why did Aunt Margaret lie to me, Dr. Moore?” Danielle asked the next day. “Why didn’t she tell me the truth?”

  “She lied to protect you, Danielle,” he explained gently. “She kept a painful truth from you because she didn’t want to hurt you any more than you’d been hurt.”

  “I—I’m just so upset,” Danielle confessed. “Upset and confused. All these years, I—I thought I could trust my aunt.”

  “You can—” Dr. Moore started.

  But Danielle cut him off. “She didn’t have to tell me about the horrible way Mom and Dad died five minutes after it happened. But she could have told me later. She should have told me later.”

  Dr. Moore leaned forward in his chair. “I had a long talk with your aunt yesterday—”

  “I know that,” Danielle interrupted. “I picked up the phone to make a call and heard her talking to you. Why didn’t you tell me that the two of you have been discussing me all this time?”

  The doctor smiled and shook his head. “Because we haven’t,” he replied. “Danielle, you can trust your aunt. Believe me. She was very worried about you yesterday, so she called me—for the first time since I’ve been seeing you.”

  Yesterday, Danielle thought, gripping the arms of the chair. Until yesterday, she had believed that her parents died in a car accident. Danielle was right about one thing—they’d been torn to pieces. But not on rocks, the way she’d imagined.

  They’d been torn apart by animals.

  Danielle shuddered. “Aunt Margaret called you because she was worried,” she told Dr. Moore. “And I heard you say you were worried, too. I have to know, Doctor—are things worse than I thought?”

  “I won’t lie to you, Danielle,” Dr. Moore replied softly. “I’m concerned, yes.”

  Danielle’s heart sank. She was getting worse.

  “These fantasies you have are normal, as I’ve told you,” the doctor continued. “But the more you worry, the longer it will take for them to disappear. That’s what concerns me.”

  “You mean I’m making myself worse?” Danielle asked.

  “No, you must not blame yourself,” the doctor said quickly. “Blame me. I’m the one who’s supposed to ease your fears, and I haven’t been successful. Yet,” he added with a smile.

  Danielle couldn’t smile back.

  Dr. Moore stood up and sat on the edge of his desk. “Let’s get to work, Danielle. I want you to put everything out of your mind and concentrate on the numbers.”

  Starting at one hundred, Danielle slowly began counting backward. She usually felt herself relaxing by the time she reached ninety.

  As if from a distance, she heard the doctor say, “Are you feeling all right, Danielle? Are you calmer now?”

  “Yes,” she murmured.

  “Good. Then tell me what you see.”

  Danielle tensed up again as an image appeared in her mind. “Dee!” she exclaimed. “I’m with Dee!”

  “How do you feel about that?” the doctor asked.

  “Angry. Scared. She hates me.”

  “Why does she hate you?”

  “Jealous,” Danielle replied. “She’s jealous about my singing. And about Kit. She wants Kit for herself.”

  Danielle’s breath started coming faster.

  “What’s happening now?” the doctor asked.

  “I’m running,” Danielle replied, breathing rapidly.

  “Running from Dee?”

  She shook her head. “No, we’re running on a track. Jogging together.” Danielle frowned. “Except Dee’s not jogging. She’s racing. And—”

  “And?”

  Danielle panted. “And I’m running after her! I want to catch her. I am! I’m catching up to her!”

  “Do you pass her?” Dr. Moore asked.

  “No! No, she grabs me!” Danielle cried. “She’s furious. She wants to win. She’ll kill me to stop me from beating her.”

  Danielle raised her hands. The fingers curved into claws. “But Dee can’t kill me. I won’t let her. I’ll kill her first!”

  Every muscle in Danielle’s body tensed. Her breathing came faster than ever. “We’re fighting now. Rolling in the dirt. She’s strong, but I’m stronger!”

  A low groan escaped Danielle’s throat. “She’s tearing at my hair, but I’ve got my hands around her neck! I’m going to—”

  As if from a distance, Danielle heard the doctor snap his fingers. Once, twice.

  She felt her arms and legs start to relax as the fantasy fight with Dee began to fade. She slumped in the chair, breathing easier.

  “How do you feel?” the doctor asked.

  “I—I don’t know,” she stammered. “I’m sorry. It didn’t really help, Doctor. I just don’t know what to do. I’ve been thinking about quitting the band.”

  The doctor shook his head. “I can’t stop you, of course. But I strongly believe that the band is the best thing for you, Danielle. It gives you a purpose, something to work for.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Danielle agreed. “Without it, I’d probably just hang out in my room.”

  “What a waste of talent that would be.” Dr. Moore smiled. “You’ll be okay, Danielle. You really will. But you and I must keep talking.”

  Danielle nodded, then stood up as the doctor glanced at the clock on his desk. Her time was up. She wished she didn’t have to leave. She felt safe here.

  “Is your friend waiting for you outside?” the doctor asked as Danielle walked to the door.

  “Yes. Caroline,” Danielle told him. “We’re going shopping.”

  “Ah. Spending money is very good therapy, I’ve heard,” the doctor teased.

  Danielle forced a smile and said goodbye. The minute she pulled the door shut, she felt tense again.

  Get a grip, she told herself. You can’t hide out in Dr. Moore’s office for the rest of your life.

  “Okay, Caroline, I’m—” Danielle stopped and looked around the waiting room. Where was Caroline?

  “Excuse me,” Danielle said to Mrs. Wilkins, the receptionist. “I had a friend waiting for me—long blond hair, jeans, and a red tank top. Did you see her?”

  Mrs. Wilkins hands hovered above her computer keyboard. “I saw her come in with you. But I’m afraid I’ve been so busy I didn’t see her leave.”

  Caroline probably got bored with the magazines in here, Danielle thought, pushing open the door. She must have decided to wait outside.

  Danielle hurried across the small gravel parking lot to Caroline’s car. Em
pty.

  “Caroline?” she called, glancing around. “I’m finished! We can go now!”

  She heard footsteps crunching on the gravel and turned around. “Caroline?”

  No.

  Dee strode toward Danielle, her amber eyes blazing.

  “What are you doing here?” Danielle asked. “Where’s Caroline?”

  Dee kept coming. “I want you out of the band, Danielle. Are you listening this time? I want you out!”

  Chapter 18

  THE KILLER

  “What are you raving about now? Where’s Caroline?” Danielle demanded.

  Dee stopped. “She had to leave.”

  “Leave?” Danielle pointed to Caroline’s car. “So what’s this doing here? She didn’t have to leave, Dee. I don’t believe you. Where is she?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Dee stepped up to Danielle. “I want to talk to you.”

  Great, Danielle thought bitterly. Just what I need. “I haven’t got time. Besides—”

  “Listen to me!” Dee snapped. “Time is exactly what you won’t have—if you don’t leave the band!”

  Danielle leaned back against Caroline’s car and crossed her arms. “Look, Dee, I’m not quitting the band—no matter how much you want me to. I’m sorry you aren’t the only lead singer anymore. And I’m sorry you’re jealous about Kit and me. I really am. But the doctor thinks the band is the best thing for me, and—”

  “Leave it!” Dee shouted. “I’m warning you—”

  Danielle straightened up, her hands clenched into fists. Rage swept through her like burning fire.

  What’s happening to me? she wondered. I—I feel so out of control!

  With a savage snarl, she dived at Dee. Her fingers curled into claws. She aimed them straight for Dee’s throat.

  With an angry shriek Dee fought back. She grabbed Danielle’s hair and twisted it in her hands.

  Danielle cried out in pain. She jammed one hand under Dee’s chin and shoved as hard as she could. Dee gasped. Staggered back.

  Danielle leaped at her, knocking Dee to her knees.

  Why? Why am I doing this? What’s wrong with me?