the pit of my stomach had begun the moment that I heard Cuddy Boy meowing in the garage, and they were getting worse. Nevertheless, I could not leave the house yet. I had to finish what I had set out to do.
When I went from the living room into the kitchen, I heard a sound like that of a board creaking.
It’s probably the wind
, I thought. Taking great care not to make any noise, I lifted the window shade above the sink and peered outside. The wind had picked up speed, and the tree branches were swaying violently. It had grown markedly colder. I shivered as I wrapped my arms around my chest. It was then that I realized that my jacket was still in the Lincoln.
I began to climb the narrow stairway at the end of the hallway adjacent to the kitchen that lead to the bedrooms. When I reached the top, I flipped on the light in the first bedroom and peeked inside.
Chapter 18
T he odor of fresh candles filled the bedroom. I scanned the room quickly. A queen sized bed topped by a brown and white comforter occupied the center of the room. Next to it was a nightstand with a lamp on it. Directly in front of the bed sat a dresser made of dark mahogany wood. A row of round candles in glass holders embellished the dresser top. Just to the right, a window was decorated by a sheer yellow curtain, and immediately opposite the window stood a coat hanger which held all of Catherine’s hats.
I tiptoed toward the dresser and snatched one of the candles, a short cream colored one, in a similarly colored holder. It smelled like lemon and lime. There were a total of seven candles, each one a different hue which released a unique, pleasant odor. The orange one smelled like tangerines, and the red one emitted the aroma of crisp apples. I grabbed the green one, which carried the odor of fresh mint, and as I held it to my nose, a smudge of warm, liquid wax stuck to my fingers.
Abruptly, I dropped the candle. Why was the wax warm? Even if Catherine had lit the candle just before she was rushed the hospital in the early morning hours, it would not have stayed aflame for that long. Besides, the green candle did not look like it had been used for a long time since its wax was still mostly intact.
If Catherine had not lit the candle, who did? Surely, there must be a plausible explanation, I reasoned.
All of my senses were screaming at me, telling me to leave the house at once. Adrenaline shot through my veins, but I ordered myself to stay calm. With Amber’s fate in mind, I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and decided that I would have to be strong if I intended to find my sister.
Maybe there was a very good explanation as to why the candle was still warm. But suppose that someone was still in the house. Could he or she be watching me at this moment? If that were the case, then I was in trouble. No one knew that I was going to Catherine’s house. No one except Eleanor. But I had made Eleanor promise not to tell anyone where I was, not even Mark. And to add to that, Eleanor faithfully kept secrets.
I almost jumped when I heard what sounded like the dry click of a car door slamming shut. I dashed to the window, pulled open the curtain, and peered outside. The Lincoln was in the driveway, but no one was around. Could I be hearing things? Why would Catherine want to live this far off the main road in the middle of the woods? She used to frequently talk about how she enjoyed solitude and keeping a distance from others. But what would Catherine do in an emergency if she needed to run for help? I stood frozen near the window, unable to take my gaze off the driveway and the Lincoln.
The wind howled.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slight movement in the bushes near the passenger side door of my car. Something had run into the bushes, something brown. It could not have been Cuddy Boy. No, no, I thought to myself. Cuddy Boy was in the garage. Perhaps the cat had found a way to get out. I clenched my fists and swallowed hard.
Calm down
, I
When I went from the living room into the kitchen, I heard a sound like that of a board creaking.
It’s probably the wind
, I thought. Taking great care not to make any noise, I lifted the window shade above the sink and peered outside. The wind had picked up speed, and the tree branches were swaying violently. It had grown markedly colder. I shivered as I wrapped my arms around my chest. It was then that I realized that my jacket was still in the Lincoln.
I began to climb the narrow stairway at the end of the hallway adjacent to the kitchen that lead to the bedrooms. When I reached the top, I flipped on the light in the first bedroom and peeked inside.
Chapter 18
T he odor of fresh candles filled the bedroom. I scanned the room quickly. A queen sized bed topped by a brown and white comforter occupied the center of the room. Next to it was a nightstand with a lamp on it. Directly in front of the bed sat a dresser made of dark mahogany wood. A row of round candles in glass holders embellished the dresser top. Just to the right, a window was decorated by a sheer yellow curtain, and immediately opposite the window stood a coat hanger which held all of Catherine’s hats.
I tiptoed toward the dresser and snatched one of the candles, a short cream colored one, in a similarly colored holder. It smelled like lemon and lime. There were a total of seven candles, each one a different hue which released a unique, pleasant odor. The orange one smelled like tangerines, and the red one emitted the aroma of crisp apples. I grabbed the green one, which carried the odor of fresh mint, and as I held it to my nose, a smudge of warm, liquid wax stuck to my fingers.
Abruptly, I dropped the candle. Why was the wax warm? Even if Catherine had lit the candle just before she was rushed the hospital in the early morning hours, it would not have stayed aflame for that long. Besides, the green candle did not look like it had been used for a long time since its wax was still mostly intact.
If Catherine had not lit the candle, who did? Surely, there must be a plausible explanation, I reasoned.
All of my senses were screaming at me, telling me to leave the house at once. Adrenaline shot through my veins, but I ordered myself to stay calm. With Amber’s fate in mind, I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and decided that I would have to be strong if I intended to find my sister.
Maybe there was a very good explanation as to why the candle was still warm. But suppose that someone was still in the house. Could he or she be watching me at this moment? If that were the case, then I was in trouble. No one knew that I was going to Catherine’s house. No one except Eleanor. But I had made Eleanor promise not to tell anyone where I was, not even Mark. And to add to that, Eleanor faithfully kept secrets.
I almost jumped when I heard what sounded like the dry click of a car door slamming shut. I dashed to the window, pulled open the curtain, and peered outside. The Lincoln was in the driveway, but no one was around. Could I be hearing things? Why would Catherine want to live this far off the main road in the middle of the woods? She used to frequently talk about how she enjoyed solitude and keeping a distance from others. But what would Catherine do in an emergency if she needed to run for help? I stood frozen near the window, unable to take my gaze off the driveway and the Lincoln.
The wind howled.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slight movement in the bushes near the passenger side door of my car. Something had run into the bushes, something brown. It could not have been Cuddy Boy. No, no, I thought to myself. Cuddy Boy was in the garage. Perhaps the cat had found a way to get out. I clenched my fists and swallowed hard.
Calm down
, I
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