shivered beneath the mound of blankets, listening to the rain slam nearly straight down, pounding the shingled roof. She prayed there were no holes in the roof, even though Amabel had said earlier, âOh, no, baby. Itâs a new roof. Had it put on just last year.â
How long could she remain here with Amabel? Now that she was safe, now that she was hidden, she was free to think about the future, at least a future of more than one dayâs duration. She thought about next week, about next month.
What was she going to do? That phone callâit had yanked her right back to the present, and to the past. It had been her fatherâs voice, no question about that. A tape, just like James Quinlan had said, a tape or a mimic.
Suddenly there was a scream, long and drawn out, starting low and ending on a crescendo. It was coming from outside the house.
She ran toward her auntâs bedroom, not feeling the cold wooden floor beneath her bare feet, no, just running until she forced herself to draw up and tap lightly on the door.
Amabel opened the door as if sheâd been standing right there, waiting for her to knock. But that wasnât possible, surely.
She grabbed her auntâs arms and shook her. âDid you hear the scream, Amabel? Please, you heard it, didnât you?â
âOh, baby, that was the wind. I heard it and knew youâd be frightened. I was coming to you. Did you have another nightmare?â
âIt wasnât the wind, Amabel. It was a woman.â
âNo, no, come along now and let me help you back to bed. Look at your bare feet. Youâll catch your death of something. Come on now, baby, back to bed with you.â
There was another scream, this one short and high-pitched, then suddenly muffled. It was a womanâs scream, like the first one.
Amabel dropped her arm.
âNow do you believe me, Amabel?â
âI suppose Iâll have to call one of the men to come and check it out. The problem is, theyâre all so old that if they go out in this weather, theyâll probably catch pneumonia. Maybe it was the wind. What woman would be screaming outside? Yes, itâs this bloody wind. Itâs impossible, Sally. Letâs forget it.â
âNo, I canât. Itâs a woman, Amabel, and someone is hurting her. I canât go back to bed and forget it.â
âWhy not?â
Sally stared at her.
âYou mean when your papa hit your mama you tried to protect her?â
âYes.â
Amabel sighed. âIâm sorry, baby. You did hear the wind this time, not your mama being punched by your papa.â
âCan I borrow your raincoat, Amabel?â
Amabel sighed, hugged Sally close, and said, âAll right. Iâll call Reverend Vorhees. Heâs not as rickety as the others, and heâs strong. Heâll check it out.â
When Reverend Hal Vorhees arrived at Amabelâs house, he had three other men with him. âThis is Gus Eisner, Susan, a fellow who can fix anything with wheels and a motor.â
âMr. Eisner,â Sally said. âI heard a woman scream, twice. It was an awful scream. Someone was hurting her.â
Gus Eisner looked as if he would have spat if thereâd been a cuspidor in the corner. âThe wind, maâam,â he said, nodding, âit was the wind. Iâve heard it all my life, all seventy-four years, and it makes noises that sometimes have made my teeth ache. Just the wind.â
âBut weâll look around anyway,â Hal Vorhees said. âThis here is Purn Davies, who owns the general store, and Hunker Dawson, whoâs a World War Two vet and our flower expert.â Sally nodded, and the reverend patted her shoulder, nodded to Amabel, and followed the other men out the front door. âYou ladies stay safe inside now. Donât let anyone in unless itâs us.â
âThe little females,â Sally said. âI feel like I should be barefoot and