Chapter Forty-Four Stella
Chapter Forty-Four
Stella
This was a terrible idea. I didn’t need the degree and all those supervised practice hours to see the train wreck piled up
in front of me.
I refused to open the car door. I couldn’t believe I’d even gotten in the front seat.
I sat in the driveway of Victoria and Patrick’s house with Hanna and Marni. The abandoned Tanner mansion. The three-story
Victorian that once stood out in the neighborhood with its two acres of perfect green lawn. The bright white siding had faded
from the direct sun to a dingy yellow. Years of neglect and an unfixed water leak had left the front porch dipping under the
weight of a rotting roof.
Thanks to the roots of an overgrown tree, the once regal stone steps leading to the front door had cracked until they stuck
out of the ground in a haphazard pattern as if something down there wanted to escape to up here.
We could have knocked down the old fence, but Mom had a key to the gate. I “borrowed” it earlier as she delivered another lecture about my patients’ lack of boundaries. She didn’t need to know where I really was or why.
Everly had been asleep for hours. I’d been napping on the couch in lounge clothes, mentally debating turning in, when Hanna
texted about talking with Aubrey. Hanna then set out her far-fetched plan to sneak into Aubrey’s old house and all thoughts
of relaxing and sleep died a wheezing death.
Now I was here in Hanna’s car with the engine running and Marni in the back seat, muttering about this being a ridiculous
plan. She wasn’t wrong.
Hanna’s grip on the steering wheel didn’t ease. She clenched and unclenched. Twisted the leather under her palms. “Aubrey
mentioned the houses. Talked about something happening inside and suggested she didn’t need keys to get in either place.”
Aubrey had us running around in circles. Her plan to shove Hanna right to the edge had worked. I tried to convince myself
I was here as the voice of reason but curiosity spurred me on. I hadn’t spent much time at this Tanner house in years, except
one trip with my mom at Xavier’s request to remove valuables. It had been a desperate attempt to make the heap less of an
attractive nuisance to kids and anyone looking to rip out the pipes to make a buck or two.
The place should have been gutted by thieves long ago, but after an initial spurt of activity and a few warning shots by the security guards Xavier stationed here for the first full year, interest had died down except for curiosity seekers.
With all the rumors about a dead family haunting the house its reputation became more of a testimony to lives gone wrong than a place filled with treasures worth plucking.
With Aubrey being back, people would come looking for a story and making videos to post online again.
“Why are we here instead of at Xavier’s place?” I asked because Aubrey broke into, or snuck into, or just plain walked right
into, Xavier’s house. Not this one.
Hanna didn’t shift her gaze from the front door. “It’s where she’s staying.”
“That information has to be wrong. Look at this.” I stared at the dark, soulless house. I swear it stared back.
Marni shifted around in the back seat. Her jacket slid across the leather of Hanna’s used, decade-old sedan. “It might be
nice compared to where she was hiding.”
“A boarding school at first. Who knows where after that,” Hanna said.
Marni whistled. “You got a lot of information during your little chat.”
“Nothing that Aubrey didn’t plan to share.” Hanna sighed as she sat back in her seat. “She’s crafty.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is dangerous,” Marni said.
Marni’s choice was a good one. I had one of my own. “Diabolical.”
Isabel might know about secret entrances, but she’d never lived in either property. Xavier collected expensive real estate
later in life while Isabel spent a lot of time following Xavier around. After losing both her mother and her husband, she’d
been his shadow and his helper. Now I wondered if she’d been his confidante.
Our earlier conversation still haunted me. She’d done something but what?
Hanna finally turned to look at us. Her stark gaze fit the tense moment. “I get it. Trust me, just standing in the same room
with Aubrey made me twitchy.”
“She is a charmer,” I mumbled.
Hanna’s expression changed. “Did she have a chance to be anything but awful?”
“Don’t do that. Don’t give her a pass.” Patrick used to do that, and I hated him for it. His practiced speech reeked of concern.
It drew me in and made me think I could help.
She’s special, Stella. You can do this. Aubrey’s intelligence is astounding. We messed up. She needed more. A different school.
People more adept at handling her unique needs and temperament. If you could just talk with her—
Hanna’s voice broke through my memories. “Her parents were murdered.”
Marni made a strangled sound. “By her!”
“Maybe but I’m not convinced.” Hanna abandoned eye contact again. She ducked her head and stared up at the big house. Took
in all three looming floors.
“How did she create doubt during a fraught ten-minute chat?” I wanted to believe Hanna’s conclusion because it provided a
simple answer. But nothing about the Tanner family had ever been that easy. We shared a bloodline. One that blurred the distinction
between right and wrong on a daily basis.
Hanna’s hands tightened on the wheel again. “Someone’s upstairs.”
The words ran through me like ice water. I jumped in my seat. Turned to get a better look at the covered windows. “What?”
Marni scooted over. “You can’t see anything. The lights are off. They’ve been off for years.”
Hanna pointed. “Second floor. Far right.”
The outline of the house stood out against the cloudy sky. Darkness swallowed up the trees and the neighbor’s house in the
distance.
“I don’t see . . .” Movement. Not a curtain but something upstairs. Maybe a trick where my vision went fuzzy and my mind filled
in blanks that didn’t exist. “Is that . . . Wait, what was that?”
“It’s flickering. Maybe a candle?” Marni mumbled the question. She’d basically plastered her face against the window. “And
a silhouette.” She made a swishing noise. “Now it’s gone.”
My breathing hitched. I found it hard to draw in enough air. “This is creepy even for Sleepy Hollow.”
“We all agree ghosts aren’t real, right? Please tell me we’re not getting sucked into that nonsense.” Marni sounded determined
to convince all of us, including herself.
“That was a person,” Hanna said. “The candle or flashlight or whatever it was is out.”
“It’s her, right? Aubrey.” Marni’s head popped up between the two front seats. “She’s skulking around up there, planning her
next horrifying scheme. Trying to scare the crap out of us.”
“Jeremy.” Hanna whispered his name.
She was grabbing at any chance, and I couldn’t blame her. Everly was home and safe and all I wanted to do was race back to her and hold her. Keep her away from the spreading malevolence that had settled over the town like a suffocating blanket. “No. He wouldn’t be sitting up there.”
Hanna looked at me. “He might not be able to leave.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. “You can’t possibly mean—”
“I’m not talking about ghosts. I mean, he could be tied up or . . . I’m going in.” Hanna fumbled for the door handle.
I grabbed her before she could bolt. “Hanna, no.”
“We’ll call the police,” Marni suggested.
“And say what?” This woman had not learned her lesson. She’d been questioned and questioned again. She didn’t offer any information
about her time with law enforcement after Patrick was found except to say her attorney handled everything. She also confirmed
her affair with Patrick without offering details.
Thunk.
We jerked at the strange thud. A hand slapped against the car window next to Hanna.
Marni squealed.
A second muted bang, then a face appeared in the glass. A ghostly shadow with big eyes and a terrifyingly cold expression.
Aubrey.
The startled scream started deep in my belly and crept up to my throat.
“Holy shit!” Hanna would have shot into the back seat if she’d taken her seat belt off.
Marni pressed tight against the seat. She made her body small as she tucked it into the corner farthest from the window.
Hanna’s hand shook as she lowered the glass. I leaned across her to get a better look at Aubrey and check for obvious weapons.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Yelling didn’t ease the rush of nerves. My wild heartbeat made my chest ache.
“I was hoping you’d all visit.” Aubrey gestured toward the house. “You should come in.”
Talk about a nightmare. “No way.”
Before I could throw the locks or beg Hanna to drive off, Aubrey opened the driver’s side door.
Aubrey smiled. “Ladies, please. I insist.”