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After talking with Nick Sylvia goes in search of Elrod.  He normally haunts the Tasty Dog for a few minutes after class, Sylvia isn't sure she'll be able to catch him, but as she gets to the Tasty Dog she sees him pulling into the lot.  As he rolls into a parking space Sylvia can see  Torrance Shipman head over towards his car from the front door.

Sylvia stays hidden, blurred by purposeful inconspicuousness.  Smith would be proud.

She listens, in her peculiar telepathic way, to what's going on, a kind of passive receiver to the thoughts around her and most particularly of Elrod and Torrance.

"Hey Elrod."  Torrance is smiles and bubbles.  Why does he drive that heap, he's rich for crying out loud.

"Hi.  Torrance, right?"  Root beer float, root beer float, root beer float and fries.

"I just wanted to say that your toy drive idea for your party is really sweet.  It's nice to meet someone who's socially aware at our age."  Oh, I bet he's got rock hard abs, and he smells nice.

Oh brother.  "Well, it was girlfriend's idea.  She's very socially conscious, she's helping out with the Food Drive too."  Speaking of drive, would you mind driving your narrow dye job ass somewhere else.

Elrod goes around her towards the door and she puts her hand on his arm.  "I was hoping you could save me a dance at the party.  Maybe we could get to know each other a little better.  I'm sure we have lots in common."  Or we will by then anyway.

If I wasn't a nice guy, I'd let you have it with both barrels.  But, just because I have a mind like a hammer doesn't mean I should treat other people like nails.  "Look, Torrance, you seem like a shallow self centered person with no regard for the feelings of people you think are inferior to you, so I'll put this in terms you can understand.  I don't date girls with more plastic surgery scars than Joan Collins.  It would hamper my image as a free spirit to be around a social load stone like you.  So, do the world a favor and try to drown yourself in the ocean of tears you've caused other people to shed to make yourself feel important.  Okay?"  He doesn't wait for an answer, he turns and goes into the Tasty Dog.

A well of tears rise up, and Torrance spins and leaves.  Sylvia seems to have been the only one close enough to hear what happened, and no one notices her.

That was Elrod being nice?  Sylvia shakes her head at the folly of boys.  At least he's not messing around on Sammy.

She pulls her cell phone out of the little pouch attached to her Bag Of Holding and dials Colin.  "Colin, I need your brain."

"Uhmm, ok, you can borrow it. What's up, boss?"

Sylvia leans back against the wall behind her, ignoring the wind that whips litter through the parking lot.  "Okay.  So you saw the video, right, with Sammy and Elrod?  Sammy asked me to look into what happened.  Nick swears Elrod's buddies beat him up, but when I tapped Elrod's brain, he didn't seem enraged or anything.  So think this through with me?  Was Nick lying?  Is Elrod a sociopath?  Did someone else get El's friends to rough Nick up, and why would they do that?"  But even as she speaks, she winces and slaps her forehead with her hand.  "D'oh!"

Colin can't help but feel a pang of guilt. His "visual genius", as Sammy calls it, got his friend in trouble.

"Somebody beat up Nick? Before or after the video?" He thinks it through. "Elrod never struck me as someone to send his goons to fight his battles, anyway. Have you checked his buddies?"


"D'oh what?"

See, this is why Sylvia calls Colin.  He offers direction and counterbalance.  "Sure.  That could be my next step.  Dave would know those names and addresses, wouldn't he?"


"Did we ever figure out who was stalking Sammy?"

"Sure. Dave knows everything."


Sylvia can't see him but Colin raises his eyebrows.

"Bruce Pernell? The lord of the bees? I thought he was still in custody. What makes you think he's behind this?"

"Well, I get the feeling Nick wasn't lying when he was talking about his feelings for Sammy.  And I don't think he was lying about Elrod's friends beating him up either.  He said that they said that Elrod told them to do it, but we spend time with Elrod.  We know him pretty well, don't we?  At the very least Sammy should know him pretty well.  If I can accept that neither Nick nor Elrod is the lying, deceiving, brutal type, then it indicates that someone's interceding on Elrod's behalf.  It might just be his friends, but you would think a guy like Elrod would have better friends.

"So maybe someone's doing this because they also have a reason to be jealous of Nick.  You think?"

Colin frowns. He isn't convinced.

"Has anyone really got a reason to be jealous of Nick? Have you talked with Sammy about this?"

"Not yet.  I don't have much more information than she does for the moment.  I'll go find Elrod's buddies."

"I mean, whoever put on the video wanted us to see but not to hear. Maybe things aren't as they seem."

"You think?  But Sammy didn't hear anything weird.  She said it was a real kiss, just something that happened in the moment.  Mind control?" she hazards, thinking about Sarah and Smith.  "Subliminal signals," she suggests, a lurid gleam in her eye.

"I was thinking of some new and improved love goo."

"Okay.  But why no sound?"

"Wait. I thought that who sent the video wanted us to think that something happened, when it was something else. It would be a good reason to take away the sound."

He sighs.

"But you have talked with Sammy, and you say it was for real, so I guess I'm wrong."

He thinks again for a while.

"I have to ask again. Was Nick beaten before or after the video?"

"After the video aired, you mean?"

[Cassie doesn't know.]

"Yes. Do you know?"

"Sammy said Nick was attacked on Saturday."

"Then whoever attacked Nick already knew of the kiss. So it's someone who either was there, talked with someone who was there, or saw the video first hand. Does Sammy remember who was there?"

"You say Elrod didn't seem enraged. Why? I'd be pretty angry if Sarah was broadcast while kissing someone else. Did he already know, then?"

"Well, it's not like they were macking behind the bleachers or anything.  It was part of the rehearsal.  Pretty innocent except that sparks flew, I guess."

"If someone saw fit to beat up Nick for it and show it to the whole school, it mustn't have looked much innocent. I meant that if Elrod already knew, and already had his vengeance, that would be a pretty good reason to be calm."

He shakes his head.

"We need to know more. We won't get to anything this way."

"Yes, of course.  So as I said, I'm going to go find Elrod's buddies and see what's on their minds."  If Sylvia sounds a little impatient, it's only because Colin brings out the sass in her.