go to bed. I want to stay up until Michael and Kelly come back.”
“Well, you’re not going to,” Barbara replied, glancing meaningfully at the clock. It was almost ten, and already Jenny had been up an hour and a half past her regular bedtime.
“But they said they’d be back by now,” Jenny argued.
“I know what they said,” Barbara agreed, her own annoyance etching her voice. When the two teenagers had left on Michael’s motorcycle, it had been only a little after eight, and they’d promised to be back by nine-thirty.
“We’re just going down to Arlette’s for Cokes,” Michael had told them.
Craig had eyed his son sternly. “See that that’s the only place you go. Stay away from the park.”
Michael had rolled his eyes scornfully. “Why would we go out there? I don’t even like those kids.” He was well aware of what went on out at the county park at the other end of town, where a lot of the teenagers of Villejeune gathered in the evening, drinking beer and playing their boom boxes at top volume. Most of the time they didn’t do much but hang out, but every now and then the phone rang late at night and his father had to go down to the police department to help bail out someone else’s son. And always, the next morning, Michael had to listen to a lecture about staying out of trouble. On this evening, he had seen his father’s eyes shift meaningfully toward Kelly Anderson, and suddenly he’d understood. “Aw, come on, Dad,” he groaned, his voice dropping so no one else would hear him. “Lighten up, okay? Kelly doesn’t even know those kids.”
Craig had finally agreed to let them go.
Now, as the clock in the corner struck ten, Mary Anderson stood up. “Well, Jenny may not be tired, but I am,” she announced. “And look at Carl—he’s sound asleep.” She smiled fondly at her father-in-law, who was sprawled out in Craig’s favorite recliner, snoring softly. “Come on, Ted, wake up your father and take us home.”
Ted’s jaw set stubbornly. “I think we should wait for Kelly.”
“I’m sure you do,” Mary observed. “And I’m sure that when she comes home, there’s going to be a scene. So why don’t we have it at our house, instead of here?” Though she tried to keep her tone light, the tension she was feeling showed clearly. “Please,” she went on. “Michael or Craig can bring her home. And I am tired.”
For a moment she thought fed was going to argue with her, but then he stood, moving toward his father. “Come on, Dad,” he said, shaking the older man gently. “The boss says we’re going home.”
Carl’s snoring stopped and his eyes opened. “I wasn’t sleeping,” he said. “Just resting my eyes.” He glanced at the clock, then frowned. “Where are the kids?”
“Not back yet,” Mary interjected before Ted could say anything. “We’re going home, so Barb can put Jenny to bed.” She turned to Barbara. “Want me to help clean up the kitchen?”
Barbara, sensing Mary’s tension, shook her head. “There isn’t that much. You go on, and don’t worry. I’m sure the kids are fine. Knowing Michael, he just lost track of time.”
The Andersons left after Barbara promised to call Mary the minute Michael and Kelly showed up. When they were gone, she put Jenny to bed, then went to work on the mess in the kitchen. When that was finally done, she sat down with Craig to wait.
To wait, and to try to keep her husband’s temper under control.
“Maybe it was a dream,” Kelly said. She and Michael were sitting in the back booth of Arlette’s café, where they’d been for almost two hours. Except for them, the café was empty, and Arlette, wiping down the long counter on the other side of the room, was eyeing them impatiently.
“But what about the marks on our chests?” Michael protested. “And the baby we saw—what if that was Amelie Coulton’s?”
Kelly’s mind felt muddled. They’d been sitting here for almost two hours, and hadn’t talked about anything else except what had happened to them the previous night. And they still hadn’t come up with any answers at all. “Maybe we’d better get out of here,” she said, avoiding Michael’s question entirely. “I think Arlette wants to close up.”
Michael glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Oh, Jesus—we promised we’d be back half an hour ago.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, put some money on the table, and slid