Chapter 4 The House at the Edge of Town
The rain had become heavier by the time Audrey and Ethan reached the car.
Neither spoke.
Ethan opened the passenger door for her.
Audrey hesitated before getting inside.
It was a small gesture.
Something he had done hundreds of times.
Once, she would have smiled.
Tonight, she only looked at him.
“You don't have to do that.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you?”
He closed the door after she climbed in.
When he reached the driver's side, Audrey was already looking through the windshield.
Ethan started the engine.
The wipers moved back and forth.
For several minutes, the only sound inside the car was rain.
Then Audrey spoke.
“Where are we going?”
“My grandmother's house.”
Ethan glanced at her.
“You're sure?”
“No.”
That answer surprised him.
Audrey looked down at the key Martin had given her.
“I am scared.”
Ethan tightened his hands around the steering wheel.
“Me too.”
She turned toward him.
Ethan rarely admitted fear.
“What are you afraid of?”
He watched the road.
“Finding out that my father was capable of something I don't want to believe.”
Audrey looked at him.
“And if you find out?”
“I'll deal with it.”
She gave a quiet laugh.
“You always say that.”
“Because I usually can.”
“And if you can't?”
He was silent.
Audrey looked out the window.
“That is what scares me.”
“What?”
“That you think you have to be able to deal with everything alone.”
Ethan glanced at her.
“I don't know any other way.”
“I know.”
The words came softly.
It was the first time they had spoken without anger since she left the house.
Ethan felt the difference.
He wanted to reach across the space between them.
He didn't.
He had spent too long believing that love gave him the right to cross every boundary.
Now he understood that even kindness could become selfish if the other person had not invited it.
After twenty minutes, the city disappeared behind them.
The road narrowed.
Tall trees rose on both sides.
Audrey's grandmother lived at the edge of town in a white colonial house surrounded by old oaks.
The house had belonged to the Parker family for nearly sixty years.
Audrey had spent much of her childhood there.
She remembered summer evenings on the porch.
Her grandmother's lemon cake.
Her grandfather's old drafting table.
The sound of pages turning in his study.
She remembered happiness.
That was what made the house painful now.
Ethan slowed as they approached.
The front gate stood open.
Audrey frowned.
“Grandma always closes that.”
Ethan stopped the car.
Neither moved.
The house was dark.
Too dark.
Audrey reached for the door.
“Stay here,” Ethan said.
She looked at him.
He corrected himself.
“Wait here while I check.”
She nodded.
Ethan stepped out.
He walked toward the house.
Audrey watched through the windshield.
He checked the front door.
Then turned.
He shook his head.
Locked.
He moved around the side.
A minute later, he returned.
“There are no signs of forced entry.”
Audrey opened the door.
“Then where is she?”
Ethan looked toward the back of the house.
“Let's find out.”
They entered through the kitchen.
The house smelled faintly of lavender and old wood.
Audrey switched on the lights.
Nothing happened.
“Power's out,” Ethan said.
He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
They moved through the kitchen.
Everything looked normal.
A bowl of fruit.
A newspaper.
A half-finished cup of tea.
Audrey touched the cup.
Still slightly warm.
“She was here.”
Ethan nodded.
“Recently.”
Audrey's heart began racing.
“Grandma?”
No answer.
They searched the living room.
Then the hallway.
No one.
Ethan found a back door standing open.
Rain had blown across the floor.
Audrey stepped closer.
There were muddy footprints outside.
They disappeared into the garden.
Ethan followed them.
Audrey stayed beside him.
The trail led toward a small greenhouse.
Its door was open.
Inside, rows of herbs and flowers filled the shelves.
In the center stood a wooden table.
On it was an old photograph.
Audrey picked it up.
Her grandmother was standing beside her grandfather.
They looked young.
Happy.
But Audrey's attention went to the man standing behind them.
Richard Calloway.
Her breath caught.
Ethan took the photograph.
“That's my father.”
Audrey nodded.
“Why were they together?”
“I don't know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I wish I didn't have to.”
He turned the photograph over.
A date was written on the back.
October 18, 2006.
The same date as the letter.
Audrey looked around.
“Something happened here.”
Ethan noticed a small metal box beneath the table.
He pulled it out.
It was locked.
Audrey took out Martin's key.
She inserted it.
The lock opened.
Inside was a cassette recorder.
Several old tapes were stacked beside it.
Ethan stared.
“This is decades old.”
Audrey picked up the first tape.
A handwritten label read:
October 18 — 11:30 p.m.
Her hands trembled.
“That's the night Grandpa disappeared.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Play it.”
She pressed the button.
Static filled the greenhouse.
Then a man's voice emerged.
James Parker.
Audrey recognized it instantly.
Her throat tightened.
“If you're hearing this, something has gone wrong.”
A pause.
“I don't know who will find this recording.”
The tape crackled.
“But if Audrey is the one listening…”
Audrey covered her mouth.
Ethan looked at her.
James continued.
“Then she is old enough to know the truth.”
Audrey's eyes filled with tears.
Her grandfather had said her name.
Twenty years before.
As if he had known she might one day hear him.
“Richard did not begin this.”
Ethan went still.
“What?”
James's voice continued.
“He was trying to stop it.”
Audrey looked at Ethan.
His face had gone pale.
“Someone inside the company has been moving money through the Ashford for years.”
The tape hissed.
“The hotel is only a cover.”
Ethan whispered, “The company.”
James continued.
“Richard discovered the truth.”
A sound came from the background.
A door opening.
James stopped speaking.
Then another voice could be heard.
A woman's voice.
Audrey recognized it.
Her heart nearly stopped.
Her grandmother.
“James, you have to go.”
James answered.
“I can't leave.”
“You promised.”
“I know.”
“Then keep your promise.”
There was a crash.
The recording became chaotic.
Then James spoke again.
“If I disappear, protect Audrey.”
The tape stopped.
Audrey stared at the recorder.
For several seconds, she could not breathe.
Ethan reached toward her.
She stepped back.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
She wiped her eyes.
“My grandfather knew.”
“Yes.”
“And my grandmother knew.”
“Yes.”
“And your father was trying to stop it.”
“Yes.”
She turned toward him.
“Then why did you let me believe your father was responsible?”
“I didn't know.”
“You knew enough.”
“I knew he was involved.”
“But not why.”
“No.”
Audrey looked away.
The pain in her chest was not only grief anymore.
It was anger.
At everyone.
Her grandfather.
Her grandmother.
Ethan.
Even herself.
For not asking harder questions.
A floorboard creaked behind them.
Ethan turned immediately.
“Who's there?”
Nothing.
He stepped toward the greenhouse door.
Audrey followed.
Outside, the garden was empty.
Then she saw something near the gate.
A shadow.
Someone standing beneath an umbrella.
Watching them.
Ethan moved forward.
The figure turned.
And ran.
Ethan chased.
Audrey followed as far as the garden path.
“Ethan!”
He disappeared through the trees.
A minute later, he returned.
Empty-handed.
“They're gone.”
Audrey looked toward the road.
A black sedan was parked beside the trees.
The same model as the vehicle outside Rachel's house.
Ethan saw it too.
He ran toward it.
The car accelerated.
Its tires sprayed water across the road.
Ethan stopped.
Audrey joined him.
“Whoever it is, they were watching us.”
He nodded.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Who is this?”
No response.
Only breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
“You should never have opened the box.”
Ethan's face changed.
Audrey recognized the voice.
“Victoria?”
The caller laughed softly.
“No, Audrey.”
The line went dead.
Audrey stared at Ethan.
“Then who was it?”
Before he could answer, the lights of the house suddenly came on.
Both of them turned.
A figure stood in the upstairs window.
An elderly woman.
Audrey's heart stopped.
“Grandma.”
She ran toward the house.
Ethan followed.
They reached the front door.
Audrey pushed it open.
“Grandma?”
No answer.
They ran upstairs.
The bedroom door stood open.
The room was empty.
The bed was neatly made.
On the pillow lay a single envelope.
Audrey picked it up.
Her name was written across it.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a short letter.
Audrey,
If you are reading this, then they have finally found you.
Do not trust the person who claims to be protecting you.
Not Ethan.
Not Rachel.
No one.
There is one place they cannot search.
The old music room at the Calloway house.
Audrey stopped reading.
Ethan stared at her.
“What does it say?”
She slowly looked up.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Grandma wants me to go back to our house.”
Ethan's expression darkened.
“Why?”
Audrey looked down at the letter.
Then she read the final line.
Because your grandfather left something there for you before he disappeared.
Outside, thunder shook the windows.
Ethan looked toward the dark hallway.
The house suddenly felt occupied.
Not by Audrey's grandmother.
By someone who had been waiting for them to find the letter.
And somewhere downstairs, a floorboard creaked.
Then another.
Someone was inside the house.