“Where are we going?” I asked, mostly to see if she’d tell me.
“His dad owns a house in New Hampshire. Sometimes Russ took me out there.”
That didn’t sound like the behavior of a guy who cared about a girl, more like how he’d act if he was hiding her. I didn’t say that; Davina was barely keeping her concern in check as it was, and she was driving. I didn’t have a license.
“Nice?” I imagined a lake mansion, six bedrooms, as many baths, boat house.
“It’s remote,” she said thoughtfully. “Peaceful, though. Smaller than you’d expect.”
“Maybe it was leftover from before they had money.”
Though I was kidding, she said, “Probably.”
Conversation died in her preoccupation, and I lacked the focus to press on. The more distance we put between Boston and me, the less the infinity mark on my arm liked it. All around the symbol, the skin felt hot and inflamed, like the brand was reminding me I had obligations. I know, one more favor. Odd, because when I went away for the SSP, it didn’t bother me at all. That was before Wedderburn decreed that I needed to burn through my requests, though. As time wore on, I actually had to lace my hands together to keep from wrenching the wheel and turning the car back toward the city.
We passed the state line without any problems, though I noticed Davina worrying her lower lip. The roads got smaller and rougher until we turned onto what I guessed was a long, private drive. Trees framed the rocky path in an archway of foliage, mostly green, tinged here and there with gold. If Davina didn’t seem sure of the route, I’d assume we were hopelessly lost as she turned the car deeper and deeper into the woods. By this time, the sky was darkening to purple, clouds dotting the horizon like bruises.
Just when I was about to question her sense of direction, the rutted track opened to permit a glimpse of an A-frame house nestled amid the trees. Beyond I caught the glint of water. It was a quiet, picturesque place, but my arm felt like I had been stung by a hundred bees, and when I lifted it to the dying light, my skin around the mark was red as blood. Hastily, I jerked my school blazer down as Davina parked.
Right next to Russ’s silver BMW.
As I climbed out of her mom’s beater, she grabbed my left hand and held on until it hurt. “Do you think he’s here with someone?”
Shit. Do I think he’d skip school to cheat on you? Absolutely. Do I want to say that out loud? Nope.
“I have no idea” seemed like the kindest response.
Our footsteps crunched over the weeds and gravel choking the driveway, then we hit the wooden steps to the front deck. Inside, the house was dark, and I couldn’t see much despite the immense windows. Apart from the wood frame on the sides, the front and back seemed to be glass. Davina rummaged for the key in a potted plant and let herself in. Eyes wide, she beckoned me to follow.
The smell hit me at once. She stopped in her tracks, and as one, we tipped our heads back. Russ wasn’t cheating on her. Nor was he breathing. He spun in a slow circle from a noose, hanging from the rafters above. Horror flooded over me like a wave of dark water.
That’s how Kian tried to die. It can’t be a coincidence.
Davina opened her mouth to scream and I dragged her outside; she hunched over and I suspected she would barf, but instead she grabbed her knees and drew in a few shaky breaths. I put my hand on her back, too shocked to know what I should be feeling. A few seconds later, it occurred to me we had to call 911 and I said so. She didn’t argue with me, though it would mean our parents finding out we’d lied about the library.
“You do it,” she said in a thin voice.
“Okay. Go sit in the car. I think we should stay out of the house.”
The 911 operator asked me a number of questions, and I had to ask Davina for the address. At last the dispatcher said she was sending a policeman to our location and we should get in our vehicle and wait. I did that gladly since I had no intention of sitting in the house.
“My grandmother said these things come in threes,” Davina whispered.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“That once the bad spirits woke up and the dying started, it didn’t stop until they took three souls.”
“I hope not.” Over the last few months, I’d learned not to dismiss such things. Hell, if enough people believed it, the worst would come true.
“I think I’m cursed.” Davina hesitated, eyed me with a sharp look. “Or maybe you are. I never had shit like this until I started hanging around with you.”
That’s my worst fear.
Aloud, I said, “You think I gave Brit a flesh-eating virus and hung Russ?”
At that she burst into tears and I spent the next ten minutes hugging her. We were in her mom’s car, crying together, when the state police showed up. There were two of them, looking bored and clearly expecting a high school prank. Old and young, tall and short—it was like whoever paired them up thought opposites made the best partners. The small, portly one stepped forward.
“The young man’s inside?” A nice way of putting it.
I nodded. “We unlocked the door but we didn’t touch anything.”
“Let us check things out and then we’ll be right with you.”
Off they went, but it didn’t take long before they were outside, and the younger one made a call on the radio. Not a trick, officer. This is the real deal, unfortunately. That started half an hour’s worth of questions and then other people arrived, including the county coroner. By that point, Davina and I were on our phones, explaining things to our folks.
To say my dad was displeased? Understatement. “You used to be such a smart girl. What in the world has gotten into you? You lied to me and left the state. What if this boy had been dangerous? You two might’ve found him lying in wait with a gun. If your friend suspected he might be there, why didn’t she tell his parents or the headmaster?”
Because she loves him, I thought. And she didn’t want him to get in trouble if he was just skipping a week of school. She was hoping she could save him.
It took another hour before they let us go, and by that time, a cavalcade of luxury vehicles had started to arrive, Russ’s family, most likely. From Davina’s panicked expression, I could tell she wanted to be gone before she had to face his parents. The state police dismissed us soon after. She got us out of there and back onto the main road, knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.
“I know nobody believes it, but he was different with me. We’d sit out on the deck behind the house and talk.”