She waved her son off like she had every other person who offered their assistance. “I’ve got it, sweetheart.”
The little girl tripped on something, or perhaps it was her own two feet, and tumbled to the floor, sending a handful of cutlery clattering everywhere.
“Whoa.” Roman jumped up from his seat and scooped up his little girl. “You all right there, Hails?”
The girl, Hailey, blew a few wisps of hair from her flushed cheeks. “Geeze.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Daddy.” She wiggled in his arms. “Let me down so I can finish! I was supposed to beat Uncle Ham by setting the table the fastest!”
Roman sent his brother a look, but Graham—who apparently was Uncle Ham to Hailey—just shrugged.
Somewhere in between Roman picking up all the utensils from the floor and Hailey rejoining her table-setting competition, Emersyn got up from her place next to August. She pulled a bottle of wine from the counter, as if she’d done it a hundred times in this house, and walked over to where I was trying to disappear into the wallpaper.
“It’s getting a bit crowded in here,” she muttered. “Wine?”
I nodded desperately. “That sounds amazing.”
Emersyn gave a sly smile. “Give me a second.”
I watched as she tugged a couple of wine glasses from the cabinet. She filled them carefully, and generously, before turning to Lark and whispering into her ear. Lark grinned, taking her mug of tea and following Emersyn to where I stood near the threshold of the kitchen.
“Let’s drink this in the sitting room, shall we?” Emersyn handed me a glass.
I hesitated, glancing at the back door that faced the security office. That had to be where Fox was. He should be coming in through that door soon, hopefully.
“Do you not like red?” Emersyn’s voice cut throughmy worry.
“Huh?”
Emersyn frowned at the dark-maroon liquid in my glass. “The wine? Would you rather have something lighter?”
“Oh.” I shook my head. “No, this is great. Thank you.”
This time, I followed the two women to the sitting room. A large fireplace with a stunning carved mantel and original tiles was the focal point of the room. It wasn’t lit, but I remembered how cozy it made the lovely Victorian room feel when it was.
Emersyn and Lark settled on the couch, and I perched on an armchair.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” Lark said, after taking a small sip of her tea. “I don’t know if you remember, but I used to tag along around here when Thea and I were kids.”
Lark had been Thea’s best friend. She was a grown woman now, but I still recall the girl she used to be. Back before everything changed for her, and everyone in this household.
“I remember,” I said softly. “You and Thea used to run around, getting in all sorts of trouble.”
She chuckled, but there was an ache in her eyes along with the happiness. “That’s what Thea was best at. I was just along for the ride.”
“I’m still sad I never got to know her,” Emersyn added, gently.
I took a sip of the wine, savoring it. I hadn’t had a lot of time to reflect on the loss of Thea since I had been back. But being in this house again, it was impossible to forget her. She was everywhere…in the photos, the art, the very spirit of the home.
And the absence of her was felt deeply, even now in that very full kitchen.
“I mean,” Emersyn continued after taking a drink of wine herself, “I’d met her in passing. She was my sister’s college roommate, but I never really knew her. Not like the both of you.”
My gaze shifted between the two women on the couch beside me. They were connected by one of the most infamous tragedies this town had seen. Two college girls were stabbed to death in their sleep all those years ago. Thea, and Emersyn’s sister, Delainey. Though it had always been blamed on the Shadow Stalker, it had been a copycat.
My pointer finger on my free hand started to dig into the skin at the side of my thumb. It had started to heal, as I’d been around Fox so much and he found gentle ways to stop the habit.
Copycat.
The Shadow Stalker had been blamed for a crime he didn’t actually commit before. Could it be the same with Jane Doe? There were still so many questions that needed answering, but with my time splintered between the documentary and Jane Doe, there hadn’t been a lot of progress on the latter.
