Blackout by Caroline Crane

celebrating getting rid of me?”
    “It’s because we’ll miss you.” Cree threw her
arms around him and nearly knocked him over.
    “I’ll miss you, too,” he said. “So I’m paying
for everybody.”
    “That’s your whole summer’s income!” I
said.
    “Hardly.” He fished some bills out of his
wallet and passed them through the ticket window.
    We found four seats together. It would have
been perfect if Rick were there. I went in first, stopping short of
the fourth empty seat. On the other side of it was a lovey-dovey
couple. I preferred to leave them to themselves. Cree sat next to
me, and then Ben.
    “Do you want me to get some popcorn?” Cree
asked.
    “In other words,” Ben guessed, “you want me
to get some popcorn.”
    “No, I meant me. Even though I’d have to
climb over you.”
    “Forget it,” he said. “We just ate.”
    She settled back. “Your mother makes great
lasagna. What are you going to do at college when you can’t get
vegan stuff?”
    “I’ll manage.”
    The lights dimmed. A burst of music came from
the walls. As the previews began, the lovey-dovey couple stood up
to let someone into that empty seat. I had a weird feeling, but
only knew it wasn’t Rick. That was all I cared. I didn’t bother
looking.
     

 
    Chapter
Seven
     
    When the movie started, I tried to get
engrossed. I wanted so badly not to think about Evan, but the
harder I tried, the more he stormed my mind. I told myself he
wasn’t worth it.
    Then I asked myself what I could possibly do
to help the police get their hands on him. I thought of Rick and
wished he were there, but my shoulder was up against Cree’s, not
Rick’s.
    The movie got interesting and funny and I
lost myself in it. It told about a divorcing couple that kept
running into each other although they tried every which way to
avoid it. Cree laughed and snuggled up to Ben. What could be so
important that kept Rick away from me? Okay, he was a cop and
people who needed help didn’t time their problems for my benefit.
If Rick and I ever got hitched, this would be my life. I might as
well get used to it.
    After a surprising ending in which they
didn’t get back together, the credits began to roll. That was a
signal for people to surge, to be first through the doors, then
first to the parking lot, the first to get home and pay the
babysitter. We were in the middle of our row, so we waited.
    The guy next to me stood up and pushed his
way out to the side aisle. The lights came on and I sneaked a look
since we’d been neighbors for almost ninety minutes.
    He chose that moment to turn and meet my
eyes. And to snicker.
    O. M. G. It was no wonder I’d thought of
Evan. Why didn’t I know?
    How could he appear in public? How could he
sit right next to me, knowing he must be police bait? Was it
possible he really didn’t think he did anything wrong? I reached
across Cree and gave Ben a poke.
    Ben whirled around but by then Evan was lost
in the exit crush. As we made our way up the center aisle, which
was closer, I told them what had happened.
    “You’re kidding,” said Cree. “How come you
didn’t know?”
    “It never entered my mind he’d be so
brazen.”
    “Call the police right now. Maybe they can
catch him.”
    “If this was Southbridge that might work, but
it isn’t.”
    In the parking lot, I looked for Evan. First,
I looked for his car but didn’t see a yellow one with oversize
tires. I had a kind of feeling he’d gotten something different.
Something less conspicuous. I looked all over and didn’t see him
anywhere. He couldn’t have gotten out that much ahead of us. Could
he?
    Maybe I hadn’t seen him inside the theater.
Was that possible? Maybe it was someone who looked a little bit
like him and, with Evan on my mind, that’s who I turned him
into.
    We were just getting into Ben’s truck when I
caught sight of him again. He was leaving the parking lot, driving
a dark, anonymous-looking car.
    Or maybe I didn’t see him that time