Unraveling Isobel (28 page)

My mouth fell open. That was it. The idea was insane, but
I was starting to appreciate a bit of crazy in my life. It was just crazy enough that it might work.

“I think I know what to do,” I said, clapping my hands together.

“Shh.” The cranky librarian was standing at the end of the aisle, glaring down at me. “You are aware this is a library, aren't you?”

I shot a look over at Mandy to see if she would say anything, but she stayed quiet with a small smile on her face. I had the sense she was used to random outbursts of library rule enforcement.

“I'm sorry if we were loud,” I said.

“We?” She raised one eyebrow.

I managed to avoid rolling my eyes. “I meant sorry if
I
was loud. It won't happen again.”

“The library is open to everyone, but if you continue to disturb patrons, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”

She was acting like I had been practicing my bongo drums in the reference section instead of having a simple conversation with another librarian.

“I promise to keep quiet from now on,” I said, holding up my right hand like I was taking an oath.

The librarian stared at me for a few beats as if she were trying to see into my soul to determine if I was telling the truth or planning on pulling my bongos back out as soon as she turned her back. I did my best to look wholesome and silent. Finally she gave a stiff nod and marched back to her desk.

“She gives librarians a bad name,” I whispered to Mandy. “I've got to go. Thanks again.”

“You're welcome.”

“I mean it. You've gone well above and beyond the librarian code to help those in information need. You've been a huge help to me.”

“One of these days, maybe you'll be able to return the favor.”

“Say the word, whatever you need.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” Mandy gave me a strange smile and slipped through the open door to the back.

Chapter 39

I
didn't want to wait for a ride, so I decided to walk home. I was a few blocks away when I realized I'd left my phone at the library. I debated leaving it but figured I might need it for my plan. I almost didn't mind all the walking; it was one of those perfect late fall days. For a change it wasn't raining. The sun was shining and the leaves were blowing around, streaks of red and gold.

The cranky librarian was setting a pumpkin down on the stoop to the building. I gave her a smile as I walked past. She didn't look too thrilled to see me. I was willing to bet she thought visiting once a day was plenty. I looked behind the circulation desk and then up and down the aisles, but I didn't see Mandy. I grabbed my phone off the table.

“Can I help you find something?” the librarian asked.

“Um, no. I just forgot my phone. Will you tell the other librarian I'll stop by tomorrow?”

“Other librarian? There's no other librarian. I'm the only one.”

Was she trying to make some sort of joke? “You're the only librarian,” I repeated. She nodded. I walked past her to the wall of photos behind the low magazine racks. I pointed to a picture of Mandy where she was sitting surrounded by a circle of young kids, all holding up picture books. There was a tag on the picture that said
Nairne Island Young Readers Program
.

“What about her?” I asked. “She looks pretty librarian to me.”

“You mean Mandy?” She took a step back. “Mandy's gone.”

“Gone? Where did she go?”

“She's been missing for years. She and her sister were the girls who disappeared”—she paused—“up at your house twenty years ago.”

Every bone in my body turned to liquid and I slumped to the floor. The blood rushed out of my head and I felt a clammy sweat break out on my forehead. The librarian rushed over and bent down.

“Are you okay? Put your head between your knees.” She pressed my head down.

“Mandy's dead.”

“Well, no one knows for sure. She and her sister went missing, but I knew their family and there's no way either of those girls
would leave their mom and dad without saying something. Not after all this time. My best guess is some sort of accident happened.”

Not some sort of accident. I knew exactly what kind of accident. She'd told me. My breathing was low and shallow. Things started clicking into place. I thought of all the dirty looks the librarian had always been giving me. No wonder I was disturbing the library patrons. I must have looked like I was chattering away all by myself in the stacks. Mandy hadn't been there. The only person anyone would have seen was me.

“I have to go.” I pushed myself up. The room spun for a moment before things began to steady.

“Why don't you wait here and I'll call your mom to come get you?”

“No, I'm okay.” I wasn't okay, but there was no way I was waiting another second. I pushed past the librarian and hurried down the steps. I started walking fast and then broke into a run.

Sweat was pouring off me when I finally got to the driveway. I didn't even stop to put a Band-Aid on the blisters that had sprung up on my run home. I ran into the kitchen and yanked out the drawers, looking for something that would work. I pulled out the meat mallet.

I ran back out of the house. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find it. The wind was starting to pick up and leaves were blowing around. I followed the tree line along the south side of the house.
I was sure it was there, but I couldn't find it. I broke through the trees and faced the cliff. I must have missed it. I turned around and walked back slower, forcing myself to scan the ground. Nothing. I turned around in a full circle. I felt like screaming in frustration.

I forced myself to close my eyes and slow my breathing down. It would have been dark. It was night when they were here. From here they should have been able to see the house. I opened my eyes and let them skim across the side of the house. The largest bank of windows were those that belonged to Dick's office. It might have been his dad's office then. Twenty years ago Dick would have been college age, but he would have been plenty old enough to do what Mandy described. If the lights had been on in the house, it would have been the brightest point in the night.

The leaves crunched under my feet. I closed my eyes and tried to will myself back to that night. I imagined myself walking through the trees with my sister. We would have been scared, but sort of excited, too. It was an adventure. We would have been holding hands. I let my right hand drop as if I were leading someone behind me. We would have wanted to get closer to see if we could peek in the window. I took a few more steps forward. Then I felt it.

The ground was just a bit higher under my foot. I scraped my foot, clearing away the pine needles and blanket of leaves. The leaves were dry on top, but the bottom layer was still wet from the night before, and they stuck like glue to the wood. I
dropped down to my knees and used my hands to clear the rest of the leaves away. The well. I gave the wood a shove, but it didn't move. There were four planks across and they were nailed down to a wooden frame. I pulled out the meat mallet and began whacking at it.

The wood was harder than it looked. I must have pounded on it for at least twenty minutes. My shoulder muscles were screaming every time I lifted the mallet, and blisters were covering my palms. I was panting and sweating from the effort. I was going to have to find something else to break through the wood. There was an axe in the garage. I gave one more whack and a piece of wood cracked off the corner. I shoved my hands in the hole and began to pull the plank back. For a beat nothing happened, but then I could feel the nails starting to give. I kept pulling, grunting. Splinters of wood were cutting into my palms and I could feel them slicing open the blisters. There was a sting of pain as the salt from my sweat trickled into the open wounds.

With a loud crack the wood finally gave way, and I fell back onto my butt, holding the plank in both hands. I tossed it to the side and crawled closer to the hole. It was still too dark. I grabbed ahold of another plank and pulled it back, letting the late-afternoon sun crawl down into the well. At first there was nothing, but then I saw it, a flash of white. A skull. My hands were shaking. I panned around again and saw more bones. There was a glint, and although I couldn't be certain, I was pretty sure it was the heart-shaped locket I'd seen on Mandy's neck.

I lay in the mud, my face pressed against the worn wood, looking through the hole.

“Mandy,” I whispered. “I found you.”

There was no answer. Not a sound except the wind filtering through the branches above.

“I'm going to make sure you get home, okay?”

I rolled over so that I was looking up. I could see the trees waving back and forth and a corner of the roof of the house. My hands were bleeding and I was filthy. Mandy had done me one more favor. This was going to make my plan perfect. If I called the police, the bodies weren't enough to convict Dick. He could act as if he had no idea they were there. However, if he tried to hide them again, it would be an admission of guilt. It was just the proof I needed.

Chapter 40

I
stood in the attic looking at myself in the floor to ceiling mirror. I was wearing the gown that had belonged to Dick's mom. All the glass beading on the dress made it weigh more than I had expected. I'd already brushed the black mousse through my hair to tint it as dark as possible and done my best to pile it in a bun on top of my head. I rooted through my mom's jewelry box and dug out one of the giant brooches that Dick had given her that used to belong to his mom. I pulled a couple of Beanie Babies out of the toy chest and shoved them into my bra to fill out the dress and give myself that steel bustline. I shifted the kitten and the bear until they were level. Better boobs through beanie toys, no surgery required.

I'd already prepared everything downstairs. I'd broken into Dick's office, which wasn't as hard as it looked, because it turns
out that every room in the place had the same lock and used the same two-prong skeleton key. I'd unscrewed all the lightbulbs except the one in the desk lamp. Directly under the lamp, I'd placed the two documents and used old Scrabble tiles to spell out the words I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. THE OTHERS WILL BE FOUND. HIDE THEM BEFORE YOU LOSE EVERYTHING. My plan was that Dick would be so scared by the ghostly appearance of his mom and the warning that he would be found out that he would rush to move the bodies. I'd be there, ready to take a picture.

I'd called my mom on my cell and told her I was staying in town to have dinner with my friend when, in reality, I was already upstairs. I had refused to tell Nate what I was up to, but did get him to agree to have his phone on in case I needed him. I looked at my watch. It was time. I lifted the skirt of the dress so I could walk, and slipped down the stairs. I paused in the foyer; I could hear the clink of dishes as they finished up dinner. If Dick stuck to his schedule, and he was nothing if not anal retentive, he would go to his office to check his email.

I slid open the library window and climbed out. The wind was picking up. Even though it was only October, the sun was already down and the night was pitch black. My feet squished through the damp grass as I walked around the house. I shivered. It was colder than I'd expected. I stood outside Dick's office and waited.

Just when I was sure it wasn't going to work for some reason, he showed up. Through the window I could hear the click of
Dick's door and could just make out his shadow. He stood in the doorway clicking the light switch up and down. He took a few steps forward toward the desk. That's when he realized there was something there. Dick picked up the papers and looked them over. I couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like his hands were shaking. He picked up one of the Scrabble tiles and flipped it over, rubbing it like he thought a genie might appear.

I took a deep breath and stepped in front of the window, being sure to stay back far enough that he shouldn't be able to make out my face but would still see my figure. Dick must have seen a flash of movement, because he looked up immediately. The outfit must have had the desired effect, because he instantly stepped back, bumping into the bookshelves behind him. His eyes were open wide and his head shook back and forth. I raised my arm slowly so that I was pointing at him through the glass.