The Whispering Dead (Gravekeeper #1) - Darcy Coates Page 0,81

grinned and shrugged in a What can you do? sort of way, but Mason’s frown only deepened. He didn’t believe her.

Adage appeared at the bedside and placed a hand on Mason’s shoulder. “I think now would be a good time for you to go home. We can sift through the details later. But right now, Keira needs rest, and so do you.”

Mason had been awake all night, Keira remembered, and he looked it. Dark shadows hung about his eyes and his expression was strained. Mason hesitated, so Keira gave his shoulder a reassuring poke. “I’m good. We’ll catch up later. Go get some shut-eye, okay?”

He took a slow breath, nodded, and rose. “Call me if that cut starts bleeding again or if you feel dizzy.” He retrieved his jacket, still damp from the rain, then paused at the door. “It’s going to be okay. Everything is, I mean. We’ll figure it out.” Hesitating, he stared at the handle, then he gave Keira a weary but still warm smile. “I’ll see you later.”

As the door clicked closed, Adage placed a bundle of fresh clothes on the end of Keira’s bed. He then returned to the little kitchen counter and filled the kettle. “Thank goodness he finally left. I’m quite fond of that boy, but he can be exhausting. Now, I would like to have a talk with you, my dear. Do you feel up to it? I’ll make a cup of tea.”

“Of course.” Keira gave her cat a final pet, then nudged her toward the end of the bed. She quickly shimmied into the fresh clothes while Adage faced the kitchen. Mason hadn’t just bandaged her arm, but bandages also covered the myriad cuts she’d earned while running through the forest, and he’d bound her twisted ankle too. A pang of fondness for him warmed her.

Adage didn’t speak as he boiled the kettle and filled two cups, but when he turned back to the fire, his expression was grave. Unease coiled through Keira’s chest, dampening the happy glow. Did Mason tell him I broke into Dane’s garden? Is he angry?

Adage nodded to the fireside seats. “Come and sit where it’s warm.”

He sank into the plush armchair, and Keira took the place next to him. She gratefully accepted the second mug and wrapped her hands around it as she waited to hear her fate.

“I received a call from Constable Sanderson a little earlier this morning,” Adage said at last. He stared at the crackling flames. Something about the pale morning light made his face seem older than it had before, as though he’d grown a webbing of new wrinkles overnight. “He wanted advice and reassurance. Apparently, he found an infant’s skeletal remains in the old mill.”

Keira’s mind was racing, but she kept her mouth closed. Adage let the silence stretch for several agonizing minutes before he looked at her. His mouth twitched into a smile. “I don’t think Mason has pieced the puzzle together yet. It’s possible he never will. He’s smart, but he has also grown up in a world filled with science and won’t find it easy to consider options outside his established paradigms. On the other hand, my entire life is based on the idea that having faith is more important than trusting in what we can see.” He sighed, took a sip of the tea, then fixed her with his sharp blue eyes. “You can talk to ghosts, can’t you?”

Panic churned Keira’s stomach. She didn’t know where to look or what to say. Is there any chance I could feign ignorance? Or is lying to a pastor the sort of thing that gets you sent straight to hell?

Adage turned back to his tea. “It wasn’t hard to figure out. You’ve been asking about Emma Carthage with far more intensity than any normal tourist would express. You were missing all night. Mason says he found you under Emma’s grave. And now an anonymous woman drew the police’s attention to a child’s remains in the same building where Frank hung himself.” The pastor’s bushy eyebrows bunched up. “With bureaucracy how it is, it will take weeks, if not months, for the police to give an official finding. But it was Emma’s baby, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Keira’s mouth was dry. Her fingers ached from gripping the cup too tightly.

Adage sighed and sagged forward. His face contracted, and for a second, Keira was afraid he was hurt. Then he blinked, and she saw his eyes were blurred by unshed tears. “All this time,”