Probably.
The sudden return of the voice in my head made me jolt, and I hitched my bag up on my shoulder to cover the movement, my eyes flaring open again.
“They’re good people, you know. All of them.”
I about flung myself off the porch at the raspy voice. I turned and stared down at the old woman who’d somehow managed to walk up to me without making any sound at all. Max’s grandmother, Kate.
“I’m sorry?” I managed, trying not to shriek.
She gestured to the couple by the fence.
“The Bells. Bob Michaels, that nice policeman you just met. Even Joe.” Her mouth pursed, adding even more wrinkles in the webwork of fine lines traced over her face. “Poor dumbass Joe.”
I blinked, fought the smile. “Why was he a dumbass?”
“I know why you’re here, you know.” Her voice went a little lower, like she was confiding a secret to me, and her black eyeswere cold, shrewd marbles sunk deep in her head. “Why you’rereallyhere.”
A flush of embarrassment swept through me. “Max thought?—”
“Bully with what Max thought. Max is a sweet boy who should never have gotten sucked back into the sins of his family.”
Sins? But before I could ask her, she continued. “You’re here not because you can help, but because you couldn’t stay away. You couldn’t leave it alone. But I’ve seen your type before, missy.”
I squinted at her.Embarrassment bled away, replaced by curiosity and something deeper. Sharper. “You don’t want me here?”
“Actually, I do,” the old woman retorted, surprising me. “Been long overdue, you ask me. This whole place is a boil waiting to burst.”
I flinched at that image as she turned to stare at the Bells.
I stared at them too. I had no reason to talk to the couple, but that was where I was drawn. Max and his people were enclosed, insular, boxes within boxes. I’d have to pull those boxes apart if I ever expected to understand what had happened here. But the Bells were like an orbiting star. The Bells and Michaels, the policeman. The coroner too. The large animal vet. All these people who circled the lives of this privileged house, touching it for a moment before spinning away again. How much did they know? How much could I ask them?
How much would this old woman tell me?
I glanced down at her. “If you knew things were getting bad here, why didn’t you do something about it?”
“Who’s to say I didn’t? You’re here, aren’t you?” She cackled at my expression, shaking her head. “Oh, honey, you’re going to need to do better than that. Max seems to think you’ve got theblessing of God on High upon you. You’ve made him a believer for sure. All I have to say is, he better be right.”
“Yeah?” I asked, my tone challenging. I gripped my backpack tighter. “So what do you believe in?”
She looked at me sharply, as if surprised at the comeback. I was surprised too, mainly because I really wanted to know her answer.
She swiveled her head away. After another minute of staring out at the Bells, she spoke again, softly. “I believe we were put on this earth to fight.”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
The cops left about an hour after that. Max had come for me when he’d realized his grandma had trapped me, and he showed me to my room. To my unutterably great relief, it was on the first floor. It was a sort of extra, unused sitting area that had been converted to a guest room, I figured, since there was no closet. Instead, two huge armoires stood at either end of the room, flanking picture windows that looked out onto the horseless paddock. There was a bed in the room and a bathroom down the hall, so other than being a billion times nicer, it wasn’t that different from home.
Idly, I wondered if there were any Sharpies in the house. Or cans of craft paint.
“Wanna go for a walk?” Max stood at the door, his hands in his pockets.
“Where is everyone?” I turned toward him, forcing myself to leave my pack where it sat. I was here for the duration. Whatever that meant.
“Mom and Dad went into town with the cops, and Grandma, who knows. Ditto Aunt Emily. I’m just glad she kept it together long enough to get the cops out of here.”
“I saw the Bells outside earlier.”
