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“THAT WHICH IS CROOKED CANNOT BE MADE STRAIGHT.”—ECCLESIASTES 1:15

N o matter how hard she tried, Sydney couldn’t ever get any of the things she cooked to turn out right. She wedged her spatula under the bottom of a cookie. Yuck and then ouch! when she accidentally touched the hot metal cookie sheet. The cookies were charred on the bottom. Unsalvageable. What went wrong? She’d followed the directions on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag right down to the letter. She propped her hand on her hip and frowned. In two swift strides she walked to the garbage can and raked the cookies into it. So much for a home-baked treat. She’d have to go to the Piggly Wiggly and get something for her neighbor instead.

The image of Hazel was so vivid in her mind that she could have sworn she caught a whiff of magnolia in the air. She had mixed emotions where Hazel was concerned. The fact that Hazel was always watching everything she did was a constant irritant, but a part of her felt sorry for her neighbor. From what Sydney could tell, the woman had very few, if any, visitors. All she had was her cat to keep her company.

She was hoping that if she introduced herself then maybe Hazel would be less suspicious. At least I will have done my part . There was another reason too. Since the incident with the little Nolan girl, she’d been unable to get that family out her mind. She wanted to help them but wasn’t sure how. However, she could do something nice for Hazel Finch. And she could do it today.

Forty minutes later, Sydney stood on Hazel’s porch, balancing the plate of Piggly Wiggly’s finest deli cookies in one hand while reaching for the doorbell with the other. The main door was open, but the glass storm door closed. She peered inside, feeling more like a Peeping Tom than a concerned neighbor. The room was dark, but she caught a glimpse of a tweed recliner. She was about to place the cookies on the doormat when she saw Hazel peeping around the corner. It was an awkward situation. Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it went up to wave at Hazel. There she stood with a silly grin on her face.

“I just wanted to say hello,” Sydney said, hoping her voice would carry through the glass door. “I brought you some cookies. I’ll just put them here.” She jumped. Something furry rubbed against her ankle. She looked down to see Hazel’s orange cat, purring like a motor.

That was all the encouragement Hazel needed. She walked to the door and opened it, bending down to retrieve the cat. “Dixie, where’ve you been you naughty girl? Mama’s been lookin’ for you, yes she has.” Hazel brought the cat up to her cheek and folded into it like a soft blanket.

For a second Sydney feared she would turn and go back into her house without so much as speaking. Instead, Hazel reached for the plate of cookies, a smile curving her ample cheeks. Still holding the cat, she brought the plate, Saran Wrap and all, to her nose and inhaled. “I just love chocolate chip cookies.”

Sydney suppressed a smile. She could picture Hazel scarfing down the cookies in one big gulp.

Hazel turned to go inside and looked back over her shoulder. “Well, aren’t you coming?”

“Um … yes, of course.”

Hazel put Dixie on the couch and dug into the plate of cookies. Sydney realized right away that she couldn’t depend on Hazel to follow the rules of etiquette and invite her to have a seat, so she sat down on the couch next to Dixie. The living room was stuffed with a hodgepodge of furniture, ranging from fine antiques to yard sale junk. It was amazing how someone could cram so many things into one room. A large hanging basket filled with plastic ivy and pink silk hibiscus flowers took up the bulk of the picture window. Tall artificial palm trees stood like toy soldiers in each corner of the room. A decorative fan splattered with a variety of tropical flowers hung on the wall behind the couch.

She heard the canary before she saw it. The bright yellow bird was perched inside its cage, chirping happily. Sydney smiled. The bird was the crowning touch to the room. She looked at the French provincial couch with its jade green and cream brocade pattern sitting next to the raggedy tweed recliner. Why not have a cat and a canary? Somehow, it just fit.

The magnolia scent was tempered with the smell of cats, birds, and mildew. A picture in a flimsy metal frame caught Sydney’s attention. She recognized Hazel right away in her muu muu. This one was white and flowing in the wind. She had her arm tightly clasped around the waist of a man who looked to be about her same age. He was frail in comparison to her bulky frame. His jeans were rolled up at the ankles, revealing sunburned bare feet. They were both smiling.

“Is that your brother?”

Hazel stopped mid bite, her mouth full. “Harvey? No, Harvey’s my husband.”

“Oh, does Harvey live nearby?”

“Yeah, he lives here.”

Sydney’s eyes grew wide. She’d never seen anyone else and had been so sure that Hazel lived alone. She chose her next words carefully. “Where’s Harvey now? Is he working out of town?”

Hazel laughed. “Harvey?”

Sydney nodded.

“Nope, he’ll be home in a few minutes. He just went to the store.”

Sydney was at a loss for words. How could she have missed him? She looked around the room, her eyes scouring it for any sign of a male presence.

Hazel took a bite of her cookie. “I can’t wait for you to meet Harvey. He’s so funny. He keeps me laughing all the time.”

The doorbell rang.

“There’s Harvey now.” Hazel jumped up like a kid on Christmas morning and ran to the door. “Oh, it’s just you.” Her shoulders slumped and she walked back and plopped down on her recliner. She looked at Sydney. “It’s just Louellen.”

Louellen? Sydney looked toward the door. Was Hazel talking about the same Louellen from the mill?

Louellen looked as surprised to see Sydney as Sydney was to see her. She was immaculately dressed in a tan cardigan sweater and matching tailored slacks. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled up in a neat French twist.

“I thought you were Harvey,” Hazel said.

Louellen ignored the comment and directed her attention to Sydney. “I didn’t realize that you knew my sister.”

Sister? Louellen was Hazel’s sister? The two were as different as night and day. Tess Lambert had told her that Hazel’s brother had worked at the mill at one time. She must’ve meant Hazel’s sister. “I’m Hazel’s next door neighbor.”

“Where’s Harvey? He should’ve been back ten minutes ago.” Hazel’s arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and her face was drawn in a frown with her lips forming a pout. “He knows I need my Mayfield milk. I don’t like those other kinds. Just Mayfield with my cheerios.”

Louellen’s eyes darted to Sydney. She looked embarrassed. She walked over and sat on the arm of the chair next to Hazel. Her voice became soothing and she stroked Hazel’s silver hair and patted her back. “Sis, I just brought you a gallon of milk yesterday.”

Hazel’s bottom lip jutted out. “It wasn’t Mayfield. I gave it to Dixie, and she wouldn’t even drink it so I poured it down the sink. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Harvey went to get some more.”

Sydney could tell how uncomfortable her presence was making Louellen. She felt like an intruder and knew it was time to leave. She stood. “I need to be going.”

“But you haven’t met Harvey yet!”

“Sis, Sydney can meet Harvey some other time.”

“That’s a good idea,” Sydney said, making her way to the door.

Louellen followed her. “Thank you for visiting Hazel.”

Sydney reached for a pack of orange herbal tea, hoping it would do the trick to calm her nerves. Her visit with Hazel was not at all what she’d expected. A hot blanket of shame covered her when she thought about all the times she’d resented Hazel for watching her. Seeing Louellen had been a shock too. Never in a million years would she have connected the two sisters. Even after seeing them together, it was still hard to believe.

The knocking at her front door sent her rushing to open it. “Louellen, is everything all right?”

“Yes, I just want to talk to you a minute about Hazel.” Louellen looked past Sydney and through the open door. “Do you mind if I come in?”

Sydney ran her fingers through her hair. “No, not at all. Please, have a seat. Here, let me move these clothes out of the way.” She grabbed an armful of clean clothes that still needed to be folded. “I’m going to put these in the bedroom. I’ll be right back. Can I get you a cup of herbal tea?”

“No, I can’t stay long.”Louellen was fidgeting with her hands and started talking before Sydney had a chance to sit down. “I just want to explain about Hazel.”

“You don’t owe me any explanation.”

“I think I do. If you know what happened to her, it will be easier for you to understand why she acts the way she does.”

Sydney scooted to the edge of her seat.

“Hazel is six years younger than me. She was always a little different and na?ve. Mother was always worried that she would get taken advantage of. I’m afraid we all went a little overboard trying to protect her.” Her eyes looked distant. She paused for a moment and then continued. “Anyway, Hazel never dated much and was a loner. She has always liked animals more than people. We didn’t think twice when she told us that she wanted to take an online Spanish class. Before we knew it, she and Harvey, her instructor, were instant messaging each other several times a day. We were all shocked when Hazel announced that she was getting married to a man none of us had ever met. Then she told us they were moving to Hawaii.” Louellen shook her head. “Looking back, I can’t say that I blame Hazel. I think she was searching for a sliver of happiness, and she found it for a while. Everything would’ve probably been okay if Harvey hadn’t been killed in an automobile accident. He was going to the grocery store for Hazel.”

Sydney nodded. “It all makes perfect sense now. I’m so sorry.”

Louellen’s eyes grew soft. “Me too. Sometimes Hazel seems normal and then other times—like today—she’s in another world. She relives that day over and over again. I’ve tried to tell her that Harvey’s gone, but that only makes it worse.”

She thought of her neighbor and grew misty-eyed. Here they were, two strangers, living side by side, both consumed by memories. Given a different set of circumstances, she could have been Hazel.

“Ms. Lassiter?” The male voice came over the receiver.

“Yes.”

“This is Timothy McWhorter. I work up at the Winchester outlying woodlands site. You haven’t met me yet, but I need to talk to you. I need you to come up here now. I think you’ll be interested in what I have to show you.”

Sydney looked at her watch— 4:15. “ Timothy, it’s late. Is it something urgent? Does it have something to do with safety? Are you hurt?”

“Yes ma’am, I mean no ma’am. I ain’t hurt, but it does have something to do with safety. They’re doing some dangerous stuff up here, but I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. I just need for you to come.”

She thought about Joe Slaton, the outlying woodlands manager. Sydney had only met him once in the conference room on her first day. She had an appointment to visit there next week. “Have you spoken to Mr. Slaton about this?”

“No ma’am, he’s out of town.”

Sydney considered her options. It was at least a forty-five minute drive, and now that the time had changed, it was getting dark as early as 6:00. “Can this wait until tomorrow?”

“No ma’am. It’s urgent.”

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I will be bringing Sean O’Conner with me so he can assess the situation too.”

She disconnected the call and then dialed Sean’s cell number. If there were a problem, it would be better to get him on her side from the very beginning. And she didn’t feel comfortable going out there late in the evening by herself. Sean’s line rang and then she got his voice mail. She left a message, telling him where she was going.

Sydney drove down the narrow winding road. The subtle smoke of dusk settled in, making the trees on the sides loom high and smothering. When she reached the tiny outlying woodlands shack, it looked deserted. It was still light enough to see, but she reached in her glove box and retrieved her flashlight just in case.

“Hello, is anybody here?” Her voice sounded hollow as it echoed through the trees. She looked around at the stacks of logs and then in the shack’s open door. A cracking noise from behind the shack caused her to jump. She shined her flashlight into the woods. No sign of life.

“Timothy, are you here?”

No reply. Tension crawled up her neck, reminding her that she was alone in a remote area. Was this some kind of sick joke or antic to scare her? Panic rippled up her spine. Was it her imagination or was someone moving in the woods? The little voice in her mind became a shrill warning .

Run, Sydney! Run while you still can.