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night you talked.”
    â€œ. . . No.”
    â€œWhy did you call her that night?”
    â€œOlivia called and told me Gina freaked out, that she was scared and . . . wait. How do you know I called her?”
    â€œI checked the caller ID on the phone in her room. Did she tell you why she was scared?”
    A dark shadow fell over David’s face. He scowled down at Lucifer and said, “Seriously, who are you? What are you doing looking at her phone?”
    â€œHer dad let me look at it.”
    That caught him off guard. Lucifer glanced back across the gym to see everyone staring. Even though everyone was too far away to hear them, Lucifer lowered her voice and leaned close. “David, I need to know what scared her that night.”
    When David spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. “Why?”
    â€œSo I can help her.”
    David shook his head as if trying to get water out of his ears. “Her dad said she was sick. What does a prank have to do with her having the flu?”
    â€œSo there was a prank.”
    â€œShe and her friends went to the Worcester House that night to scare each other. Olivia called to tell me Gina got scared and that she went home. So I called to make sure she was okay.”
    â€œWorcester House. What’s that?”
    David gestured with a nod of his head. “It’s an old abandoned house on the north side of town. It’s supposed to be haunted. Kids sneak in there all the time trying to scare each other.”
    Lucifer smiled. “How do I get there?”

CHAPTER 5
    The Worcester House was an ancient, dilapidated two-story house on the far edge of the city. Its walls were made from a cobbled collection of crumbling brick and brittle wood that had faded and cracked from decades of neglect. Its tall, arched windows had been shattered to dust long ago, and jagged boards rose up from the front porch like the rotten teeth of some great beast with a ravenous underbite.
    â€œSo. You going in or not?” asked David.
    Lucifer stood with her arms folded across her chest, staring at the house. “Not yet.”
    David chuckled. “I told you it was a scary place.”
    Lucifer wanted to tell him that, as far as scary places go, the Worcester House was about as terrifying as an ice cream stand. But she had learned to trust her thieving instincts and always wanted to know as much as she could about a building before entering: who’s inside, how many exits and entrances, roof access, basement access, etc. But if she tried to explain that to David, he would only ask more questions.
    â€œI appreciate the ride, David. But I can handle it from here.”
    â€œIf you’re here about Gina, I’m staying. I want to know what this has to do with her having the flu.”
    His tone of voice made it clear that he was asking a question, but Lucifer ignored it. “Aren’t your friends angry you bailed on them?” she asked.
    David shrugged his shoulders. “They’ll get over it. The season doesn’t start for a few weeks yet. They can do without me for one Saturday.” After a few moments, he said, “Gina isn’t sick, is she?”
    Lucifer gave him a pained expression. “No,” she said. “She’s missing.”
    All the blood drained from David’s face, making the blue of his eyes stark and wild against his suddenly pale skin. “What do you mean missing ?”
    â€œShe was taken the night she came here. Just a few minutes after you got off the phone with her.”
    â€œI don’t understand. Taken? What does that mean?”
    â€œShe was kidnapped,” Lucifer said.
    A shadow fell across David’s face. “We have to call the police.”
    â€œHer dad’s a cop, remember?”
    David ran his hands through his hair and started pacing next to his car. “Then we have to tell the school.”
    â€œDavid, calm down—”
    â€œWho took her?