out, and this place will be crawling with people. Reporters, photographers, thrill-seekers. The whole works. And I don’t think you’d want Sarah subjected to all that.”
“No,” Elizabeth said shortly. She paused and her eyes met those of the police chief.
“Mr. Norton,” she said. “What’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” Norton replied. “I’ll know better tomorrow, when I’ve had a chance to talk to the coroner and the district attorney.” He stood up nervously, wanting to leave. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t stay,” he said. “I really shouldn’t have come at all, but I knew Sarah was here, and I just wanted to …” He trailed off, unsure of what else to say.
“I know,” Elizabeth said. “And I appreciate it Thanks for coming out.”
She accompanied him to the front door and watched until she saw the taillights of his car fade away down the driveway. Then she snapped the porch light off and slowly climbed the stairs up to the attic.
As she climbed, she tried to think what she was going to tell Sarah.
28
Sarah slept restlessly that night, and woke several times. It didn’t seem fair that she would have to go back to Ocean Crest in the morning, but she supposed that Elizabeth was right and she shouldn’t stay in the house with only Mrs. Goodrich. Not that she thought anything would happen, but still, she wasn’t used to being on her own, and Ocean Crest had agreed to let her come only because Elizabeth would be with her all the time. And now Elizabeth had to go out of town for the day. She punched at her pillow and tried to go back to sleep.
When she first heard the noises from over her head, Sarah was sure she was imagining them. When they persisted, she began listening. Someone, she was sure, was moving around in the attic. She got out of bed and slipped into her robe, then went to Elizabeth’s room. The bed was rumpled but empty. Sarah went to the attic stairs and listened. Movement. Silence, then more movement. She started to go up to see what was going on, then changed her mind. Instead she returned to her room, but left the door slightly ajar. She sat on the edge of her bed and lit a cigarette. The cigarette was almost finished when she heard the sound of footsteps coming down. She went to her bedroom door and peeked out Elizabeth was coming out of the attic. Sarah watched her close the attic door and return the key to its place on the ledge above it. Then Elizabeth returned to her own room and closed the door. The house was silent, and Sarah returned to her bed.
When she came down the next morning, Elizabeth was waiting for her in the dining room. There was a pot of coffee and a plate of blueberry muffins. Elizabeth smiled.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” she said. “I hardly ever use the dining room any more. I seem to rattle around in it by myself. But this takes me back. Coffee?”
Sarah nodded and sat down. She stirred at her coffee. “What were you up to last night?” she asked suddenly.
Elizabeth looked at her in surprise. “Last night? Nothing. I just went to bed. Why?”
Sarah decided not to confront her sister with what she had seen the night before. Apparently Elizabeth didn’t want to admit to having been in the attic.
“I don’t know,” Sarah said, shrugging her shoulders a little. “I just thought I heard something in the attic. I thought maybe it was you.” She watched her sister carefully, looking for something that would tell her Elizabeth was holding back information. But Elizabeth looked genuinely puzzled.
“In the attic? I didn’t hear anything. But then, I sleep like a log. What time was it?”
“I don’t know. Late. One or two, I suppose. I couldn’t sleep, so I was smoking a cigarette. I could have sworn I heard someone moving around up there.” She grinned at Elizabeth. “I thought maybe it was you, still looking for the missing arm.”
“Well, it wasn’t me,” Elizabeth said. “Unless I’ve started sleepwalking. Did you take a look?”
“No. I decided not to. Attics in the middle of the night aren’t my cup of tea.” She buttered a muffin and ate it. “I wish I didn’t have to go back this morning,” she said.
A cloud seemed to cross Elizabeth’s face. “I’m sorry too,” she said abruptly. “But it just can’t be helped. There’s some legal thing that’s come