Marni shifted around in the back seat. Her jacket slid across the leather of Hanna’s used, decade-old sedan. “It might be nice compared to where she was hiding.”
“A boarding school at first. Who knows where after that,” Hanna said.
Marni whistled. “You got a lot of information during your little chat.”
“Nothing that Aubrey didn’t plan to share.” Hanna sighed as she sat back in her seat. “She’s crafty.”
“I think the word you’re looking for isdangerous,” Marni said.
Marni’s choice was a good one. I had one of my own. “Diabolical.”
Isabel might know about secret entrances, but she’d never lived in either property. Xavier collected expensive real estate later in life while Isabel spent a lot of time following Xavier around. After losing both her mother and her husband, she’d been his shadow and his helper. Now I wondered if she’d been his confidante.
Our earlier conversation still haunted me. She’d done something but what?
Hanna finally turned to look at us. Her stark gaze fit the tense moment. “I get it. Trust me, just standing in the same room with Aubrey made me twitchy.”
“She is a charmer,” I mumbled.
Hanna’s expression changed. “Did she have a chance to be anything but awful?”
“Don’t do that. Don’t give her a pass.” Patrick used to do that, and I hated him for it. His practiced speech reeked of concern. It drew me in and made me think I could help.
She’s special, Stella. You can do this. Aubrey’s intelligence is astounding. We messed up. She needed more. A different school. People more adept at handling her unique needs and temperament. If you could just talk with her—
Hanna’s voice broke through my memories. “Her parents were murdered.”
Marni made a strangled sound. “By her!”
“Maybe but I’m not convinced.” Hanna abandoned eye contact again. She ducked her head and stared up at the big house. Took in all three looming floors.
“How did she create doubt during a fraught ten-minute chat?” I wanted to believe Hanna’s conclusion because it provided a simple answer. But nothing about the Tanner family had ever been that easy. We shared a bloodline. One that blurred the distinction between right and wrong on a daily basis.
Hanna’s hands tightened on the wheel again. “Someone’s upstairs.”
The words ran through me like ice water. I jumped in my seat. Turned to get a better look at the covered windows. “What?”
Marni scooted over. “You can’t see anything. The lights are off. They’ve been off for years.”
Hanna pointed. “Second floor. Far right.”
The outline of the house stood out against the cloudy sky. Darkness swallowed up the trees and the neighbor’s house in the distance.
“I don’t see...” Movement. Not a curtain but something upstairs. Maybe a trick where my vision went fuzzy and my mind filled in blanks that didn’t exist. “Is that... Wait, what was that?”
“It’s flickering. Maybe a candle?” Marni mumbled the question. She’d basically plastered her face against the window. “And a silhouette.” She made a swishing noise. “Now it’s gone.”
My breathing hitched. I found it hard to draw in enough air. “This is creepy even for Sleepy Hollow.”
“We all agree ghosts aren’t real, right? Please tell me we’re not getting sucked into that nonsense.” Marni sounded determined to convince all of us, including herself.
“That was a person,” Hanna said. “The candle or flashlight or whatever it was is out.”
“It’s her, right? Aubrey.” Marni’s head popped up between the two front seats. “She’s skulking around up there, planning her next horrifying scheme. Trying to scare the crap out of us.”
“Jeremy.” Hanna whispered his name.
She was grabbing at any chance, and I couldn’t blame her. Everly was home and safe and all I wanted to do was race back to her and hold her. Keep her away from the spreading malevolencethat had settled over the town like a suffocating blanket. “No. He wouldn’t be sitting up there.”
