She hesitated, drawing in a deep, fortifying breath. “Lila, someone’s spray-painted a red skull and crossbones on your white paint!”
“What?” I jerked upright in the seat.
“Bright as a cardinal, but not at all cheerful,” she added for dramatic flair. “My husband wouldn’t mind slapping a coat of paint over it for you, but I thought you should know in case you wanted to call the police. The vandal added some letters, too, but I can’t make them out. For some reason, he painted those a shade of white. A black light might help you read them. Luckily, I’ve got one you can use.”
After thanking Ginny and ending the call, I rubbed my throbbing temples and tried to stay calm.
“There’s trouble at your house,” Althea stated, but I knew she wanted details.
I eased myself out of the rocker. “Someone played graffiti artist on my front door. Can I borrow the truck? I need to get over there and deal with this tonight.”
My mother scrutinized me, the corners of her mouth pinched in concern. “This wasn’t some hip-hop gangster wannabe, Lila. Mark my words. It’s a warnin’.”
“Okay, Mama. Please call me if you see or hear from Trey.” I gave her an indulgent smile and headed inside for the truck keys.
On the drive to Dunston I began to feel the effects of my full week. The last thing I wanted to do was meet Ginny at my half-empty house. I knew that the darkened windows and the silent rooms would depress me, the For Sale sign and vacant garage serving as reminders of my dismal financial situation. Why would anyone vandalize my house? I’d been friendly with all of my neighbors, and we hardly had gangs of spray-paint hooligans living in our backyards.
Ginny was waiting in her sleek Lexus convertible when I arrived, but the moment I rumbled up the street in Althea’s turquoise truck, she raced to my door, black light in hand.
“I’ll shine it for you,” she offered. “You stand back a few feet. Maybe you can read the writing that way.”
In the time it had taken me to drive from Inspiration Valley, the resourceful Realtor had managed to find an extension cord. The cord trailed out from inside my house like a long orange worm, still very visible in the shadows cast by the encroaching night and the gathering thunderclouds.
Ginny angled the black light so that when she switched it on, the front door was thrown into a wash of spectral purple light.
I gasped. The skull, which had gaping eye sockets and an openmouthed snarl, radiated hostility. Part of me had been expecting a cartoonish pirate skull, but there was nothing childish or playful about this drawing. My heart racing, I had to force myself to meet its menacing gaze. I knew it was irrational, but I felt a presence behind those eyes. A wickedness lingering from the vandal like a powerful perfume. However, my need to decipher the writing below the crossed bones won out over my trepidation, so I steeled myself and drew close to the door.
“S…T…O…P,” I read aloud. “I think the next letter is an ‘L’ followed by—” I couldn’t continue. I now knew what the words said. They gave me the chills and I stepped back, retreating from the warning, but it seemed to follow me.
STOP LOOKING STOP LOOKING STOP LOOKING
Ginny was still peering at the letters. “Oh! I see it now!” She repositioned the black light, propped it against the doorframe, and came to stand beside me. “Who is this message for? Vampire home buyers?”
I shook my head, dread tiptoeing up my spine and raising the fine hairs at the nape of my neck. “I believe it’s meant as a threat, but not to a potential homeowner. To me.”
“But what are you supposed to stop looking for?” she wondered.
I pretended to be too busy taking photographs of the vandalism with my cell phone to answer. This warning had to do with Marlette’s death; I was sure of it. I had no proof, but I felt it in my bones. I put my hand on Ginny’s arm, trying not to tremble. “If your husband would be willing to paint over this, I’d be really grateful, but I need to tell the police about it first.”
Thanking her again, I promised to fill her in later, but all I wanted to do now was get back to Althea’s, track down Trey, and take a very long, very hot bath.
As I headed into Inspiration Valley, lightning scored the sky and the rain began to slap against the windshield. As it formed a steady rhythm against the glass, it seemed to take on the voice of the skull and crossbones, whispering its warning through the water.
“STOP LOOKING STOP LOOKING STOP LOOKING….”
MY VERY LONG, very hot bath was not to be. My mother was pacing on the porch when I arrived, her features pinched with more worry.