Chapter Three
Amy was more than relieved when she arrived home, after a tedious day of school. She had all weekend free, without anyone asking her about Aimee. In fact, she was so relieved, that she immediately hopped onto the sofa, and turned on MTV. Once she was comfortable, watching a music video she had already seen, she heard the phone ring. She leapt off of the couch, and ran to get it. It was probably her mother, calling from work, or maybe Tasha. It might be Eric, also, but she wouldn't give her hopes up. Boys just didn't use the phone as much as girls did, usually. She just hoped it wasn't one of the annoying, questioning people from school, wanting Aimee's life story.
She clutched the phone in her left hand, and twirled the chord with her right. "Hello?" she asked.
"Hello, Amy. Is your mother home?" a voice asked. It was a voice Amy hadn't heard in a few weeks, but she recognized it, all too well.
"Mr. Devon?" she asked.
"Yes, Amy. Is your mother home?" he asked, a bit more forcefully this time.
"No," Amy said. "I could tell her to call you back when she gets home," Amy offered. "What's your number?"
"Thanks, Amy, but I can call back," Mr. Devon said. "Goodbye."
"Bye," Amy said.
Well, that was strange. She wondered if it had anything to do with Aimee. She tried to return to MTV, and videos, but all she could think about was what might have been going on. To keep her mind off of it, she did her homework, but it didn't take her more than ten minutes.
Nancy came into the house, around six, with an armload of groceries. "Amy, there's more in the car. Could you help me?" she asked.
"Sure," she said. She knew that the garage door was closed, and that it wouldn't matter if she lifted a large amount.
"Oh, by the way," she said as her mother re-entered the garage. "Mr. Devon called."
Nancy gasped. "What did he want?" she demanded.
Amy took some groceries out of the trunk. "He said he wanted to talk to you. He didn't tell me why."
Nancy's face fell. "Okay," she said seriously. "I'm going to use the phone in my office, you stay out here. I'll just dial *69, he's the last person who called right?"
"Yeah," Amy said.
"You stay here," Nancy insisted.
"Fine," Amy grumbled. Nancy walked into her office and shut the door. Although Amy didn't usually like to listen in on her mother's phone conversations, this one was different. It was about her.
"Hello?" Nancy asked. "Yes, I know."
Amy couldn't resist. She had to hear the other side of the conversation.
"Ms. Candler, I want you to know that there is another Amy at Parkside, and it's making the other students suspicious. I've heard that someone even called the National Examiner, (I don't own that,) to tell them the story of long lost twins, with different spellings of the same name. If this gets out to the Organization, I'm afraid that it will become dangerous for your daughter," she heard the unmistakable voice of Mr. Devon saying on the other line.
Amy gasped. Had someone really said that about her? She had to warn Aimee before it was too late. Immediately, she started to put on her sweatshirt, in hopes of running down to her school to see her sister. She knew that Aimee didn't want to see her, but it was necessary. Still, she couldn't resist hearing the rest of the conversation.
"This is terrible!" Nancy shrieked. "What am I going to do? I…I…should we move? We'll have to! Most likely."
"If you both just packed your things and left, it would look too suspicious. Actually, I think it would be best if we just removed Amy from L.A., not you," Mr. Devon continued.
Amy gasped. How could he say that? This was the man she trusted; she thought that he was on her side!
"Actually, I was thinking that you should just tell people that Amy is going to stay with a relative, over in France. Yes, I know it sounds like it's far away, but after what happened between you and Brad, I'm afraid that Amy's continued presence at your house may be putting you in danger. And it would only be until the other Aimee was done shooting for the movie. If Amy isn't at the school, no one can question her about who she is. I think you'll find this family quite agreeable. I've found a couple, with a daughter Amy's age. They know about the alien children that were abducted, but they don't have any ties to these children. The Amys, I mean. I think that these people would be very nice, if you gave them a chance, just for the time being."
Amy could definitely hear her mother crying. "Why must I send her all the way to France?" Nancy demanded.
"Because that tabloid reaches every state, and the Organization is bound to find her, in America. Also, our protection agency has assured me that no members of the Organization exist in France, (yeah right.) So, I think it would be best. It's only a temporary leave for Amy; she would be coming back, very soon. In a month or two," Mr. Devon insisted. "Trust me, it's the only way to keep Amy safe."
Nancy's throat went dry. "Who are these people?"
"Pack Amy's things, and the two of you can meet me at El Taco Rico, at 9:00 p.m., and I'll tell you," Mr. Devon said.
Amy couldn't believe that Mr. Devon would suggest something like this. Was this really him? And what was her mother going to say?