“Seriously? Jasper?”
They both nodded. “Another student told us about this girl named Beth who got sent home right before we arrived. Apparently, she was making trouble about something, and then all of a sudden, she was found in her room, having overdosed.”
“She smuggled drugs in too?”
“That’s the thing. We all know no one smuggles drugs in here. But they put out a story that she’d had someone secretly meet her on the property and that person had supplied her. Addicts will be addicts, and all that. Sneaky bastards who go to great lengths to get a fix.”
The sad thing is, Kandace thought, that’s the truth.
Another wave of coldness moved through her. And it very suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she wasn’t as tough as she’d made herself believe. Perhaps, instead, what she’d done was turn herself into the perfect victim.
Just like every single one of the girls here at Lilith House.
“She didn’t even bother telling anyone the truth later,” Kandace guessed. “Because no one would have believed her.”
“Probably,” Aurora said. “Or maybe she was so happy to be home that she did whatever she had to do not to be sent back here.”
“Do you know what she was making trouble over?”
The girls glanced at each other. “She said someone had molested her.”
“Molested her? Who?”
Aurora shook her head. “She didn’t know. She just said she could tell.”
Kandace raised an eyebrow. “And we’re sure she really wasn’t on drugs?”
Aurora shrugged. “I wouldn’t stake my life on it or anything.”
The lights in the room suddenly went out. “Damn,” Sydney whispered.
“Why did the lights go out?” Kandace whispered back.
“They shut off the lights at nine o’clock. Our bedtime. There’s a nightlight in the bathroom if you need it.”
What the actual fuck? Nine?
“I don’t even have a toothbrush. They took all my things.”
“There’s a clear cosmetic bag on the sink for you,” Sydney whispered again. “Just the basics. We’re not allowed makeup or lotion or anything like that.”
“Right,” Kandace muttered, her hand going to the back of her shorn hair. “Vanity will not be tolerated. Ashy skin all around.”
The squeak of bedsprings suggested that both girls had turned over to sleep. She sat there in the dark, leaning toward the wall cautiously, a chill sweeping through her. Whispers. Coming from within the walls. One, then another. No. Just the wind outside, she told herself, or some strange acoustics in this old house that causes voices to carry from one floor to the next. Yes, it had to be one of those two things. Even so, as Kandace’s eyes adjusted to the dark and the unfamiliar features of the room shifted into focus, that chill remained.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A loud knock echoed from below and Scarlett frowned, standing upright from where she’d been scraping wallpaper off the lower portion of a wall in a hallway in the west wing and wiping her hands down her thighs. She used her forearm to smooth the sweaty pieces of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail away from her face and headed toward the front door.
When she pulled it open, Deputy West was standing there, holding a box in his hands. Her brow lowered and she eyed him warily. “Deputy West. Hi. What brings you out here?”
“I appreciated your offer to come and go as I please,” he said, a note of dry humor in his voice. “But I thought it better that I knock and, you know, give some fair warning that you have company.”
She squinted one eye at him. Huh. So the guy wasn’t the humorless stick in the mud she’d originally thought him to be. “I appreciate that.” She used her arm to indicate her sweaty, messy hair, and her face she was pretty dang sure had dirt smudged on it, baggy ripped jeans and old, stained T-shirt. “Gave me just enough time to put on my finest.”
He grinned and she smiled back, and for a moment, time stilled. Scarlett’s heart kicked up but then so did her unease. No, she cautioned herself. Don’t even go there.
The deputy seemed to read her discomfort because he cleared his throat and looked away, holding something up. “Uh, I brought something by. I was going to install it, with your permission of course.”
She looked at the box he was holding, reading the print. “A security front door lock set?” She met his eyes, confusion wrinkling her brow. “Why?”
He looked to the side, squinting into the trees for a moment and then back at her. “Listen, this place has been empty for a long time. Kids use it for any number of things. Entertainment. A crash pad. I’ve made it a habit to drive by and make sure nothing dangerous or illegal was happening, which is why I was here the other day. If I didn’t know someone had moved in, others won’t either. I’ll install it.”
Scarlett leaned a hip on the doorframe, crossing her arms. “Seems like a pretty excessive welcome to the neighborhood gift. Is this a service Farrow provides all its new residents?”
“No, but it’s not only for you. It’ll save me the work of having to make a report when some stoned kid tries to enter without knocking and scares you and your little girl.”
Scarlett chewed at her lip, glancing at the box again. “All right. But I insist on paying for the lock set. It looks expensive.”
“No need. My friend’s dad owns the hardware store. He’s the one who picked it out. He has better taste than I do. Anyway, friend discount. I practically got it for free.” Scarlett eyed the beautiful aged brass set on the photo. It was simple, yet elegant, and perfect for the arched wooden door she planned to have sanded down and re-stained. Honestly, if she’d gone shopping for one herself, she’d likely have chosen that exact one.
“All right. Well, thank you. I accept. But you’ll have to let me at least repay you with a glass of lemonade and some cookies.”
For a moment it appeared he was going to turn her down. His mouth opened, but then he pressed his lips together and nodded once. “Sounds nice. Thanks.”
There was an awkward pause. “Okay then,” Scarlett said, backing away. “I’ll leave you to it. Oh! Do you need any tools? I have all the basics . . .”
“No. I brought what I need. I’m all set.”
“Okay, great. I’m going to . . . uh”—she hitched her thumb over her shoulder—“get back to work, but just holler when you’re done.”
“Will do.”
Scarlett shot him one last smile and then headed back to the hallway where she’d been working. She stepped into the bathroom nearby and cringed at her reflection in the mirror. God, it was worse than I thought. Not only did she have dirt smears on her face, but there was white dust from the dried wallpaper paste in her hair and eyelashes, and a tiny piece of wallpaper stuck to her cheekbone. She looked absurd. She was surprised he’d been able to speak seriously with her at all.
She used a wet piece of toilet paper to clean her face as best as she could and then brushed the white dust from her hair. She sighed. Without a shower and a vat of makeup, this would have to do.
Scarlett went to the window at the end of the hall and looked outside where Haddie was still lying on her belly on a blanket, her elbows propped up, a pile of books next to her. Scarlett knocked on the glass, not really expecting Haddie to be able to hear her, and was surprised when she looked up, waving at her mother. Scarlett smiled, waving back and watching as Haddie looked away, focusing on her book.