Page 219 of Secrets Along the Shore

“True. Sorry.”

The rest of the ride passed with no more conversation. When we pulled up the drive to the lodge, I sat forward quickly.

My SUV’s tires were no longer flat.

Evan had come back.

So why had he left me to find my own way home?

I turned back to catch the deputy’s gaze drifting upward, toward the side of the house, toward the little window—the secret room. I observed him, thinking it peculiar.

“You know that window exists?” I asked. No need to pretend I didn’t notice.

He blinked. “What?”

“That one,” I said, pointing. “Not many people do.”

He shrugged, a little too casually. “Just noticed it, I guess. Funny how old places hide things.”

I didn’t respond. My pulse had quickened. Something about the way he looked at it—like he wasn’t just guessing. Like he knew.

“Anyway, you get some rest now. I’ll let the sheriff know you’re looking for information on that cold case.”

I didn’t respond. Just got out, and he backed out of the driveway. I turned for the house. The windows were dark. The porch light was off. I pushed open the door, heart pounding, the name of Katherine Neives echoing through my mind.

Had she been taken? Kidnapped from the school? Or had something else happened to her? I needed to see the yearbooks. Even though I didn’t remember the name, she might have been listed still.

When I felt for the light switch on the wall, nothing happened. Three times I flipped it up and down with no change. Darkness continued.

The power was out again.

“Great,”I muttered, pulling my phone from my pocket. I tapped out a message to the electrician. Again.

Scarlett:Hey, the lights are out again. Can you please come by soon?

I hit send and turned on the phone’s flashlight for my steps. I didn’t hold out hope for Mr. Monroe tonight. Which meant I had to help myself.

The light’s glow lit up the hallway just enough to feel safe, but that didn’t mean I was up for the task. I’d watched the man before and hoped I could recall what he did. Maybe all it would take would be a reset.

Maybe.

I descended the basement stairs slowly, the narrow beam from my flashlight illuminating each step in pieces. My heart tapped a shaky rhythm against my ribs as I peered into the darkness beyond, trying to see where I was headed before I got there.

At the bottom, the familiar smell of mildew was mixed with a metallic scent I didn’t remember from the last time I was down here. I swept the flashlight over the basement walls, searching for the gray box mounted near the back corner. I headed straight for it but stopped cold when my light reached it fully.

I tried to process the condition it was in. The panel was torn open. Wires hung like snapped vines, frayed and useless. Some had been yanked clean from their connections. The casing was cracked, hanging by a single screw. This hadn’t been an accident. Someone had destroyed it.

My pulse raced. I took a step back, trying to make sense of what I was seeing, when my foot tripped on something hard. I fell sideways. My phone released from my hand.

“No—”

The word barely left my mouth before my phone hit the far wall under the stairs. It bounced off and shattered against the concrete floor. The light died instantly.

Darkness swallowed me.

I froze. The loss of sight only cut me off further from my surroundings.It felt suffocating. I reached for something to ground me and met something round, gripping it hard. My breaths came short and fast. I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face.

I crouched low, using the thing as a guide as I crept back from the wall. My hands swept along the floor, feeling blindly for my phone. Something hard brushed my fingers—a shard of glass. I shifted my hand, gingerly moving it aside.