The Dark Reunion by L. J. Smith Page A

In spite of her resolve not to, Bonnie looked.
    The casket was white, lined with pale pink satin. Sue’s blond hair shone against it like the hair of a sleeping princess in a fairy tale. But Sue didn’t look as if she were sleeping. She was too pale, too still. Like a waxwork.
    Bonnie crept closer, her eyes fixed on Sue’s face.
    That’s why it’s so cold in here, she told herselfstaunchly. To keep the wax from melting. It helped a little.
    Stefan reached down to touch Sue’s high-necked pink blouse. He undid the top button.
    “For God’s
sake
,” Bonnie whispered, outraged.
    “What do you think we’re here for?” Stefan hissed back. But his fingers paused on the second button.
    Bonnie watched a minute and then made her decision. “Get out of the way,” she said, and when Stefan didn’t move immediately, she gave him a shove. Meredith drew up close to her and they formed a phalanx between Sue and the boys. Their eyes met with understanding. If they had to actually remove the blouse, the guys were going out.
    Bonnie undid the small buttons while Meredith held the light. Sue’s skin felt as waxy as it looked, cool against her fingertips. Awkwardly, she folded the blouse back to reveal a lacy white slip. Then she made herself push Sue’s shining gold hair off the pale neck. The hair was stiff with spray.
    “No holes,” she said, looking at Sue’s throat.She was proud that her voice was almost steady.
    “No,” said Stefan oddly. “But there’s something else. Look at this.” Gently, he reached around Bonnie to point out a cut, pale and bloodless as the skin around it, but visible as a faint line running from collarbone to breast. Over the heart. Stefan’s long finger traced the air above it and Bonnie stiffened, ready to smack the hand away if he touched.
    “What is it?” asked Meredith, puzzled.
    “A mystery,” Stefan said. His voice was still odd. “If I saw a mark like that on a vampire, it would mean the vampire was giving blood to a human. That’s how it’s done. Human teeth can’t pierce our skin, so we cut ourselves if we want to share blood. But Sue wasn’t a vampire.”
    “She certainly wasn’t!” said Bonnie. She tried to fight off the image her mind wanted to show her, of Elena bending to a cut like that on Stefan’s chest and sucking, drinking….
    She shuddered and realized her eyes were shut. “Is there anything else you need to see?” she said, opening them.
    “No. That’s all.”
    Bonnie did up the buttons. She rearranged Sue’s hair. Then, while Meredith and Stefan eased the lid of the casket back down, she walked quickly out of the viewing room and to the outside door. She stood there, arms wrapped around herself.
    A hand touched her elbow lightly. It was Matt.
    “You’re tougher than you look,” he said.
    “Yes, well …” She tried to shrug. And then suddenly she was crying, crying hard. Matt put his arms around her.
    “I know,” he said. Just that. Not “Don’t cry” or “Take it easy” or “Everything’s going to be all right.” Just “I know.” His voice was as desolate as she felt.
    “They’ve got hair spray in her hair,” she sobbed. “Sue
never
used hair spray. It’s awful.” Somehow, just then, this seemed the worst thing of all.
    He simply held her.
    After a while Bonnie got her breath. She found she was holding on to Matt almost painfully tightly and loosened her arms. “I got yourshirt all wet,” she said apologetically, sniffling.
    “It doesn’t matter.”
    Something in his voice made her step back and look at him. He looked the way he had in the high school parking lot. So lost, so … hopeless.
    “Matt, what is it?” she whispered. “Please.”
    “I told you already,” he said. He was looking away into some immeasurable distance. “Sue’s lying in there dead, and she shouldn’t be. You said it yourself, Bonnie. What kind of world is it that lets a thing like that happen? That lets a girl like Sue get murdered for kicks,