It didn't come with us. As far as I know, it got kicked in the dust and al the liquid spil ed out."
Shinichi got up to hurt her again, but she was only tel ing the truth. Misao was already speaking. "We know that didn't happen because I am" - she had to pause to breathe - "Stillalive."
She turned her ashen, sunken face toward Shinichi and said,
"You're right. She's useless now, and ful of information she shouldn't have. Throw her out."
An ogre picked Bonnie up, towel and al . Shinichi came around the other side. "Do you see what you've done to my sister? Do you see?"
No more time now. Just a second to wonder if she real y was going to be brave or not. But what should she say to show she was brave? She opened her mouth, honestly not sure whether what was coming out was a scream or words.
"She's going to look even worse when my friends are done with her,"she said, and saw in Misao's eyes that she'd hit her target.
"Throw her out,"Shinichi shouted, livid with fury.
And the ogre threw her out the window.
Meredith was sitting with her parents, trying to figure out what was wrong. She had finished her errands in record time: getting enlarged versions of the writing on the front of the jars made; cal ing the Saitou family to find that they would al be home at noon. Then she had examined and numbered the individual blow-ups of each character in the pictures that Alaric had sent.
The Saitous had been...tense. Meredith hadn't been surprised since Isobel had been a prime, if entirely innocent, carrier of the kitsune's deadly possessing malach. One of the worst casualties was Isobel's own steady boyfriend, Jim Bryce, who had gotten the malach from Caroline and spread it to Isobel without knowing what he was doing. He himself had been possessed by Shinichi's malach and had demonstrated al the hideous symptoms of Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, eating away at his own lips and fingers, while poor Isobel had used dirty needles - sometimes the size of a child's knitting needles - to pierce herself in more than thirty places, besides forking her tongue with scissors.
Isobel was out of the hospital and on the mend now. Still, Meredith was bewildered. She had gotten approval of the cards with enlarged, individual characters off the jars from the older Saitous - Obaasan (Isobel's grandmother) and Mrs. Saitou (Isobel's mother) - not without a good deal of argument in Japanese over each character. She was just getting into her car when Isobel had come running out of the house with a bag of Post-it Notes in her hand. "Mother did them - in case you needed,"she gasped in her new, soft, slurring voice. And Meredith had taken the notes from her grateful y, murmuring something awkward about repayment.
"No, but - but may I have a look at the blow-ups?"Isobel had panted. Why was she panting so hard? Meredith wondered.
Even if she'd run from the top floor al the way fol owing Meredith - that wouldn't account for it. Then Meredith remembered: Bonnie had said Isobel had a "jumpy"heart.
"You see,"Isobel said with what looked like shame and a plea for understanding, "Obaasan is real y almost blind now - and it's been so long since Mother was in school...but I take Japanese classes right now."
Meredith was touched. Obviously, Isobel had felt it bad manners to contradict an adult when they were in earshot.
But there, sitting in the car, Isobel had gone through every card with a blown-up character, writing a similar, but definitely different character on the back. It had taken twenty minutes. Meredith had been awed. "But how do you remember them al ? How do you ever write to each other?"she had blurted, after seeing the complicated symbols that differed only by a few lines.
"With dictionaries,"Isobel had said, and had for the first time given a little laugh. "No, I'm serious - to write a very proper letter, say, don't you use Thesaurus and Spel Check and - "
"I need those to write anything!"Meredith had laughed.
It had been a nice moment, both of them smiling together, relaxed. No problems. Isobel's heart had seemed just fine.
Then Isobel had hurried away and when she was gone Meredith was left staring at a round circle of moisture on the passenger seat. A tear. But why should Isobel be crying?
Because it reminded her of the malach, or of Jim?
Because it would take several plastic surgeries before her ears would have flesh on them again?
No answer that Meredith could think of made sense. And she had to hurry to get to her own home - late.
It was only then that Meredith was stricken by a fact. The Saitou family knew that Meredith, Matt, and Bonnie were friends. But none of them had asked about either Bonnie or Matt.
Strange.
If she had only known how much stranger her visit with her own family would be...
Chapter 20
Meredith usual y found her parents funny and sil y and dear.
They were solemn about al the wrong things like, "Make sure, honey, that you real y get to know Alaric - before - before - "Meredith had no doubts about Alaric at al , but he was another of those sil y, dear, gal ant people, who talked al around things without getting to the point.
Today, she was surprised to see that there was no cluster of cars around the ancestral home. Maybe people had to stay home to fight it out with their own children. She locked the Acura, conscious of the precious contents given by Isobel, and rang the doorbel . Her parents believed in chain locks.
Janet, the housekeeper, looked happy to see her but nervous. Aha, Meredith thought, they have discovered that their dutiful only child has ransacked the attic. Maybe they want the stave back. Maybe I should have left it back at the boardinghouse.
But she only realized that things were truly serious when she came into the family room and saw the big La-Z-Boy deluxe lounging chair, her father's throne: empty. Her father was sitting on the couch, holding her mother, who was sobbing.