The Anniversary (35 page)

In the black silence of the looming house, she could almost hear 31

her heart. Then, as her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, she 32

glanced quickly around. No sign of another person. The hall was 33

perfectly still. After another moment, she stood and walked to 34

the front door. She opened it and looked outside. Nothing but S 35

sky and trees.

R 36

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She could see now what had happened: a breeze. The door had 2

slammed shut.

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Still shaky, she walked out onto the porch, closing the door be-4

hind her.

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It was reassuring to hear the familiar sound of her sturdy Su-6

baru’s engine. She drove slowly down the driveway and turned 7

back onto the road. For a while, she drove aimlessly, hardly pay-8

ing attention, letting herself recover from the shock she’d had in 9

the house. She passed a Chevy Blazer and a Ford Escort, turned 10

right on an unmarked road, drove past an overgrown field full of 11

boats, a cemetery, a farm.

12

After a time, she saw water again, narrow glimpses through 13

trees. The dirt roads that led off into the woods didn’t seem to 14

have street signs. Briefly she wondered about that, then figured 15

that they weren’t needed. Anyone likely to be out here would 16

know their way around. But just as this thought went through her 17

mind, she
did
see a sign. Black block letters on unfinished wood.

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CARSON’S COVE, it said.

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Callie stepped on the brake.

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This was where it happened.

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She pulled her car to the side of the road and checked for traf-22

fic behind her. No cars, no people, nothing, just a long, flat 23

stretch of pavement. She backed up to the entrance and turned 24

left at the sign.

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Bumping down the deeply rutted dirt road, she was glad for her 26

all-wheel drive. She splashed through a muddy pothole, crunched 27

over stray tree limbs. To either side were towering trees as far as 28

she could see, the soft white of birch bark contrasting with the 29

evergreens.

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She’d driven about a mile when the road ended in a clearing.

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It seemed she’d gone as far as she could. Now she’d have to walk.

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A slender break in the wall of trees led to a narrow footpath. Cal-33

lie parked, got out of the car, and headed for the opening.

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Beneath the deep green canopy, she carefully picked her way.

35 S

She didn’t know what she was looking for, but she felt like she 36 R

was looking for something. The path was littered with small 1 9 4

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pinecones, twigs, rocks, and leaves. The air seemed colder than it 1

had before, the sky a deeper gray. She passed a dilapidated shed.

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Somewhere, birds were chirping. She heard the tapping of a 3

woodpecker, impossibly sharp and fast. But by far the loudest 4

sound of all was the wind rushing through the trees.

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Again and again, she asked herself,
What are you doing here?

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The words became a sort of refrain as she moved down the path.

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The impulse that had drawn her here wasn’t a simple thing. And 8

it wasn’t just about Diane, although she played a role. It struck 9

Callie that perhaps this trip was a pilgrimage of sorts. She’d come 10

to do penance, that was part of it, to bear witness to the past. To 11

pay tribute in some visceral way to all the women who’d died. For 12

so long she’d tried not to think about them, not as individuals.

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Even at Dahlia Schuyler’s trial, she’d tried to block things out.

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Without realizing it, Callie’s steps had slowed until she was 15

standing still. Lost in thought, she startled at the sound of foot-16

steps behind her. The sound was soft but growing louder, ap-17

proaching not retreating. For the second time in less than an 18

hour, adrenaline washed through her. Frozen, she stood there lis-19

tening for another long moment. Then she started to walk again, 20

but this time more quickly. Up ahead a few dozen yards, she saw 21

a patch of sun. Her rapid walk became a run as she sprang toward 22

the light.

23

She heard the sound again. Someone, or something, behind 24

her. Still running, she reached into her purse and grappled for her 25

cell phone. The footsteps behind her seemed to speed up, keep-26

ing time with her own. With a burst of energy, she broke through 27

the trees, emerged on a windswept beach. Black water lapped 28

against the shore, an expanse of rocks and seaweed. She’d hoped 29

to see houses or even people, but the area was deserted. To her 30

left the island curved inward, and she couldn’t see around the 31

bend. Not sure what else to do, she jogged in that direction.

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She had to be careful not to trip as she fumbled with the cell 33

phone buttons. The bright beep as she turned on her phone filled 34

her with sudden joy. Then, glancing behind her, she saw a man S 35

step out of the woods. Wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap, R 36

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he impatiently scanned the landscape. Even as she started to run 2

more quickly, she realized that she was trapped. Her only possible 3

hiding place was a pile of boulders down the beach. But long be-4

fore she reached it, he’d be on top of her.

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“Hey!” he called. “Wait up. I wanna talk to you.”

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She’d already dialed 911 and was waiting for the call to go 7

through. Holding the phone to her ear, she kept her eyes on him.

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The glassy water broke against the shore, bursting into foam.

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The phone still wasn’t ringing.

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She looked at the screen: NO SIGNAL.

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She stared at the words, incredulous. This had never happened 12

before. Just last night she’d called Anna from her room at the Old 13

Granite Inn. A wave of fear engulfed her. What was she going 14

to do?

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She felt clumsy and weighted down in her parka and heavy 16

boots. When she next looked back, she saw the man was fast 17

gaining on her. She reached down, grabbed a rock, and started to 18

run again. Her heels sank into the stones on the beach and she 19

ran awkwardly. Her purse, clutched close to her side, banged 20

against a hip.

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“Hey! Hey!” She heard his voice from behind.

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Finally reaching the pile of boulders, she scrambled up one 23

side. On top, she hopped from one rock to the next, struggling to 24

keep her balance.

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Then, almost to the other side, she suddenly lost her footing.

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With a sickening lurch, her ankle twisted, and her foot slid out 27

from beneath her. She grasped at air, then fell, hard, landing on 28

her hip. Her fingers scrabbled at moss-covered stone as she tried 29

to stand up again. But when she managed to reach her feet, pain 30

shot through her ankle.

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With a huge effort, she reached the next boulder, dragging her 32

injured leg. From behind, she could hear the pounding approach 33

of footsteps, growing louder. Somewhere along the way she’d 34

dropped the rock. She had no way to protect herself. Then in a 35 S

flash it occurred to her that he didn’t know about the phone.

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She wheeled around to face him. He was nearer than she’d 1 9 6

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thought. He’d reached the base of the boulders and was looking 1

up at her. Up close, she could see that he wasn’t large, not much 2

taller than she was. He had sharp features, pitted skin, and nar-3

row, slouching shoulders. For an instant, she wondered if she 4

could take him on but quickly dismissed the idea. Even apart 5

from her injured ankle, there was something that warned her off.

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She sensed a sort of wiry strength at odds with the slender frame.

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Now he smiled up at her, showing small yellow teeth. He re-8

minded her of the evil foxes in fairy tales she’d read to Anna.

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“You gotta be careful up there,” he said. “Them rocks is slip-10

pery.”

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Callie met his eyes. “Stay away from me,” she said. “I’ve al-12

ready called for help.”

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The smile flickered, then faded. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

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“I’ve got a cell phone with me,” Callie said. “I’ve already called 15

the police. They know I’m out here, that you’re following me.

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They’ll be here any minute.”

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Shaking his head, he raised his hands and slowly backed away.

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“Ma’am, you got the wrong idea,” he said. “I ain’t gonna hurt you.

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I was just comin’ to tell you that you shouldn’t be out this way 20

alone. A woman was killed ’round these parts not too long ago.”

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Callie’s ankle had begun to throb. She looked at him, uncer-22

tain. Could he be telling the truth? She had no way of knowing.

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“Look,” she said. “I’m just a little nervous. I didn’t mean to at-24

tack you. It’s just that when I heard you behind me, well, I guess 25

I sort of panicked.”

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“You knew about the murder?” he said.

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“Yes,” said Callie. “I knew.”

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He peered at her more sharply, with something like suspicion.

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“Who are you, anyway? You some sort of reporter? Someone from 30

the papers?”

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“No. I’m . . . I used to know the woman who was killed. I was 32

sort of a friend of hers.”

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“Huh.” He nodded slowly a few times, then looked at her 34

again. “You need some help gettin’ down from there? You hurt S 35

yourself when you fell?”

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“No,” said Callie. “Really. I’m fine.”

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“Okay, then.” He cocked his head. “Well, I’d better get going.

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You be careful now, hear?”

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As he sauntered back down the beach toward the woods, Cal-5

lie watched his figure get smaller. Once he’d disappeared in the 6

trees, she began to climb down off the rocks.

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Now that there was no need to move quickly, she stayed on her 8

hands and knees. Painfully, she crawled down off the boulders, 9

then made an effort to stand. Her injured ankle was pounding, 10

the pain growing worse by the minute. She limped forward, step 11

by step, toward the path back to her car.

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When she reached the edge of the woods, she tried her phone 13

again, but there was still no signal. For all her network’s vaunted 14

claims of coverage, they must not have service here.

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It was almost one o’clock. The next ferry was at three. She 16

needed to get back on the road and find her way to the landing.

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As she stepped back onto the gloomy path, her throat seemed 18

to close up. Again, fear washed over her. What if he’d been lying?

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She told herself that he’d had his chance. If he’d wanted to at-20

tack her, he would have. Chances were he was just who he’d 21

claimed to be, a concerned passerby. Besides, she couldn’t just 22

stand here all day. She had to get back to her car.

23

Pale sun flickered across the ground as Callie struggled for-24

ward. It was her left ankle that she’d hurt, and she tried to favor 25

it, but even minor pressure sent pain surging through her. When 26

she finally glimpsed her parked car, she almost started to cry.

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She realized that a part of her had been afraid that it wouldn’t be 28

there. Amazingly, she’d managed to keep hold of her purse. She 29

reached into it for her keys.

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Inside, the car had its familiar smell of fresh plastic and coffee.

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On the seat beside her lay the road atlas, still opened to Maine.

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In the backseat, she saw her overnight bag, exactly where she’d 33

left it. These simple objects seemed miraculous; she had to reach 34

out and touch them. As she turned the key in the ignition, she 35 S

felt a burst of gratitude. How lucky she was to be here! How lucky 36 R

to be alive! She backed up and turned around, heading back to 1 9 8

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town. To the ferry that would carry her toward home, to the place 1

and people she loved.

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h

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Hidden inside the abandoned shed, Lester Crain watched her go.

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She was limping — he’d known that she was hurt — as she 6