Nona let me borrow her car, so it was just a quick drive to Taco Bell. A sliver of silvery moon shone through trees, exaggerating shadows into hidden threats. I kept having the urge to look around, as if someone were watching me.

It’s just my imagination, I assured myself. Or was I sensing Opal? I always felt safer when she was nearby, a silent sentry watching over me. But when I tried to connect with her, I got nothing, and my uneasiness increased.

When I reached Taco Bell, I found Manny and Thorn waiting outside by a beat-up yellow station wagon.

“Hey, Beany.” Manny’s grin gleamed in the dark.

“You made it.” Thorn sounded surprised, as if she’d expected me to bail.

“I told my grandmother I wouldn’t be out long, so I hope this doesn’t take long.” I rubbed my sweaty hands on my jeans. “What’s the plan?”

“That’s what we’re figuring out. I brought the complete list of stolen items,” Manny said, withdrawing a folded paper from his trench coat. Yes—a trench coat, just like a B-movie detective.

Shining my flashlight on his paper, I skimmed the typed list. “Some of these things were taken by the janitor. At least that’s what Opal told me.”

“Opal?” Thorn raised her pierced brows. “Oh, your spirit guide.”

“Everyone has one,” I said a bit defensively. At least Thorn didn’t seem to judge me, maybe because she knew what it was like to be judged.

Paper crinkled as Manny studied the list. “Mr. Watkins may have swiped a few office supplies. But what would he want with an engraved basketball trophy or the vice-principal’s chair?”

“No wonder the Regis jocks were suspects,” Thorn said, as we started walking toward the high school. “They’ve pulled pranks before—like putting a plastic shark in the swimming pool.”

“With a fake human leg sticking out of the shark’s mouth. The girls’ swim team sure had a shock that day.” Manny chuckled. “And the photo I took made a great front-page shot for the Shout-Out. But attacking the janitor wasn’t a prank,” he added. “And the Regis jocks had alibis.”

“Alibis can be faked,” I said as we cut through the school parking lot.

“But why call in an anonymous tip?” Manny asked.

“To stir things up?” Thorn said.

“Or throw suspicion on someone else.” A creepy feeling came over me, and I glanced around at the silent building and the empty parking lot but didn’t see anything unusual.

“Whatever. We need to get moving. You’re on, Thorn.” Manny held out the list to her. “Do your stuff.”

The paper shimmered like a small ghost in the glow of Thorn’s flashlight. She stared at it with a fierce concentration, energy surging around her in a stunning pink-yellow-white aura. I had the oddest sense of her flying up and going somewhere else. Not with her body, but with her soul. If I’d had any doubts about her ability, they quickly faded.

Thorn was more psychic than even she knew.

I could tell when Thorn returned. She blinked, disoriented, then gave a small shudder. Then she said simply, “Follow me.”

She started walking, not toward the school as I’d expected, but the opposite direction, into dense woods beyond the school. She disappeared into shadowy trees with Manny, and I had to race to keep up. My feet crunched on brittle leaves and branches slapped my arms. I held tight to my flashlight; its slim beam bounced off tree trunks and uneven ground. We hurried over weeds, around rocks, avoiding holes, deeper and deeper into gloomy woods. When we reached a thick wall of berry bushes bordering a rushing creek, we couldn’t go any further.

Thorn untangled a spindly branch, but it sprang back and slapped her. “Stupid bushes! We can’t stop now.”

“But the path ends here,” Manny said. “There’s no way through.”

“There has to be,” Thorn said with fierce determination. “We have to keep going.”

“It’ll take a machete, and I left mine in the trunk.”

“We’ll just have to find another path,” Thorn said, clearly resolved on getting through. “I’ll look toward the right.”

“Okay.” Manny nodded. “And I’ll go left.”

“Hey guys, what about me?” I asked, but they were already hurrying off separately. And I noticed my flashlight’s beam seemed fainter. Clouds hid the moon and the sky grew darker. I thought longingly of my nightlights and my cozy, safe room. Why had I agreed to this anyway? No one had connected me to the vandalism, so I was in the clear. But if I were caught tonight, everything would be ruined.

I waited in the dark, listening intently for Thorn and Manny. Nearby, a bush rustled. I jumped back with a startled cry. Hugging myself, I shone my flashlight in a wide circle. Night closed around me with fluttering birds, croaking frogs, and a soft whisper of wind in the dry leaves. The sound grew nearer, and I clenched my flashlight. Branches shifted, golden eyes flashed in blackness, and there stood a dark figure silently watching with a bird perched on his shoulder.

“Dominic!” I exclaimed as the figure vanished. Gone so quickly, I was still staring, sure I’d imagined the whole thing.

“Sabine!” Manny’s footsteps pounded through brush as he rushed over. “I heard you yell. Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure.” I swallowed hard. “I think I saw—”

“What?”

“I don’t know. It was so fast, I’m not sure what I saw. It’s gone now anyway.”

“Probably a raccoon. Bet you scared it more than it scared you.”

“You’d lose that bet.” My flashlight flickered, then went completely out.

“Looks like you need new batteries. Stick close to me and you won’t get lost.” He patted my shoulder. “We’ll head back as soon as we find Thorn—”

As he spoke her name, Thorn’s voice rang out, “Manny! Sabine!”

“She’s found something.” Manny grabbed my hand. “Come on!”

We found Thorn crouched on the ground by a pile of brush. When Manny shone his flashlight on the pile, something glinted from underneath dead branches.

“It’s metal,” I said.

Manny pulled away branches. “The vice principal’s chair!”

“But what’s it doing out here?” Thorn wondered.

“Highly suspicious.” Branches crackled and snapped as Manny yanked out the chair. “Why would anyone break into the school, attack the janitor, then drag a chair way out in the woods?”

I agreed it was strange, but I was more curious about what wasn’t there. “Where’s the other stuff?”

“A definite hole in this puzzle.” Manny shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I—I do,” Thorn said in an odd dazed voice. She touched the spiked dog collar around her neck and stared off with a glazed expression.

Then she whirled around and ran back toward the school.

Manny and I didn’t hesitate and took off after her. Thorn’s clunky boots crashed through the woods. I followed behind Manny, holding on his arm so I wouldn’t get lost. At first I felt like I was running in a black tunnel, but trees thinned and we were out of the woods, racing across the grassy sports field and past the bleachers rising like sleepy dragons in the dark. Thorn was a blur ahead of us, sprinting across blacktop, turning a corner and stopping at a closed door.

“We need to get inside the school,” Thorn said urgently. “But the doors are locked.”

“I know a way,” Manny said. “A door with a faulty lock—all it takes is a swift kick in the right spot.”

One stride of Manny’s seemed to equal two of mine—math that added up to exhaustion. I pushed myself faster, panting and growing more anxious with each step, worries pounding through my head. What if the janitor’s attacker came back? What if the new janitor caught us? What if Nona got worried and called the police? What if my legs collapsed and I passed out?

Manny led us through a side door by the cafeteria, then Thorn rushed ahead. Manny hurried after her, catching up as she made a sharp right at a bank of lockers. Feeling dizzy, I leaned against a wall until my head cleared. The eerie glow from the security lights made the hallway seem both familiar and alien.

As I turned the corner, I saw Thorn staring at some lockers. “Look,” she was telling Manny.

“Why’d you stop here?” My heart pounded from effort.

“Because the missing stuff is here.” Thorn pointed. “Whoever owns this locker is our thief.”

“But that’s impossible!” I gasped trying to catch my breath.

“Why?” Manny asked.

“This is my locker.”