The driver-side door opens. The policeman who’d confronted her when her car had broken down unfolds himself from the seat. He’s wearing a mask, but she reads suspicion in his face anyway. Now that she’s seen the photo of Jacob Vass, she can tell Isaac is his brother. His eyes are deep-set, like Caleb’s, and they share Jacob’s long, hard squint.
“Caleb. What’sshedoing outside? And why are neither of you wearing masks?”
“She needed to stretch her legs. Don’t worry, we’re taking precautions. Do you want some lunch? Elijah’s making sandwiches. Or can we get you a coffee?”
Isaac shakes his head. “I’m good. This isn’t a social call.”
Dread pools in the pit of Sarah’s belly. Isaac sticks his thumbs in his belt loops, calling attention to the gun holster at his hip. “There’s been an incident in town. An Oriental man?—”
“Uncle Isaac, you can’t say ‘Oriental.’ It’sAsian.”
Isaac gives Caleb a hard look. “AnAsianman stopped at the Timmy’s drive-thru and got himself mobbed. Jerry smashed his back windshield, and Old Man Doherty shot out a tail light.”
Sarah’s hand flies to her mouth. Isaac’s gaze flits towards her, and she drops her arm, lacing her fingers together in a demure posture.
“Needless to say, theAsianhigh-tailed it out of there, going north. Dumbfuck should’ve known better than to drop into a strange town. Anyway, I dropped by to see if the young lady here knows anything about this visitor.”
“Uncle Isaac, just because Sarah’s Asian too doesn’t mean?—”
“She did say she was heading north to visit family.”
Sarah pastes on a pleasant but puzzled smile. “My phone’s dead. I haven’t been able to call anyone.”
“It’s true. I don’t have the right charging cable. She’s been under radio silence,” Caleb says.
“You swear?”
“I swear, Uncle Isaac.”
Isaac nods. “All right. I believe you, Caleb. But if I catch her outside again, we will have to take measures.”
“Uncle Isaac?—”
Isaac jabs a finger at him. “Measures. And I will consider you and Elijah compromised, too. I can’t show favoritism, even if it’ll break your Aunt Judy’s heart.”
Caleb bows his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Good boy.” Isaac tips his hat. “Take her inside now. Tell Elijah I said hi.”
“Go,” Caleb murmurs.
Sarah scurries up the porch steps and into the house. The door swings shut behind her, but she can still feel Isaac’s glare on her back, measuring the target she can never take off.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sarah scrapes her feet on the doormat, boots feeling like they’re made of lead. “Was that Uncle Isaac?” Elijah calls from the kitchen.
“He says hi,” she says weakly.
“Guess he wasn’t happy to see you outside.”
Sarah mumbles an assent as she slips off the coat. She hopes Graham is okay. He can’t be hurt if he’d driven off. She feels a rare surge of affection toward him. He came to pick her up after all. But he can’t again. He might call the police, but like Isaac, they’ll probably tell him it was his fault for stopping in a strange town during a pandemic.
The door swings open again, admitting Caleb and a frigid blast that slaps Sarah’s already numb cheeks. Caleb turns the deadbolt into place, his ear to the door. When the sound of Isaac’s car fades, he turns on Sarah, blazing with a fire she’s never seen before. “Did you call your brother?”
Sarah backs up through the dining room to the kitchen. Jacob Vass’s laughing face taunts her from the wall of photographs. “No, I?—”
“What’s going on?” Elijah says.
