Chapter Fifty-Seven

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

"Where are you going?" Charles hurries after me.

"That was Rose calling on Tina's old phone. She needs me."

"Will you come back tonight to finish talking?"

I grab my puffer coat from the closet as I reply, "I don't think so, no."

His shoulders slump. Normally I'd hug him goodbye, but my arms refuse to move from my sides.

We stand there for a painful beat; then he reaches for the front door and opens it. "Let's talk again soon" is all he says as I walk out.

I look back at him as I jump into my Jeep. He's still standing in the doorway, his face drawn. I want to leap back out and run to him and tell him we'll be okay, that we'll get through this. But I can't bring myself to do it.

Instead, I turn my face away, toward the road in front of me, and press down on the gas.

At this very moment, Harriet could be handing Rose a pill and a glass of water, telling her it's a new vitamin. I'm about twenty minutes away—more if there's traffic. How long does it take Valium to grip hold of your system? I wonder.

I know a big enough dose could turn Rose into a temporary zombie. It can cause memory loss, intense drowsiness, and muscle weakness.

I'm desperate to call Rose back, but it isn't safe. If the adults are nearby, any noise could alert them to the existence of her secret phone.

My speedometer inches up above the speed limit as my hands grip the steering wheel tightly.

Everything else that has exploded into my world recently—Charles's confession, and the electric link I felt to Detective Garcia—recedes. All I see is Rose, alone in her room in that eerie, heavy house, while the adults conspire about how to seal her away.

I run a yellow light, pass a slow-moving truck, and make an illegal right turn on red, shaving precious minutes off my journey. I reach the gates to the Barclay estate in record time.

They're wide open. Did Rose do this so I'd be able to get in?

Or is someone else expecting me?

I yank my wheel to the right, pulling to the side of the road, and reach for my cell phone. There's no way I'm going into that house without a safety net.

"Stella?" Charles's voice is filled with hope. "I'm so glad you—"

I cut him off. "I can't talk long. But I need you to do something for me. I'm at the Barclays' now and I'm going to see Rose. I'll call you when I'm leaving."

"How long will you be there?"

"An hour at most. But if you don't hear from me, I need you to call this number and tell Detective Garcia what's going on." I recite the cell number from Detective Garcia's card, then tuck it back in my wallet.

"Stella, are you in danger?"

I hesitate, then I remind myself I'm not like Tina, despite the parallels of our experience. My guard is up; no one is going to catch me unaware. "Nothing's going to happen to me," I assure Charles.

"Then why—"

I cut him off again. "I'm sorry, Charles, but I have to go. Talk to you in an hour."

I hang up and resume driving along the paved private road, following the flickering gas hurricane lanterns. It's barely 6:30, but dusk has bruised the sky a dark purple. My pulse quickens when I curve around the path and see the hulking silhouette of the Barclay home looming in the distance.

I back into my usual parking spot, feeling the familiar clenching of my muscles. Blood rushes through my veins, roaring between my ears.

My rational mind can tell me I'm safe. My animal brain wants me out of here.

I step out of my car and walk toward the house.

"Hey!"

I spin around, my heart leaping into my throat. Ian steps out of the shadows next to the garage.

"What are you doing?" Surprise sharpens my tone.

"Um… I was just going to ask you that."

Ian wears jeans and a canvas L.L.Bean–style jacket. His posture is unthreatening, and he's holding a small bag by the handle. At first glance, he looks like a guy who's heading out to the local pub. Then I see the dark circles under his eyes, the shirttail hanging out from beneath his coat, and the fatigue dragging down his features.

"I need to see Rose."

Ian rocks back on his heels. "She may be asleep already."

"This early?"

He looks down. "Yeah."

At the sound of the front door opening and quickly closing, we both turn. Beth is hurrying down the front porch stairs, her long camel-colored coat floating out behind her, talking on her cell phone.

"… tell them not to start without me. I can't—"

She catches sight of me and her eyes widen. "I'll call you back," she says into the phone.

She walks toward Ian and me, a smile stretching across her face, but it looks staged. Beth is far more put together than Ian with her sleekly styled hair and slim black pantsuit beneath her coat, but the tension radiating off her is palpable.

"Stella, what a surprise."

"I need to see Rose. It's important."

Beth glances at Ian. I can't read the unspoken message between them.

"It's a bit late for an unannounced visit, isn't it?"

I'm not in the mood for her passive-aggressiveness.

"It doesn't seem to be too late for you both to be heading out. And isn't Rose's bedtime 8 p.m.?"

Beth's phone begins to ring. She glances down at it, then looks back at me. "Rose doesn't feel well. She went to bed early."

"I won't stay long. I just need to see her so I can add a final assessment to my report, saying she's safe and healthy as of twenty-four hours within my filing. I can wait as long as I need to. Perhaps she'll wake up in a bit. And if not, I can peek in her bedroom and lay eyes on her and we'll be done."

Beth's face tightens. "Give me a moment."

She whirls around and hurries back up the porch steps. What's she going to do? I wonder. Warn Harriet of my arrival and make sure Rose is zonked out, probably.

I look back at Ian. "Are you heading out for the night, too?"

He shrugs. "For a couple hours."

"Where are you going?"

Instead of answering, he lifts up the object in his hand, and I see it's a small, soft-sided cooler.

He smiles sheepishly, like a boy caught doing something naughty. "Sometimes when it gets to be too much around here, I walk to the end of the property and have a few beers. I made a little fire pit there last year. Dragged in the stones, set up a camp chair. It's a nice place to sit and be alone. I can show you if you like. It's about a third of a mile away." He points behind the house.

It feels like an odd invitation. Before I can reply, Beth steps back out onto the porch. Whatever transpired while she was inside appears to have calmed her down. She descends the stairs more slowly than before, then addresses me.

"Rose is asleep, and I'm heading to a board meeting, but Harriet is home. You're welcome to talk to her for a few moments and then peek in on Rose if she doesn't wake up."

It'll be easier to get to Rose with just one gatekeeper instead of three. And if Rose heard the plan about the Valium, maybe she outsmarted everyone and spit it out, or hid it in a pocket. Rose is good at hiding things.

If she knows I'm in the house, maybe Rose will find a way to evade detection, silently slip through the shadowy house, and find me.

I thank Beth and walk toward the house.

For someone who seemed to be in such a hurry, Beth isn't moving. I can feel her and Ian watching me as I climb the porch stairs and knock on the door.

Even though Harriet had advance notice of my arrival, it takes her a full minute to answer.

"Stella, please come in."

Whereas Beth was a little icy and Ian a touch too friendly, Harriet strikes the middle ground. She's neither warm nor aloof. She seems almost businesslike, similar to a busy store clerk conducting a sales transaction.

I look back over my shoulder. Beth and Ian are stock-still. They're cloaked in shadows; I can't see their expressions.

I could still change my mind. I could get to my car and drive off and call Detective Garcia.

But what would happen then? Detective Garcia might show up here, but a phone call with someone breathing on the other end of the line isn't cause for a search warrant. She would leave.

And Rose would know I'd let her down, just like all of the other adults in her world.

That feeling is all too familiar to me right now.

A little girl is alone inside this strange, creepy house, waiting for me to help her.

If she's wrestling with a darkness inside of her—if that's what is truly scaring her—then the fact that she reached out to me may mean she's still within the boundaries of being able to be saved.

And if someone else is scaring her, it's equally important that I save her.

The other possibility—that Rose lured me here for another purpose—is one I can't ignore.

I need to be prepared for anything.

I step forward, into the house.

Harriet closes the door, sealing me inside.