the dark, colorless paint with my fingernail. "But I'd love to know."
"Come help me with this," Alex instructed Henry.
"I didn't know I was your servant," Henry said, but he came over anyway. A thin loop was hooked to the bottom. Both Alex and Henry took turns trying to pull up the door with it but it was either locked or stuck.
"If we had a crowbar," Henry suggested. "Otherwise I think it's hopeless."
"Oh well, not important," Alex said, losing interest instantly as he stood up and brushed off his khakis. "Where's the booze?"
"Nobody brought booze," Henry said, his voice strained. "We can play cards, though." He patted the deck he had counted out on the table. "Only the Queen of Hearts is missing, but we can just use the joker."
"Whoopee," Alex scoffed, flopping down into his chair.
Theo and I stood over by the window, keeping watch. We didn't have a great view, but I could see the majority of the cars parked on the lawn, as the headlights came on two by two and the drivers pulled away onto the road.
"Can I ask you a question?" Theo asked quietly. "You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."
I laughed lightly at the unexpectedness, assuming it to be about Henry. "Of course, what?"
"Could this whole new found s茅ance interest have anything to do with..." she swallowed hard before continuing. "Your friend?"
She pushed her glasses up on either side with both palms. I assumed that meant a major attack of nerves. The next words ran together as if they were one. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry. I was just curious."
"That's not prying," I said gently. "I'm really surprised you've never asked me about Jenna before." I looked back through the slits in the cracked shudders, trying to decide what to say.
"I'm sorry," she said, look apologetic. "I didn't..."
"No, no. You're fine. I had so many people walking on eggshells around me; it was nice to be treated like a person for once, and not just some pathetic loose end." I cleared my throat. "To answer your question...maybe. I don't think she's...dead." My voice cracked on the word. I shut my eyes.
When I opened them, I saw the boys peering up from their card game. Henry's brow was furrowed, and I knew he was trying to decipher my look. I attempted a weak smile for him. He and Alex looked down again, making themselves artificially busy.
"But something's here," I continued to Theo. "And I think it has to do with her, or why she disappeared. I keep imagining what could have happened that night. It's like a movie in my head but I have no idea what scenes are right."
When the last car pulled out of the gate, it was after 10 pm. I watched a women get out of the driver's side and shut the gate, then speed away like she felt happy to be rid of the place. I pulled out my phone to text Corinne about being at Theo's. The reception kept dropping to zero bars, and I walked around the tiny interior of the shed.
"Is anyone else having crappy service?" I asked, looking around at my cohorts. Alex whipped out his phone and held it in front of him like he was in a commercial.
"Uh, yeah. That sucks," he muttered, glaring at his phone like it was a personal sleight.
I finally sent the text through and hoped Corinne would find it acceptable. She could very well be passed out in front of the TV again, so I wasn't too worried. She didn't really have a drinking problem; it was more that she liked using up my parents' stuff.
We exited the shed the way we had come in and stood on the lawn, four awkward teenagers that had no idea what we were doing. The high, ancient birch trees growing around the fence made us practically invisible.
"Why does this feel like the lead in to a news story?" Henry asked, and adopted a broadcaster voice. "Four teenagers arrested today for abandoned house shenanigans. When asked for comment, they said, 'Ariel made us do it'." He grinned at me and I bumped his shoulder with mine, happy to have him next to me in the dark.
"We'll be careful," I assured him. "No shenanigans. Can you guys check the doors and see if any of them are open?"
The boys trudged off and disappeared around the side of the house. Meanwhile, Theo and I