your memories probably also screwed up your judgment skills.”
Keira laughed and turned back to the manor. “No, it really is beautiful…in a melancholic sort of way. It must be too big for one person to clean and manage, but Dane doesn’t have any staff, does he?”
“None,” Mason said. “It wasn’t exactly tipped to win home of the year when I was a child, but at least the roof was intact. He’s not repairing it himself, though, and hasn’t hired anyone. The rain must have ruined the rooms on that side of the building by now.” He made a frustrated little noise. “Mold won’t do his lungs any favors.”
Longing filled Zoe’s voice. “Think about all the awful secrets he could be hiding in there. What I wouldn’t give to spend a night in Crispin House.”
A neglected garden surrounded the house’s front, and its unruly bushes pushed against the stone foundation. Keira licked her lips and hoped her question wasn’t too morbid. “Is this where Emma was killed?”
“Nah,” Zoe said. “He got her behind the house. She’d walked through the forest, probably by way of the mill, and met him in the backyard. This fence only surrounds three sides of the house, y’see? They used the woods to create a natural fourth wall.”
Keira knew it was ridiculous to feel frustrated, but she’d hoped to see the scene of Emma’s murder. What she expected to find there, she didn’t know, but it was hard not to picture a half-dug grave in the middle of the vegetable garden, even though it certainly no longer existed.
“Imagine if he’d succeeded,” Zoe breathed. “In hiding her body, I mean. If the groundskeeper hadn’t seen Emma coming out of the woods and run to the police, George could have buried her without anyone knowing. No one heard from Emma’s parents, even though the police requested they come forward. She would have just…disappeared off the face of the planet. No one would have known what happened to her except for George. And he’d have grown a squash plant over her grave, probably, so that the roots would absorb her body’s nutrients, and every summer, Frank Crispin would have eaten a tiny bit of his beloved in the squash soup.”
Mason sighed. “You’re terrible, Zo.”
Keira was only half listening. Something moved through the topiary off to one side of the house. A figure emerged from between two trees. She tugged on Zoe’s sleeve and lowered her voice to a whisper, even though the figure was too far away to hear them. “Is that Dane?”
“Sure is,” Zoe said. “Wanna call him over?”
“No.” Keira and Mason spoke in unison.
Mason continued. “It’s hard enough for him with the way some people in the town gossip. I don’t want him to think his house is part of an unofficial tour or anything.”
“Jeez, relax. This is a public road. There aren’t any rules against looking at a house.”
Keira knew she should move back from the fence but found it impossible to look away from the strange man. He was tall and spindly but hunched in a way that significantly disguised it. His clothes were well worn, and long, greasy hair hung around his neck. Stubble covered sunken cheeks, and creases around his mouth and eyes framed a permanent scowl. He looked almost like a reflection of his house: uncared for and grimly resentful.
Dane’s head suddenly snapped in their direction. Keira jumped back from the fence, letting the vines fall back into place and tugging Zoe back alongside her.
“Aw, c’mon,” Zoe protested. “I wanted to see what he’d do.”
“Mason’s right. We shouldn’t gawk.” Embarrassment was creeping over Keira. She could only hope Dane hadn’t seen them. Mercy knows I don’t like people staring at me, and I’m not even trying to hide from my family’s history. “Sorry,” she said to Mason. “I shouldn’t have asked you to bring me here.”
He still wore his characteristically cheerful smile. “Don’t feel too bad. Plenty of people come to look at the house—it’s just not very common to also see Dane.”
Zoe planted her hands on her hips and gave a mischievous grin. “Seeing as we’re already so close, what say we take a look at the mill? I haven’t been up this way in a while, and I want to see if it’s collapsed yet.”
“Don’t you need to get back to the store?” Keira looked down the road that led toward the town.
“Pshaw. Lucas will watch it. It’s about time he got a real job anyway.”
Keira looked at Mason, who smiled.