Lydia’s mouth fell open in horror, and I couldn’t even gloat about finally getting a point. The thought of having to stick around longer was too much to bear. We needed a distraction and fast.
I glanced at my phone, praying for a text, a phone call, anything.
“That’s very considerate, but I’m afraid I have to get home to work on an article,” Lizzy said, her blue eyes slightly wide with panic.
“Surely you could stay for a little while?” Mr. Collins leaned forward as if trying to close the distance despite the table between them. If it were up to Lizzy, she’d probably prefer to have the entire town between them.
The front door burst open, and I wasn’t the only one who turned toward it hopefully.
“Mary?” Mom called.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Her footsteps grew louder as she made her way through the living room.
I resisted the urge to cheer for her arrival. Maybe Mary would be the distraction we needed. Then again, she actually liked Fordyce’s Sermons, so maybe her timing wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped.
When Mary finally appeared, her face was pale. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. Her gaze sought mine, regret softening her features.
My heart pounded in my chest.
Something had happened.
“What’s wrong, Mary?” Jane asked.
Instead of answering, she made her way to my side. “Can we talk for a second?”
“Oh, um okay.” At least it got me away from the table.
She pulled me into the hall, then turned to face me, that same sadness in her eyes. “I heard some… unsettling news at my internship tonight.”
Dread settled over me like potion fumes in the air, making it hard to breathe. “What news?” My heart thumped in warning. What could she have heard to make her so pale?
“It’s about Graham.” Mary took my hand and bit her lip. “He’s… he’s dead.”
Chapter 3
“Whatareyoutalkingabout?” I blinked at Mary, trying to process her words. “Don’t be ridiculous. I saw Graham a few hours ago. He can’t be dead.”
She squeezed my hand. “I heard the news at my internship. Some ladies from the congregation were having their monthly book club at the church, including Graham’s mother, when she got a call,” she said. “I guess his roommate got home and found him.”
My breath hitched like her words had sucked all the air from the room.
“What happened?” I whispered. I was lucky I could still move my lips at all, considering how numb I was.
“I don’t know. That’s all she said before she left, and I came home right after to tell you.” She glanced at her watch. “That was like half an hour ago. So she got the call around 8:00.”
“I-I have to go.” I pulled my hand free and turned toward the door.
Mary’s eyes widened. “Go where?”
“To Graham’s house.” I took a few steps, but my shaking legs hardly felt like they could support me.
“Let me go with you.”
“No, I need to go alone.” I grabbed my purse from the couch and headed for the door. I had to see for myself—to know for myself.
“Kitty?” Mom called behind me before the door closed with a click.
The golden pool of light from the streetlamps guided me down the road, the fallen leaves lying like dying piles of embers. A jack-o’-lantern leered at me from the shop next door as I ran by, and I pushed myself faster. The slap of my shoes against the pavement echoed the frantic beating of my heart.
