Chapter Forty-Five Hanna
Chapter Forty-Five
Hanna
That old water leak had soaked into the walls and now a moldy smell hung over the entry. The pungent scent made my sinuses
tingle. I held my hand over my nose and mouth to block the noxious stench. It permeated every inch of the entrance hall.
I moved the toe of my shoe around on the floor, hunting for the bloodstain that once marked the entrance. Evidence lost or
covered by years of neglect. Replaced with layers of grime and garbage.
Time, trespassers, and ghost hunters left a mark. No one lived here. Not possible.
Aubrey walked into the entry hall like a real estate agent showing off a prime property. She turned to face us before reaching
the bottom of the stairs. “Clearly, I need to redecorate.”
“Or knock the place down,” Stella mumbled.
The house had already started that process without any human help.
Wallpaper peeled off the walls. The floor seemed to be covered in .
. . What was that? I tried to focus, to keep my senses on high alert despite the stagnant air.
The mystery came into view. Dead leaves.
Forgotten papers. Curling edges of carpet.
The part of the house meant to welcome people operated more as a flashing keep out sign.
The staircase rose to a landing, then branched off to the right and left. The oppressive bleakness made it impossible to make
out details. I could see the outline of a painting or a photo or something in a large frame at the top of that first set of
steps. It used to be a massive family portrait. It could be anything now.
Xavier, how could you let this mess happen? You owed your son more than this.
“What are we doing in here, Aubrey?” My nerve endings kept firing. My brain screamed to bolt. Jeremy needed me and I truly
feared this house might swallow me up and never spit me out again. Like its owner, it vibrated with dark energy, all pissed
and ready to strike.
“The bones are good. That’s what they say on those house hunting shows, right?” Aubrey laughed at her own joke. She was the
only one.
“While we’re here, why don’t you tell us what happened to your family. Where were you for all those years after boarding school?
Where are they?” I knew she wouldn’t answer. She’d likely provided as much information as she intended when she’d showed up
unannounced at Xavier’s house, but I needed something to keep my mind moving as I searched for Jeremy. A mix of dread and
terror threatened to freeze me in place. “Start anywhere.”
She barked out a laugh. “Why don’t you three go first? What did you see that day?”
The lights flickered, then pulsed to full power. The entire downstairs, or at least the parts I could see, lit up in a bath of harsh yellow.
I blinked against the unexpected flash.
Stella swore under her breath. “What the hell?”
“The electricity is on?” Marni asked at the same time.
“Ladies, please.” Aubrey’s singsongy voice didn’t match the crumbling surroundings or the tension wrapping around us as she
moved her hand away from the light switch. “So many questions. One at a time.”
I shifted my feet. Something compelled me to look down. This time I saw it. Faded but still there. The stain had been there
that day and never removed despite the industrial cleaning done by the company Xavier hired to stamp out the bad memories.
Blood on the floor. Dishes on the table. The knife balanced on the bottom step. I picked it up before I saw Marni. She walked
into the entry hall with blood on her hands . . . then ran. Panic fueled every move after that.
Something terrible happened here.
Those were the words I used when I called Xavier to come to the house fifteen years ago. The words I said to him instead of
the police. I called the wrong person first. The person who wanted me to mess up.
I couldn’t let my fingerprints be found, so I wiped the knife. Destroyed potential evidence. Forever.
I ruined the scene. My actions potentially let a murderer go free. That was my haunting secret.
With Jeremy missing and so much at stake, I refused to keep playing these ridiculous games. “Aubrey, that’s enough.” With every word she pushed me closer to my breaking point. “Where’s Jeremy?”
Aubrey’s smirk vanished. “We’ve talked about this. I have no idea.”
“Then who’s upstairs?” Stella asked.
Aubrey frowned. “Uh, no one?”
“Wrong.” That breaking point? I stormed right past it.
Ignoring all of them, I bolted. Pivoted around Aubrey and headed straight for the stairs and the hiding place, or whatever
purpose the room upstairs served at this moment.
“Hanna?” Concern filled Marni’s voice, but she didn’t move from the relative safety of the entry.
“I wouldn’t—”
The wood groaned under me before Aubrey could finish the sentence. I hadn’t reached the first landing. I’d jogged up six steps.
Each one felt squishy under my sneakers, likely the result of more water damage. The whole staircase wobbled as if it could
crash to the floor at any moment. I froze, not sure whether to go up or down.
“I’m not an architect or an engineer, but I’d stop moving around.” Aubrey hit the light switch next to her a second time and
the floor above me burst to life.
“Have you been upstairs?” Stella asked.
“Yesterday. I reconnected the water and electricity, too, or Hanna would be fumbling around in the dark physically as well
as metaphorically.” Aubrey smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“Is the floor safe?” Marni asked.
“Does it look safe?” Aubrey laughed. “How about you, Hanna? Do you feel secure, balancing up there?”
“This isn’t funny.” It was terrifying and also my own fault. I should have known the house would be an obstacle course of potential disasters.
“It’s a little funny, but there’s a trick that should keep you alive. More or less.” Aubrey moved closer to the bottom of
the stairs. “Walk up the far-right edge. Don’t touch the middle of the steps. Don’t run but don’t linger either.”
“Right.” Still sounded like a death trap but now I had a plan.
Balancing on the ball of my foot, I crept from one step to the next. I seesawed between clenching the handrail and being too
afraid to touch it. I didn’t breathe until I reached the first landing.
Aubrey clapped. “Well done.”
She did not know when to stop. “You could enjoy this less.”
“Doubt it.” Aubrey turned to Stella and Marni. “You two want to take a turn?”
“Who’s upstairs?” Stella asked.
“Again, no one. Frankly, you ladies have a problem with repetition.” Aubrey’s unreadable expression didn’t give anything away.
“We saw a face in the upstairs window,” Marni said.
Aubrey let out a fake gasp. “How ominous. That sounds like a new Sleepy Hollow legend. You should copyright the story, or
whatever you do before the tour operators steal it.”
I was ten seconds away from losing it. The constant churning in my stomach stole the last of my patience. I’d never been one
to fight or punch, but that would change if Aubrey didn’t start coughing up real information soon. “Stop being a jackass and
answer Marni’s question.”
Aubrey sighed. “Fine. I’ll play along. Which room?”
“Second floor. Far right.” The vision played on repeat in my head. A silhouette. The shift of the curtain.
“Noah’s room.” Aubrey hesitated for a few awkward seconds. “I guarantee you he’s not in there.”
Stella shook her head. “What does that—”
“Quiet.” Noise. A sound. Footsteps above my head.
Jeremy. Finally.