Devil's Advocate (The X-Files: Origins #2)(79)

“Well, excuse me. Since when are you a cop? Hate to break it to you, sis, but you’re fifteen. You’re not police, you’re not FBI, you’re not Sherlock Holmes.”

“But I figured a lot of this out.”

“Right, and who would believe you if you went to the cops? No one. What would happen, though, is everyone would be looking at you as the weird girl who sees dead people. And you know who else would be looking? The killer.”

“Angelo already knows I know. He chased me, remember?”

“Sure, but he doesn’t know what else you know. Corinda’s letting herself be the target instead of you. Just like Sunlight would have done. Or maybe she’s smarter because she didn’t wait to have a quiet word with the sheriff. She came right out and said it to everyone. That takes the whole spotlight off you. Why can’t you get that? Corinda did it to protect you.”

“I think she did it to make herself look better.”

Now Melissa propped herself up, too. “You’re really damaged, Dana. Corinda would never do something like that. She’s bigger than that. She’s all about helping people.”

“Is she?”

“Of course she is. And she has incredible gifts. You’ve seen them firsthand. She can look into your head and read the truth. I mean, look at everything she knew about this whole thing. She knew about your visions, about what happened at school, about the case files, about all of it.”

“She didn’t know about what happened at Karen’s house. I mean … when I had that vision that I was in there with everyone who was murdered. Corinda never mentioned any of that on the news,” said Dana, “and it bugs me.”

Melissa looked at her as if she were crazy. “Bugs you how?”

“I … don’t know, but if she’s everything she claims to be, then why didn’t she know about that?”

“No one knows everything, Dana. But Corinda knew a lot of it. She knew about Angelo.”

Dana sagged back down. “I guess.”

They lay together in silence, listening to the two crickets singing in the grass.

“The whole Angelo thing is so freaky scary,” said Melissa after a while, “to think that we know a killer. That we’ve talked with him.”

“I know,” said Dana. “Even now, though, it’s hard to believe this is all him.”

“Why? From what I heard, he gets into fights a lot, and he has that knife. He chased you, Dana. And he has those scars on his hand that Corinda saw in her vision. And the eclipse tattoo.”

“I know, I know, but in my dreams the angel doesn’t talk like Angelo. He’s like a college teacher or something. Really precise, and he knows so much.”

“Not everything in visions is exactly the way it is in the real world,” said Melissa.

“More of Corinda’s wisdom?”

“Yes, and don’t be rude about her. I still think she did the right thing, and maybe that’s why you’re not in juvie right now. Or in a mental hospital.”

“Thanks,” Dana said bitterly. “This is all so wrong. Corinda should never have taken credit—”

Melissa made a sound of disgust and stood up. “What’s with you? What’s with this ‘taking credit’ crap? You have your head so far up your own butt that you can’t tell when someone is going way out on a limb to help you. Corinda’s the best, and you’re being a real snot about her.”

Dana stood up, too. “Why are you defending her, Missy?”

“Because my crazy sister keeps attacking her,” snarled Melissa. Before Dana could reply, Melissa jabbed her finger toward her. “You think you’re so special, Dana, because you have visions and you have gifts, and now that someone else has those same gifts—and better ones—all you want to do is cut her down. If I had those same gifts, I wouldn’t be acting all jealous and nasty. I’d use them to help people like Corinda’s doing. God! Sometimes I can’t believe we’re even related.”

And with that she stormed out.





CHAPTER 72

Scully Residence

6:17 A.M.

Dad was up and out before Dana came into the empty kitchen. She had no appetite for anything and poured a cup of tea.

Then she saw two things left for her on the table.

The first was a note in her father’s strong, precise hand.



Come straight home after school.

She sighed and looked at the newspaper atop which the note had been placed. There was a picture and a headline, and it froze her into a block of ice.

The headline read:



PSYCHIC WARNING LEADS TO ARREST IN TEEN MURDERS

The photo showed two sheriff’s detectives, a white man and a black woman, flanking a cuffed and bleeding Angelo Luz. The woman was identified as Nora Simpson, and her partner was Frank Hale. Uncle Frank!

Melissa came in, saw that Dana was there, and turned around without saying a word.

Dana sat down hard on a chair and read the article. It quoted Corinda extensively and then gave the lurid details of the manhunt and capture of Angelo. It was clear from the photos that Angelo had not given up easily. His eyebrow was torn and blood ran down his face. Even though the picture was black and white, Dana could imagine the color with perfect clarity.