The Drifter by Richie Tankersley Cusick

wants to.” Carolyn sighed. “She’ll need help once I start school, and Nora’s worked here so long, Mom didn’t feel it was right to let her go.”
    â€œHow do you feel about it?”
    Carolyn hesitated before she spoke. “Andy, what Nora said earlier—about how Hazel died—”
    â€œOh, come on now. I told you, everyone knows Nora’s crazy.”
    â€œBut what if she’s not? She said Hazel was killed . And she talked as if she knew who did it.”
    â€œIf you’re gonna start listening to Nora’s gloom and doom, you’d better pack up and move right back to Ohio, ’cause she’ll have you spooked in no time.” Andy raised an eyebrow, his tone suddenly serious. “Hazel died from the cold. Doc Brown thinks she must have lost her balance, and when she fell she couldn’t get back up again. She’d been lying out there all night in the wind and rain, and she was old. That’s all there is to it. Nora’s just trying to get to you. She’s never gonna accept the fact that you and your mom are living here now instead of Hazel.”
    Carolyn was quiet a long moment. “She really loved her, didn’t she?”
    â€œLoved her?” Andy made a sound in his throat and concentrated on tossing more kindling into the fire. “One thing you can say about Nora. When she’s committed to something, she’s extremely dedicated.”
    â€œPoor thing,” Carolyn murmured. “Maybe it’s a good thing Mom kept her. She’s probably so lonely now.”
    Andy leaned over and ruffled her hair.
    â€œGot to go. Don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
    He stood and went to the door, and Carolyn jumped up to follow.
    â€œWait,” she called after him. “Do you know which room it was?”
    Andy looked blank. He opened the door, hunching his shoulders against a blast of raw wind. “Did I miss part of this conversation?”
    â€œThe murder,” Carolyn said. “Which room was it in?”
    Andy hesitated. Then he slowly crooked his finger, motioning her to come closer. As she came up beside him, he leaned over and lowered his voice.
    â€œWhich room are you sleeping in?”
    Carolyn’s eyes widened. “The room to the left of the stairs. On the second floor.”
    â€œThat’s it, then.” Andy nodded solemnly. “I’m sure that’s the room where everyone got slaughtered.”
    â€œAndy—” Carolyn began in exasperation, but he put a finger to her lips and shook his head.
    â€œRepeat after me. Nora is a fiend. I will not listen to Nora’s stories ever, ever again.”
    He laughed as he hopped off the porch and hurried to his car.
    And even though Carolyn slammed the door after him, something cold and sinister hung in the air, as though an uninvited guest had entered and decided to stay.

7

    F OR A LONG TIME C AROLYN STOOD THERE.
    For a long time she stood by the door and even wished Andy was with her again—talking, laughing, smiling that mischievous smile—anything to break the awful stillness of the house.
    â€œ I will not listen to Nora’s stories ever, ever again.… ”
    But Andy hadn’t been in the attic last night—hadn’t seen the dripping walls … hadn’t seen that horrible thing floating there in the fog …
    â€œStop,” Carolyn whispered. “It was just a dream.”
    She shuddered and turned around. Nora was standing right behind her, and as Carolyn stifled a scream, the woman turned and disappeared into the darkness of the hall.
    â€œAndy!”
    Flinging open the door, Carolyn ran out onto the porch, frantically searching the drive and the narrow dirt road that led back to the village.
    Not a soul in sight.
    Nothing to break the desolation that stretched endlessly around her.
    Carolyn gritted her teeth against the wind. Then she ducked her head and hurried away from the