Miss Bitty frowned.
“They haven’t released the house back to us because of the investigation, so we rented her a motel room in Truro. But she won’t let me stay there,” he said, his cheeks flushing. “She’s . . . she’s paranoid because they’ve been questioning her about me nonstop. You know, me being the stepfather and all. She won’t talk to me. She won’t let me in the motel room. And, like I said, we can’t afford—”
“Goodness,” Bitty said, frowning. “What a mess.”
Allie watched Ted. He hadn’t made eye contact with her since he’d been there. It was like she wasn’t even at the table. She figured it was probably too painful for him to see one of Hannah’s friends. It certainly made sense.
Miss Bitty rapped her knuckles against the table. “Then that’s that,” she said decidedly. “You’ll stay in the guesthouse for as long as you need to.”
Ted looked relieved. “Thank you, Miss Bitty. I really appreciate this.”
“Do they think it’s the same person who killed that woman in Truro?” Big Joe asked.
Ted stared at his coffee cup. “I have no idea. They don’t tell me anything. They just ask questions.”
The mudroom door opened and Louis walked in. Miss Bitty blinked. “Oh, Louis, I’m so very sorry. I forgot to call to tell you that Allie won’t be having her lessons today.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes, considering the circumstances. But I do need your help elsewhere if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” Louis’s gaze fell on Ted. His eyes softened. “Hey, buddy, I’m really sorry about—”
“Thanks,” Ted mumbled, shifting his coffee mug between his hands.
Louis’s eyes traveled from Ted to the old woman. He stared at her. “You okay, Miss Bitty?”
The woman smiled weakly. “Yes, why do you ask?”
“You just look . . . I don’t know . . . a little unwell.”
“No, I’m fine.” She rose and cleared Allie and Big Joe’s empty plates. Allie watched her walk back to the kitchen sink, her light linen shirt hanging from her frame. For the first time she realized how incredibly thin the woman had grown.
“So what is it you’d like me to do?” Louis asked.
“Make up the back bedroom in the guesthouse, if you don’t mind. Ted’s going to be staying here awhile.”
CHAPTER 55
IT WAS PITCH-BLACK in Allie’s bedroom even though it was only three o’clock in the afternoon.
Since Miss Bitty had canceled all her activities for the day and forbade her to go outside, Allie had snapped her blinds shut and lay down. The problem was, when her eyes were closed all she could hear was blood pounding in her ears.
She was lonely and afraid. She needed to be around someone.
Anyone.
Miss Bitty had changed—and it frightened her. All the woman had done for days was drink, scrub everything in the house, or sleep. And she had barely said a word to Allie. Right now she was holed up in her bedroom.
Something was terribly wrong.
Allie thought of the days when she was working the streets. How she’d sold her body in part for food, but in even larger part so she wouldn’t have to be alone. She shivered at the memory, at how her life had once been. Now she was scared of being forced back to it.
Did Miss Bitty blame her for the murders? After all, they didn’t start happening until she arrived. Was the old woman thinking of sending her back? Or could Miss Bitty be losing her mind? Just like her mother had? Maybe Allie did that to people. Made them lose their minds. Allie shivered at the thought.
Crawling out of bed, she walked, barefoot, through the hallway. The house was too quiet and had lost a lot of its warmth without Bitty shuffling around, busying herself with her many projects. Even the usually super-soft carpet fibers between her bare toes felt coarser and unfriendly.
She walked into the living room—one of her happy places—only to find it empty and barely lit. Even the television was off.
She wanted badly to talk to Miss Bitty—to figure out what was going on—but the truth was, she was actually a little afraid of the old woman right now, because Miss Bitty, too, had lost her warmth. The ground beneath her had fractured and she was quickly losing her footing.
Feeling tears gathering, Allie headed back to her bedroom.
A couple of hours later, Allie heard voices in the front of the house. She sprang out of bed and hurried toward them. When she reached the kitchen, she found Big Joe and Louis sitting at the table, talking.
“Oh good,” Louis said. “I was hoping I’d get the chance to talk to you before I left.”
Allie’s eyes flitted from his to Big Joe’s. Both men looked very serious.
It made her knees feel funny.
“Why? What . . . what’s going on?”
“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Louis said, picking up on her anxiety. “We’re just concerned about Miss Bitty.”
Good. I’m not the only one.
“But first, how are you?” Louis asked.
Allie shrugged and peered down at the table. “I’m fine, I guess.”
“Hearing about Hannah had to have been a shock.”
Allie swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
The memory of Hannah’s perfect face the day they met in the garden, the gorgeous chocolate eyes, the perfect gleaming teeth, flashed through Allie’s mind.
Her whole life, she’d only had two friends: her brother and Hannah. And now they were both dead.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Allie shook her head. “No.”
“Well, if you change your mind—”
“Thanks, but I’m mostly just really worried about Miss Bitty.”
“Us, too,” Louis said. “I’ve noticed a lot of changes in her the last few weeks. We hoped maybe you could help us figure out what’s going on.”
Allie shrugged. “I . . . yeah, I don’t know. But something is really wrong.”