The Children on the Hill(75)

Iris was shaking her head.

Vi continued, “We’ll take all the notes—the important ones, at least—and bring them to that journalist, Julia.”

“But you said no to that, to her. You told me she couldn’t really help us.”

“We’ve gotta try. She says if we bring her proof, she can tell the police what Gran has been doing here. Everyone’s gonna find out what’s going on here: the cops, the papers, the TV news, Governor Snelling, maybe even President Carter! It’s the only way to stop Gran. To not let her ever do this to anyone else ever again.”

Iris nodded, but she looked like she was being told a story she didn’t dare to believe.

“Now, go on downstairs and tell Gran how scared you’ve been—how much you love us and how happy you are here.”

“Will you come with me?”

“No. You have to do it on your own. I’ve gotta go figure out a way to get back into the Inn to get those files.”



* * *



GETTING THE KEYS hadn’t been difficult, really. As soon as Gran and Iris went down to the basement, Vi found Gran’s purse in its usual place on her desk. She took just the keys she needed off the ring—the one to Gran’s office, the one to the Inn’s back door, and the one to the basement—put the big ring back into Gran’s purse, and pedaled her bike into town as fast as she could. Eric was cage-cleaning today, so he was occupied.

“My grandmother needs some spare keys made,” she told the clerk at the hardware store. She passed them over, and he cut them without question, making perfect matches. Vi hurried back home—Gran was still downstairs with Iris. She put the originals back on the key ring.

Now, with the duplicate keys tucked into her pocket, she was setting her alarm for one a.m. Gran was usually in bed by eleven. She read for a while and was asleep by midnight.

Iris had showered and was in clean, right-side-out pajamas. She’d told Vi that she and Gran had just played cards down in the basement. And they’d taken out some of the mice and played with them. She told Vi that Gran had hugged her. Afterward, Iris had promised Gran that she was going to try hard to be a normal girl.

“I’m coming with you to the Inn,” Iris said.

“No way,” Vi told her. “It’s too dangerous. Me trying to get in and out of there is hard enough, but two of us? Forget it.”

“I need to come with you,” Iris said. “To see it for myself.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’ll go in, get all the files I can grab, and come right back.”

“If I go with you, we’ll be faster. And we can carry more. I need to go, Vi. I need to see where I came from. And maybe being back there, seeing it, maybe it’ll help me remember.”

Vi sighed and turned out the light.

Iris came and got into bed beside her. “Please,” she said. “I did what you asked. I pretended for Gran. Can’t you do what I’m asking?”

Vi didn’t answer.

“Vi?”

“Yes?”

“Are you afraid of me?” Iris touched Vi’s shoulders, ran her fingers over her neck, pressing gently on her throat.

Vi swallowed. “Should I be?”

“Maybe,” Iris said.

“And maybe,” Vi told her, “you should be afraid of me.”

“Why?” asked Iris.

And Vi hugged her. She held her as tight as she could, pushed her whole body against her, melted into her, until she wasn’t sure where she ended and Iris began.





Lizzy

August 21, 2019




COME IN AND lock the door behind you,” Skink said, his voice cracking a little as he tried to sound like some badass action movie star. He shifted from foot to foot. His eyes were red and bloodshot, like he’d either been crying or hadn’t slept.

“What’s going on, Skink?” I asked in a calm voice as I stepped into the campground office, my eyes on the monster book, the doll, and the gun on the desk.

Had I misjudged this boy?

“That’s just what I want to ask you,” he said, moving around to the chair behind the desk. “Sit.” He nodded at the chair in the corner of the office by the coffeepot. I walked over and lowered myself into it. He put his hand on my gun but didn’t pick it up.

I doubted the kid had ever fired a gun in his life.

“Skink, please be careful. That’s loaded.”

He jerked his hand away as if the gun had shocked him, but said defensively, “You think I don’t know that?”

“Just making sure,” I said in what I hoped was a reassuring tone. “So, you went into my van? Took this stuff?”

He nodded, bit his lip.

“How come?”

“You show up here on the island just after Lauren goes missing, asking about Rattling Jane. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. I knew you were connected somehow. I just needed proof and now I’ve got it.” He looked very pleased with himself.

Here I was, starting to think that maybe he had something to do with Lauren’s disappearance, and he’d been thinking the same thing about me.

“Did you take the gas out of my van too?” I asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t want you to get away. Not when I had all this evidence.” He reached down, picked up the doll. “This is sick stuff, Lizzy. These are her clothes, her actual clothes, her actual hair! Where is she?”