The house sat in total darkness, its roof angles and pointed turret peaks like retracted claws against the full moon. Milky light highlighted the dormers and reflected off of the windows, lending the house the appearance of an old man peering out at us with foggy spectacles. We clustered together in the driveway while Thomas pulled a flashlight from his car and let its beam flood the front yard, illuminating Beau’s truck parked halfway into the grass, the front passenger door left ajar, and Michael’s car pulled up close to the house. The front door of the house stood wide open, exposing empty darkness inside.
Veronica’s voice was unusually high-pitched. “The workmen were dealing with an electrical wiring issue today. The lights weren’t working when we left, although they promised me the lights would be operational by the time we got home.”
“Either they were wrong,” Thomas said, “or someone has cut the power. Melanie, can you reach Jack on his cell?”
I’d been hitting his number over and over, but the call kept going immediately to voice mail. “No—he must have turned it off.”
Thomas nodded grimly, then briefly returned to his car, where he called for backup, making the situation seem suddenly more real. Without stopping as he walked past us, he said, “Stay here. I’m armed, and it’s dark, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” Before we could protest, he ran toward the house and disappeared inside.
I tried Jack’s and Nola’s phone numbers again, but both calls went straight to voice mail.
Veronica began to cry. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to end this way. I didn’t want anybody getting hurt. Especially not Nola.”
She’d just put my fear into words, and I began to shiver beneath my coat.
Jayne’s voice remained calm. “Nobody said anyone was getting hurt. If Nola is in there, I imagine she’s passed out on a couch or a bed and has no idea we’re looking for her or that Michael is in there, too.”
I looked at Jayne, needing reassurance that she was right, but her gaze was focused behind me at the house. “There’s a light . . .” she started to say, pointing toward the high attic window.
We all turned as a piercing female scream shattered the silence. Without waiting to see if anyone followed, I took off at a fast run, losing both shoes before I’d reached the front steps. I stopped abruptly inside the door, causing Jayne and Veronica to bump into me. Nola’s guitar sat in its case in the middle of the floor, its meaning unclear. Either Nola had been too impaired to do anything but find a bed to fall into, or she’d been interrupted while trying to leave. Before I could weigh the implications, another scream followed by scuffling feet from above steered us toward the staircase, all of us flipping on our phone flashlights, the beams bouncing along the newly painted walls as we hurried to the second floor. The scent of Vanilla Musk enveloped us, growing stronger with each step, reassuring me that we weren’t alone.
We paused in the upstairs hallway, shining our lights into doorways, hoping to find Nola in one of the beds or discover the source of the scream, praying they weren’t connected. More movement sounded from the attic above, and then a man’s voice. Jack. I ran toward the attic steps and looked up to see a light flickering from the space beneath the door.
Before I could take my first step, Veronica pulled me back. “Shouldn’t we wait for backup?” she whispered. “We don’t know what’s going on, and we might make things worse.”
I looked at Jayne. My one consolation amid the agony of worrying about Nola was knowing that if she was in the attic, Jack, Thomas, and Beau were in there with her.
After a brief hesitation, she nodded. “She’s right. And Adrienne is here.”
“But so is Lauren.”
I’d sensed the heavy presence at the same time I’d smelled Adrienne’s perfume, feeling a growing force field as we got closer to the attic. I recalled being shoved down the stairs and was wavering about what we should do when the sound of Nola whimpering came from behind the closed door.
Instinct took over, and I raced up the stairs, the attic door flying open with sudden violence that sent it crashing into the wall behind it before I’d even reached the top step. It took a moment to register the scene in front of me: the lit glass hurricane lamp sitting on the windowsill, the red pillar candle inside it still decorated with pine boughs from a long-forgotten Christmas; Beau, Thomas, and Jack standing in a semicircle near the door with their backs to us and facing the corner; and Michael and Nola huddling in that corner near Adrienne’s box of belongings, which had been upended, the contents scattered across the attic floor. He towered over her like a menacing shadow. The tall man. I gritted my teeth at my stupidity, my obliviousness. The light from our phones reflected off of something long and shiny at Nola’s throat.
“Melanie,” Nola said with slurred words, her eyes glassy with fear as her head lolled back against Michael’s shoulder.
“Put the knife down, Michael.” Veronica stepped forward slowly, her voice decisive and strong. She held up a small object, the gold winking in the candlelight as it swayed from her upheld fingers. “We found Lauren’s charm. We know you killed her. She killed Adrienne, didn’t she? Because my sweet sister found out that you were having an affair and Lauren didn’t want me to know.” She took another small step forward. “Let Nola go, Michael. There’s no place you can hide. Don’t make it any worse.”
A cold breath blew on the back of my neck, and I saw Jayne touching her own neck at the same time. Lauren.
Thomas stayed where he was as he spoke. “She’s right, Michael. You’re only making things worse. Drop the knife and no one else gets hurt.”
Veronica took another step toward him, but Michael raised the knife. “Don’t come any closer, or I will cut her throat. We all know that without a hostage I won’t make it out of this room a free man. She’s my only chance.”
“Then take me,” I said. I felt Jack’s eyes on me, but I didn’t turn my head. “Nola’s drunk and can’t run as fast as you right now. But I can.”
He responded by squeezing Nola tighter and making her whimper.