When she’d gone, Allie caught Sylvain’s eye and arched her brow questioningly.
‘She’s going to follow them,’ he whispered. ‘To make sure they don’t double back.’
‘You don’t think they saw us?’ she asked, alarmed.
He shook his head. ‘We just need to be sure.’
Sylvain turned to ask Carter a question and Allie crouched down next to Rachel.
‘You OK?’ she said.
Her eyes sparkling in the moonlight, Rachel nodded. ‘That was more exciting than I expected. I can see why you like this stuff. It’s exhilarating.’
‘Yeah,’ Allie said grimly. ‘It’s ace.’
With a curious frown, Rachel opened her mouth to say something else, but at that moment Zoe appeared hurtling from the woods. They hurried to gather around her.
‘They took the main footpath,’ she whispered breathlessly. ‘They’re gone.’
‘OK.’ Sylvain looked at his watch. ‘We should have half an hour before the next patrol.’
‘Everyone ready?’ Nicole whispered, her eyes sweeping the group.
They had planned it all down to the finest detail, so there was no need to go over it again – everyone knew what to do.
Nicole went first, running low and fast across the clearing until she reached the safety of the cottage, disappearing into the shadows around it.
The others waited, squinting into the darkness until they saw the pale blue light of her torch flash twice. After that they followed her one at a time. First Rachel, then Sylvain, then Allie.
For Allie, the run across the clearing seemed to take for ever – she felt so exposed. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain in her knee, forcing herself to run faster than she’d thought she could. Trying not to limp.
It only took seconds.
When she was safely beside the others, leaning against the cold stone of the house, she bent down with her head hanging between her shoulders and struggled to catch her breath. Glancing up, she saw Rachel watching with concern.
‘You OK?’ she mouthed. Allie nodded, aware of the irony of Rachel worrying about her.
When the others had made it across, Zoe led them around the building to the far side where she’d heard Eloise’s voice before. A boarded-up window was just above their heads.
Nicole stood on her toes to whisper. ‘Eloise?’
They all stopped to listen. There was no reply.
‘She could be asleep,’ Rachel whispered. ‘It’s late.’
They hadn’t thought of this possibility. As they exchanged blank looks, Allie’s heart sank. Had they risked so much for nothing?
Reaching up, Sylvain felt around the edges of the plywood covering the old window.
‘Here,’ he said, tugging gently at the lower right corner. The wood had been poorly nailed down and it could be pulled out a few inches – far enough for him to slip his hand underneath and tap the glass behind it.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
‘Eloise?’ he whispered. ‘Are you awake?’
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Allie pressed her ear to the wall as if she could hear the librarian through the foot of stone that separated them. Silence.
Sylvain stopped tapping. ‘Maybe she’s not in there. Perhaps she —’
They all heard it at once, coming from the other side: Tap. Tap. Tap.
‘It’s her!’ Zoe hissed. Reaching up, Sylvain tapped their reply.
‘Is that you, Eloise?’ he whispered.
‘Yes.’ Her reply was so faint it was hard to believe it was real. Through the walls it sounded ethereal; ghostly.
Her love of Eloise making her forget her concerns, Rachel stepped to Sylvain’s side. ‘Are you OK?’
A pause. Then, ‘Yes.’
Carter leaned towards Sylvain. ‘Ask her if she’s guarded now.’
‘Is someone in the house?’ Sylvain asked. ‘Guarding you?’
‘Yes.’
Allie pictured Eloise standing by the window, whispering to them through the glass, lonely and imprisoned. Someone must be in the next room, keeping watch on her. As if she were a criminal.
Anger rose inside her like white heat.
She turned to Sylvain. ‘Ask her if there’s some way we can get her out.’
‘Can we help you escape?’ Sylvain asked. ‘Is there… a way out?’
This time the pause was very long. ‘No.’
Allie wanted to weep with futile rage. There had to be something they could do.
Rachel turned to Sylvain. ‘May I?’ He inclined his head and stepped back, holding the plywood up so she could speak to the glass.
‘Eloise, we know you didn’t do it,’ Rachel said. ‘Or at least we think you didn’t. I mean, you were with Jerry. Is there something we could do from this side to prove you’re innocent?’
The silence that followed was so long, Allie wondered if Eloise had been found out – silenced somehow.
Then… faintly, Eloise spoke again. ‘The key.’
Rachel leaned closer to the window. ‘What about the key, Eloise?’
‘Isabelle’s office… the one I used… find the key.’
Doubt squeezed Allie’s chest like a vice. Why did she want them to find it? Did she expect them to take it so the teachers couldn’t find it? To protect her? Was she guilty after all?