* * *
When most of the family had departed and only the twins’ newfound grandparents, aunt, and uncle remained, Ruby gave them a tour of the little red house. She walked them up the three carpeted stairs to the upper level, where a cozy master bedroom sat at one end and a desk tucked into the alcove sat at the other, sandwiching a small powder room between them. Back down the carpeted steps and down a narrow wooden staircase into the basement, Nora found herself in what felt like a wood cabin. Crisscrossed snowshoes hung on the wall above an old TV, in a large open space ringed by doors.
“That’s Patty’s old room over there.” Ruby pointed at one of the three closed doors. “And that one was shared by the boys.”
Nora turned to face Ruby. “This is where Dad grew up?”
Ruby nodded. “Spent every day of his life in this house until he left us for good. You can go have a look if you’d like. It’s been a few decades now. I’m sure the smell’s mellowed out.”
It was Charlie who opened the door, pushing it inward to reveal their father’s life before the twins, preserved like a time capsule. The walls were blue, and two twin beds in hand-carved wooden frames sat at either side of the room. There were no posters on the walls, no rock stars or bikini models staring back at them, but Nora immediately recognized the art that hung above the far bed as her father’s: sketches of animals, landscapes, portraits of his siblings, all in various states of completion.
She moved towards them. They were just as awful as his drawings in adulthood. He never could get proportions right. She cocked her head at a deer with the stubby limbs of a tortoise.
“You can stay here if you’d like,” said Ruby. “For however long you’re staying.”
“Are you sure?” said Nora. “We wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Impose? We have over two decades to catch up on; you’re welcome to stay until we’ve managed that.”
Nora looked at her brother. “Charlie?”
Charlie lowered himself onto the bed opposite her, his body sinking into the mattress. “Yeah, I mean I’m not exactlydyingto leave in a hurry, if you catch my drift.”
Nora tried to imagine S.C.Y.T.H.E. tracking them down here. Which, of course, she could, because it was a negative thought and those were her specialty. But even if the organization and all of its unknowable resources were on their trail, surely the twinshad enough of a head start to allow them to stay put for a day or two. Besides, they still had no car and had barely slept since leaving home, and Nora knew the risks that came with going so long without a proper night’s sleep.
“Okay,” said Nora. “Yes. We’ll stay.”
11
Nora couldn’t rest. Or at least, her mind couldn’t, its TV static buzz creeping down her limbs until the list of ills that came from lacking sleep were drowned out by a restlessness she couldn’t shake. While Charlie napped effortlessly—again—Nora shrugged her coat on and slipped to the shore. She found a rock near enough to the ocean that she could feel its mist on her face but far enough that nothing else from it could touch her. She sat down and took stock.
Charlie’s file sat open on her lap. The ink still twitched and blurred where Charlie’s cause of death should have been. She added another letter to the few she’d been able to make sense of so far. S-T-A. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was a start. Stalked? Not that she could imagine anyone stalking Charlie, especially not all the way out here. Starved? After the meal they’d just had, she seriously doubted it. She clicked her pen. Come on. This was her specialty. Her area of expertise. If anyone could come up with ways for someone to die, it was Nora Bird. Starch…allergy?
She closed the file and looked out at the sea, regarding it with distrust. It regarded her with the apathy of an ancient life sourcethat didn’t really need to feel any particular way about the opinion of a being with a fraction of its size or lifespan. The sun was still high in a sky spattered with only a few light clouds, its touch warm on Nora’s cheeks. She lifted her hood to shield herself from the UV rays and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She felt a strange sense of peace here on this little rock in this little town at the edge of the world, and that terrified her. There were too many dangers lurking—the usual ones and the new ones aimed at her brother—for her to feel any ease. But there was something about this place—the quiet, the slowness, the warmth—that made staying on edge hard, even for her.
Someone was walking towards her. She could hear the sand and pebbles squelching under rubber soles. When Nora pulled her hood back, she gasped in spite of herself, but the veil of brightness from the sun’s reflection off the water quickly receded from her vision and instead of the tall, broad form of her father, she found Richard standing there.
“Mind if I have a seat?”
Nora slid her bum over. “Pull up a rock.”
“Thanks.” He sat down and stared out at the ocean for a long moment, letting the gently lapping waves fill the silence. Finally, he turned his focus to Nora. “You know, it never gets old. I’ve lived in this town almost my whole life. In that house for much of it. And I still come out here every day and find myself amazed all over again by the beauty of the place.”
“It’s special here,” Nora agreed.
“Special. Yes.” He crossed one leg over the other. “I’m glad you finally get the chance to see it. Always broke my heart a little to know that there were Birds out there who’d never get toexperience Virgo Bay. But Patricia tells us you had quite the adventure getting here.”
Nora’s mind flashed back to discovering Charlie’s file and all that came after it. “It’s a hard place to find,” was what she settled on.
“So I’ve heard. But you were in some sort of accident? Patricia said you injured your wrist.”
“Oh.” Nora cupped the wrist in question with her other hand. In truth, she’d somewhat forgotten about it. The pain felt much more manageable now that she had a full stomach and a few hours’ rest. “It’s nothing.”
“I can look at it, if you’d like,” said Richard. “My father was a doctor. I’ve done a bit of training myself. In fact, I was something of a town physician back in the day. Mostly retired now, of course, but usually I’m the one who tends to the bumps and bruises around here. Anything that doesn’t require a hospital, I look after it.”
Nora pushed up her sleeve and held her arm out for inspection. “It won’t kill me,” she said matter-of-factly.
Richard gave a bright laugh. “No, I can promise you that much.” He rotated Nora’s arm gently, had her move and twist in different directions and gauged her pain. “Well, my dear, I can offer you a clean bill of health. Not a sprain nor a break on you. It’s a hefty bruise, and will likely be tender for a while, but you’ll be right as rain soon enough. We can get you an ice pack when we’re back in the house if you’re in pain, though.”
