There were no cars in the drive, so he swung in off the street practically without braking. As he threw the car into Park, he saw a Bug coming around the corner. It jerked to a halt on the street just as he jumped out of his car.
“Hey!” Will called to him, walking up with Caroline just as Barry and Renee hopped out of their car.
“You haven’t found her?” Caleb asked.
“No, we keep calling and calling, but…nothing,” Caroline said, trying again as she spoke.
Caleb headed for the porch and raced up the steps. As he got to the door, he heard Sarah’s cell phone ringing—inside.
“Sarah!”
He tried the door. It was open, and he cursed under his breath as he rushed inside.
“Sarah!” he shouted again, anxiety rising in his tone as he followed the sound of the ringing.
Her purse was on the kitchen counter, her cell phone inside it.
The others were right behind him. “Sarah!” Will shouted. He turned and headed for the stairs, then ran up them two at a time. Caroline hurried into one parlor, Renee and Barry into the other.
Caleb saw the door to the basement standing ajar. Had Sarah gone down there, hoping to find a hidden clue? He threw it open and looked down into the darkness. “Sarah!”
“What?”
He was startled when he heard her voice behind him and spun around.
She was leaning against the door frame between the kitchen and the hall.
And she was covered in mud and spiderwebs.
12
Caleb was stunned at the sight of her, but he didn’t have a chance to speak, because just then Will came tearing back down the stairs and rushed into the room.
“Sarah! Where the hell have you—” He broke off and stopped dead, just two feet away from her. He’d been about to hug her in his relief, but suddenly he seemed to notice that she was covered in filth, and it gave him pause.
“Sarah?” Caroline said, crashing into Will.
Sarah offered them all a weak smile. “Hi, guys.”
Caleb had managed to tamp down his own sense of sheer panic by then and stepped back to lean against the refrigerator. “What happened to you?” he asked finally.
Renee and Barry appeared just then and stopped in silence, Renee’s mouth agape.
“I somehow managed to lock myself in the basement. I know, it’s idiotic,” Sarah said.
“And you just got out now?” Caleb asked. “People have been call—”
“How did you get out?” Renee asked, cutting across him.
“There’s a screen window, just at ground level,” Sarah said. “I never knew about it—there’s a big hibiscus growing right in front of it. There’s dirt all piled up in front of it, too—I don’t think anyone has noticed it for years.”
“Did you just get out?” Caleb asked again.
She turned her silver gaze to him and smiled, a bit embarrassed. “Yes.”
“Sarah,” he told her, “the door to the basement wasn’t locked. It was open when I got in here. And so was your front door.”
“Oh, Lord, I could have sworn I locked it,” she said.
He saw that she was trembling, even though she was trying to be cool and slough off the experience as if it had been nothing.
But he could tell that she was badly shaken.
“Oh, my God, we were so worried. We’ve been calling you and calling you,” Caroline said.
“I’m sorry, but I’m also very grateful that you were so concerned,” Sarah said.
“Well, a lot of scary shit has been going down, and when you didn’t answer, we got worried,” Barry said.
“I know, and thanks again for worrying about me,” Sarah said again, then looked at herself and grimaced. “I think I need to take a shower.”
“I don’t think you should be staying in this house,” Renee said. “It’s creepy.”
“Oh, Renee,” Barry protested. “The house isn’t creepy.”
“She was locked in the basement, wasn’t she?” Renee said defensively.
“Apparently I only thought I was locked in the basement,” Sarah said. “You said that the door was open, right, Caleb?”
“Yes,” he said, still leaning against the refrigerator, watching her. He could see that she didn’t want anyone to see just how badly shaken she was. He wondered if she was going to tell him the truth about what happened.
“But…even if you only thought you were locked in, it’s the house that did it to you,” Renee said, shivering. “Oh, Sarah. You really have to sell this place. There are other houses you can buy. And you’ll be much happier. They won’t come with bones in the wall.”
“It’s not like I knew this one came with bones in the wall when I bought it. Anyway, I’m a historian, remember? I thrive on this stuff. And right now I’m going to take a shower, because I’m starving and I want to go to dinner, but I don’t want anyone waiting on me. You all go and get some appetizers or something. Please.”
“I don’t think we should leave you alone,” Will said.
“She won’t be alone. I’ll wait for her,” Caleb said. “Why don’t the rest of you go on? We’ll be right behind you.”
“Okay,” Caroline said slowly. “If you’re sure, Sarah? Because we can wait.”