I knew that she was thinking very carefully about what to say next. I leaned back in the chair, waiting. As I did, I noticed a piece of paper on the ground and got up to pick it up. I opened it and read quickly, my cheeks flushing as I did so.
“Oh my God, listen to this Lucy.”
“What?”
“I just found another note from Wade.”
“Another note?”
“Yup, it was on the floor in the library. It says, ‘If you’re thinking about snooping, don’t even bother. Just look after the house while I’m gone and write your poetry. If you’re bored, why don’t you learn a dance to surprise me with when I get back home.’” I gasped. “What a cheek!”
“He really is a condescending asshole, isn’t he?” Lucy said. “And he sounds scared. What doesn’t he want you to find out?”
“I don’t know.” And then, because it had been on my mind a lot in the last couple of days, I said, “I wonder if it has to do with his last assistant.”
“What about her?”
“He just doesn’t really seem to say much about her. I wonder if something happened.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know ...” My voice trailed off, for while I didn’t know, I had plenty of thoughts. “What if he killed her?”
“Savannah, no! What are you talking about?” Lucy’s voice was shrill. “You’re not seriously entertaining that thought, are you?”
“No … I mean, I don’t think so.” I chewed on my lower lip. “But you can never tell who might be a killer. Aren’t we always surprised when we watch those Aurora Teagarden movies on Hallmark?”
“Savannah, that’s a TV show. Those are actors. It’s not real.”
“Well, I know that. I’m just saying. Sometimes the bad guys surprise you.”
“You’re making me even more nervous for you now. Let me pack some stuff and see about the train. In the meantime, can you call that friend of yours and see if he can hang out? I’m not sure I want you to be there by yourself right now.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I can call Gordon. Actually, I’m pretty sure he’d love to see the Hart house. He seems to be slightly obsessed with it.”
“What do you mean by obsessed?” Lucy sounded tense. “Is everyone you know straight out of a Lifetime movie?”
“Oh, I guess the Hart family is just well known in Herne Hill Village and everyone seems to want to be in the know. Gordon just told me he’d always wanted to see the estate. I guess all of us commoners want to see how the other half live.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Lucy didn’t sound convinced. “Well, I’m going to go now, but you call me if anything comes up okay? I’ll let you know what time I’m going to be arriving at the train station.”
“Sounds good, Lucy. I can’t wait to see you and Jolene.”
“We can’t wait to see you as well.” And with that, she was gone.
I walked over to the window to look outside. The day had turned gloomy and foreboding and the dark sky made me shudder. I stared at the vast forest in front of me and wondered what animals lived in its midst. It suddenly struck me that I was alone in a private house in the middle of nowhere. I touched the windowpane and I wondered what I looked like from outside the house. If someone was looking up and saw me, a lone figure, with a pale face and worried expression, they might think I was a ghost.
I knew I was being dramatic, but the moment seemed to call for some drama. I suddenly recalled a poem that I’d read in college, and I recited it as I gazed out of the window.
“O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.”
“And his dark secret love, does thy life destroy,” I repeated as I stepped back from the window. I shivered as the last words left my lips. “Oh, William Blake, what were you thinking when you wrote ‘The Sick Rose’?” I whispered to myself.
To think that just last night, Wade Hart had been inside of me. I had given him what he wanted, eagerly and so wantonly. Even the memory left me longing for more. I had given my body to a man whose life I could destroy… and I had absolutely no idea how.
Chapter 3
“Hey, Savannah, how are you?” Gordon answered the phone in his usual cheerful