her long trek up the hil.
“Hey kid,” he caled after her. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and ran around the bend in the road.
Out of breath after what seemed like a marathon trek, Libby arrived at the gate and joined the line under a gold banner that read
“Search for Libby Contest Winners”. Her nerves taut, she waited her turn.
“Ladies, patience please. We’l get you al back in. It’s only a storm delay. Please show your ticket and hand stamp as you reenter.” A tal, dark haired security guy said.
Thankfuly, the line moved quickly. Libby sighed in relief that the concert hadn’t begun yet, but she felt annoyed at al the girls around her who pretended to be “Peter’s Libby.” How could they have possibly answered al the contest questions right?
“Hand please,” the security guard said.
“Excuse me?” Confused, Libby hesitated next to the turnstile with a black light set up.
“Your hand. Put it under the light so I can verify your hand stamp from exiting.”
“I just got here.”
“Oh,” he grabbed the radio from his belt and spoke into it.
“I’ve got a new arrival here, what do I do?” He turned back to Libby. “Sorry, since we had to evacuate the amphitheater there’s been a lot of confusion. We’re al manning different stations now.
The radio blared back. “Go to the contest table and have her complete the final question.”
“This way,” he said, stepping away from the main crush of fans reentering and over to a long table with questionnaires, pens and a surveilance camera set up in the corner. “Let’s see, looks like you answer the question on this sheet and . . .” His radio blared again. “Hang on a sec.” He took the radio and stepped away to listen.
Libby picked up the slip of paper and a pen. So this was how they would determine the real Libby? If al these girls could figure out the answers to the other questions, certainly they would know the answer to this one too. She read the question.
“In the song ‘Angel Kisses,’ what is Peter referring to?” She hugged the sheet to her and began to laugh. No one could possibly know the answer, but her. She wrote the words on the paper. Her heart filed with joy at the memory of that autumn day when Peter traced her scarred hands with his finger tips and kissed her pain away.
She waited for the security guard but he wouldn’t return. Her adrenaline ran high now that she was about to see Peter again.
Suddenly music filed the air. The concert started and she was missing it! Anxious to find Peter, she waved to the get the security man’s attention. He stil spoke on his radio, but held up his index finger and signaled he would be another minute. The crowd’s roar filed her ears. She couldn’t bear it. When he stil didn’t return, she waved again indicating that she left her answer sheet on the table.
She turned and dashed away and into the seating area to see Peter.
# # #
“Roger, you’ve got to speak up, I can’t hear you over the music.” The security guard held the radio tight to his ear and strained to hear what the head of Jamieson’s security said.
“What is the status of the crowd at your entrance?” The voice crackled over the radio.
“We’ve got just about everyone back inside, but I stil need to know about the contest procedure. I’ve got a girl who hasn’t been processed yet, and no one else is here.” He looked up to see the blond girl at the table wave to get his attention again. She pointed at the sheet on the table and then disappeared.
“Have her fil out the questionnaire and let me know her answer,” Roger said.
“Got it.” He spoke into the radio. “Hang on, while I grab it and see what she wrote.” He returned to the contest table, picked up her paper and read the neatly printed words.
“The scars on my hands. That’s what she wrote. Does it mean anything to you?”
“That’s her! You found her! Bring her back stage!”
“Shit. I can’t. She just entered the amphitheater. I’l never find her now.”
Chapter 25
Libby couldn’t believe her eyes. Nestled between the massive red rocks, lay an amazing amphitheater. Before her danced a sea of people. The stage lay at the bottom. Row after row of seats filed the hilside, al with a perfect view of Peter performing center stage.
She nearly burst with excitement.
Several people brushed past as they returned to their seats.
An