Tori sprinted off, but I stood there, looking at Aunt Lauren.
“Chloe?”
“Tori didn’t turn us in, did she?”
“No. Now—”
“It was Rae, wasn’t it?”
Aunt Lauren paused, and I saw the answer in her eyes. “I’m not the only one who mistakenly thought she was doing the right thing, Chloe. ”
I started to turn away. She caught my arm and held out a folded envelope.
“An explanation and some money. ” When I didn’t take it, she leaned around and put it into my back pocket. “If you decide to keep running, I won’t blame you. But, please, give me a chance. One last chance. ”
I nodded. She pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek, then let me go. Tori had already rounded the corner of the building, disappearing from sight when Liz shrieked behind me.
“Chloe!”
I spun so fast I lost my balance. Aunt Lauren gestured for me to keep going, but I saw only the figure behind her. Tori’s mom.
I shouted a warning, but Mrs. Enright’s hand flew out. A bolt shot from her fingertips. It hit Aunt Lauren with a horrible sizzling pop, knocking her off her feet. Blood flew from her lips, spraying the concrete as she fell.
Thirteen
I STARTED TO RUN to Aunt Lauren. I made it a few feet before Tori’s mom locked me in a binding spell. I dimly heard her say something, but I didn’t know what it was. My ears were filled with my own silent screams as I stared at Aunt Lauren, motionless on the ground. Finally Mrs. Enright’s voice came through.
“I s
hould probably ask where my darling daughter is. ”
“Right here,” said a voice behind me.
Mrs. Enright’s head lifted. Her brow furrowed. Her lips parted. Then she jolted backward, hit by a spell from Tori. My binding broke. I lurched toward Aunt Lauren, but Tori grabbed my arm.
“We have to go,” she said.
“No. I—”
Mrs. Enright recovered, hands flying as she launched a spell. Tori yanked me out of the way and it hit the wall, blasting a blackened crater.
“You can fight her,” I said. “Stop her, and I’ll get the gun—”
“I can’t. ”
Tori heaved on my arm. I pulled away. She muttered “Fine,” let go, then raced off, disappearing around the corner. Tori’s mom lifted her hands again. Then a voice shouted, distracting her, “They’re over here!”
I took one last look at Aunt Lauren and ran.
There was no way we were getting to that delivery gate now. I soon realized why Aunt Lauren had sent us ahead—so she could watch our backs because we’d be exposed to any employees entering the side yard and we couldn’t afford to raise any alarms.
We peered around the corner of the next building, saw that open expanse, heard voices coming, and knew we’d never make it.
“Now what?” Tori said.
I didn’t answer.
“Come on!” she whispered. “What’s the plan?”
I wanted to grab her and shake her and tell her there was no plan. I couldn’t even wrap my head around the concept. My aunt might be dead. Dead. That’s all I could think about.
“Chloe!” she whispered. “Hurry! What are we going to do?”
I longed to tell her to leave me alone. Come up with her own plan. Then I saw her eyes, bright with fear fast turning into panic, and the words died in my throat.
She’d just learned Liz was dead. She’d seen my aunt possibly killed by her mother. Neither of us was in any shape to think, but one of us had to.
“Your aunt said the Edison Group won’t come close to the front,” she said. “If we run for it—”
“They’ll make an exception. Or find a way to cut us off. But…” I looked around. My gaze stopped on the huge building dominating the yard. “The factory. ”
“What?”
“Stay close to me. ”
I knew of two doors—the emergency exit we’d escaped from Saturday night and the main entrance Derek had broken into. The main doors were closest. As we headed for them, I whispered to Liz, asking her to run ahead and scout the way. If someone was coming, she’d whistle.
The door was in an alcove. I darted in and I pressed against the wall while Liz zipped through the door. She was back in a second.
“There’s a guard dead ahead,” she said. “I’ll distract him. You open the door a crack and listen for my whistle. You know a place to hide, right?”
I nodded. When we were here Saturday, Derek had us opening all the doors, searching for an exit, and I remembered a storage room that would be perfect.
When Liz gave the all clear, I eased open the door. Tori danced impatiently behind me, though I’d asked her to watch for anyone approaching.
Inside, Liz was at a closed door twenty feet away. The guard stood beside her, staring down at the knob as it slowly turned one way, then the other.
We slipped past. I could hear the distant rumble and thump of machinery and the laughs and shouts of workers. This section, though, was quiet.
We made it to the side hall easily, as the guard stood transfixed by that mysterious turning doorknob.
Liz raced up behind us. “Where to?”
I gestured to the adjoining hall. She sprinted ahead, turned the corner, and whistled the all clear. Our luck held, and we made it safely into the storage room. As its door closed, the guard’s voice echoed down the empty halls.
“Hey, Pete, come here! You gotta see this. The knob was turning by itself. I tell you, ever since Dan did a nosedive into the saws, this place has been haunted. ”
He was right. Saturday night, I’d seen the ghost of a man jump into those saws. Then he’d reappeared and done it again. Was that some kind of penance? Aunt Lauren had done bad things, maybe even committed murder. If she was dead, would she go to Hell? Was she—?
I swallowed hard.
“What now?” Tori whispered.
I looked around. The room was the size of a classroom and full of boxes.
“Find a place in the back,” I said. “There’s lots of dust, which means they don’t come in here very often. We’ll hide—”
Liz ran through the door.
“They’re coming!”
“Wha—?”
“Dr. Davidoff and Sue. She saw you by the doors. ”
Thanks to Tori, who’d kept such a good watch…
“Are they inside?” I asked.
“Not yet. ”
“Is who inside?” Tori asked as Liz took off. “What’s going on? What’d she say?”
I told her, then opened the door a crack.
“What are you doing?” she said, tugging my sleeve. “Are you nuts? Close that!”
Tell her to be quiet, and she got louder. Tell her to stay back, and she pushed me into the line of fire. Tell her to watch for our pursuers, and she hovered at my shoulder instead. Open the door to listen, and she wanted to drag me back inside.
Ah. The beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Friendship? We’d be lucky if we survived a temporary partnership.
I told her I was trying to listen. When she argued, I glared; and for once in my life, it actually worked. Her mouth shut and she backed into the room, sulky and glowering, but silent.