Every Vow You Break(67)

Without thinking too hard about it, she walked through the dining room, then pushed through the swinging double doors into the kitchen. It was dark except for under-lighting below the cabinets, just enough so that she could make out the gleaming configuration of high-end kitchen equipment. On the back wall she saw two large refrigeration units and moved in that direction.

Inside the first one she spotted a hunk of cheese wrapped in cellophane, plus a bag of apples. She added the cheese to the apple bag and took it with her, grabbing the largest butcher knife she could find on her way back through. She had food and a weapon and realized that she also needed water. Deciding she didn’t want to stay inside the lodge any longer than she had to, she went to one of the massive stainless-steel sinks, turned on the faucet, and drank directly from it, filling herself with as much water as she could.

She walked back the way she had come, going through the hall, then along the adjacent hallway, pausing as she realized that the office, with the phones and computers, was right above her.

Was it worth checking? Clearly they had done something to make her think that the phone system was down earlier, but maybe it would be up now. Maybe she’d be able to make a call. Steeling herself, she took the stairs, every creak almost stopping her heart, but on the second-floor balcony she found that the door to the office was locked. She turned to go back the way she had come, then froze as she watched a door down the hall swing open, a wedge of light spreading across the floor. The person who emerged was dressed in a long white robe and turned in the opposite direction from Abigail, sliding the door shut behind them, then swinging the adjacent door open and disappearing again.

The light wasn’t great, but Abigail felt pretty sure the figure had long hair, which didn’t mean much, but whoever it was also had very narrow shoulders. If it was a woman, then it had to be Mellie.

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced it was Mellie. It made sense that as an employee she would sleep in the lodge, and the room next to hers was most likely a bathroom.

Abigail couldn’t decide what to do, and then suddenly she heard the muffled sound of a toilet being flushed, and the person was back in the hallway. Moving as quietly as possible, she ran forward, quickly seeing that it really was Mellie, who was now watching Abigail approach.

“Shh,” Abigail said, holding a finger in front of her lips as she got to Mellie, who looked confused and half-asleep.

“Ab—” Mellie started.

“They killed Jill,” Abigail whispered, interrupting. “Her husband just beat her to death with a rock. I saw the whole thing.”

Mellie was pale in the dim light, her eyes wide. “I can’t help you,” she said, stammering a little. “You need to get away from here.”

“I can’t. That’s what I’m telling you. I was a witness to a murder.”

“I’m sorry,” Mellie said, taking a step backward. “No one here can help you.”

“Listen to what I’m telling you. I’ve been drugged and beat up. It was some sort of elaborate joke, but then Alec Greenly really did kill his wife. I saw the whole thing.”

Mellie was shaking her head, her eyes darting, as though the two women were being watched. “I believe you,” she said, her voice now a whisper as well. “Everyone who works here knows the things they do. But listen to me: no one here will help you.”

“I’m not asking about someone else, I’m asking about you.”

Mellie was shaking her head again, and her chin had begun to quiver. “There’s nothing …”

She stopped speaking because the front door of the lodge had swung inward, and the beam of a flashlight was slicing across the great hall. Mellie gripped Abigail’s arm and pulled her into a narrow bedroom, dark except for the moonlight coming through a large screened window. “Go out the window onto the roof. It’s only about a five-foot drop to the ground.” She was raising the screen, carefully, so as not to make any noise.

“Can’t I hide here?” Abigail whispered.

“I can’t. No. Please leave. I won’t tell them you were here, but that’s all I can do.”

Abigail thought she heard footsteps on the stairs that led up to the second level, and she swung a leg through the window, sliding out onto a slightly angled metal roof. She carefully worked her way down to the edge and saw that Mellie was right, it was only a short drop. She gripped the edge of the gutter and lowered herself down as she heard the screen sliding back into place. It was quiet outside, lighter than it had been in the lodge. The moon, not covered by clouds, allowed her to see fifty yards toward the tennis courts, surrounded by woods, and to her left was the road that led away from the camp and toward the airfield. She skirted the building, moving to her left, until she got to its edge, then ran low and fast across the road and into the woods on the other side.

The ground here began to slope down toward the pond, but instead of heading in that direction she picked her way through the trees toward the back side of the row of bunks. She heard a shout behind her, probably the man who had nearly discovered her in the lodge, but she didn’t think he’d have any idea which direction she’d gone. As she moved through the woods, she saw the beam of another flashlight sweep across the surface of the pond. She kept going until she reached the back of the first bunk, wondering if all of them were unlocked, imagined that they were. Her plan was to get inside one of them, so long as they were empty, and to hide either underneath a bed or in a closet. Eat her food, try to get some sleep. If she could survive through the next day, then she’d have another night at her disposal, and she had already formed a plan, weak as it was, for how she might actually get off the island.