Page 91 of Veil of Silence

He had some papers clutched in one hand. In the other, he held what appeared to be a box of matches.

Nora’s uneasiness returned.

She slipped some shoes on and stepped out the back door. Cold air tightened around her ribs as she crossed the damp grass.

Christian didn’t hear her at first. He slid open the matchbox and removed one.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He spun around, and the match fell from his fingers into the grass. For a moment, he stared at Nora as if he couldn’t decide whether to reach for it.

Then he closed the box. “Nothing.”

“You’re standing beside a burn barrel with a box of matches. I’d say that was something.”

His gaze dropped to the papers. He folded them again, making the bundle smaller. “I just wanted to get rid of some stuff.”

Her suspicions continued to rise. “What stuff?”

“Old papers.”

Nora stopped several feet away. The ground around the barrel was wet from morning dew, and water had collected along the rusted rim. Nothing inside appeared to be burning—not yet.

She continued to study his face. “What kind of papers?”

“From the school assessment.” Christian shrugged, but his shoulders remained stiff. “I don’t need them.”

“Then why not put them in the trash?”

“I didn’t want Mom finding them.”

“Why not?”

“Because she keeps everything.” A hint of frustration entered his voice. “She saves grocery lists if she thinks I wrote on them.”

That part was true. Their mother had already tucked Christian’s first completed assessment page into a kitchen drawer as if it belonged in a scrapbook.

But Christian could have torn the papers up. He could have put them beneath other trash. Instead, he’d brought them to a burn barrel early in the morning before most people were awake.

Nora nodded toward the bundle. “Can I see them?”

His fingers tightened around the papers.

Before he could answer, the back door opened.

“There you are.” Mom stepped onto the porch and pulled her sweater closed against the cold. “What are you two doing out there?”

Nora drew in a deep breath before saying, “Just talking.”

Christian’s gaze snapped toward her.

She wasn’t sure why she’d covered for him. Maybe because she still couldn’t say for certain what had happened on the stairs last night. She remembered losing her balance.

Or had she felt a hand against her back?

Then she remembered Christian standing at the top of the stairs.

The full memories remained frustratingly out of reach. But if she confronted him in front of Mom, Christian would deny everything—and Nora might never get another chance to learn the truth. And if she was wrong, the consequences could be long-reaching.