I sidled up to stand next to Ruby and watched Lucky as he got into the
van. “He doesn’t tell me to take care. He probably wouldn’t mind if I tripped down the stairs and broke my neck.”
Ruby’s laugh sounded forced. She ran her hand across the doorframe as
her lips tightened again. “I didn’t get to give him his doll.”
“He’ll be back. Eventually. Give it to him then.”
“Yeah.” She began backing into the house. “Thanks for looking out for
me, Jo. I think I’d like some alone time, if it’s okay with you.”
“Of course. Give me a call if there are any issues.”
She glanced into the house then smiled. The expression seemed strangely
bitter. “The windows are all closed. ”
“What?”
“It must have happened some time after getting Mr. Nick outside. The
windows closed themselves. I guess Shreya didn’t like them being open. But
at least the lights are on again.”
I chewed on my lip. “Hey, did you want me to stay for a bit? Some weird
stuff has happened today. Maybe it’s not a good idea to be alone.”
“No, that’s all right. I think alone is exactly what I need right now. And,
like Mr. Nick said, it’s probably better not to acknowledge her too much.”
“Sure.” I gave a reluctant sigh. “But keep the phone close. Just in case.”
She waved goodbye and shut the door. A second later, an upstairs light
turned on. I rubbed at my arms and hoped Ruby would find it and turn it off
before bedtime.
My cats were waiting for me inside the house, but as had become their
habit, they hissed when they saw me and scurried deeper into the house. I
went upstairs to wash off whatever lingering scent upset them. I felt
disoriented. The adventure had ground to a halt so quickly that it was almost
jarring. Just that morning, we’d been looking forward to the spirit medium’s
arrival, hoping he could give us some information on Shreya and praying it
wouldn’t be bad news. Now, in less than an hour, Lucky was gone again, and
Ruby had locked herself back in her house. Once again, I was alone with my
cats and my cooking.
Following the shower, I peeled the plaster off my finger. I’d changed it
several times since cutting the skin, but the marks were finally starting to
heal. I held it up to the light. In amongst the dark lines of clotted blood, I
thought I saw a sliver of brown. The splinter’s still in there. Damn it.
My fingers itched to retrieve the needle and have another go at it, but the
last thing I needed was to reopen the wound. I resisted the temptation and
fixed a new plaster over the marks.Back in the kitchen, the doll on the windowsill had fallen over once
again. I set it upright. Then I went about making a simple dinner. I felt flat,
without a purpose, and slouched into the lounge room to eat. One window
overlooked the street. The other captured the front part of Marwick House. I
alternated gazing between the two of them. Lights came on in different parts
of the building, though it was hard to tell which were from Ruby. The street
was quiet. I watched Penny’s house, but she didn’t appear in the window.
A low, grumbling growl made me startle. I sat up straighter. The outside
world was dark; I must have fallen asleep in the chair. My neck was stiff, so I
rotated it to loosen it.
Bell crouched on the chair by the window. She grumbled in the back of
her throat as she watched Ruby’s house. I scowled at her. “Oh, be quiet.”
One ear swivelled towards me before returning to the Marwick house. I
stood and stretched then froze. A red sports car was parked on the opposite
side of the road.
Damn, damn, damn. I wished I hadn’t fallen asleep. I crouched and crept
closer to the window, keeping myself low so that I wouldn’t be seen. The
car’s windows were tinted, but I caught a hint of movement inside. Raul
hadn’t yet approached the house, at least. I reached for my phone then swore
internally as I remembered I didn’t have Ruby’s number. She’d taken mine
but hadn’t given hers in return.
I needed to warn her about the car, but I didn’t want to walk out where
Raul would see me. Instead, I snuck out of the lounge room, keeping low
until the walls closed around me and protected me from being seen, then rose
and jogged out the back door.